Escape to Paris: Day 2

We got up today at 9:00 and got ready for a day that we planned would have significantly less walking than Thursday. Not to spoil the ending, but one thing led to another and the Pope made us do a crapload of walking by the time all was said and done. But I am getting ahead of myself. We checked out of the hotel and left our bags in the basement again, and then we headed out for un petit-dejeuner at the same place we visited yesterday -- we really liked that it was in the middle of a pedestrian street, right near the Rue de Rivoli so we could see everyone, but far enough away that it was nice and quiet..."cloistered," as Ashley says. We had the same waitress as yesterday, and she was all excited and happy and friendly when she recognized us. So nice! We had the same breakfast, which we think is OK because we actually recognized some cafe patrons from yesterday morning, and talked about how it is that places like Paris and New York have reputations for being full of rude people when there are so many nice people who live there. We really don't know. The breakfast put us in good shape to tackle a second busy day in Paris.

As I mentioned in yesterday's entry, we had planned to get day passes for the Batobus hop-on-hop-off boat that goes around the hot spots on the Seine...we were going to get on at Hotel de Ville (3 blocks from our hotel), then cruise past the Eiffel Tower, get off at the Musee d'Orsay, check that out, get back on, cruise down to St.-Germain, hop back on, go around Notre Dame, and end up back at Hotel de Ville to get our luggage and get on the RER to Gare du Nord station. Well, I mentioned it yesterday, and they always say not to mention a gun in Act I without having it go off in Act V, so here it is: Since the Pope was in town, the Batobus was not operating its whole route. The Hotel de Ville stop (as well as the one at Notre Dame) was closed today, so the ticket agent told us to walk to the Louvre stop and get on there. She said it would be about a 10-minute walk. We harrumphed a little, but we decided we would just get a 1-ride ticket and get on at the Louvre, ride around past the Eiffel Tower, and get off at the musee d'Orsay. No big deal. And a 10-minute walk for most people is an 8-minute walk for us. This woman was very nice, but she was badly informed. It took us closer to half an hour to walk from our stop to the Louvre stop, where the ticket counter was closed. We decided to buy a ticket on the boat. All of a sudden, the boat appeared and the ticket counter opened, so we went to wait in line...where (a) we were told they were not selling single ride tickets today and (b) the boat left without us. Considering that at this point, we were literally across the river from the d'Orsay, we decided to say F it to the boat idea and just walk across the bridge to see the art. Pope!!!

Add art to the list we have agreed to disagree about over the last 14 years.

We waited in a long but fast-moving line at the Musee d'Orsay and people-watched. This museum was originally designed to be a train station, and the architecture is really gorgeous. There are big clocks at either end and it has a tall curved glass ceiling. We went through security, bought tickets, and went inside. This place is awesome. I am so glad it is an art museum. The museum itself is a work of art, and it is much better planned out and easier to navigate than the Louvre, which basically says, "We have some art, maybe you would like to see it, best of luck finding it." We walked to the far end and took the escalator directly to the 5th floor, the Impressionists section, since both of us love Impressionists. As we discussed in the line, though, Ashley and I have different opinions about (among other things) art. She likes paintings that depict human relationships (e.g., friends, mother/daughter, etc.), while I prefer paintings without people in them. I also like really modern, abstract art more than she does. Add art to the list we have agreed to disagree about over the last 14 years. Anyway, we agree that we love Impressionists. We checked out the greats: Monet (both love), Gaughin (Ashley liked more than I did), Van Gogh (both love), Sisley (one of my favorites), Toulouse-Lautrec (Ashley likes more, but I appreciate), and Seurat (I like more, but Ashley appreciates).

The Musee d'Orsay was wonderful, but after 25 galleries and 90 minutes, we decided we were art-ed out and agreed to walk back across the Seine, through the tuileries, and to the Metro to collect our stuff from the hotel (we had to catch a 5:00 train and had no idea how long it would take to get back to Gare du Nord). We wandered back through the Tuileries, stopping on the way to see the trampolines. They actually have trampolines you can pay to let your kids jump on for as long as they want. Brilliant!!!...and adorable!!! We got on the Metro at Concorde with no mishaps this time and rode back to Hotel de Ville, then walked along Rue de Rivoli. We wanted to have crepes before we left Paris, so we stopped at the Coin Brasserie in the Place Baudoyer, the same place with our breakfast spot. As we looked at the menu and our watches, we realized that we were a little more than snack hungry, so we both got sandwiches and drinks, knowing we would not eat dinner for another 7 hours. We got Nutella crepes to share for dessert. Once again, the waiter was really friendly...he even tried to speak English with us, asking if we were ready for the "checklist."

We went to the hotel (the Hotel France Louvre...I don't think I said the name yet), grabbed our bags, and hiked over toward the Chatelet-Les Halles regional rail station. Rather than take the Metro one stop and then transfer, we decided to walk through the Les Halles neighborhood and past the Centre de Georges Pompidou on our way. I wish we had had more time to see the different neighborhoods, because Les Halles looked like a really interesting place to hang out, window shop, and walk around, which Ashley and I agree are the three best things to do in cities. Anyway, we decided to breeze past the Pompidou because we read that it had interesting architecture, but on our way over there we had a terrifying experience. What appeared to be an older gentleman was passing us on the sidewalk, and as he got close to us, he leaned in close first to my face and then to Ashley's, each time making a sort of squirty/raspberry sound with his lips. He was right in our faces! She screeched when he did it to her, and I turned around to tell him where to get off, and he looked at me, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "You're pretty!" Well, that explains it!

We stopped for a few minutes so Ashley could collect herself (I don't know what it says about me that I was relatively unfazed by the incident), and then we were off toward the Centre de Georges Pompidou. This building is, to say the least, controversial. The idea was to put all the ductwork, elevators, ventilation systems, etc. on the outside, allegedly making the inside space more open -- an "inside-out" construction. So the outside of the 6-story building is covered with multicolored pipes going in all directions. We thought it was horribly ugly, but then again, it is a modern art museum, so maybe it works. I don't know. Anyway, we went past the museum and made it to the RER station in good time.

The station was huge and supremely confusing. We took no chances with the tickets this time and bought them from a person at a window. We walked to the platform for the blue B train toward Gare du Nord, where we learned that the train was only a few minutes away. While we were waiting, a group that can only be described as a truly motley crew came down onto the platform: four adults and two off-leash dogs, hanging out by the trash can, eating upside-down pizza and drinking beer. Fascinating!...and we were not the only ones who thought so, since everyone else on the platform openly stared at them. Very entertaining! The train came and we pushed our way on (no air conditioning again...ugh...what is up with Europe? it is hot here, whether they want to admit it or not!). Thank goodness we were only one stop from Gare du Nord, because it was not a pleasant experience on the RER.

The Gare du Nord station is huge. We walked for 10 minutes -- and had to stop for water -- before we got to the area with international train departures. Whew! We were there an hour early for our train, so we sat down in a cafe, ordered some drinks, and watched people. The train boarded 20 minutes before it left, so we had time to settle in and chat before agreeing to read quietly on the way back for some alone time. Our alone time was interrupted by police barging onto our car and demanding to see everyone's papers. Yow! We would be the absolute worst at committing a crime, because we were doing nothing wrong and still had trouble answering the questions. It sounds so suspicious!...yes, we are going to Brussels; we are staying with family; yes, we arrived at Brussels airport. We are not smooth at all. Anyway, after that we chatted until we got to the Brussels-Midi station.

Our train arrived on time, and we met Larry at the place we picked out yesterday morning, and he took us to the car and we drove home. On the way, we saw that the tunnels in Brussels (many of the major streets go under other major streets) are closed on Friday evenings from 8-11pm for "Roller Parade," which Larry told us means that every Friday, they close these roads so rollerbladers can use them. Wow! Honestly, this seems ridiculous. We got home and were greeted by Alex and Allison, who were both glad to see us. We all played a little, checked out some books Ashley got for Alex, and then washed up for dinner, which was a Brussels staple, moules frites: mussels soup with frites and hard bread. Fantastic! We ate (by Larry's reckoning) 80 tons of mussels, then cleaned up and talked in the kitchen, breaking for an epic battle between Larry and a big housefly. Only one of them came out alive, and the winner is going with us to Bruges tomorrow. I will leave you in suspense about who it is.