Day 3 in Paris was a simple one. A touch burned-out from the last two days of energetic exploration, I slept late (later than I planned) and woke up in time for lunch. I had lunch in a nice cafe just up the hill from my hotel.
Montmartre
My hotel is a really nice place. The room is excellent, the staff are all courteous and the breakfast is both tasty and filling. Just up the hill is a long street filled with cafes and shops, making it easy to walk out the door and get a bite to eat.
I slept in especially late on this day, so it was nice to walk a few steps up Rue Lepic to Rue des Abbesses and find a pain au chocolate and a bol of coffee. A bowl! of coffee! God bless the French! I got a good picture of myself, sitting next to the window in the November sunlight (shadows are nice, but not perfect composition I admit).
I’m learning French a touch better, too. The problem is that all but a handful of words are still unknown to me, so I’m sometimes able to get things by context but usually I have to plead ignorance (Je n’comprend pas.). Still, I can see that learning French is not an impossible task and am looking forward to taking more classes once I return…but not at the same rapid rate as in the week prior to my trip.
Pigalle
Down the hill from my hotel is Pigalle. Pigalle is apparently a bit shady. I’m not sure what else to say except that there are many shops that advertise “private dances” and men out front get in my way as I’m walking to the Metro to ask me if I’d like to come inside. (Non, merci.)
It’s an interesting mix of shops, though. The Montmartre atmosphere mixes with the adult places so there’s a strange “bohemian/pr0n” feel to Pigalle. I prefer the bars/cafes/restaurants of Montmartre to anything I’ve seen in Pigalle, but the good thing is that there are a wide range of places to sit within a moment’s walk of my hotel.
The Opera. A store. The Arc. RUN!
My goal is to visit at least one tourist location each day. On this day, I visited the Opera, a department store built in the 19th century and the Arc d’Triumph.
The Opera is a beautiful building. I’ll admit, though, that I’m starting to have beautiful-building-burn-out. Everything here is beautiful so it’s difficult not to get a little jaded. The initial “oh my gosh!” feeling that was endlessly present the first few days is fading. I still love being here, it’s just different now
After the Opera, I got back onto the Metro and popped over to the Arc d’Triumph. I wanted to get a picture of it, even though I knew I’d never get one as good as those you’ll find online or in a store. I still needed a record, for myself, that I’d been here. The problem is that the Avenue des Champs-Elysees is lined with trees, so there’s no way to get a good photo from the sidewalk. The next problem is that the street is very busy.
Being a thoughtful man, I decided to cross the street and take photos as I walked. I waited for the lights, crossed and got a really good picture. Then I had to cross back to where I’d been. I decided to take more photos on the return crossing. I waited for the lights but something went wrong. See the photos for illustration…
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And, of course…more to come as I have time to post…
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m jealous– I studied French for 5 years, and I’ve never been able to any French-speaking places. (Toronto doesn’t count.) In the interest of living vicariously, I’ll throw in my request/recommendation for you to go see the Sainte-Chapelle at the Palais de Justice, because that’s one church I’ve always wanted to see. It’s famous for its stained-glass windows, so make sure you pick a time when the light will be good.
See now, Napoleon had a good idea putting that thing up because he could side track any invading forces and have them mowed down by traffic!
My next thought is OMG the coffee must have been wonderful! They don’t worry so much about the crapin there food because its so much more fresh then we tend to have here. *wipes drool away*.
And what is the matter with you? were none of those men hot enough to give you a dance?? I mean think about it would you really WANT to see FRENCH woman dancing nude!?! Just a thought
Actually, the people out front in Pigalle rotated. As I walked to and from the Metro, I had to walk across or along Boulevard de Clichy where the adult stores and clubs were located.
During the day, there were burly men in front. At night, it was women who I’m fairly certain were all from Eastern Europe. I suspect a minority of the people working there were actually French…