One full day in Paris!

How can one have a bad day in Paris? Somehow, the sun was out, and it was a beautiful day. A traditional French breakfast of tartine au beurre et confiture was in order; I have the good fortune of staying with a family who weekend in Normandy next to a lady who grows fruit and makes her own jam. This, along with fresh baguette, makes for excellent toast.

Who put the blue sky there?

Because in Paris cops go around on motorcycles. And roller blades.

Since guests were coming for lunch and we had a bit of a late start, the morning was consumed by preparations, and it was worth it for the fantastic lunch (it is France, so I am allowed to go from meal to meal. Respect la cuisine, I always say). Very young French children are quite similar to very young American children, except they say funny things in French and eat pâté with pleasure. Of course, the pâté was delicious; anyone in his/her right mind would eat it with pleasure! Also, the fancy meats, followed by a roasted chicken and potatoes, followed by delicious cheeses and then some of the most beautiful pastries I have ever seen. The entirety accompanied, of course, by liberal amounts of baguette.

The walk I took afterwards was fantastic, if not entirely straightforward. I am as of yet too stubborn to purchase a map, and so, in my attempts to reach the Seine, I ran across the same diagonal street all of five times! Every time I took a side street (in the correct direction, I stubbornly add), it led me right back to rue de Rennes! This gave me an excellent tour of Montparnasse and St-Germain, but, personally, I would recommend a more direct route. I am sure there is one (I would know for certain if I had a map!).

Armed with a basic knowledge of Parisian geography and the Seine, making it to the Louvre is easy. Finding the side entrance (often less crowded) is less so, and eventually I resorted to the glass pyramid approach. Fortunately, there was absolutely no line; I have never seen the museum so empty! Everyone was at the Charlie Hebdo march, interdit for Stanford students studying abroad, so I had the museum to myself.

The French flag was everywhere today. Here's at the Louvre

For those who think I am not safe in Paris right now: note submachine guns. These guys mean business. And they are everywhere!

I thought he deserved a close-up.

These two are brother and sister, Ptolemy IV on left, Arsinoë on right. They were also husband and wife. Looking at the pair of them, I can't say much for either of their tastes.

The sunset, from the Louvre. Just in case you run out of excellent art to please your eyes, they stuck some good views in there.

Venus de Milo. My new friend. Note: I am not friends with that woman, who stood there for two minutes. My picture wasn't that important.

Athena is sideways. She can do that if she wants. It's a perk of being a Greek goddess. 

The way back is always easier, and it turns out there is a great exhibition on the outer gate of the Jardins de Luxembourg, currently involving huge close-up photos of interesting animals and plants. This I found to be the most interesting, if not most direct, route back.

Outside the Jardins Luxembourg. A whole procession of uniformed Gendarmes with submachine guns. It's really quite something.

I got in my host's way in my clumsy attempts to be useful, and ended up preparing the quiche for dinner (which turned out quite well, if I do say so myself). There was a mashed vegetable that was something like a small pumpkin. If anyone knows what this is in English, please let me know! For now, it is a tasty mystery fruit.

When one has dinner at 9pm, and a good, extended, purposeful dinner at that, there is little time afterwards for fatigued travelers to do much, let alone diligently write a blog post. Over and out!