Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Trekking around the City of Lights

The French weather is improving somewhat.  The sun is shining some of the time and it's not raining.  This morning we walked over the bridge on the Seine and looked back on another partial view of the Cathedral Notre Dame.  The crowds were beginning to form as they do every day, and they stay all day long.


We spent much of the morning at City Hall (Hotel de Ville) looking at an exhibition of Impressionist art that is on loan from the Museum d'Orsay.  The big names were represented - Monet, Degas, van Gogh, Toulose-Lautrec - plus lesser famed names.  The major theme seemed to be scenes from Paris, some of which I have become familiar with.  The artists mainly deserve their fame.

Below is the courtyard at the City Hall.  They are bringing in palm trees for an exhibition.  Where's Waldo?  Find Mr. Moohoo in the photo below.  There was also a panhandler who you won't recognize.  There is always a lot of activity in this square in the morning.


The afternoon was another self-inflicted forced march, beginning at the Arc de Triomphe (shown below from a spot in the middle of a busy street), continued past the spot where Princess Dianna was killed in a traffic accident some years ago, over the Seine with a view of the Eiffel Tower, and back to home passing the Musee d'Orsay. We stopped for a much touted ice cream cone on the Isle de Cite, too, but it was pretty much the same quality as some of the good ice cream available on Grand Avenue in St Paul.


There are lots of details of the city that are coming into focus. It seems to be a really livable city especially if one knows a little of the language. I've been trying to read as much of the info in the exhibits as I can, and it's fun to be able to almost translate some sentences. Give me another month I might get there.

5 comments:

Santini said...

Orange hat, of course.

Interesting that your French is improving so quickly.

Sounds like you're in need of a sit down. That probably means you're getting maximum benefit from your time there.

Retired Professor said...

People here are betting that you did not eat that whole plate of sausage, and that you probably did not sleep well at all last night. Are we right?

Gino said...

Here's a good one, I checked in to read the comments. I have to do the word verification thing before my comment will be accepted.

The word I am being asked to type is "fries".

As for me, I ate both link sausages, the big round sausage and most of the salt pork. I ate most of the kraut but very little of the potatoes.

I slept poorly and my stomach still, still feels a little off.

Jimi said...

I did not finish.the kraut nor the potatoes. And I slept rather poorly, too. Good call. I blame the sausage.

Santini said...

TT and GZ, Thanks for the update. Sorry about the poor night's sleep, though. We were pretty sure that would be the outcome. Mark and Peggy had a Dune Dog and chili fries (near the State Park) for lunch yesterday, but claimed to sleep fine. Moderation, I think.