#119 - BLAME IT ON THE WEATHERMAN

The last day of our sixth time in Paris (probably a total of 55 days) and the weatherman called for rain, pretty much all day. So what will we do, where will we go? We knew that a long leisurely lunch was out of the question as we had plans tonight for a great dinner with Laurent and Miguel. 
We considered the architecture/design exhibit at Chaillot but we’d seen Eames chairs and Graves kettles many times already. I thought about the D’Orsay but we’d done a few Impressionist museums this trip already. I even thought about doing nothing but....really...it’s Paris and that would have been embarrassing.

Finally Steve said, OK, we are going to the Louvre, it is the perefect way to pass a rainy day, it’s huge and we will see all the things we have never seen there.  We awoke to gray skies giving way to a bit of blue, happy we could get to the metro before the showers. We knew where to get off and then quickly checked our phones to recall the old Rick Steves tip for the alternate ticket line. Hmmmm, as we approached we realized everyone had caught on. It was packed, the line was long and so I grabbed a spot while Steve went ahead to check it out. In about a NY minute he was back with the news - THE LOUVRE WAS SOLD OUT FOR THE ENTIRE DAY!! Really? Have you ever been there? It is giant and holds tons of visitors and I didn’t even want to see the Mona Lisa or Venus de Milo. 

We quickly regrouped and decided breakfast was in order to stave off lunch cravings and save ourselves for dinner. And while you might think it normal to have three meals a day, especially when you walk five or six or seven miles, we just can’t seem to do that. Just last night after we had had a normal lunch, we were still so full at 8PM we could only have a drink at a local cafe and an ice cream on the way home.

  After my crepe citron and Steve’s Croque Monsieur we strolled the Rue St. Honore past every big name designer shop and then we headed to the Petit Palais, a gorgeous building with a good permanent collection. It was still not raining, not even threatening to do so.  We debated about doing the Grand Palais next but I was officially arted out- you may recall a few days ago I thought I had been to our final Musee. So I suggested we head to St. Germain for a bit of cafeing and window shopping. 

.....Every child can look French - this ensemble is only 500 Euros....

I had rearranged my suitcase enough that I had room for a couple more items if I saw anything special. 
Now we started the morning in the 11th and metroed to the 1st, then walked through the 1st into the 8th and were now headed to the 5th. And the sun was still shining, brightly. As we crossed the Seine we considered a boat ride but the iPhone weather app still said rain.  By the time we hit St. Germain Blvd. our legs were weary and we wanted nothing more than a sidewalk cafe and some wine. Have you ever tried to find a cafe at lunch in Paris that will give you a table just for drinks? We know the tell tale signs. If there is silverware or placemats or linen on the table, it is for eating. If the table is bare, it is probably okay for just drinks. We walked and walked, under the hot sun. We walked some more. Oh, and did I mention Steve’s aversion to sitting outside if it is a busy street with buses? That surely eliminated some spots. But we carried on and finally found a spot, ordered a bottle of rose and relaxed, under sunny skies. 

  A bit of window shopping on our way back to the metro, a stop near the apartment to buy some Algerian pastries for our hosts for tomorrow’s breakfast and finally ‘home’ to rest, pack and sit out on the terrace, still not raining, and write the almost last blog of this trip. So much for the f’ing weatherman. We could have been cruising the Canal St. Martin!