A quieter day today.
Al went off to his French class this morning. Mostly conversation with
other students. Some do not speak
English as their first language- which forces them to not fall back on using
their mother tongue. French is a common language. He also went to the
Paris Rotary and enjoyed the other members.
Meanwhile, I went to my first neighborhood market (this is a
method I have chosen to assure that I visit places throughout the city- there
are markets in every arrondissement, in a guide called Markets of
Paris). Today’s outing was to Enfants
Rouge in the 3rd arrondissement.
It was a very small, covered market. More specifically, there were about 4 vendors
surrounded by open-air restaurants. Kind of a French food court with better
food than in our food courts.
I bought pears (the fruit here is great-ripe and juicy),
potatoes and carrots. I ate lunch at a Moroccan
place- a large plate of chicken and roasted vegetables (10E) with endless bread
to sop up the juices.
A local cat came to each table and patiently waited for scraps.
A walk around the
neighborhood included lots of upscale clothing shops and a park full of
Parisians eating their lunches.
Next stop was Mussee d’Orsay. On the way, I saw a poster
for our own Jonny Lang performing here in October.
A light bulb went on in my brain. Most Metro stations have a
map of the area near the exit. I should
take a picture of the map when I leave a new station to find the place I am
going. Much easier than trying to
memorize the map, or pull out my big map.
The Mussee d’Orsay is an old railroad station- worth
visiting to see the building as much as the art. Very crowded in the afternoon. I will go back in the morning. I spent considerable time looking at my
Fr-English dictionary translating titles- most of which ended up being a
description of the picture like “Uphill Walk through Tall Grass”- exactly what
was in the scene.
An enjoyable time sitting alongside the Seine in the shadeand then a walk down Rue de Bac (was there once a box factory there?) to the Metro. Stopped at Eric Kayser Artisan Boulanger. Bought baguette and croissants. I now understand why I see lots of Parisians walking around breaking off pieces and eating them while walking. Almost as good as chocolate.
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