Paris Day 2

Thanks to jetlag-induced insomnia, I went to bed at 10 pm, woke up at 2 am, went back to sleep at 4 am and actually woke up at 10:00 am. Oh well, most of the sights I wanted to see on this Paris excursion did not really come alive until the evening anyway.

After a quick breakfast at the hotel (baguette with butter, cereal, orange, and milk), I set off for the Musée d’Orsay. The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays and frankly I’m sure I’ll go there with family and friends before I leave. Anyways, I only waited in line for 10 minutes, even though it was noon when I arrived. The museum contains a stunning array of sculptures, painting, and other media. In the impressionist gallery, I took photos that reflected the theme of work. For example, in the following selections, you can see that sometimes women did laundry and took care of the children (Photo 1), but they made plenty of time for just sitting around too (Photos 2 and 3). Men, on the other hand, tried to look busy (Photo 4), but usually just gave up pretending and settled down for a good chat over liquor (Photo 5). I ate a late lunch at a nice overpriced café near the museum – my waiter was very glad that I could order a grilled cheese and ham sandwich (un croque monsieur) in French as most of the tourists could only speak English.
I took the metro home and took an hour and a half nap and Internet break. Paris will still be there in a few months and I would rather savor the experience rather than run around like a madman to make sure that I saw EVERY! SINGLE! SIGHT! before I left.

I went from the metro to Montmartre, Paris’ version of Sin City. The steps were not too hard to ascend for a fit twentysomething (Your Mileage May Vary), and it was fun to see all of the people from the city and abroad enjoying picnics on the hillside. Inside the Sacré-Coeur Cathedral at the top of the hill, the nuns were quite strict. No provocative dress, no talking. While restrictive, these policies led to a better experience for me than at Notre Dame. Furthermore, the nuns had a continuous prayer service going whose meditative prayers and chanting added to the building’s reflective ambiance. I felt much more spiritually connected here and stayed for part of the service.

Back outside, I went down the hill and bought a pizza marguerite (cheese pizza) and an apple to eat at a little park just below the cathedral. Several couples were also there, enjoying the romantic views until a guard chased us out at 8:00 pm when the park closed. Since dusk was falling, I took the metro to the Place Concorde stop and saw the famous sites of Paris illuminated against the night sky. The Place, the Champs-Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower were all great, but large crowds at night are not really my thing so I went home before 10 pm.