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October 18, 2006
Paris, Day Four: Musee d'Orsay
 Our fourth day in town, and we decided to do some traditional Paris sightseeing. We walked all over this town, snapping photos and pointing at every old building we saw (and frankly, that's a lot of old buildings). A few notes:
- Nothing opens early in this town. Nothing. As a point of reference, Starbucks opens at 8:30(!).
- Most shops and essential services close between 5 and 8 PM. If you need something from the grocery store, better get it before 8.
- It's ridiculously easy to get lost in this city. Paris is a five-storey city (they've height-capped the buildings). One consequence of this decision is that you've got no real frames of reference for anything when wandering - no tall buildings to serve as landmarks, nothing. The buildings thus stretch out into infinity, and, since the streets loop, curve, and double back on themselves, you get turned around real quick. It's like Colossal Cave Adventure - "You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike."
- The food continues to dazzle. We had lunch at this fabulous place Elaine loves, called l'Ardoise, which is one of those restaurants where asking for ketchup will likely get you killed. They do a fixed-price lunch menu, and the place was half-full when we arrived. It was clear that the Parisians in attendance - businessmen, retirees, all of them - were enjoying the slower pace of life. Two hour lunches are, apparently, commonplace. After tasting the food, I can see why.
- Oh, the wine kicks ass, too. Their "house white" is this awesome stuff - Macon Villages, Domaine Valette, 2003. Whoa.
- Being tourists, we decided to hit a museum, and chose Musee d'Orsay. It's constructed in a former train station, and features a little bit of everything, from sculpture to impressionist paintings. I saw some Van Gough and Monet; I'm not much of an art person, but we got the walking-tour headset and I really enjoyed myself.
- Walking St. Germain calls for gawking and the drinking of coffee. We did both.
- Drinking wine at street-corner cafes while enjoying a light salad and listening to three young guys argue about philosophy from three tables over is one of those simple life pleasures, you know? We need more of that in the states.
- The people here are incredibly friendly - even the waiters. I feared the French reputation for rudeness, aloofness, and general, well, Frenchiness, but have been shocked at how nice everyone is. People are patient, smiling, willing to help - even though my French is terrible (Elaine tells me I speak the language with a German accent). We're making an effort, of course, and that helps, but it's a very warm city.
- Immersing yourself in a new place, with a new language for 96 hours will quickly attenuate you to the sound of your native tongue. People speaking Engligh within 30 feet of me will cause my head to involuntarily swivel their direction.
And that, dear friends, is Wednesday. (We have to jam if we're going to make it to the grocery store before it closes.)
(Flickr photostream is available.)
Posted by Gavin Shearer at October 18, 2006 7:35 PM. Posted to Travel.
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