Lady Gaga in Paris
Lady Gaga had a show in Paris last night. At about 1am, the post-Gaga concert goers started to arrive at the Eiffel Tower. There were a few groups loudly chanting Gaga. It was nice when they left. This morning, I enjoyed videos from the concert on Youtube. Yes, I'm a Lady Gaga fan.
Too Much Shopping?
My little shopping trips over the past month seem to have added up. I started staging stuff on the beds in the 2nd bedroom. I hope I can get it all in the suitcases. In addition to the goodies from E. Dehillerin and Le Cordon Bleu, I have four books signed by chefs (Chef Stefane and David Lebovitz). Some of the books are pretty big.
Most of the stuff I have accumulated is cooking related (spices, sel du mer aka Sea salt, towels, aprons, pans, little cookware utensils and a few knick knacks).
Please Air France, take pity on my. If I start crying and sing my own version of la vie en rose do you think they'll be sympathetic? I don't think so either, but I'll give it my best shot.
Yesterday was the last prime time day. With all the weekenders, I wouldn't get close to the main attractions over the weekend. I still can't believe that I closed the Louvre last night.
What to do
At one point I had a list of things I wanted to do and see in Paris. This weekend is an antiques fair at Rue Cler. Every morning, I drink coffee and think about what I want to do. By the time I finish my coffee, I usually have a few things picked out. Then, by the time I actually leave the apartment all of my plans can change. For today, I decided that I didn't really want to go to the antiques fair.
Yesterday afternoon as I waited for the bus to the Louvre, I think I finally found Princess Caroline's apartment. Not in the location described but nearby.
This afternoon I went back to the Champ du Mars, feeding the birds. Yes, I'm fairly certain that I found Princess Caroline's apartment. Had a god time walking through the 7th, picked up a baugette on the way back (that's how I wind up with so much bread to feed the birds).
Bateau Mouches (night cruise)
It was hot again today, in the 80s and humid. Later this evening I decided to head over to the Bateaeux Mouches for an evening boat cruise in the Seine. I planned to take a taxi (my feet were stil sore from yesterday's walking and the Louvre). After five minutes of trying to get a taxi, I decided to walk.
I was crossing a bridge over the Seine and remembered that I had a Paris beret in my bag. I don't know if it was the heat or the "Minneapolis girl tribute to Mary Tyler-Moore" kind of thing. I decided to wait in the middle of the bridge for a passing cruise boat. I timed it just right, tossed the beret and it fell near the feet of a surprised woman. She looked up and thought it had flown off my head. I smiled, waved and walked on.
The Bateaux Mouches area was buzzing with activity. There were a lot of tour buses, hordes of people and I was concerned that I might not be able to get on a cruise tonight. I got my ticket, got into line. It got jam packed with people before the boat arrived and we began boarding. Once on the boat, the cool air on the Seine felt good (I brought a jacket along because the weather can change so quickly). We left the dock as the sun was setting. The sun sets surprisingly late here - - almost 10pm. We had just started moving when the first Eiffel Tower light show of the evening began.
Paris is the city of the lights and there's no better way to experience them on a warm evening than on a boat on the Seine. The gorgeous buildings and monuments are well lit. On warm evenings, people gather next to Seine and have picnics and parties. I was shocked that there were so many people out. Hundreds and hundreds...areas along the Seine near the Universities were like one big party. The partiers were havng fun but weren't rowdy or wild and there were a lot of families out.
Moon over Paris
At one point, we passed a small group of guys (some areas along the Seine are dark and the cruise boat has bright lights) and one of the guys decided to moon us. Extremely funny. We went all the way down the Sene past the Notre Dame then back up past the Eiffel Tower, turned around and parked. As we got past the Eiffel Tower, a cold wind suddenly came up and most of the people on the upper deck headed downstairs.
After seeing so many people walking along the Seine, even though it was 11:30p, I decided to walk back to the apartment. It was a nice leisurely walk and I arrived just before midnight.
Paris Trivia - Why was Jim Morrison buried in Paris?
This was a question I had been thinking about. Didn't his family want his body sent back to the states?
The answer: Jim Morrison's music career had declined and he moved to Paris in March 1971. He was going through a weird phase in his life, wasn't on speaking terms with his parents and he had grown a beard which made him unrecognizable. In July 1971,he died of an overdose in Paris. At the time of his death, Jim Morrison had a trial pending n Florida for lewd behavior. It seems like it was easier for his family to simply have him buried in Paris. Also, Jim Morrison's father, a retired navy admiral, thought it was an honor for Jim to be buried in the same cemetery as Chopin, Oscar Wilde and other music and literary notables. Note to those in the Bay area - one of Jim Morrison's brothers was born in Los Altos (thank you Wikipedia).
Eiffel Tower Cam
Here's a link to the live Eiffel Tower cam: http://www.paris-live.com/paris_webcam/eiffel_tower_webcams.htm
Tomorrow is my last day in Paris. I have no specific plans.
Bonne Nuit
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