A five-euro umbrella against mother nature

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Paris was great as was the last time I visited. And just like the last time I was here, the weather was not very cooperative. Rain was the name of the game all day Sunday. Sunday happened to be the day that I also meet up with my friends from home Casey and Tricia as well as with Tricia’s friend Liz from the UW. We met up in the morning at the Notre Dame during which time the rain was just beginning to worsen. I decided I would go against my Seattle roots and purchase an umbrella. And being the cheap guy I am, I had in my mind I wasn’t going to spend more than 5-euros on one. Bad idea. The thing broke within 10 minutes of me buying it. First the handle nob thing fell off, and then a little gust of wind (more like someone blowing) snapped a couple of the support beams and I was left with a broken umbrella for the rest of the day. The thing was a mess, but it gave us some good laughs and still somewhat protected us against the hurricane force rain and wind that we endured waiting to get into the Modern Art Museum.

It was fun hanging out with Casey and Tricia and hearing about Casey’s adventures in Salamanca and Tricia’s soon to be adventures in Rome. We spent the early part of the afternoon in the Modern Art Museum looking at things that I had a hard time calling art, but I guess that is the idea of a modern art museum. We walked around the Louvre and the gardens despite the rain and went together to dinner at a recommended place called Boullion Chartier near my hotel. It was very touristy, but authentic French and very good. They didn’t have the veal I wanted, but the beef was excellent instead as was the duck liver that we sampled for an appetizer. The cool thing about this place was that the orders were simply written on the table cloth and then added up afterwards when you wanted to pay. After dinner, we parted ways as Tricia and Casey were both really tired from the train ride up from Madrid.

The day before, on Saturday, I spend with two people rooming all the famous places within Paris (places that I had already seen) as it was a somewhat sunny day. We walked a lot but enjoyed the exercise after a couple long bus rides. That night was also a very special dinner in the Louvre with both Eurovision groups. Once the museum closed, we got to go in for a private dinner at the café just inside the pyramid. It was a full three course meal (I had the salmon) and included endless wine. It was quite the experience to be able to say I have dined in the Louvre and it was fun getting to meet some of the people in the other group. Following dinner, we also were treated to a boat ride along the river which was beautiful at night. The night finished late around 4 after a big group of us went to a Irish pub called O’Sullivans close to the hotel where there was fun music (not just techno which usually defines European club music) and dancing.

Next Stop: Geneva

INTERESTING FACT: Bus drivers in Europe must abide by very strict rules. They can only drive for 3.5 hours at a time and then must have a 45-minute break. The also have to have a full day off after four days of driving, can drive three more, and then must have two full days off. All of this is kept track on a chip inside the bus that police can view if the bus is pulled over. It is really strange, but the reason that we stayed two full days in Paris.

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Photos

The Girls in the Group
I guess the guys weren't organized enough to get a pic

Comments

[tana]

cheap umbrellas can be found in Italy too
Laughed out loud at your umbrella entry. Very similar thing happened to Uncle Richard and I while we were in Italy. Uncle Richard looked at your picture and said " that looks exactly like your umbrella, which lasted about 10 mins, too." Like you, it provided some great laughs throughout the day.