Getting to Know Paris

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For the first two days, my internal clock was way off. I was sleeping when everyone else in Paris was awake and staying up all night. I've stayed pretty close to the hotel just trying to get adjusted. What I have done a lot of is walking. Each day, I try to take a different route to get to know more of the city. I figured out the bus system enough to take some of the routes to get see some of the above ground sites. The metro is great for getting around but you don't see anything. This one bus I took, went past the Bastille, through some N. African, mid east neighborhood, past Notre Dame and out to the Eiffel Tower, where I got off to find some lunch.

This little cafe/bar on a corner had a "plat de jour". They all have these specialties of the day where you get a salad, entree and perhaps a dessert for a very good price (between 11-15 E) at lunch. I ordered the fish, which came with fettuccine. When I asked for vin rouge (red wine), the waiter quickly corrected me in French and said, "No, white wine with fish". I know your supposed to drink white wine with fish, but I often prefer red. But I wasn't going to spoil the moment, so I went with his suggestion. It was very good and perfect for the meal.

This was another corner cafe with a big garden window which I was seated by looking out on a small Paris intersection. At the bar was a little man dressed to the hilt with a suit and tie and pocket scarf. My guess is he was Vietnamese. He was drunk, loud and rambling on. Remember the guy who ran the cafe in Good Morning Vietnam? That's who he reminded me of. Later, he approached my table and when he reaized I was American, he started speaking in English telling me he had a sister in Sacramento --the capital of Calif. Since I was born there, I know where it was, but he insisted on repeating this bit of info over and over. My waiter, in a paternal way, distracted the man away. All in all, it was a nice time.

Then I walked over to an area off of Rue de Cler. There are all kinds of outdoor shops that spill out onto the street. It's a pedestrian only street. On the way there was a park where several groups of men were playing games of bowling in the dirt. I remember this game from 30 years ago when I was here.

Hope this brings the blog a little more current. Now that I've found this nice cybercafe, I can keep this up a bit better. So far, it's been a great time and my body is beginning to be in sinc with Paris.

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Comments

[World Quest]

Excellent Blog
We're planing a trip to Paris next Spring, so I'm enjoying reading about your travels in the city and hope to pick up some good tips. :)