Paris Interlude

I sometimes wonder if this entire adventure has not been an exercise in developing coping skills.  The missed San Francisco appointment, the delayed British Air flight and resultant missing luggage, various technical computer issues, and now the missed train connection in Montpelier have all served as lessons in patience and perseverance.  Funny, I thought I already possessed those skills, but perhaps the universe thinks otherwise.

Cold morning and a late train

Because of climate conditions, the train out of Carcassonne to Montpelier was delayed on Thanksgiving morning, causing me to arrive in Paris later than I had planned.  So what? It just gave Diane and Jerry more time to explore Montmartre on their own and make it uniquely theirs.  Upon our arrival in Montpelier, SNCF, the French national train line had tickets waiting for all of us who'd missed the earlier scheduled TGV.  I rode in comfort, wrote in my journal, and arrived two hours later than I had planned. No big deal, really.

Once I arrived at Gare du Lyon, I hopped the metro and headed off to Montmartre.  I called the Moffits from the subway (wondering why there is decent cell service underground in Paris, but I can't even get a signal at certain places in Brookings) and they met me at the Abbesses metro station.

Abbesses dresses for Christmas

And thus began a whirlwind two and a half days of Paris experiences.  I experienced the strong sensation, as I always do, of coming home when I walked out into the air of Montmartre, and it was great fun for me to see Diane and Jerry exploring the city I so love.

Diane and Jerry at Abbesses

Trying to experience Paris in less than three days is like trying to speed read through the old Encyclopedia Brittanica.   It is an impossible task and hard choices have to be made. There were things we simply couldn't see-like the inside of the Louvre, or the beautiful stained glass of Saint Chapelle, the Orsay.  I think we managed to give Jerome a taste of Paris, with a heavy seasoning of Montmartre, because it's my favorite and it's what I know best. 

La Tour flirts

Thursday night we took the metro over to the Trocadero, for what I think is the best view of the Eiffel Tower.  We were there for the on the hour ligt show, which still has the power to delight me.  I hope I always can be delighted by her flirtations.

The Butte with all Paris at its feet

We "did" Montmartre, or at least the east end of it--Abbesses, Saint Pierre, Sacre Coeur (Diane and Jerry climbed the steps while I meditated and listened to organ being tuned), street food, the carousel, the funicular. On we went to Pere LaChaise, where I made the pilgrimage to Jacky's tomb and placed there a small cyclamen. 

Crepes--street food

Chopin's tomb

We wandered our way through the city of eternal repose; it began to softly rain, and we ducked into a warm and cozy brasserie for a hot drink.  That night we ventured out in search of a jazz club, and ended up, after several dead ends, (don't trust everything you read on the Internet-sometimes it's outdated) at a little place on Boulevard Clichy.  It might have been the perfect Paris experience.  Friday was a wonderful day.

The most wonderful thing for me was getting to see Jerry play the piano in a Paris cafe. It was the only night I had not brought along my camera. I am still kicking myself, but for the photo, check out Diane Moffit's Facebook page. She got a couple of great shots.

Lots of time on the Metro

Notre Dame

Saturday morning we bought our Paris to Carcassonne train tickets at the Gare du Nord, while scoping out the route that Diane and Jerry will take when they return through Paris on their way to London. We hopped the #4 to Cite, where we encountered a small car show of old taxis and police cars.  We walked to Notre Dame, where mass was being held. 

We also "did" lunch on the left bank, the bouquinistes, the Louvre from the outside.  The weather was perfect for a stroll along the Seine.

Thousands of locks adorn the wire mesh bridges of the Seine

The crowds thickened;  I have to confess to a little surprise at the number of tourists.  I can speak only for myself when I say that I was exhausted.

A perfect stroll along the Seine day

At the Arc de Triomphe, my feet finally balked when presented with the prospect of more steps and a hike to get to actually stand under the arch.  I volunteered to sit on the bench while Jerry and Diane made the trek, but they were soon back with a description of a 9 Euro fee and another long line.  We were completely saturated. 

The Louvre

 A metro ride back to the apartment was about all I had left in me; I needed some down time.  I revived a little after a hot shower, but we were all in bed early, because we had to be up and out of the house to catch our 7:15 train back to Carcassonne.

The trip back home started with racing pulses and a flood of adrenaline.  I was convinced we were going to miss our 7:00 train to Carcassonne.  I had not counted on having to wait so long for the metro; normally the trains run more frequently. It was prophetic that the last thing the ticket agent had said to me was "Don't miss the train."  It seemed that the two later TVG's were completely full. Obviously we made the connections and got to the train on time, but with less than 5 minutes to spare.

A funny thing has occured, though.  I love Paris--j'aime Paris.  But I think I am loving Carcassonne more. I can hardly believe those words came out of my brain. Paris is/was wonderful, but I am glad to be back home. 

A beautiful day in the most beautiful city