Paris - Day 2

Day 2 dawned with much promise. We had a busy schedule planned - trying to cram in as much as possible before Fiona turned 30 and we were forced to slow down ...

We had a nice leisurely lie-in, much appreciated by someone whose alarm usually rings at 6am. We decided to skip the 16 euro (each!) continental breakfast at the hotel and wander down the street to the local patisserie. Three croissants and a pan du chocolat later we were fueled up and ready to go. Actually it took us a while to come down from our carbohydrate high. There really is nothing like wandering the relatively quiet morning streets of Paris eating a warm, fresh croissant.

Our first stop was the Musee D'Orsay, located just off the Seine across from the Grand Louvre. We stopped a few times for pictures and to make sure our pace did not increase above leisurely. One of our stops involved this older lady who picked up a large, gold wedding band that was at my feet. She offered it to me, but I assured her it wasn't mine. She told us she couldn't keep it, she wasn't allowed to wear jewelry. While I tried to convince her to just leave it where it lay, some authentic Parisiens walked by and gave Fiona a stern "Non, non!" and a finger wag as exclamation. We eventually walked off, leaving the woman with the ring, who lingered around the area for some time. Fiona was convinced there had been no ring on the sidewalk before the woman arrived. It turned out that we had walked into one of Paris' more common/confusing tourist scams. How it is supposed to work: the woman bends down and pretends to pick a ring up close to your feet. The ring is large, looks gold and is usually of the wedding band variety. She asks if it is yours. When you say no, she tells you to take it, saying she can't keep it for a variety of reasons (depending on the creativity of your con-person). In an ideal situation you pocket the ring, at which point she notes that she's hungry and can you give her a few euros for lunch. You hand over a few coins, and they ask for more, noting that she just gave you a rather large ring. You hand over more and a few days/months/years later you realize that the ring is made of worthless brass. After the one that happened to us, we saw it happen on no less than three more occasions, including another attempt on us by the same woman. This ring scam goes side-by-side with the "do you speak english" and bracelet scams. Tourists beware!

Back to more positive stuff. The Musee d'Orsay was phenomenal. As huge fans of the impressionists we immensely enjoyed most of the 5 floors. We got our fill of Van Gogh's, Monets, Manets, Degas and Renoir. I found I am a closet fan of Camille Pissaro, while Fiona discovered her taste for Fantin-Latour. We also got our fill of sculpture - not something we get a lot of, and enjoyed a set piece on the old Chat Noir shadow theatre. They had many of the cut-outs that they used to project plays on display. Tres cool. We also got to take pictures ("sans flash"), which is unusual, so we've included some of our faves in the post.

Next stop was a busy brasserie across the street for a lunch of quiche Lorraine and croque-monsieur, washed down avec biere et vin. Tres bon!

We wandered over to the Place de la Concord to view the square and it's golden topped obelisk. I think every city should have an obelisk. Our Egyptian hieroglyphics is a little rusty, so no translation. Next to the square are the rather impressive gates to the Jardin du Tuilleries. We grabbed a glacee chocolat to aid us in our wanderings. We passed some time sitting on a bench watching the people go by - one of our now favorite things to do in Paris. At the end of the jardins is the Grand Louvre. I can't imagine how much time it must take to go through the inside of that museum. It is absolutely ginormous! We toured the outside and took the appropriate pictures to ensure that everyone knows we've been there. If we have a rainy day maybe we'll actually go inside. If not, well it gives us a reason to come back.

Last stop of the day was L'Hotel des Invalides - an old army hospital that has been turned into a military museum. We quickly ran through a few exhibits including one on medieval armour. The real prize is the L'Eglise du Dome "tucked" in behind. If your planning on building yourself a tomb that people will gawk at, you should come here for tips. Monsieur Bonaparte had to build something quite large to fit both his tiny body and huge ego, and he did a magnificent job. The detailed work is incredibly impressive and sufficiently awe-inspiring. If you need a refresher on just exactly how awesome Napoleon (thought he) was, take some time at L'Eglise du Dome. Fiona took plenty of notes and has sworn to me that she will build something bigger and better once I bite the dust.

We just finished a quiet dinner at a local Italian restaurant recommended by the hotel. We plan to put up our aching feet and prepare for more walking tomorrow.