I set off in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. This time I am determined not to get lost, so I work out my route carefully. It's only five or six kilometers. I pass a patisserie and I need some breakfast, so I go in. I think I will order a croissant, but wait, is it "un croissant" or "une croissant"? Maybe I should order "deux croissants" to get around that problem. But there are lots of other things in the cabinet as well, and finally I order "un pain aux raisins"; at least I know "le pain" is masculine. There is a round and jovial man in the shop talking to the lady behind the counter, and he says something to me, so I just smile and hope whatever he said didn't require a reply. I am inordinately pleased with myself as I head down the street eating my pain aux raisins.
Further down the street there is a fruit shop and I stop to buy a peach for 60 cents. The peach is so big and delicious. As I'm eating it I pass another homeless man begging on the street. I have an idea; I go back to the fruit stall and buy four more peaches and as I pass the man again, I quietly put a peach in the tray in front of him. He has his head down on his arms so he doesn't see me, but I hope when he looks up he will get a nice surprise. My solution to the homeless problem in Paris? "Let them eat peaches".
I pass a small park and there is another homeless man asleep on a park bench, and a little boy, about eight or nine, in a hooded sweatshirt and cap, sitting on the other bench. I seriously hope he is not the man's son. Living on the street would be hard enough for an adult, let alone this little boy, and who will look after him? I take another one of my peaches and hand it to the boy. "Pour toi". He looks at me, not quite sure what to think, but he takes the peach and says "merci", and watches me, holding the peach with both hands, as I carry on down the street. The warm fuzzies were worth a lot more than the 60 cents I spent on that peach.
Another few blocks and suddenly I can see the Eiffel Tower. The crowds are a lot smaller than yesterday. At the tower I buy a Tshirt for Hannah. I'm finally beginning to enjoy myself in Paris. Yesterday I was so tired and it was all so new and baffling, but here I am in one of the world's most iconic and historic cities, and I am going to explore.
I am planning to get back on the red bus, but I'm not sure where it stops, so I ask a bus driver. "Excusez-moi, ou arretent les cars rouges?" He points to the stop and I'm so proud of myself.
I 'm back on the same bus as yesterday, and now I have a good idea of the stops and the layout of the city. I decide to get off at the Louvre, as it's the main thing I want to see in Paris. The size of this building is beyond belief. It's 700 meters long and I have heard that if you spend twenty seconds in front of each piece, it would take you something like six weeks to see them all. In the courtyard, i see the iconic glass pyramid. Underneath the ground is the inverted glass pyramid, almost meeting a small marble pyramid. I read about this in the Da Vinci Code. According to the book, the bones of Mary Magdalene are entombed here.
The first area I go to is the sculptures, and seriously, I am stunned. Each is so lifelike, and the sculptors have achieved exactly the look of skin, rough fabric, silk and even lace. I am reminded of that scene in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe where the children find a giant courtyard filled with people and animals who have been petrified by the Witch.
The ancient cultures section is fascinating but what I really want is to see the paintings. You can't go to the Louvre without seeing the Mona Lisa. The paintings section is beyond description. I'm absolutely floored by the size and grandeur of some of these paintings. They are up to ten or twelve meters across and some must have taken many years to complete. I suppose they are painted on linen ir vellum, but how on earth did they make a piece that big? And how did they transport it? I get a different feeling looking at each painting. Some are serene and beautiful, but others are gruesome and full of tension. I wonder about the story behind each painting and wish I knew more about art. Josh is going to love this when he gets here next year.
Here are some paintings I recognise. John the Baptist pointing to heaven. The Virgin of the Rocks. John the Baptist portrayed as Bacchus. Leonardo certainly knew how to stir. But I'm looking for La Joconde, the Mona Lisa, and eventually I find her - the most photographed woman in the world. She has a whole wall all to herself and is guarded by security and a cordon. There are about two hundred people thronging around her with their cameras, but she is unmoved by all the attention, still smiling serenely but in that slightly disturbing way, so you wonder what she is up to.
On the opposite wall is the biggest painting I've seen- the wedding at Cana. It takes up the whole wall. I could spend hours here but I have other things I want to do, so after a quick look at the Africa and Oceania section I exit the Louvre and get back on the red bus.
Next stop, the Musee d'Orsay, where a lot of Monet paintings are kept. Oh what a disappointment - it is closed on Mondays. Oh well, there's plenty more to see. Back on the red bus, and off to the Arc de Triomphe, the world's most famous war memorial. A tunnel under the road leads to the central area. The Paris pass I bought is worth its weight in gold because I don't have to queue for tickets. It's a big climb; I count 262 steps going up in a spiral, but I must be getting fitter from all that walking because I get to the top without stopping, and what a stunning view, 360 degrees over the whole of Paris.
It 's getting towards mid afternoon though, and I still want to do the boat trip, so back on the red bus and back to the Tour Eiffel. I really enjoy the boat trip; we go under 22 bridges and there is a commentary. I listen to it in French and English. You get a different perspective on the city from the river.
If I hadn't gotten hopelessly lost in the backblocks of Paris on the way back, it would have been a perfect day. I get back right on sunset, much to my relief, and with very sore feet. Nobody was ever more grateful to get back to their hotel room!
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