Not only is the Eiffel Tower beautiful, but all the buildings in the city are exactly my style. I started playing a game where I tried to find a building I didn't like and well, it took a while!
One of the great things about staying with a friend is that we could enjoy the days. The first morning she picked up a fresh baguette and croissants for breakfast and we just took our time with breakfast looking out the window at the Eiffel tower. Then we headed out for a bit of site-seeing: the Opera, the Galleries Lafayette (with the most amazing ceiling in any shopping center in the world, heck just about any building in the world!), Sacre-Coeur (but the rain blocked the view of the city), Place du Tertre (artist square), some macaroons & cookies, and then to lunch at a nice little organic cafe. Then on for some more: St. Germain des Pres, the Palais du Luxembourg gardens, and the Latin quarter.
Then that night we headed to the Great Irish Houses (yep, that's right the Irish Culture Center) for a concert in this tiny chapel. It was really well done. Then we went to dinner with friends of my friend who we had met for the concert. That night when we got home I got to see the 1 am lights of the tower where they only leave the sparkling ones on. Gorgeous.
The next morning we got up and she made a fantastic, big breakfast and then we headed to the Grand Palais for FIAC. It is a huge international contemporary art show in Paris once a year. I really enjoyed (most of) it, but by the end I just needed to sit. All that contemporary art can be exhausting. Plus it can be hard to be judgmental all day, I mean let's be honest, a huge block of taxidermy animals is not art. Sorry.
The highlight of the day though was dinner. We went to dinner at a man named Jim Haynes's house. For the past 30 years he has been hosting dinner at his house every Sunday night and has between 50-60 people over. You call to get on the list for the night and then you go and just meet people. It was so amazing. I met an author working on her 2nd book, a model in town for Fashion week, a few retirees, a poet, some students, and more. All ages and all walks of life. We ate amazing food and met all sorts of people. Jim was involved in the theater and whatnot and knows all sort of famous people and just loves to connect people. Check out the website (http://www.jim-haynes.com/index.htm).
The next day my friend went to work, so I did the tourist thing. I went up in the Arc de Triomphe for a perfect view, down to the Louvre, then to Notre Dame (loved the stained glass inside), and then to the Shakespeare and Co. English bookstore. Then I wandered around the Latin Quarter (ok, I admit it, the first 15 minutes was wandering, the next hour was trying to figure out where I was). Then to the Rodin museum which was closed, although I think I saw the back of "The Thinker" when I peeked through the gate and bushes.
Then I grabbed a fresh baguette and cheese for dinner and headed to the airport.
Observations:
- People only have those tiny "non-dog" dogs in Paris
- Every person in a service industry speaks English (a far cry from Lyon)
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