La Marseillaise

I'm running out of French songs so we better go home soon. It's Tuesday night and we had another full and wonderful day. Got up a little earlier and had breakfast across the street in a cute patisserie. I had a buttery croissant with tea and Jeff had an apple tart with milk. Then we Metro'd to the Musee Orsay. It was a mob scene and we had to wait in the ticket line as our museum passes expired. The museum was to be one of the highlights for me and I was a little (lot) disappointed. They're doing major renovations and have moved everything around and also lots of important pieces are out on loan. When I tried to find Whistler's Mother I found she is on siesta in Madrid for the year. Hope she has a nice visit, but I missed seeing her. We did view lots of important pieces, but the temporary galleries had poor lighting and we had a hard time following our audio guide. Still a good experience and the building is impressive. It was formerly the train station.

Had a great lunch in a tiny restaurant where I ordered the cheese plate. Small wedges of brie and another soft cheese were arranged on a small salad along with goat cheese, walnuts and vinaigrette dressing. Add delicious French bread and I was in heaven. Actually the French eat this after their meal as a dessert, but I don't care. Jeff had tiny lamb chops and mashed potatoes. Most of you know that mashed potatoes are my favorite food and I haven't had any potatoes since we got here, so I was looking at Jeff's plate with lust. He let me have a taste and they were good. I did behave myself and one forkful was it for me as I didn't want to wrestle with Jeff in the restaurant. Most of these places have a long row of two top tables right next to each other. They pull the table out so you can slide in and sit on the banquette and the other person sits on a chair facing you. It's impossible to get out to use the "toilette" or wrestle until you are done eating and released from your seat. Another thing I've noticed is the bread basket. Every place has little wicker or metal baskets and none of them puts a napkin or doily in it. They don't even shake out the crumbs from the previous diners. I don't even want to think about it.

After our repast we got back on the Metro and travelled out to Montmarte. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and much warmer and a good time to explore this artsy area. We walked to the foot of the hill with gleaming white Sacre Coeur sitting atop. Looking at the many, many steps we decided to take the funicular up and that was a wise decision. At the top there were throngs of people and most were teens or twenty somethings. Lots of musicians with drums or guitars were playing on or near the steps and you had to weave around these groups and more just sitting and soaking up the atmosphere. From this high perch you look out at all of Paris below you and it is a picturesque scene. The church is Byzantine style and has many onion shaped domes. It's very beautiful and the inside has an incredible altar and ceiling. We sat for a while and walked around and then went to explore the surrounding area.

Lots of artists painting in the square and more cafe sitters watching life stroll by them. We found a good looking gelato store and treated ourselves to some tasty flavors. Walked past the shops with touristy merchandise and didn't find any art we wanted to purchase. We backtracked to the church foregoing a longer tour in our guidebook and walked down the many steps to the town. By this time we were tired and decided to go to an early dinner and back to the hotel.

The Metro system is so good and the signage is wonderful. Jeff has it all figured out and even has the system in his iPod so he can check which train to take while we're on the move. We decided to eat in Saint Germain and found a place with French food. There are hundreds of restaurants in this area and all of them have signs out front displaying their menus. Many have pimps who stand outside and try to lure you inside with the promise of free wine and desserts. One guy wanted us to eat at his Greek restaurant and just could not understand that I wanted French food. He should try his hand at used cars and could probably make a nice living.

So we settled in at a quiet place and I had a green salad with warm goat cheese and canard a l'orange. I know I don't usually eat meat, but just had a yen for duck and it was very good. Came with escalloped potatoes so I was a happy girl. Jeff had a nice steak with pommes frites and that always makes him smile. I finished it off with a nice mousse au chocolat and Jeff chose tarte tatin (apple) for his dessert. We're probably the only two people in Paris who don't drink wine with their meals, but no one gives us a hard time about it.

Walked back to our hotel which is a comfortable distance and took off a few calories. Now we're resting and reading and planning our activites for our last day in Paris.