A Little Bit of Everything

Today (Sunday) was our first full day with Emily. I had brought a very large suitcase from Arizona full of stuff she had not been able to bring with her back in September, so the three of us hauled it over to her dorm (she lives on Ile Saint Louis, an island in the middle of the Seine).

Em's dorm room is on the fourth floor of a quaint old building, and it overlooks a courtyard with lots of green growth and a bad-tempered black cat.

By the time we had shlepped the suitcase halfway across Paris, Teri was ready to eat (actually, Em and I were, too). We found a nice-looking restaurant whose entrees were well under 20 Euros, so in we went. The waiter did his best to speak English to us, and was quite amused with his attempts. Even so, he managed to misinterpret Emily's order for an espresso and broght three coffees, not one. Teri acted surprised, and even though he acknowledged that he had been stupid and wrong, he still charged us for all 3.

A short trip on the Metro, and we arrived at the Musée d'Orsay. Once through security and heading for the main exhibit, Teri remarked that it was great to enter a venue and not need to eat!

The Musée d'Orsay is Paris' museum of Impressionist art. Housed in a beautiful old train station, it is the perfect setting for exhibits. We saw paintings by Renoir, Van Gogh, Manet, Monet, and many others. We even saw Whistler's Mother, and even though it was bigger than I had imagined, it was just as boring as I remembered from grade school.

After we'd had enough (and the museum was closing), we headed for the famed Angelina, a restaurant and bakery that is known for the BEST HOT CHOCOLATE IN THE WORLD.

We discovered that we could cut straight across the Tuileries Gardens (once the royal gardens of the Tuileries Palace, West of the Louvre) to the North, and finally get that hot chocolate from Angelina. As we approached the area, the sidewalk was clogged with people... all waiting to get in at Angelina. No hot chocolate for you!

A bit crestfallen, we headed for the nearest Metro station since we had decided that
before getting dinner we would go visit Emily's apartment (she's sub-letting it for a month over the holidays from an Australian woman). The neighborhood is a tad iffy, and the 5 locks on the door confirm that I'm not the only one who thinks this. Still, it is a cozy little place, and Em can get a better idea of what it is like to live alone.

Back on the Metro again, this time stopping at the Hard Rock Cafe. We thought it might be nice to get a little taste of home, and Emily said it was the first American cheeseburger she had eaten since leaving the U.S. The food was good, the music was loud, and my diet coke was over $6.

Anyone who has dined out with Teri knows that she always has to modify the items she orders in some fashion. We heard from multiple sources that the French don't do this, and that waiters don't like it. Amazingly, Teri has completely resisted the temptation to ask to "leave something off," or "cook it without oil," or make some substitution! But at the Hard Rock Cafe, it must have felt too much like home. She ordered a hamburger and asked the waiter to toast the bun dry (the menu stated they were buttered and toasted)... and he took it all in stride.

we bid Emily a good night, and walked home. We had big plans to take our shoes off, upload photos, and do a little blogging.


Eclair Watch: While I was showering this morning, Teri got dressed quickly and ran down to the bakery... which is it turns out is closed on Sunday. Tomorrow, maybe?