Day 3 (Oct 4th) Paris in Paris and Normandy travel log

Originally I had planned to go to Orsay museum in the morning, stroll through the Tuillerie garden, Madaleine church, and the Opera Garner in the afternoon, and then catch the sunset on the Eiffel Tower, but that plan went up in smoke because we overslept. My phone stopped charging in the middle of the night and ran out of battery, so its alarm did not go off. And I hadn’t told La Professeure the plans for the day, so she didn’t wake up early either.

By the time we were ready to get outside, it was already 11 - too late even for the hotel’s breakfast buffet.

So a change of plans. Instead of the Orsay museum (which will be packed anyway because it’s the first Sunday of the month when it’s free admission), we went to see the Pantheon instead, by way of the botanical garden. We grabbed McDonalds (fastest lunch option), and took the Metro to Gare de Lyon, then walked across the bridge to the Botanical garden. I’m glad we took the bridge, though, because it made for pretty sighting. But by the time we went on the bridge it was already 1, about the same time we started our own visits from yesterday.

The botanical garden is not a touristy spot; there were lots of families and kids running around, and a lot of locals. The place was nice too, but many of the exhibits were closed… I think because it’s a Sunday?? We went up a little gazebo in the middle of a maze, which was fun.

After that, we walked though the Latin Quarter to the Pantheon. It was a Sunday so everything is closed, except for a square Place de la Contrescarpe, which was hopping with people having coffee or wine at the sidewalk cafes. It was very odd. We spent a lot of time at the Pantheon - at least an hour, maybe more; it’s a beautiful church, but with sculptures, paintings and exhibits celebrating freedom and scientific progress (like the Foucault pendulum hanging from the dome). The arts were pretty too. La Professeure and I went down to the crypt to visit the permanent residents there, like Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Madame Currie (I didn’t know that her husband also won a Nobel, but just one… so he was still the under-performing one of the couple). So La Professeure had a good time there.

Afterwards, we stopped by a sidewalk cafe nearby to get hot chocolate (it was a cold day, but we also figured, since we are intellectuals and we were in the Latin quarter, we may as well). We poked into the church of Saint Etienne-du-Mont next door just because it was there. I really like that neighborhood. Reminds me of the Upper West Side or the West Village.

We then took the subway to Opera Garnier. This is one of the place that I had visited before and don’t mind seeing again. I was very disappointed that, by the time we got there, they were not issuing visitor tickets anymore. It was 4:45 and they probably need to clear the house for a performance. (Or maybe a shooting, I noticed lots of camera equipment on the balcony). So it was a bust. The only thing productive thing was that I got an over-priced ballet-slipper-shaped pencil box for Schnookie, who is starting kindergarten this year. So from the Opera we walked to the Madeleine church, went inside and looked around. It is a big church, but somehow we were not as impressed. I suppose after all the big cathedrals we’ve been to, this was just another one. I appreciated the art, sculptures and paintings in the church though. The organ (Saint-Saens and Faure both worked as organists there) was barely visible because it was so dark. Unfortunately for us we will miss the organ concert (they have one next week), but La Professeure’s dad, who worked as an organist in his church for 17 years, will have the chance to hear it. So that’s good.

From the church, La Professeure wanted to get coffee, so we went to a Starbucks nearby for a second cafe visit of the day (second day, second starbuck visit). Though, at the Latin quarter we both got hot chocolate, so I guess that didn’t count (?). Then we walked down Rue de la Paix toward the Tuilerrie gardens, and when we got to Place Vendome to the Place Vendome volume covered in a giant box, like a building-sized box of toothpaste, with the picture of Place Vendome on it. I just found it hilarious that was under repair, but they somehow managed to show its picture. We passed through Tuilleries gardens, took pictures of the Obelisque du Luxor, and to the Grand and Petite Palais. All the while I was surprised at how quiet it was. The Concord and the gardens were reasonably busy, but the connecting route between them, not so much. That area reminded me of the Upper East side, with the expensive cars and high-end shops. Our rep told us on our first day about a saying: you go to the Left Bank to think, and you go to the Right Bank to spend. I guess there is something to that. Just like the Upper East Side vs Upper West Side cultural difference.

We crossed Pont Alexandre III back to the Left Bank, and walked through the Invalides garden towards the Military school. But before we got there, we got hungry, so we stopped by a small pizza joint along Rue de Grenelle and got food. It was a nice contrast from the big-name high-end stores we were seeing. Afterwards, we made our way to Champs de Mars. To my surprise, there were not many people where we entered. We took our requisite Eiffel pictures (it was night already, and the tower was lit up), and I was wondering if La Professeure wanted to go up, when she said “it still looks like a cell tower.” I guess she was not impressed. So we walked all the way towards the tower, under it, through it, and onto the river. By the river, there were so many tourists and it was so crowded, I was glad we decided not to go up to it. It made for a nice visit anyway.

We caught a Metro back to the Arc de Triomphe, where we walked all the way back to the hotel to veg. I didn’t feel tired yesterday, but my legs were sore from the walking today. I wonder why. My workplace moved our office a week before I took my vacation, and the new place has standing desks for everyone, and I’ve been standing at work half the time. I found that standing still was the most difficult, but using a bongo board really helped. And since I have actually been praising on my co-workers’ bongo boards, I had no problem adjusting to using it. So I have thought that the week’s training of being on my feet most of the time would help, but I’m surprised that I could still get tired from walking 3 hours a day.

All in all it was a good day; I didn’t get to see Musee d’Orsay or the inside of Opera Garner, but everything else made up for it.

Last updated October 23, 2015