We headed out on the Metro and arrived at our destination and started our walk. We have found that some of the monuments are close to the Metro and some aren't. Picasso's isn't. We felt like we hadn't logged our 7 miles for a couple of days so we didn't complain. We arrived at Picasso and found a line outside talking amongst themselves. We gathered that something was wrong and soon found out that the Museum was closed until later due to "security reasons". We have figured out that when something is closed due to security reasons, it means that probably the person who checks the bags didn't show up for work!
I thought that a couple of hours delay in the Marais district would be OK but soon found out that neither Jim nor I were in the shopping mood.
We checked our Metro map and decided to go see Princess Diana's memorial. We knew where it was (close to the area where she was killed) and so we took off again on the Metro (another route, another area). When we came out of the Metro we were surprised to see right at the exit the memorial. Let me explain about the memorial. It is a copy of the torch of the Statue of Liberty that signifies friendship between the French and Americans. It is now also the "unofficial" memorial to Princess Diana as she was killed in the tunnel right underneath the Libertie Memorial, a huge torch
(see picture). What people have done though is place flowers, pictures and memories of her on this area and it has now become "her" memorial. The concrete wall that blocks off the tunnel which would otherwise be nondescript, has words and tributes written all over it to her.
After lunch, we found our way back home using yet another Metro route (I stopped to do a little shopping) and figured that we had just circled the city that morning and accomplished very little.
For dinner we found a little restaurant in our area that serves fondue so we had cheese fondue (yummy), a salad and boiled potatoes. For dessert we couldn't resist the chocolate fondue but, sad to say, not nearly as good as the Melting Pot's.
I had wanted to show Jim Sacre Coeur at nighttime since I think it is one of the most beautiful churches at night. Since it requires use of the Metro, I planned the trip to the Sacre Coeur and then thought we should transfer to another Metro and take the loop around the Eiffel Tower and see it again at night. The Metro that goes by the Eiffel Tower goes above ground so my plan was to be on the Metro between 9:00 and 9:10 while the lights were twinkling.
Everything was going well until we reached the Metro line that was the Eiffel Tower line. The train pulled up and wouldn't open its doors. It pulled away and since it wasn't even full we couldn't figure out what was wrong. Then we waited for another train which finally came but now I am starting to sweat since I could see that we were cutting it close. Sure enough, another delay. We just sat in one station for about 5 minutes and then I knew that we would miss it. Sure enough, we rode by the lit but not "twinkling" Eiffel Tower at 9:18 pm. We finished our circuit (the 2nd loop around Paris in a day) and got back to the apartment about 1:45 minutes after we left dinner.
As Robert Burns said, "The best laid plans of mice and men"....Speaking of mice, you should see all the mice in the Metro areas at night! YUCK!!! Print this post
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