Paris ... walking goes hardcore

Our first full day in Paris was a little bit like Gilligan’s three hour cruise. We set out to do a 4 hour self-guided walking tour but it took us 8 hours and didn’t hit everything we were “supposed” to see.  Among the sites we did see ... Cathédrale de Notre-Dame and a million or so gargoyles, the Latin Quarter where students and dissidents traditionally gather to rally and debate, the Conciergerie where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned before her execution and Sainte Chapelle the home of some spectacular stained glass.  (Chapelle is also the namesake of the catholic girls high school near my childhood home in New Orleans.  Never underestimate the perks of living close to a girls high school.:-)) But I digress ... as usual.

Although we are doing a lot of walking in Paris, we're also taking advantage of the city's "mass transit" system.  The Métropolitain system (mostly underground) has 16 lines, 300 stations and 384 stops.  It carries 4.5 million passengers a day, and an annual total of 1.479 billion. It is also famous for its station architecture, influenced by Art Nouveau. We also find the bus system very helpful - the #69 can get us pretty close to most places and is a short walk from "home".

Today, we also went to Shakespeare & Co. Booksellers - originally started by Sylvia Beach and a hangout for ex-pat authors and critics such as Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, George Antheil, Man Ray and James Joyce.  It's a funky, eclectic place that I could make a whole day of.  Writers are so often the voice of reason, curiosity, retrospection, introspection, vision and change.  This stop was also special because when I completed my studies at the University of Washington, my mother took me to the Sylvia Beach Hotel on the Oregon Coast.  It's a place for book lovers - no TV or internet - only books, cats, wind and waves.  I stayed in the Hemingway room with a big orange house cat.  Life has a certain circular nature to it.


Another highlight of our first day in Paris was dinner at a local restaurant.  We met Pierre, our waiter and a very nice young man who recently started a new venture (with a major silent financial partner), whereby one can invest in expensive (> 100,00 €) art without buying the whole piece.  It’s kind of like an investment fund dedicated to a certain type of stock or commodity.  Anyway, the venture sounded quite interesting and Pierre certainly was.  He provided some excellent tips for the remainder of our visit - and offered to give us waltz lessons before we left for Vienna. Vicki and I decided we were beyond any dancing help that could be obtained in one evening.  We exchanged information with Pierre and will continue to stay in touch.