Day 6 - Paris

Today was my first and last full day at Paris. I had a bunch of things scheduled, and I wanted to get a good lunch. Per Sung's recommendations on getting value lunches and making reservations, I picked out a decent restaurant far away from the touristy area and made an online reservation for 12 noon. I left my hotel at 10, to give myself 2 hours to walk around and enjoy the off-the-beaten-path scenery. I stopped by a local cafe for the classic Parisian breakfast, which is simply a cup of coffee and a bit of pastry.

Cafe creme, croissant, and two sweet balls. One was filled with custard. Total was 4.60 EUR. Excellent!

Those sweet ball pastries were delightful to eat. Very light and fluffy. One was coated with sugary glaze, the other was filled with custard cream. I could probably down about 20 of them in one sitting. One thing about ordering coffee in Paris - there's no 'latte' or 'cappuccino' unless you go to Starbucks, or the place is catering to tourists. The locals would order a cafe creme instead. But with that perfect French accent, where the r in creme sort of rolls out from the back of your throat.

Speaking of French. It's such a difficult language to pronounce. One of the train station is named Franklin Roosevelt. When I first heard it said by the train announcement speaker, it took me a while to link what he said to the station name. It sounds nothing like the english version. I'd often repeat the station names after it's said out loud through the speakers. But the French 'r' is something I'd probably never fully master (it is quite similar to the German 'r', I think). I can't roll my double 'r's in Spanish, either.

I wish I had studied at least some basic French before getting here. People have been very friendly, when I ask them to take a picture for me. I would ask in English, but they'd respond in French. I later learned that it's somewhat rude to start a conversation with a stranger without greeting them with 'Bonjour' first. Would be better if I could even start the conversation with a little bit of French, and  then transition into English when my French fails. Anyways, even though I made this faux pas (heh), they were still very nice to me.

However, I experienced rudeness for the first time today. I had made the reservation at the restaurant at noon, but I arrived a bit early, so I went inside at 11:52 AM. There were 3 guys sitting at the table. I did start with a "Bonjour" this time, and told them I had reservation at noon. But one of the guys told me that the restaurant was closed (and from the tone, there was an added implication that said "so get out"). I apologized and quickly left. Maybe the French take their opening hours seriously, and it is I who made a mistake. Even still, I wasn't in any mood to eat there any longer, and went to a different place near by.

I also came across this:

Monument in Place de la Republique

It's a memorial statue in the plaza, commemorating the French Republic. But now it's been used to commemorate the dead from the Paris terror attacks. The monument itself seemed to be heavily vandalized, but I learned later that legitimate street artists and graffiti artists collaborated to display their feelings and thoughts, and was approved by the authorities to do so. Seeing this in person was very touching, and showing a picture of it here doesn't do it any justice.

Rest of the day was spent by visiting the Louvre, Luxor Obelisk (check!), Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower.

In front of the Luxor Obelisk. Donated by Egypt. The only one in France.

One comment about the Louvre. It is huge. It's definitely the place to go if you're interested in art. My art interest level is about a 2 out of 10, so I walked past most of the art pieces that I came across.  However, as far as exploring the place, I probably only went through a quarter of it. The sheer number of artwork displayed is just mind blowing, and after a while I became numb to the flood of great art coming at me.

One view of the Louvre. On the left is the iconic glass pyramid. I would have liked a keychain of that, but I couldn't find one.