Paris: Sunday, Muddy Sunday

By the Sunday, I was sloshing about the city. I didn't have anything specific to do while I was waiting for my train, so I just wandered the streets and took some more photos.

Paris: An Umbrella-eye View

The Tuileries Garden

I went to the Louvre, thinking that no one would be out and about on a day like that. Check out the queue.

So, that's Paris in about 48 hours. With the Eurostar, it's so quick and easy, and not very expensive if you book the tickets in advance.

I do want to make one other comment about the trip. I've really liked most of the French people I've met, but I had some French flatmates here in Cambridge who were the 2 most reprehensible, sub-human specimens I've ever met. I would prefer to share a flat with Jeffrey Dahmer. So my opinion of the French could've gone either way at this point.

The people of Paris have a reputation for rudeness, even amongst the other French. But on this trip they were great. People gave us directions, the serving people were nice, no problems. I don't know if it was because it was outside the tourist season, or because we were speaking French, but for some reason they were behaving themselves admirably. Well played, Paris.

Paris: November Rain

The weather got incrementally worse as the trip went on. Friday at Pere Lachaise was very pleasant, but it was raining by nightfall when we did the boat tour. Saturday morning was fairly unpleasant.

We met at the Moulin Rouge.

We went to a flea market in the south of Paris. I don't think we saw the best of it. It was a real hodge-podge of old rubbish, but the weather was awful and we were probably a bit late.

In the afternoon, we did a walk to Sacre Coeur.

Then we went to the National Museum of Modern Art at the famous inside-out Pompidou Centre. I'd never been there before - it was very good. It had a Len Lye video.

Paris: City of Light

Paris is unquestionably prettier than London. We roamed the streets one evening, and took a tour along the Seine on a bateau-mouche.

This bloke, near Notre Dame, was twirling flaming batons.

Paris: Pere Lachaise

When we went to Paris, my cousin said that she wanted to see Pere Lachaise. I said I didn't know what that is but I wanted to see the graveyard where they buried Jim Morrison. Sigh.

Much like the Rakowicki graveyard in Krakow, Pere Lachaise was THE place to be buried. The list of VIPs is pretty impressive. It looked very pretty when we were there - it must've been late autumn by then, but a lot of the leaves were still on the trees.

Jim Morrison's Grave

Wow, that was underwhelming.

Oscar Wilde's grave was more interesting. Besides being a bizarre modernist looking sculpture, it is covered in lipstick. Apparently, people mark it with kisses as a sign of respect.

The statue originally had a wang, but that disappeared. To lose one testicle may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.