PARIS TRIP: DAY 10: Paris
Paris, Friday, 23 June 06
9:30 am
I got up at 7:45. Christophe was leaving at around eight, and he said Renaud had left earlier. He said they (certainly he) would be back early tonight and suggested we go out for dinner or something. That would be nice. I haven’t really go to talk to them much, especially not to Renaud. He also said that Renaud’s cousin who was supposed to visit during the weekend isn’t coming, so I could easily stay on.
I updated the journal with the little that happened yesterday, and then stupidly, read three short stories from a book that Leonie had lent me for the trip, but I had not started. That was silly as there isn’t a lot of time left in Paris, and there is still a lot to see. I also need to check the internet, and call the lady who had offered to host me today and tomorrow.
(written on 24 June)
Another partly wasted day. I continued reading Leonie’s book (short stories by Ruth Rendell) until it was midday, and then I showered and got out at 1 pm. First I went to St. Michel and had a proper lunch (a set menu) at a restaurant nearby, and then I went to the internet place were I still had two or three Euros’ time. I took down the phone number of the lady who had offered to host me for today and tomorrow. I have to call her and let her know that I won’t be going to her place. I also took down some of the addresses I still have to send postcards to.
I had a brief telephone conversation with Prashanth because he texted me to suggest that I go and have a drink at their place later in the evening. He and his partner Sammy, are moving to Hongkong soon, and they were having a farewell party picnic on Saturday, an unfortunate selection of date as neither of them will be able to go for the Gay Parade. I had been invited, but won’t be going for the same reason. They were preparing for the party and hence couldn’t go out. But since I was to go out with Christophe and Renaude, I suggested we meet up after their party on Saturday, if they still had the stamina and enthusiasm.
I took the Metro to Pere Lachaise, the cemetery where a lot of famous people are buried. My guidebook, Time Out Paris, suggests a small tour, but despite being a British publication, doesn’t mention Wilde!
How terribly stupid and ignorant! I have decided to write to them and point out this and other mistakes. I think Balzac’s grave is also incorrectly marked, but I wasn’t able to get there (or to Wilde’s) because it closed before that. I have to go there again on Saturday morning. I only one I could find were that of Chopin, a few others and of and the Egyptologist and decipherer of Hieroglyphics, Champollion.
Chris had suggested visiting the Gare de Lyon station, because he thought it was cool, so I took a train to near there. It was indeed an impressive glass building, but I couldn’t see anything particularly special. I then crossed the bridge and walked to Bibliotheque Francois Mitterand. This was very impressive. It was huge, and also made of glass, but had an interesting architecture. I approached it from behind and walked up a large flight of wooden stairs and then found myself on top of the main part of the square building. But from each of the vertices, arose huge tower of floors of two wings each, perpendicular to each other.
Since it was already past seven, I walked to the Metro with a lady I had asked for directions, and took the No. 14. Fabien had suggested that I try it out because it was the most modern of the lines, and driverless. And indeed, I am glad I tried it. The trains are different from the others, and look more like the new u-bahn trains they have in Vienna sometimes. These No. 14 trains are of course driverless as I mentioned, and the platforms interestingly have a shell on the tracks, that opens and closes with the door of the trains. This is an effective way of preventing suicide on the tracks, I guess. However, the doors of the trains would close after a certain time even if there were people waiting to get in.
I got back at 8 pm, and Christophe was already back. We had a drink and some strawberries and chatted until past nine. We chatted about various things, about him, his very open-minded family, his coming to Paris with his previous partner (who was about 20 years older than him and was killed in a car accident), about politics, but Sarkozy and Villepin, about Chirac, about Royale. Renaud had called and said he would meet us at a Japanese restaurant at 9:30. We walked to the restaurant, which is on a street full of Japanese restaurants, and most of these do not serve sushi! Renaud arrived a little later. Apparently he had not been able to sleep the previous night, and had woken up around 3 am, and went to his office at 5 am. He was of course really tired. But funnily enough he had an appointment with a dentist at 11:30 pm! He wanted to visit a dentist, and someone had told him of a dentist that sees patients until midnight so he had to have an appointment that very day. So like Juerg! He works with the Interior Ministry, for the Police now. He is a Political Scientist and Economist by training, and has been with the ministry for seven years. I asked him about Sarkozy as a boss, and I liked the reply. He said Sarkozy is a good minister (as I had suspected), but Renaud wouldn’t vote for him.
Dinner was interesting, Christophe ordered thick noodles and something, and Renaud and I order rice with some batter-fried shrimp and vegetables. Not bad. I requested that I pay the bill, Christophe didn’t want me to, but looked at Renaud to take a decision, and Renaud agreed with some hesitation.
We strolled around to the Palais Royal, which is the highest administrative court. They were hoping against hopes that the garden inside would be open, and it indeed was (probably because of the restaurants inside, like the Burggarten in Vienna is open for the Palmenhaus). There were some chairs lying around the fountain, and we sat on them for a while, until Renaud said that he had to go for his appointment. Christophe and I walked back, and he treated me to a huge ice cream on the way back. Renaud was back almost immediately after we returned, and understandably went to bed soon. Christophe and I chatted a bit more, about his childhood fascination with Brigette Bardot, and he showed me a huge book of photographs of her that he had bought long ago, probably as a teenager, and some of the photographs of her that he had collected from various places. Among these were also a group photo during his youth, and wow! wasn’t he good looking! Actually he still is, at 39.
I tried to read a bit, but couldn’t after a couple of pages, and went to sleep.
9:30 am
I got up at 7:45. Christophe was leaving at around eight, and he said Renaud had left earlier. He said they (certainly he) would be back early tonight and suggested we go out for dinner or something. That would be nice. I haven’t really go to talk to them much, especially not to Renaud. He also said that Renaud’s cousin who was supposed to visit during the weekend isn’t coming, so I could easily stay on.
I updated the journal with the little that happened yesterday, and then stupidly, read three short stories from a book that Leonie had lent me for the trip, but I had not started. That was silly as there isn’t a lot of time left in Paris, and there is still a lot to see. I also need to check the internet, and call the lady who had offered to host me today and tomorrow.
(written on 24 June)
Another partly wasted day. I continued reading Leonie’s book (short stories by Ruth Rendell) until it was midday, and then I showered and got out at 1 pm. First I went to St. Michel and had a proper lunch (a set menu) at a restaurant nearby, and then I went to the internet place were I still had two or three Euros’ time. I took down the phone number of the lady who had offered to host me for today and tomorrow. I have to call her and let her know that I won’t be going to her place. I also took down some of the addresses I still have to send postcards to.
I had a brief telephone conversation with Prashanth because he texted me to suggest that I go and have a drink at their place later in the evening. He and his partner Sammy, are moving to Hongkong soon, and they were having a farewell party picnic on Saturday, an unfortunate selection of date as neither of them will be able to go for the Gay Parade. I had been invited, but won’t be going for the same reason. They were preparing for the party and hence couldn’t go out. But since I was to go out with Christophe and Renaude, I suggested we meet up after their party on Saturday, if they still had the stamina and enthusiasm.
I took the Metro to Pere Lachaise, the cemetery where a lot of famous people are buried. My guidebook, Time Out Paris, suggests a small tour, but despite being a British publication, doesn’t mention Wilde!
How terribly stupid and ignorant! I have decided to write to them and point out this and other mistakes. I think Balzac’s grave is also incorrectly marked, but I wasn’t able to get there (or to Wilde’s) because it closed before that. I have to go there again on Saturday morning. I only one I could find were that of Chopin, a few others and of and the Egyptologist and decipherer of Hieroglyphics, Champollion.Chris had suggested visiting the Gare de Lyon station, because he thought it was cool, so I took a train to near there. It was indeed an impressive glass building, but I couldn’t see anything particularly special. I then crossed the bridge and walked to Bibliotheque Francois Mitterand. This was very impressive. It was huge, and also made of glass, but had an interesting architecture. I approached it from behind and walked up a large flight of wooden stairs and then found myself on top of the main part of the square building. But from each of the vertices, arose huge tower of floors of two wings each, perpendicular to each other.
Since it was already past seven, I walked to the Metro with a lady I had asked for directions, and took the No. 14. Fabien had suggested that I try it out because it was the most modern of the lines, and driverless. And indeed, I am glad I tried it. The trains are different from the others, and look more like the new u-bahn trains they have in Vienna sometimes. These No. 14 trains are of course driverless as I mentioned, and the platforms interestingly have a shell on the tracks, that opens and closes with the door of the trains. This is an effective way of preventing suicide on the tracks, I guess. However, the doors of the trains would close after a certain time even if there were people waiting to get in.
I got back at 8 pm, and Christophe was already back. We had a drink and some strawberries and chatted until past nine. We chatted about various things, about him, his very open-minded family, his coming to Paris with his previous partner (who was about 20 years older than him and was killed in a car accident), about politics, but Sarkozy and Villepin, about Chirac, about Royale. Renaud had called and said he would meet us at a Japanese restaurant at 9:30. We walked to the restaurant, which is on a street full of Japanese restaurants, and most of these do not serve sushi! Renaud arrived a little later. Apparently he had not been able to sleep the previous night, and had woken up around 3 am, and went to his office at 5 am. He was of course really tired. But funnily enough he had an appointment with a dentist at 11:30 pm! He wanted to visit a dentist, and someone had told him of a dentist that sees patients until midnight so he had to have an appointment that very day. So like Juerg! He works with the Interior Ministry, for the Police now. He is a Political Scientist and Economist by training, and has been with the ministry for seven years. I asked him about Sarkozy as a boss, and I liked the reply. He said Sarkozy is a good minister (as I had suspected), but Renaud wouldn’t vote for him.
Dinner was interesting, Christophe ordered thick noodles and something, and Renaud and I order rice with some batter-fried shrimp and vegetables. Not bad. I requested that I pay the bill, Christophe didn’t want me to, but looked at Renaud to take a decision, and Renaud agreed with some hesitation.
We strolled around to the Palais Royal, which is the highest administrative court. They were hoping against hopes that the garden inside would be open, and it indeed was (probably because of the restaurants inside, like the Burggarten in Vienna is open for the Palmenhaus). There were some chairs lying around the fountain, and we sat on them for a while, until Renaud said that he had to go for his appointment. Christophe and I walked back, and he treated me to a huge ice cream on the way back. Renaud was back almost immediately after we returned, and understandably went to bed soon. Christophe and I chatted a bit more, about his childhood fascination with Brigette Bardot, and he showed me a huge book of photographs of her that he had bought long ago, probably as a teenager, and some of the photographs of her that he had collected from various places. Among these were also a group photo during his youth, and wow! wasn’t he good looking! Actually he still is, at 39.
I tried to read a bit, but couldn’t after a couple of pages, and went to sleep.
posted by A.S. at 4:07 PM
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