July 26 -2011 Paris

Hemmingway Bar

View of Eiffel Tower from front plaza of Invalides.

Best tomb in the site of Napolean's Tomb building - Marshall Foch.

Another view of Eiffel Tower from grounds of Invalides.

A very small part of Invalides

July 26, 2011 – Paris

One of the great things about having time and some level of focus on a journey like this is not feeling driven to rush to see everything thinking we may not return. Although it is very possible we won’t return to Paris we feel we have the luxury of time, and of course having this home exchange apartment adds to the feeling of relaxation along with the adventure of it all.
Aleur (and so)today we set aside the morning to work on some of our pictures and journals and for me the task was something that never goes away, even in Paris, ironing. I know some would say ‘why’, but for me it is necessary. I couldn’t ignore how bad some of our clothes looked and so while John worked on other projects, I ironed and packed for our journey to the east in the morning.

Of course we started our day with our walk to the bakery (Patisserie) for Cafes and Croissants. This morning because I slept so poorly I needed two Cafes, likely less than my normal Venti at Starbucks. I could only imagine the staff noticing the gluttony of the American! But as I said I had a bad night so I needed that second bit of caffeine and delicious it was.

It is so delightful to be able to walk a couple of blocks to start our morning and we were disappointed to see the sign on the door that we interpreted to say they will be closed beginning July 30-August 27th. We have heard of all closing down during this time in France and much of Europe so wonder what it will be like here the last week of our visit. At any rate tomorrow morning will be our last café at this little spot and we will surely enjoy it.

Our itinerary today was to go to the Museum of Invalids which was built by Napoleon to honor military members of the time. We understand it is the pre-cursor of our VA hospitals although very, very grand of course. There actually remains an area where veterans reside but most is a museum of France and wars across history. Napoleon Bonaparte is entombed here in the center of the Dome and is surrounded by other notables and war heros.

Although it houses items from as far back as the 13th century, of most interest to us was artifacts from WWI and WWII. We were once again reminded of the size and impact of the French Resistance in WWII and their impact on D-Day. These underground fighters from various countries were unsung heroes, not a piece of history most of us are familiar with. In the case of the French Resistance blind volunteers were used in many ways to further the cause. Two years ago we were able to visit the WWII museum in Norway and learned about the powerful Norwegian Resistance (underground) and now as we hear more about yet another Resistance we can’t help but wonder how history would be re-written if they had not existed.

As we stopped in the cafeteria for a soda we thought about these wars and all the countries and people that suffered and died. In the case of France we read that after WWI the majority of the population preferred to ‘move on with life’ and in many cases the Nazi machine that was building right next door was ignored. As a result when Hitler moved in they were ill prepared. Makes one take pause and wonder just how prepared should any country be and how much is too much? Rather chilling to ponder.

On a lighter note many of you know I have had a fear of birds since I was a child, much like others may have of a mouse or a snake I have been able to overcome the fear to a large degree, that is I don’t hit the dust if a seagull or pigeon is anywhere near me. I do have boundaries, however, and today one French Pigeon crossed those boundaries twice. We were in the above mentioned museum cafeteria which was not open air, literally speaking, but a door left open here and there allowed for one pigeon to stroll in. We were by the door that ‘Jonathan’ entered by and I watched him, not being overly alarmed. He strutted around looking for food for 10-15 minutes when at some point I noticed him coming our way under the tables. Fortunately I was watching him but lost sight of him for a moment and suddenly he appeared at my feet. Of course an involuntary scream erupted and when that moment passed I saw John and everyone else in the place both wide eyed and chuckling. Ok, so it was a bit embarrassing but I was happy security didn’t show up, because screaming in a public place in our world’s current status is not taken lightly!

I collected myself and we happily continued our conversation about heavy things like world wars when one of the staff members, who was cleaning up, noticed the pigeon again and right next to me decided to ‘shoo’ the pigeon. Jonathan (Mr Pigeon) flying low came right at my head. Well you know what came next. I lost it and was the entertainment of the cafeteria and the poor staff member could not decide what to do more…evaporate in the giggles or apologize.

Our agenda for today was to include a cruise on the Seine but time was getting away from us and as we have learned there really usually is another day and if not then life will go on. With that knowledge we finished our evening with the final thing in our plans for the day which was to visit the Ritz Hotel Paris and the Hemingway Bar. The place where Ernest himself, when he could afford it, frequented and personally marched in and ordered a cocktail declaring the war over while the Nazi’s were not quite out of Paris.

To say the hotel itself is a bit ostentatious would be a gross understatement, still it is beautiful and it was an adventure walking through and taking a look. From what we could gather, a room there would run at a minimum $1000 and we think that likely would only get a closet. The Hemingway Bar was beautiful and romantic and very Hemingway-ish filled with nostalgia. It was fun for us as we had just visited his home in Key West last fall. It is very small and you could say richly rustic with dark woods, framed fishing lures, antlers, and fishing and hunting pictures. A cocktail was grossly expensive but the experience for a onetime thing was worth it to us.

As we left this evening there was a slight sprinkle and we couldn’t help but notice once again how, although there has been bad weather in all the areas, the sun seems to have shined on us most of the time.

I’ll close tonight with a few observations I have forgotten to mention. We have found the French, although not out there saying ‘ya’all come back now’, friendly in a reserved sort of way and always polite. As far as the language, it is far more difficult to even try to pronounce than Italian but we have come to be able to understand signs and a little bit on menus. I guess, just enough to muddle through. No matter what anyone says everyone does not speak English but most of the time we can find someone that understands a little bit or we use hands, pictures and whatever is needed to communicate and get by.

I have continued to wonder why Europeans can look so fashionable no matter what they are wearing and we just don’t seem to carry that off, especially in Southern California.

We are reminded once again how much more ‘green’ the European citizens are. Most carry reusable bags, paper towels are not nearly as common and you often have to ask for a napkin.

And for the French we can’t help but notice how very important bread is in their culture. In the neighborhoods we constantly meet people with their fresh baguettes and more often than not there has been a piece broken off for a snack. And yet we very rarely notice anyone that is overweight.

Final observation for this evening is smoking. Wow, it seems the French have not gotten the memo on smoking and how it grossly impacts health. The law allows for smoking only in the home or on the street but the sidewalk cafes and streets allow for plenty of smoking, more than we have seen in other countries, and at least half of them are women.

Tomorrow we leave for Strasbourg on the border between Germany and France. It actually has been German several times over the course of history so we expect some interesting cultural differences. For now….good evening.