Interesting day yesterday. Soon after we made our snap decision to spend these three weeks here, we tried to get tickets for an Orchestre de France concert tonight with 86-year-old Pierre Boulez conducting at Salle Pleyel. But it was sold out. Then we got here and saw they were playing two of the three pieces at 8 last night, for free, in the Pyramid of the Louvre. We went by there at 6:15 on our way to dinner and saw a huge serpentine line forming already .. so we got in it. Soon there must have been well over 1000 people. Was an odd but heartening crowd .. nobody our age, of course, and mostly young males (on their way home from work?). Finally at 7 they began letting people in. So far so good. Know what? No chairs! Had to sit on the floor! For an hour till it started and then for the entire concert. But here's the heartening part .. all these people probably knew in advance they'd have to sit on the floor but they came anyway. And we stayed too, we really wanted to hear Verklärte Nacht and the Bartok Concerto For Orchestra. But I can't imagine any other Americans we know who would have done so. Crazy. Hoping to have better sense today :-)
On the way to the concert we had an interesting little walk along the Seine. That's because our bus driver inexplicably left his route, stopped, and with an intense explanation, in French of course, ordered everyone off. Luckily another bus came along pretty quickly. Yes, there's a downside to traveling independently, huh?
Elsa has decorated the loveliest little holiday wreath on our coffee table, making it seem far more festive here. And we're listening to Christmas CDs we brought along. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
We're off this afternoon to one of the "treats" we've promised ourselves, a return visit for the world's best hot chocolate at an elegant old tea room called Ladurée. Then maybe we'll ride the HUGE ferris wheel at the Place de la Concorde. What fun.
Later .. OK, forget Ladurée. After a 30-minute wait (thankfully it was a balmy 51 degrees), the hot chocolate was thick like pudding but chalky, and the pastries were vastly inferior to our corner patisserie. What once seemed chic now struck us as tourist-driven kitsch (though it hasn't changed much). For $40 (two chocolates and two pastries) we got tired 19th-century decor like an old movie set and monogrammed little paper hot pads on the handles of our individual canisters of chocolate. Disappointed and nearing rush hour, we skipped the ferris wheel and headed home .. on the most jam-packed bus ever. Even this most user-friendly urban transit system can get a bit wearisome. What saved the day was a light supper at our friendly corner bistro, especially when the waiter (who delights in my broken French) brought me a pitcher of wine instead of a glass. Whoopee! It sure beat the $2 merlot from the supermarket. I'd have the same appetizer as a meal any time .. smoked salmon and tiny shrimp on the freshest lettuce, drenched in olive oil. Unlike Ladurée, this was $40 well spent.
It's nearly Christmas and people are still eating/drinking outdoors (under heat lamps). Is it the pleasant ambience? Or do they mostly wish to smoke??
We've now been here two weeks, probably longer than many American tourist visits. What a treat that we still have another week to go, with many exciting events in store!
Later .. OK, forget Ladurée. After a 30-minute wait (thankfully it was a balmy 51 degrees), the hot chocolate was thick like pudding but chalky, and the pastries were vastly inferior to our corner patisserie. What once seemed chic now struck us as tourist-driven kitsch (though it hasn't changed much). For $40 (two chocolates and two pastries) we got tired 19th-century decor like an old movie set and monogrammed little paper hot pads on the handles of our individual canisters of chocolate. Disappointed and nearing rush hour, we skipped the ferris wheel and headed home .. on the most jam-packed bus ever. Even this most user-friendly urban transit system can get a bit wearisome. What saved the day was a light supper at our friendly corner bistro, especially when the waiter (who delights in my broken French) brought me a pitcher of wine instead of a glass. Whoopee! It sure beat the $2 merlot from the supermarket. I'd have the same appetizer as a meal any time .. smoked salmon and tiny shrimp on the freshest lettuce, drenched in olive oil. Unlike Ladurée, this was $40 well spent.
It's nearly Christmas and people are still eating/drinking outdoors (under heat lamps). Is it the pleasant ambience? Or do they mostly wish to smoke??
We've now been here two weeks, probably longer than many American tourist visits. What a treat that we still have another week to go, with many exciting events in store!
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