If this Tuesday, we must still be in Paris
On Tuesday morning, after breakfast, my wife and son roamed the neighborhood, looking at a couple of buildings, like a charming little church that my wife found more pleasing, if less impressive, the Notre Dame. I went back to bed, having had a bad time in the wee hours with sleeping. They got souvenirs, and I got a couple more winks.
We decided to go down the street to have lunch, and once again, were on Paris time. Going back to the room, my wife and son conked out for awhile, and I read some. Basically, we had had it, until the evening. When it was close to dinner time, we got a taxi and headed over to the vicinity of Notre Dame, to a highly recommended bistro, Lyonnaise style. We had saucisson, good sausage much like a coarse pate, and a duck dish that was smoky and salty. Our son tried a pate that turned out to be mostly stuff suspended in aspic, a little odd. He also reran Beef Burgundy. Sorbets, some tarte tatin for my wife, more wine, another crack at getting a cold Coke for my son: it was a pretty good dinner, although not quite what I was looking for.
It was dusk when we left, and I made an enormous gaffe. One reason for going to the Ile de la Cite was to catch the lights in the center of town, especially along the Seine. I thought we would see them driving back. My wife thought we would walk around. It had been the Feast of the Assumption, a national holiday, and I was anxious about whether there would be enough taxis. She got teary eyed, and I realized my mistake. I tried to tell the cab driver to go to the Champs- Elysee first, but he did not realize what I was saying, and so we ended at our hotel, barely seeing a boulevard.
I said not to worry, it only takes some more money to correct this gaffe, and got another taxi to take us to the Eiffel Tower. It was nightfall by this time, a little after ten, and the thing was lit up. We stared for awhile, and sat on a bench while people tried to sell us junk. We looked at the lines, and realized that we might stand there and still not get in before closing, so we skipped it. Going over to the bridge, there were numerous artists, and Asians willing to write one's name in Chinese characters, and fellows with Eiffel Towers in miniature.
There was a carousel, and an air of gaiety overall. But we were pretty beat, and after awhile, got into a taxi and headed to the hotel. Most packing and washing had already been done,so I left a wake- up call and tried to sleep........ |
