It was a rainy day, and I didn't wake up until 9 a.m., and then I thought I'd take a bath (wow! this place has HOT water--like you could make tea in it). Eventually, I set out with my camera in my day pack for the Musées d'Orsay and de l'Orangerie, by way of the Marché Aligre.
The walk to the market took longer than I expected, and when I got there, the old covered market was closed! (It closes from 13h to 16h.) But through the gates, I could see and smell the delicacies within.
Outside in the place, there allegedly was also an open-air market, but the remains of that were being whisked away. A pigeon was not allowed to enjoy an orange thanks to the street sweeping machine.
On the way walking to the next metro station, I came across a high arched bridge over the street. This is the famous promenade plantée known as the Viaduc des Arts.
Formerly a railroad embankment leading to a now-gone train station at the place de Bastille, it has been converted into an urban garden, about 2-3 stores off the ground. Where I accessed it at rue Malot, there was option of stairs or elevator.
Bamboo was growing in stands along it, and a smooth asphalt path runs the length of it, with stairways accessing it at various points. It apparently runs from behind the Opéra Bastille to the city's border with Vincennes. I will travel the other direction on another day to see what other interesting things about it there are, as a train archaeologist.
I ended up dodging the now medium-heavy rain in an arcade running along the Opéra Bastille (one of several opera houses in Paris), and darting into the métro station. I went via Gare d'Austerlitz to get to Musée d'Orsay, which meant a lengthly transfer where you leave the metro, walk around underground a while, and eventually access the RER (regional express train) station, which functions like the metro for ticketing, but more like a frequent commuter rail service in its usage. It turned out I'd have a 28 minute wait for a train--so I left the Austerlitz RER station (mind you, you have to use a ticket to get in and out of RER stations), and explored the SNCF long-distance station above ground. I found a small treasure in the Relay press shop--a model of a TGV Duplex (2-level high-speed train). When I finally made it back to the RER station, I still had 5 minutes until the train, and my same ticket still worked.
At Musée d'Orsay there was a line for tickets, plus it was only open for another hour and a half. But the rain had stopped! (Now it was just windy and cold.)
So I crossed the Seine on a pedestrian-only bridge to access the Tuileries gardens and check out the Orangerie museum. All the padlocks on the bridge's fenced sides mean something--I've forgotten what--a promise of-- true love, a return to Paris, crispy croissants? Again there was a line at the Orangerie, and barely an hour left--and there is a "twin" ticket for both museums that saves 6 euros over getting them separately. So I decided to come back another day.
As I looked over the place de la Concorde and the obelisk, at the traffic, the Eiffel tower, and pondered if it was going to rain more, I could smell something unmistakable: gaufres or waffles. So I went down the ramp to the exit to the place de la Concorde, and sure enough, there was a crepe/waffle/hot dog kiosk. I had a waffle with just powdered sugar...this is not an Eggo or even a make-it-yourself waffle like in the U.S. It was hot from the waffle iron, light and tender on the inside, crispy on the outside. Sorry, too windy to set it down and take a picture...it might have blown away!
After I recovered, I decided to go see a store we don't have anywhere in Wisconsin: a Lamborghini dealer. It was just past the Arc de Triomphe, and it was perfect--they even had one parked outside. The prices for even the accessories were a bit high (30 euros for a mug?), despite claims of a sale.
Then I admired the traffic flow around the Arc. I suspect this is a clear case of "priorite a droite" (priority to traffic from the right) actually in effect in a roundabout (usually, that French traffic rule is suspended for roundabouts).
In case you've forgotten what RER or Metro are short for, here's an older entrance sign (from the 1970s, I think).
I then headed back via Austerlitz to pick up one of those train models; and got out at Bastille to walk back to my apartment. On the way, I found a chocolate and tea shop which sold Perles d'Orange, little dark chocolates covering candied orange peel. My grandmother adores them and the U.S. company I had ordered them from had ceased to distribute from the French company that makes them. I had to wait quite a while as another customer had a complicated need for tea.
Along the same street, I passed many stores and restaurants that were open; the street has a lot of Japanese restaurants. One stop had home stuff and had a laundry hamper with a cat on it that said Linge Chat-Le (Laundry Cat-The). I had to say it to myself to get it....it's supposed to sound like Linge Sale (Dirty Laundry). (An imitation of "drunk speech" in French is commonly to say "ch" instead of "s".)
An Indian restaurant had a 14 euro special which began with beginets de legumes. "Bay-zhee-nay", I said to myself, that must be some word from that cuisine. Then I realized it was a misspelling--it should have been "beignet" which is usually a fried donut. I suspect Pakora were what the appetizer was.
Finally, some young, perhaps homeless, people stopped the people walking ahead of me asking for help. The people who were stopped were 3 in number, as were those doing the stopping, and they each were carrying a multipack of beer. The first stopped to give them a beer and one of the young men said "hey, there's 3 of you, that's just one apiece!" and one of the other people carrying a pack said "yeah, but we're going to a party". I don't know if charity won out.
Baked goods census, so far: one ficelle (bread), one croissant (not so great--at end of day), two chaussons aux pommes (sort of a French apple turnover--one feh (department store), one very good (boulangerie artisanal)!), a warm waffle (gaufre).
