Gnomes: Caged

OK, so I love gnomes.

I only keep one in the house, since my fear of becoming That Crazy Gnome Woman who the kids fear on Halloween is always quite high.

It is unclear to me what these gnomes did to deserve being caged.

Could be the creepy one with the lantern was peeping into people's windows at night.

Or, maybe it's the half-nude who was pulled inside for drunk and disorderly behavior.

Whatever happened, I may need to go spring them.

Le B'autobus

With our Notre Dame plans dashed against the rocks, we set out to find a stop for the tour boat, the B'Autobus. It stops along the Seine at ten different tourtist-friendly locations, including Notre Dame.

We hadn't climbed down to the road that runs alongside the Seine yet, so it was a nice adventure all around. The idea of spending a warm day on a boat appealed to both of us so we got our tickets and boarded.

Since we had been to almost all of the monuments the stops went to, we stayed on longer than any of the other passengers. The ticket is good for a full day, so you have the option of on/off access throughout your monument hopping.

The ride lulled both of us (neither of us had been sleeping all that well and I guess the soft waves and wind relaxed us quite a bit) and we had a really nice trip along the river. The best part was as we were pulling up to the Eiffel Tower and the view of it.

We had planned to take it all the way back to Notre Dame and walk back from there, but we got too tired and wanted to move around. So we got off at the Musee D'Orsay and walked across the Pont des Artists and looked at the stalls set up with keepsakes for sale along the way.

Fats Waller In Paris

Once we got to Notre Dame this morning, it became abundantly clear that it was not in the cards for us to clim to the top of the tower. Throngs of tourists mobbed the square and the line for the tower climb reached around the corner. It was already 90 degrees, at 11am.

And so, we decided to get ice cream at Berthillon on the Ile St Louis, which is just a short bridge from the church. Along the way, we first saw a trio playing Johnny Cash songs, and quite well, at that.

The trio pictured here was playing "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Right Myself a Letter", by Fats Waller.  The guy on the horn also sang, with a slight French accent. I managed to video this on Isabella's Flip and will figure out how to upload it. It was a great find on a Saturday morning.

Souvenirs

It was time.
Souvenirs for some had been acquired (and quite a few just for the two of us), but we had a list of things we wanted to get and realized the time was nigh.

Really, it all came to a head when we discovered the post office in the Caroussel de Louvre shopping mall. Used to dealing with Americans, the clerk was very helpful and he showed me the prepaid boxes used for international shipping.

A few caluculations and the realization that if I shipped our things, I would not need to buy a bag and lug said bag through three countries, two airports and two train stations (not in that order), and I was sold.

We spent the rest of our afternoon organizing what we had, getting a few more things and packing them all up. The boxes were sent, and we no longer have any worries about bringing back more than we came with.

Oh wait, there's those sneakers, dresses and several swim-related items purchased for Aqua Boulevard....

M'aitre D' Indeed!

As we wound down our tour of the Louvre, our stomachs were growling. We talked about going to the food court at the mall in the Carrousel de Louvre, but I couldn't bear the thought of more strange medium-fast food.

The Grand Restraunt Louvre located on the lower level of the building looked like a good choice, and it was. The food was very nice, I had salmon in some kind of butter sauce of loveliness. Isabella had steak hache and frites, oh and a brownie and ice cream desert.

But, the best part was the spectacular M'aitre D'. I'd heard about it being a calling in France, that it's a serious professional pursuit, but I had yet to see it fully in action. The man who was in charge, was really in charge.

Not a moment went by where he wasn't tending to new people walking in the door, or setting a table or generally making sure the staff was where they needed to be. We watched and counted the seconds between when a group of people entered the restaurant and either understood to wait or just waltzed in and tried to seat themselves. It usually took him less than 20 seconds to attend to everyone.

He was unfailingly nice, but very clear to those who seated themselves that it would be just two minutes as he pointed out the groups of people waiting. He made time to chat with Isabella and each of the older Spanish threesome at our next table.

Mr. M'aitre D' was all business, charm and sass, but he got the job done and made everyone feel right at home.

Louvre: Complet

We headed back to the Louvre today to see the rest of the collection. There are three wings, and we thought we had only seen one. Turned out, though, that we had seen two (which is why we were so darned tired after our first trip), and so a leisurely walk through was had.

The gentleman at the left cracked Isabella up, his beard being the funniest to her. We looked at all of the marble statues and went through Napoleon's apartment. It was amazing to see the rooms and imagine what kinds of parties that little man might host.

A few other items we liked were some of the portraits in the late French paintings, especially those that featured children.

This day's walkthrough was much more relaxed and less crowded than our other visit. If'n you are heading to the Louvre steer clear of the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo wing until the end. It's totally worthwhile to deal with the crowds, just know there is way more available that most of the people aren't bothering to see!

I know we are fortunate because we are able to be here so long that we can go back to places if we haven't finished looking around, so it's fair to say, if you only have on day, deal with the crowds, but make time for the other wings, too.

Charming

Isabella found something special to spend her own money on. Grandma Judy and Bill (thanks!) gave her some Euros to spend and she ahd some American money she had earned doing chores at our house.

She chose a bracelet and some charms.

There is a nice jewelry store here called Agatha. They sell all sorts of cute things, but mainly, they have dozens of sweet silver charms.  The quality is great and the choices are really nice, too.

Isabella had enough for the bracelet and one charm, the Eiffel Tower, of course. I helped out and got her the sunglasses and the Agatha license plate.

And then, Gran Fran told her to get herself one more on her (thanks!).  She chose a yellow spool of thread because both she and Gran Fran love to sew.

She is already plotting how many chores she will have to do to fund more charms. It's a great keepsake for her, and since I, too, am a charm bracelet fan, I fully support her efforts.