Two Chicks in Paris . . . Doing the Metro

Today was a Metro day. Now that Lori is comfortable, she can't get enough of the Paris Metro!

Metro trip 1 - Rue Cler (Ecole Militaire) to Ledrun-Rollin on 8 (purple line) towards Creteil

We started our day heading to the only Paris Flea Market we were going to make - it was the Marche d'Aligne in the 12th. It was mainly food but there was some clothing and used stuff. Very small with lots of local flavor. There was some guy selling underwear (new) and some other vendors selling some used junk. It was much smaller than the big one in St. Ouen and much less intimidating.

Metro trip 2- Ledrun- Rollin on 8 (purple line) towards Balard to Bonne Nouvelle (same line)

I took Lori to our "old neighborhood" (where I stayed with Dad, Patricia and Doug in Feb 2006). We stopped at Starbucks and then headed down Grand Boulevard, just looking around and checking out the covered shopping areas (no, not like our American shopping malls).

Metro trip 3 - Bonne Nouvelle line 8 towards Creteil (again - thank goodness for the Carte Orange we bought on Monday which is the unlimited Metro for the week) transfered at Republic to the 11 (brown line) toward Chatelet and got off at Rambuteau

Our next stop was the Pompideau. Lori wanted a picture from the outside. So we did the photo op and what do you know, we ended up inside (did I mention how much I like the Paris Museum Pass) which was covered by the museum pass. Museums have the cleanest bathrooms and we took the escalator up the funny tubes to the 5th floor which had the most amazing views of Paris. Forget the Eiffel Tower - you can see everything from the top of the Pompideau (and it is cheaper and cleaner and less crowded).

I really wasn't too thrill about the modern art until I realized there was Man Ray (a great photographer), Matisse, Picasso, and some other cool stuff so we did a short tour. The Pompideau was a great stop - not crowded, and very nicely done. Recommend it as an easy and nice stop. They also have some special exhibits for kids.

Metro trip 4 - 11 line at Rambutea towards Chatelet and transfered at Chatelet where we transfered to the 4 (magenta line) towards Porte d'Orleans then transfered at Odeon the to 10 (dark yellow) heading towards Gare d'Austerlitz and got off on at the Cluny

I wanted to see the tapestries and the Roman baths at the Musee Moyen Age (aka the Cluny) but Lori had already been there so she went to a cafe and I did a quick perusal of the museum.

The Cluny is one of those Paris Museums that is a do not miss. It is not crowded, small and has some amazing tapestries and medieval art. I wanted to see the Lady and the Unicorm tapestry which takes up an entire. I could not do any pictures because it was so dark (to preserve it). It consists of six full wall tapestries. Unbelievable the workmanship. This little museum had several rooms of beautiful tapestries, a room of old stained glass windows (recovered from a church in Amboise), the heads of some of the saints from Notre Dame (these had been beheaded during the Revolution and then buried in someone's backyard), and Roman baths with artifacts. It was quiet and just easy to navigate. I highly recommend doing the Cluny.

After the Cluny, I found Lori and we walke a few blocks to the Pantheon. It is a massive Roman style building in the middle of the Sorbonne area. I would not have paid to see it but we had the museum pass and it was free. A big building with a bunch of dead French famous people in the basement (crypt) - not worth a special trip but was pleasant.

Two chicks in Paris in front of the Pantheon

From the Pantheon, we headed to the Luxemburg Gardens which was very nice. The French really use their parks and keep them quite nice. There are still flowers in bloom but the leaves are starting to change. We watched some people playing some type of bolle ball and then we found the statue of Liberty as we were leaving the park - a small version with an oak tree that had been planted to commenrate the victims of 9/11.

We left the park and walked to St. Suplice (which is covered in scaffolding) and then to St. Germain de Pres where there was a restaurant that Lori wanted to eat at - Hemingway had eaten there. I was thinking of asking for Hemingway's table but my French isn't that good and I don't think anyone would have found it funny except me (maybe Lori).

Had a great meal and ended up talking to the girl sitting next to us. She was reading the famous Rick Steve's Paris. I had to tell about the museum pass and we started to talk. Turns out she is from Denver and was very nice. She was in Paris by herself and we told her some of the things we had been doing.

Metro trip 5: got on 4 line towards Porte d'Orleans at St. Germain des-Pres and transfered at the Montparnasse Bienvnue station to line 6 (light green) towards Charles de Gaulle Etoille and transfered at La Motte Picquet Grenelle to 8 heading towards Creteil and finally got off at Ecole Militaire

Our last adventure was getting home. We got on the Metro and did our first change fine. The second change we got off and then the Metro driver made an announcement and everyone got off and the train left empty. Everyone looked very puzzled and just stood around. We were lucky - we just climbed down into the bowels of Paris and got on our next train. We did not understand what happened - the PA system was cutting out. Imagine trying to translate half words!

Tomorrow is the Montmartre and Jim Morrison's grave . . . hmmm.