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Today has been magnificent. My body is sore, my head hurts from stilted attempts at French and it just doesn't get much better than this.
Today started off with the Picasso Museum which is around the corner from my cousin's flat. The collection is housed in an old mansion and there are hundreds of paintings and sculptures. I've always thought that the best way to get to know an artist's work is by looking at a vast collection housed together. Personally, I'm partial to his guitars. I do wish I knew more about his different periods but I'm not quite that patient. This museum was great because it was large enough to get a sense of the artist and small enough to visit, in its entirety, in an hour.
From there we took the metro to Montmarte and Sacre-Coeur. Sacre-Coeur is a large church situated on the highest hill in Paris. The views of the city are spectacular and the church is beautiful. We walked around Montmarte for a bit, in search of an elusive fondu place that someone suggested we visit. The attempt was futile but the walk did afford us the opportunity to explore more of the neighborhood than we would have otherwise. It was a very different side of Paris. There were more discount shops (they we're selling used shoes!) and it had a very international flavor. We saw African, Moroccan, Vietnamese, and Turkish restaurants.
Next was a day trip to the Arc de Triumph and the Champs Elysee since we'd only been there at night. We walked in and out of shops for a bit and stopped for lunch at a small cafe. (Today's lunch menu was soup and chardonnay. In France, French onion soup is just onion soup. *g*)
After lunch, we ended up in a Lancel boutique and I walked out with Francois. Although a bit too pricey, Francois is a very satisfying new bag. He will be my one and only Paris present and I adore him. (And, yes, I did name my new bag. I have a new appreciation for Jessica Simpson's attachment to her Louis.)
Speaking of Jessica Simpson & Louis Vuitton, Lex & I were approached by two different Japanese couples who asked us to buy LV merchandise for them because of Japanese spending limits. I thought it was some sort of scam but it turns out that LV costs 3x as much in Japan and the Japanese government limits what can be purchased and brought back into the country by an individual. Because of this, the Japanese tourists try to find people to purchase the LV bags, etc. for them. With all of this going on, we couldn't resist a visit to the LV store. It's so crowded that you have to wait on line to be helped. Insane! (And who needs a Louis when you have Francois?)
We ended our afternoon with a walk down to a park on the Seine to get a different view of the Eiffel Tower and some delicious French pastries. Now we're back at my cousin's place to rest and then we'll head out for dinner.
(Completely unrelated to touring, my cousin had a friend staying with her this weekend. Turns out she's an MTV Europe VJ.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
english_muffin: We'll have to see if you know who she is.)
Tomorrow, Versailles! Cel was right. This is a fairytale!
In other news, I got an e-mail and then a phone call from FL counterpart today. The trouble-maker resigned. Or, at the very least, asked to step down into a more junior position.
Today started off with the Picasso Museum which is around the corner from my cousin's flat. The collection is housed in an old mansion and there are hundreds of paintings and sculptures. I've always thought that the best way to get to know an artist's work is by looking at a vast collection housed together. Personally, I'm partial to his guitars. I do wish I knew more about his different periods but I'm not quite that patient. This museum was great because it was large enough to get a sense of the artist and small enough to visit, in its entirety, in an hour.
From there we took the metro to Montmarte and Sacre-Coeur. Sacre-Coeur is a large church situated on the highest hill in Paris. The views of the city are spectacular and the church is beautiful. We walked around Montmarte for a bit, in search of an elusive fondu place that someone suggested we visit. The attempt was futile but the walk did afford us the opportunity to explore more of the neighborhood than we would have otherwise. It was a very different side of Paris. There were more discount shops (they we're selling used shoes!) and it had a very international flavor. We saw African, Moroccan, Vietnamese, and Turkish restaurants.
Next was a day trip to the Arc de Triumph and the Champs Elysee since we'd only been there at night. We walked in and out of shops for a bit and stopped for lunch at a small cafe. (Today's lunch menu was soup and chardonnay. In France, French onion soup is just onion soup. *g*)
After lunch, we ended up in a Lancel boutique and I walked out with Francois. Although a bit too pricey, Francois is a very satisfying new bag. He will be my one and only Paris present and I adore him. (And, yes, I did name my new bag. I have a new appreciation for Jessica Simpson's attachment to her Louis.)
Speaking of Jessica Simpson & Louis Vuitton, Lex & I were approached by two different Japanese couples who asked us to buy LV merchandise for them because of Japanese spending limits. I thought it was some sort of scam but it turns out that LV costs 3x as much in Japan and the Japanese government limits what can be purchased and brought back into the country by an individual. Because of this, the Japanese tourists try to find people to purchase the LV bags, etc. for them. With all of this going on, we couldn't resist a visit to the LV store. It's so crowded that you have to wait on line to be helped. Insane! (And who needs a Louis when you have Francois?)
We ended our afternoon with a walk down to a park on the Seine to get a different view of the Eiffel Tower and some delicious French pastries. Now we're back at my cousin's place to rest and then we'll head out for dinner.
(Completely unrelated to touring, my cousin had a friend staying with her this weekend. Turns out she's an MTV Europe VJ.
english_muffin: We'll have to see if you know who she is.) Tomorrow, Versailles! Cel was right. This is a fairytale!
In other news, I got an e-mail and then a phone call from FL counterpart today. The trouble-maker resigned. Or, at the very least, asked to step down into a more junior position.
