Monday, March 28, 2016

Out and About in Paris with Wind and Rain

Today the apocalyptic weather arrived.  We were up and out early foraging for breakfast.  The hotel charges 17 euro per head and I just can't justify spending that much money for some yogurt, scrambled eggs and terrible coffee.  The instant coffee in the room is better than the hotel coffee.  So, we went here for an egg and cheese sandwich, aka an egg McMuffin.  Behold what the Parisians have available to them at their local McCafe.  We don't have this in the states.  Probably a good thing.


It wasn't raining yet, so we decided to mosey down to Les Halles to see what had become of it.  On the way, we passed through an Asian neighborhood.  It was interesting to see the signage.


This was very interesting.  See the man in the background, holding the giant green vegetable?  He was feeding it through what sounded like a chipper shredder.  Unfortunately we could not see what was coming out of the other end of the machine  The man with his back to us was doing something with giant pieces of meat, I'm guessing pork.  They weren't open so I have no data.


We pressed on, into the storm.  The skies opened up, the wind came up and inverted our umbrellas and blew my stylish fedora to the ground.  It was very sad. We did see this cool building.


If you are in Paris, Les Halles is not worth your time or effort.  After the original was torn down, it was replaced with an underground mall and is now essentially a subway intersection of 6 lines and the RER.  Please make a note of this.  Because it was pouring, we took the Metro back to our area.  Upon exiting the station, we promptly walked the wrong way.  We forgot the dang compass this trip.  We have have found the compass to be invaluable in city navigation.  Please make a note of this, as well.
Later it cleared up and we set out to walk down to Notre Dame.  However, the wind came up once again.  We ducked into the courtyard of the Louvre, where we saw this.  Look at the people standing in line to get in.  See the corner formed by the two sides of the museum in the back - look through the Pyramid.  The line starts well on the other side of the Pyramid.


See all the people?  They still have a long way to go to get in.  About 10 minutes after I took these pictures the skies opened up and it rained sideways.  If you want to go in the museum, pay money and get a no-lines tour.  I can't imagine standing in this much of a line for anything. 


We ended up going back down the Rue Rivoli and buying me a new hat with virtually no brim.  My fedora has too much brim and when the wind is up, it lifts off.

So that was today.  There weren't a lot of pictures due to precipitation.  Tomorrow is supposed to be better than today.  I will say that Jim's walking ability and stamina have exceeded expectations, so that's a bonus.

7 comments:

  1. If it makes you feel any better, it's windy and rainy at my Utah boondock camp today.
    Box Canyon Mark

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  2. hey, didn't one of you take your phone with you? it should or could have a compass ;) sorry to see the rain. I think we are going to be in and out of rain too while in Italy. have fun!

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    1. We have Androids, I don't know how to make them work here. So they stayed home. We have three compasses in a basket at home - think we could remember one????

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  3. It is crazy windy in NC as well. Just about got blown off the road today riding. But the sky was blue and the beautiful flowering trees were out in force, so that made all the kite-flying weather worth it, I think. We need a photo of you in your new hat!

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  4. Crazy wind here in Joshua Tree today, too. No rain, though.
    Can't believe McDonalds sells all those pastries!
    Good to hear that Jim is getting around the big city better than expected.

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  5. Looks like a leek being fed into the chipper.

    That is one ridiculous line. I wouldn't stand in it either.

    Yay Jim!

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  6. Oh, I would be in such trouble in that McCafe! Couldn't decide what to choose, an Egg McMuffin or a croissant, so I would have to have both!

    I am shocked by that line...even if it IS the Louvre! Can't believe you can buy a "no line ticket" now.

    Hang on to your hat!

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