Paris (2/25-27/1983)

Friday, February 25, 1983

After dinner, Marsha C, Sibylle B, and I went down to the train station to catch the 22:50 train to Neuchâtel. It was the local train and left three minutes late, but made up time so that we were able to change to the 23:36 train to Paris. We were still walking through the train to find seats when the train departed. We found three Bern reserved seats that were empty, joining two guys in a compartment where two seats were reserved from Neuchâtel. Two more guys came, as they were the Neuchâtel reservers, and Sibylle, being nearest the door, got bumped. Marsha went with Sibylle to find a new seat. The compartment was darkened so that we could see Lake Neuchâtel with the surrounding lights. We went up through a gorge and into the Jura mountains. It was neat seeing the snow-covered narrow valley at night, passing occasional lighted villages. Our Swiss tickets were checked.

Railtour Map cover

Saturday, February 26, 1983

We arrived in Pontarlin about 0:22 and the passport inspectors came through nodding at Swiss and US passports, but carefully looking through Italian passports. I went to trade seats with Sibylle B, thinking it was better if she sat with Marsha C than by herself. I settled in between a big tall French-speaking guy and a big fat Englishman. Across from me was a long-legged French-speaking Swiss guy, and there was a couple who were also on a Railtour. They kept the lights on until 2:00. The tall guy next to me sometimes moaned and slumped onto my right shoulder. The fat guy slowly keeled over onto my left shoulder. And I kept bumping knees with the guy across from me. Nevertheless, I managed to doze between stops, and felt alright when we pulled into Paris at 6:30. At the last minute I was able to join Marsha and Sibylle. We arrived at Gare de Lyon, and looked for a restroom. Sibylle had used the toilet on the train. I paid 1.50 FRF/24 cents for a toilet, and Marsha paid 8 FRF/$1.30 for a toilet with a sink. We checked our bags in a locker that first stole the 3 1 FRF pieces I had gotten at the buffet. Sibylle went to get change from the buffet, but was sent to buy something from a kiosk. We finally got the bags stowed. I had a purse and a camera around my neck but under my jacket. Sibylle had a pocketbook. And I carried Marsha’s canvas tote with her things and our food. We went to the Metro station where Sibylle ordered our two-day tourist passes for 44 FRF/$7.15 each.

Paris Metro pass cover

The streets were still dark when we headed past cafés towards the river Seine. We crossed over Canal St Martin and looked toward the “flying” figure of freedom on the Colonne de Juillet/July Column at Place de la Bastille. Along the Seine, we saw a police station floating at a dock. Across the river was the neatly laid out Jardin des Plantes/Garden of Plants with a large revolving silver installation. It got lighter as we walked across the bridge to Île Saint-Louis/St Louis Island. we followed the narrow central street (Rue Saint-Louis en l'Île) with tall buildings on either side with balconies and containing boutiques, expensive hotels, galleries, fruit and vegetable shops, a bakery, a butcher shop, etc.. The tea rooms and cafés were still closed. We crossed the Pont/Bridge St Louis to Île de la Cité/City Island to come upon the magnificent rear of Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris/Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris (1163-1250).

Sybille and Marsha on Pont St Louis

Rear of Notre Dame

The sun was peeking out through clouds and the streets were drying. It felt balmy warm. The park behind the cathedral was closed, but a café at the corner was opening. I ordered a tea in French, Marsha ordered a coffee in English, and Sibylle ordered a coffee in German! We got a bill for 24.15 FRF/$4. We couldn’t figure out why it was so high, even including a 15% service charge. So we asked to be billed separately. Marsha and Sibylle were each charged 9 FRF/$1.46, and I was charged 9.10 FRF. That comes to even more! I paid with a 20 FRF bill and received 14 FRF in change, meaning I only paid 6 FRF/$1 for my tea. Tourist trap!

We admired all the men going to work with a baguette under their arms. Then we admired the gargoyles as we walked along one side of Notre Dame. At the front of the cathedral, I pointed out the three portals with the death of Mary on the left, the Last Judgment in the middle, and the mother of Mary, St Anne, on the right. And the rose window.

Notre Dame façade

From inside the cathedral we admired the three rose windows (the west one partially behind an organ), and the statue of Notre Dame de Paris (14C). We wandered to see the carved and gilded chancel screens depicting the life of Christ. Back outside we backed up to take photos of the cathedral. Walked past the police prefecture with the policeman standing in a glass box with a heater at his feet, to the Palais de Justice (reconstructed 1857-1868 by architects Joseph-Louis Duc and Honoré Daumet). Experience told me I could walk right past the guards at the wrought-iron gate; Marsha and Sibylle could hardly believe it, but followed me in. At Sainte Chapelle/Holy Chapel (1240), a sign indicated it was closed to restore the stained glass windows. We admired the gargoyles and left the Palais.

St Chapelle gargoyles

We walked to the other side of Île de la Cité/City Island where Sibylle bought 20 stamps for Switzerland and I bought 20 for the U.S. We walked along the Seine, soon coming to stalls selling flowers, plants, and seeds. We arrived at Place Louis Lépine with the glass covered stalls and fountains of the flower market, offering a wide variety of flowers and plants.

Flower Market cacti

Flower Market

At the other end of the market was the art nouveau Métro station entrance. We used our Métro passes for the first time. They have put in extra turnstile-hopping barriers. You put your ticket in the slot, get it back then go through a turnstile, then push through gates to enter the station proper. We went from Cité to Montparnasse-Bienvenue. There we followed long corridors and rode a moving sidewalk to change to the train to Bir-Hakeim, and walked to La Tour/Tower Eiffel (1887-1889). We immediately joined a line, and had to wait a half-hour for the place to open at 10:30. Africans were selling plastic wind-up flying birds and there were a group of blacks in front of us speaking Oxford English.

Eiffel Tower ticket

We paid 20 FRF/$3.25 to ride the elevator to the second level. The third level was closed due to reconstruction. We had a half-sunny view of Paris in all directions. My camera was acting funny, as if it was advancing the film only half a frame. The gadget on the camera to let me know the film was advancing said it wasn’t, so I opened the camera. Some of the film had advanced, so I ruined some photos. Oh, well.

We descended to the first level with the copper-colored glass shops, a mini-mall! It started to rain, but by the time we took the elevator back to the ground, it had stopped. We crossed the Pont d'Iéna to Palais de Chaillot. In the park there were lots of black guys with blankets spread on the ground to display their wares of jewelry and African figurines. They especially approached Sibylle speaking in English. We took the Métro from Trocadéro to Charles de Gaulle-Étoile, coming out on Avenue des Champs-Élysées with a good view of the Arc de Triomphe. We stopped at the Lido to check prices; 160 FRF/$26 at the bar. We stopped at Burger King for lunch and I had a vanilla shake because I had given up chocolate for Lent! Marsha and Sibylle exclaimed that it was pretty far to walk to Place de la Concorde, but they were okay with the detour behind Théâtre Marigny to see the Stamp & Postcard Market. It was raining but many, many stalls were set up. Then on to Place de la Concorde to see the Obélisque de Louxor/Luxor Obelisk (1400 BCE, given by Ottoman viceroy of Egypt, Mehmet Ali in 1829, installed 1836). We turned left to walk past Maxim’s to Galerie de la Madeleine, a quaint street of shops. Arrived at L'église de la Madeleine, which looks like a marble Greek temple originally meant to be a temple of glory to Napoleon. We entered the church to hear an organ recital and to admire the murals high up on the walls depicting the life of Mary Magdalene. We caught the Métro at Madeleine towards Rue Montmartre. We started looking for our hotel that was on Cité Rougement. We found Rue Rougement that did not have a #4 bis, but found a sign pointing into a courtyard for Cité Rougement. We entered the courtyard, turned right down some steps into an alley to a street called Cité Rougement. There we saw the bright orange letters of Hotel Rex. Outside was a huge pile of debris, almost as if the place was being torn down. We rang the doorbell and entered the lobby crowded with Moroccans and suitcases, and Qaddafi was at the desk! He took our voucher and told us in his best German that we may be put in another hotel. Apparently they were being remodeled. He made a call, then said we would be staying here, apologizing that the room had only two beds. However, instead of only running water, we would get a full bath. Marsha and Sibylle went up with the room key in the two-person elevator, and I followed with the Moroccan maid/proprietress. After the elevator creaked to t halt, we got out on the 5th and top floor and went to room 52. It was a fairly large room with two double beds, the full bath, and a balcony! We admired the view straight down into our alley, and across at the balconies filled with potted plants. After a short rest, we went to catch the Métro, changing at Strasbourg-St Denis. To leave a station, barriers had to be pushed on a green rectangle, swung away, or some slid open automatically. We arrived at Porte de Clignancourt and looked for the famous flea market. We saw a few stalls along one street and took that to end up in a huge area of stalls. The items being sold were not necessarily all used, and not all inexpensive! We wandered a bit, then returned to the Métro. Changed at Barbès-Rochechouart to Anvers. We walked up Rue Steinkerque past all the fabric shops. We caught the funicular up Montmartre and made our way to Place du Tertre. It was raining again, but many artists were still at work under umbrellas; even the portrait artists. We watched for a while, and Sibylle was interested in having her portrait done, but was worried about the cost. I let her know there were many students who did sketches while standing up. We made to leave the square when a couple guys came up asking to do our portraits. I said, “No!” Sibylle was approached by someone who said he would do the portrait and when you see it you can decide what to pay. A friend of this guy grabbed Marsha and convinced her of the same. I went to watch as we all stood under the eaves of a restaurant. An Asian artist insisted on doing my portrait even when I insisted I didn’t want one. When they were done, the artists stood as a group and gave us the story that portraits normally cost 500-800 FRF and they would charge only 350 FRF/$57. “No way!” They carried on about the cost of paper, and the value of the portrait when they became famous, and this was the best Paris souvenir, so 300 FRF/$48 each? “No!” All three for 300 FRF? “No!” Sibylle’s guy kept bargaining and Marsha’s may have been willing to give his for free. Mine was going to go along with whatever the others got. Finally Sibylle and Marsha agreed to pay 50 FRF/$8 for their portraits, of which Sibylle’s was poorly done, and Marsha’s was well-done, but didn’t look like Marsha! Mine wasn’t done well, but by then I felt sorry for the guy if I was the only one who didn’t pay, and gave him my 50 FRF.

My "portrait" (even the date is wrong!)

We walked over to Basilique du Sacré-Cœur/Sacred Heart Basilica (1875-1914) and spent some time inside. Later we took the funicular down to the Métro, changed at Barbès-Rochechouart to St Michel. We came up in the lively Latin quarter, and walked down a side street of Rue de la Huchette to check out the restaurants, deciding to eat at La Grèce/The Greece. We ordered the standard menu that had some choices, for 35 FRF/$5.70 each plus 15% service charge. Sibylle had a Coke, Marsha had wine, and I had an Orangina. For the first course, Sibylle and I had tzatziki/cucumbers in a strained yogurt sauce and Marsha had dolmas/stuffed grape leaves. Sibylle also ordered the tomato salad, hoping to get feta cheese, but no cheese. We all had brouchettes/souvlaki/skewers of meat and vegetables, ours had lamb, beef, and sausage, as well as onions, and peppers. There was also a rice dish and a couple Greek baked potatoes. For dessert Sibylle had an orange and Marsha and I had baklava. Marsha and Sibylle ended with coffee. We paid exact change for our meals. Returned to the Métro to go to Gare de Lyon via Châtelet. We left the Métro the wrong way, and had to use our passes to enter, and then exit the proper way to get to the train station. We retrieved our luggage, returned to the Métro, changed at Place de la Bastille, to get to Rue Montmartre. In the St Michel Métro station we saw a lot of mice. In several stations the smell of marijuana was strong and the smokers appeared casual. One guy threw his butt to the mice!

We found our hotel, and Marsha and Sibylle took the luggage up on the elevator as I climbed the stairs. Sibylle settled in for the night as Marsha and I readied to go out once again! Took the Métro, changed at Miromesnil and at Place de Clichy, getting off at Blanche. We joined the crowds on the street heading towards the building with a lit red neon windmill with revolving blades - The Moulin Rouge!

Moulin Rouge handout front

Moulin Rouge handout back

The price was to be 125 FRF/$20 at the bar. A doorman opened the door. Another man asked if we had reservations; no. Another man pointed us to coat check that cost us 10 FRF/$1.60 for both coats. Another man was told to take us in. He started taking us to a table, but we wanted to go to the bar. The bar was in the center and the bar stools held us up above the crowded tables. A band was playing on stage and people were dancing. Not all, but many people were very dressed up. We paid our 125 FRF to the bartender and Marsha got a gin and tonic and I got the tonic with lemon.
We had arrived at 22:00 when the show was to begin, but the band played a few more songs. The MC came out to introduce the show and to apologize because they were just beginning their season and we were to forgive any technical errors. I translated for Marsha, and then the guy repeated it in English! Femmes, femmes, femmes, lots of them, nearly topless with lots of feathers. They had one main male and female singer who lip-synced their songs. The other entertainers were a juggler of rings and hoops, acrobats, one who lay on the floor with his feet up and twirled the other guy with his feet. He would toss the guy up so he landed on his head on supine guy’s one foot, and tossed him foot to foot! In a puff of frozen ice smoke, there was a see-through pool with a pair of dolphins that did simple tricks for their bikini-clad trainer. She jumped in with the dolphins and they pulled off her top, and they disappeared into the floor. A couple horses pranced out to Western-themed music. A spotlight was aimed at a screen and we were shown a large repertoire of hand shadow figures, including famous profiles of leaders of state; excellent! The grand finale was the can-can dancing with several of the dancers soloing and everyone throwing themselves into splits, while whooping and squeaking and screaming. The show ended just after midnight.

Sunday, February 27, 1983

We had to wait longer for the Métro at this time of night. There were crowds of people on Rue Faubourg Montmartre, some seedy looking, most stopping for crêpes at sidewalk stands. We thought we may have been followed, but by the time we reached the hotel, there was no one around. We had to be buzzed in to the hotel. I got our key and ordered breakfast of two coffees and a tea, then we took the elevator up to our room. Hopefully we didn’t disturb Sibylle as we readied for bed, and I slid in next to Sibylle in the double bed.

We were all up by 8:30 when breakfast was due. At 8:45 the phone rang and someone asked in English if we had received breakfast. No. Soon a maid arrived with breakfast and two coffees. We explained we were three persons and wanted a tea, which was then brought. We each also had a croissant and a foot-long piece of baguette. After breakfast we went to hand in our key and asked about check-out time. Then we went to the Musée Grevin, but it wouldn’t open until noon. We returned to the hotel to check out and took the Métro to Gare de Lyon to put our luggage in a locker, which again stole 3 1 FRF pieces! I had to go to the Bureau de Change for more coins. We took the Métro to the Musée du Louvre. The Métro station had copies of artifacts from the museum. We came above ground to find ourselves behind the Louvre and had to walk around the immense building. There were relatively few people here on free Sunday. There was the usual scaffolding outside the building, but when we went inside, we saw it extended to the interior as well. The souvenir shop was closed and as we approached the stairway, there was a wooden tunnel up the center of it. Not seeing the wide staircase, I was a bit disoriented. Only one side of the down staircase was tunneled, and we took that to see the Greek and Roman statuary, and the unlabeled Venus de Milo. The Winged Victory is usually on the staircase, so I don’t know where it went. Upstairs we found the Mona Lisa. A girl heard us speaking English and handed over her rental headset to hear how it was larger with the columns painted in (?), now was discolored green and yellow, when it was discovered (?), when it was sent to Washington, DC (1963), how wonderful da Vinci was, the naturalness of the smile, the eyes, etc. I couldn’t find anyone to hand the headset to, so returned it to the desk. It only worked within a certain distance from the painting, as I discovered as I wandered back and forth to check out the effect of the eyes following me. We continued down a long hall of Italian paintings, saw some Spanish paintings and the Picasso collection (collected by him, not by him), and viewed the giant paintings in Medici Hall by Peter Paul Rubens. The last area was closed off, so we went downstairs. We could not go below the ground floor, and Marsha asked about the Michelangelo Captives, two of his slave sculptures. Yes, they were downstairs, and yes, that area is closed today. So free Sunday is for a limited viewing in the Louvre…

We left the Louvre and walked past the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel (1806-1808) into the Jardin des Tuileries. There were a few people strolling, in at the far pool a man had just removed a good-sized remote-controlled speedboat. A kid was fishing out of his boat. We walked to the Musée Jeu de Paume and paid 4.50 FRF/75 cents (half-price Sunday) to enter the Impressionist Painting Exhibit.

Musée Jeu de Paume  ticket

Many of the paintings were gone due to being restored, and a sign indicated the Orangerie was still closed. There was plenty of scaffolding and empty rooms, although a fair representation of Impressionist art remained. Sibylle sat down a lot.

We took the Métro from Place de la Concorde to Invalides, coming out a couple blocks from L'Hôtel des Invalides/Hospital of Invalids/Veterans (1670-1676). We headed over and went straight in to the military chapel of St Louis decorated with banners captured from the enemies of France. The last few flags had swastikas. We had to walk around to buy an 11 FRF/$1.75 ticket to enter the area under the highest dome in Paris to see the tomb of Napoleon resting below, in the Église du Dôme/the Royal Chapel (1708).

Musée de l'Armée in l'Hôtel des Invalides ticket

The tomb was made with an impressive red quartzite. We took the stairs around behind the “altar” to get another perspective from below. We did not use the rest of the ticket to visit the Army Museum. We walked around the block and sort of jaywalked across a street to go to the Musée Rodin for 4 FRF/65 cents (half-price Sunday).

Musée Rodin ticket

Went first to the Thinker (1902), then inside to see many impressive sculptures by Auguste Rodin, including a figure with a malformed scapula and dislocated shoulder (St John the Baptist 1878-1880)!

We took the Métro from Varenne, changed at Montparnasse to St Michel, taking an elevator to ground level. Decided to eat at Pizza Pino, where we were welcomed by every single waiter. Sibyle wanted a certain pizza, but with pepers rather than chopped meat. Marsha and I had four-seasons pizzas. Marsha also got a salad that we shared. Marsha and Sibylle ended with ice cream sundaes, but Sibylle didn’t want the cognac on hers, and she was told she was picky. On the way to the Métro station, Marsha bought 10 croissants at a patisserie. We took the Métro from St Michel (no little gray mice today), changed at Châtelet, to Gare de Lyon. We saw street musicians in the corridors and stations of the Métro, and sometimes in the Métro trains where they would pass a hat. We were hassled somewhat at tourist spots, with guys asking if we were Dutch, in from Heileberg, etc. Sibylle was bewildered (“Was?) when these guys spoke English to her. Once we caught someone with a hand on Sibylle’s purse, and she reported a hand on her butt. Marsha had some man trying to paw her, too. We heard many German tourists and if they heard us they were able to pick out the Schweizerin/Swiss female.

We arrived at the train station at 16:00, retrieved our luggage, and boarded the 17:00 train to Neuchâtel. We found two pairs of empty seats across from each other, so Marsha and Sibylle sat together. I sat next to 20-year old Gerard who was in the military and had been camping with friends. He mostly dozed, or looked at and chuckled over his photos. I peeked and saw he had friends who were mooning at the camera.

We arrived a couple minutes early at 22:30 in Neuchâtel, and had time to change to the 22:35 train to Biel. Once in Biel, Marsha offered to pay for a taxi if it cost less than 10 CHF/$5. Sibylle inquired and it cost 8.60 CHF/$4.30. So we climbed in and sped up to the hospital. Trudged up to the Personalhaus/staff residence, to our rooms, and right to bed!

Our Railtour Suisse package that included hotel and train fare, also came with a plastic folder, a map, a brochure on Paris, and three luggage tags!

Thursday, March 3, 1983

I was invited to Jan & Kirby’s for a dinner of Kirby’s chili with cheddar cheese, along with a salad and Marie Callender’s cornbread, with vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Friday, March 4, 1983

I went home with Mathieu Sutter on the kindergarten bus. The paternal grandparents were visiting and maternal grandmother was busy in the kitchen. An elegant lady came to visit, and then the doctor came to see Barbara who had a fever. Mathieu ate and ate. The grown-ups had salad, potatoes with a white sauce, bread and cheese, and bacon. Somewhere in there I had my French lesson.