Wow (the Paris update)

[posted kinda late, originally written on the bus home] On my way home from a MOST AMAZING week-end. Paris still surprises me, or the love I feel for it does. You’d think I’d tire of it eventually, for all the times I’ve been (often spending much time in the same places). AND IT NEVER DOES!!!! 😮

Every time its breathtaking beauty strikes me again. Really takes hold of me, fills me with ecstasy, gives me moments of pure pleasure for just being there. This is what it must be like to really be in love. Even the parts of Paris that aren’t particularly beautiful still make me happy because they’re part of that incomparable city that is just too WOW for words.

SO as you can tell I had a great time. The weather was incredible, blue blue sky all three days and around 20 degrees. Oh what a difference this makes!!! (this makes me sad now that it’s over cuz I know my next trip won’t be as amazing. unless I wait over half a year and that’s just not an option)

I also tried the bikes this time. You know, Vélib’. Tried, was hooked, cycled around most of Friday, so of course I was in agony on Saturday & had to go back to walking (& lots of sitting & lying). Then on Sunday I was back to cycling again. 😀

Please indulge me as I add a little song of praise to cycling in Paris. Much like rollerblading it means you get around faster while still enjoying the (amazing) views, you can go pretty crazy cuz Paris drivers are mostly indulgent and always vigilant, and you’re completely independent from métros & can change your mind about your destination any time you please. (and it’s faster, less dangerous & less inconvenient than rollerblades) So, in short, it’s fucking perfect!!! =P~

So the perfection of this trip was in no small part due to Vélib’. And the weather. But of course Paris too. And Parisians who are pretty awesome as well. I miss them all. 🙁 But I will go back! 😀 Maybe in November.
Let me add a list of things I did as usual…

Saturday:

• Maison Européenne de la Photographie. Never been before. I went for a particular exhib’ that was boring, ended up seeing everything since I’d paid.
• A photo exhib about the Antarctic on the fence of the Jardin du Luxembourg. There’s always something on that fence so I went to see it just for the heck of it. Lots of penguins. 😛
• Emil Nolde at the Grand Palais. This was pretty cool. I especially liked his landscapes.

Sunday:

• I walked aaall the way to la Villette along the Canal St Martin. Had lunch at a cute little café in the 19th where the guy behind the bar gave me his keys so I didn’t have to pay 20cents for the toilet. 😀
• Went to the Cité des Sciences. I went there for a 2CV exhib (which was ok) and went through the rest of it too. Hadn’t been there since I was a kid!! It was kinda… weird. It’s huge and pretty empty. And kinda dated. But you can tell that they try. *lol*
• Theeen I walked to the Buttes Chaumont where I found cool things I hadn’t seen before, like a waterfall in a cave. And I lay in the sun. 😀
• Took the métro to Concorde for the Richard Avedon exhib at the Jeu de Paume. Lay in the sun some more first, then found there was a massive queue (and the museum closing in under an hour) so went to lie in the sun again. :))

Monday:

• Cycled to the Bastille and walked around the market there. Loved it, it’s so cute, the little French people buying their groceries. 😡 And the little market people praising their wares. 😀 Got talking to some guy who was campaigning about the economic crisis and he asked “so you’re from Paris?” – “no, Luxembourg” – “ah, tax haven!” *lol*
• Theeen more cycling… the next stop was gonna be Marché de la Création near Montparnasse but I got distracted by the voies sur berges (roads along the Seine which are closed to cars on Sundays) sooo I cycled along there to Quai Branly and then onwards down to the 14th. 🙂
• Made it to the Marché and bought 2 cool paintings – one by this woman and one by this guy who draws on métro tickets. Will show at some point. :))
• Since I was down there I went for a quick stroll around the Cimetière Montparnasse, then on to Hôpital St Anne for an exhib at the Musée Singer Polignac (which has regular exhibs around various topics to display the collection of Ste Anne patients).
• Then I cycled back up to the 7th for the Espace EDF Electra – another one of those places that always has free exhibs so might as well go have a look. :)) This one was about gardening / landscaping and, well, moderately interesting.
• And that was it. I cycled to the Tuileries, lay in the sun some more, found it veeeeeery hard to leave the sun (oh man it was so NICE! and warm! and nice!) but eventually dragged myself (i.e. cycled) to the Gare du Nord (where I had stored my bag). I didn’t cycle to Roissy tho but caught the RER. :))

The End. I love Paris!!!!! 😡