More about Paris

Ok ' so Naomi and I have now parted ways - she´s back in London and I am in Madrid - where its hot hot hot (finally I,ve found summer!)

But back to Paris where Nomes and I really did the museum thing hard. We got at least ten visits out of our museum passes - and in places like the Louvre and the dÓrsay we literally spent hours. Nomes freaked when she saw the Manet´s - Olympia and the Dejuener - and I could be found almost drooling over the Caillebottes...

ON Sunday we went to Mont Marte and did the toursity thing - had lunch in a cafe at Place du Tetre and I went to the Musee Montmarte which had all the original posters for the Moulin Rouge etc, and the original wooden painted sign for the Lapin Agile, and we walked down to the Moulin Rouge and tried to get a photo of us and the windmill - which resulted in a lot of laughter and some silly photos - and a Frenchman offering to take the shot for us... Then back to the dÓrsay for another look, then a walk along the Seine to the Musee Quai Branly (which I really didn´t like). We stopped ny the Eiffel Tower for a photo and a nutella crepe! and then headed back to the hostel '- and decided to see another movie.

THis time we saw a French film - "48 hours per day" - a romantic comedy / farce thing. And when I fronted up to the counter to buy a ticket with my limited French(and stating that at the outset) ... well the bloke at the desk smiled like "this ´ll be fun..." and then set about helping me to improve my French - making me repeat the name of the film til he was satisfied that I could say it correctly!

On Monday - yesterday - We walked down the Champs Elysee, had coffee at a cafe. Paris is soooo expensive. A regular coffee - une cafe creme - cost between 4 and 6 Euro depending on where you were. Do the maths. Its scary!!!! We ate baguettes in the Tuileres Garden, looked at the toursit and other expensive shops on the Rue du Rivoli, and then got Naomi off to the Gare du Nord for her train back to London. "Bye Nomes - no matter what happens, we´ll always have Paris!!!!"

And then I wandered down the road and down to Chatelet and then went back to the hostel to collect my bags and get to Gare Austerlitz for my overnight train to MAdrid. And was only stopped twice and asked for directions... Until I open my mouth, I seem to have the blending in thing down pat!

And I can´t get over how many people in Europe (and the UK and US) still smoke - and how stinky they are - especially in a crowded metro train!

There were all sorts of buskers in the Paris Metro stations - a string septet, piano accordian plares, solo violinists, guitarists....