My Walk to Class

Yesterday in France there was a Grève Nationale -- or a nationwide strike.  Supposedly all transporation, Metros, Airplanes, Trains, and such were taking the day off in order to raise their wages from the government.  So because the Métro was not riding the rails yesterday, neither was I.  So I took off from my quaint apartment -- Chez Jacques -- on rue Biot and headed south.  My path, brought to you by Jacques himself, was chockfull of the finest spectacles of Paris.  Along my route I saw La Madeline, La place de la Concorde, Champs Élysées, La Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, and the Tour Montparnasse, not to mention several churches along the way.

--I just took a break to have a little lunch here at Café Daguerre.  I ordered une Salade Speck: bascially some cheese and potato chunks in a bowl.  I think there was some lettuce in there too.  But it was delicious.  It reminds me of Jacques speaking of Roquefort cheese, one of my favorites here.  Its a blue cheese with some stank.  He didn't say it's very fatty or I try not to each much because of the calories in it, but instead he explained to me that the bacteria in it is very good for your health.--

So yesterday I walked.  Here are some pictures from my walk before class and then after class a group of us walked around and did the tourist thing: l'arc de triomphe and Sacré-Coeur.

I was proud of myself yesterday when a group of 11 of us when to the highly visited Sacré-Coeur.  I spotted the North African men from a distance prowling around like sharks in search of meal.  I donned my Wayfarers and stepped outside the school of tourists we were.  They took the bait and moved in for the kill.  I was feeling safe watching them swarm and circle around my helpless friends when I turned around and was face to face with a man attempting to slip some sort of friendship bracelet around my finger -- tightening the noose on his sale.  He tried to butter me up and ask where I was from.  I replied, "La France".  While still trying to evade his smooth sales method I bit into his coldly with a sharp "Je ne veux pas ça!"-- meaning I don't want that!  He must have believed me and been convinced by the facade my shades provided because he promptly spun around for a different meal.

I joined back up those who were still left in the group after the feeding frenzy and and we took some pictures on our climb to top of the steps.  The view from atop Montmartre is one of the best.  I took a few choice pictures of myself which will hopefully last for my children's children to see and replicate in the future.

We strolled along the streets of Montmartre with scenes straight from the movie Amélie.  

I headed home and took a chance down a rogue alley in hopes of avoiding the sex shops of Pigalle.  I suceeded mostly after emerging from the cobblestones just past the Moulin Rouge.  I rested briefly Chez Jacques before buying my baguette and wine for dinner with a couple friends, Becky and Katie.  It wasn't too difficult to reach their apartment on the opposite end of Paris.  I took the 13 to the 4 and took off down Boulevard Brune for a bit.  We made a quick trip to the grocery store and cooked up a delicious meal of pasta and sauce, an assortment of cheeses, a big baguette, a few pieces of poulet (qui ont bien gouté), and a swig of wine.  Even what would be considered a simple meal in the U.S. is nothing short of spectacular when eating in France; different looking ingredients, excursions to an unfamiliar market, talking and eating with different individuals.

I made my way back to the Métro around midnight just in time to catch one of the final trains. Certainly a good day in Paris.