Boycotting the Metro

I fell in love with Paris tonight, finally.
All of a sudden, it just...clicked. And I realized how much I truly love this city.
I had just met up with my friend Jens for an "Adieu Ice Cream" because he's leaving town and packin' up back to Germany. Dommage. We got the city's best ice cream at Bertholy's - for a rich creamy and out-of-this-world chocolate ice cream. As we sat on le quai down by La Seine, les bateaux mouches passed by, filled with tourists. All the famous monuments were lit up so nicely and somewhere on a nearby bridge, a lonely man was playing Amélie tunes on his accordion. The air was warm and a pleasant breeze carried the smells of the local food markets in a nearby neighborhood. I assumed that Paris would be dead on Easter Sunday and that few people would be out - just the opposite ! There were all kinds of people out and about, enjoying the city that I've come to love so much. But it wasn't in stressful flurry of crowds - there was a certain placidity in the languorous, relaxed way that people were walking and talking and promenading.
After saying goodbye to my friend Jens, I decided to avoid the metro and walk along the Seine to enjoy the warm breeze and the view. It was incredible and something I haven't taken advantage of enough. Down by the water, one level below all the cars is a lovely boardwalk that follows the Seine and is lined by old fishing boats tied up. At the very tip of the tiny island on which Notre Dame cathedral is located, were people picnicking along the water's edge - usually with a 12-pack of beer or a bottle of red wine. Friends gathered to spend Easter Sunday afternoon sitting outside on a picnic blanket, telling old stories and having a good laugh. I walked all along the Seine, whistling with my hands in my pockets, stopping at each bridge to observe the people there enjoying themselves with good friends.

Another decision I've come to:
I'm boycotting the metro. Actually, that's how my love affair with Paris began this one evening. I discovered that there's an entire world, believe it or not, above the METRO that connects the whole city and which I've come to depend on. I literally take the métro everywhere and never get to see any of the above-ground scenery.
That has all changed this weekend.
On my way home, I rented out a Vélib bicycle and rode allll the way home. Everywhere I turned was a new monument - look left! Assemblée Nationale! Right!Le Sénat! Place de la Concorde ! La Tour Eiffel! Notre Dame!
Marion and I, during our 4-day weekend, have walked everywhere and it's been pure loveliness in terms of seeing new parts of the city. We discovered that Montparnasse is actually a lot closer than we thought. We walked to Invalides to have a look at Napoleon's tomb, and then enjoying the park at Le Musée Rodin. Today we walked to Cluny La Sorbonne and meandered around the small streets of the Latin Quarter. There were a bunch of intellectuels mosying around weird and small bookshops; others lined up at the door for cinema tickets on a lazy Sunday. Such a French thing to do. We tried to see an old movie with Audrey Hepburn in an ancient salon that only shows black & whites. The little streets that surround Notre Dame are among my favorite little cobblestone roads. Instead we see a black & white 1941 Greta Garbo film "Two-Faced Woman" or La Femmes aux Deux Visages in French. It was so much fun !

We also check out the only mosque in Paris, La Grande Mosquée de Paris, where they serve mint tea and Moroccan sweets under the canopy of orange trees in the courtyard. Beautifully-tiled walls line the courtyard and the big rooms that open up behind where dinner is served.
We walk through Les Jardins des Plants, where big magnolia trees are just starting to bloom, and colorful flowers are planted all over. The Natural History Museum is there (you can see the dinosaur bones from outside!) and a little zoo. How lovely!

On Friday, we walked all the way to Le Grand Palais and saw the Andy Warhol exhibit on display. His famous Marilyn Monroe, Jackie O and Elizabeth Taylor pieces were on display, as was his colossal portrait of Mao. Wow!