Last days in Paris

I've been up for 24 hours; the dust of Paris and Morocco lingers on my shoes. Last night I met up with Ed, recently returned from Iraq by way of a five week vacation in Mongolia, Guillemette, fresh from book parties in Paris, and Lin. We met at Paris Commune for dinner to share stories and catch up. I brought maccaroons from Laduree for dessert.

On Sunday I stayed in bed. Having overdone it on Saturday (being woefully unprepared for the cold rainy weather) I managed to catch a cold and also to upset my stomach with one too many noisettes. I slept and got up and ate and slept again. Feeling brave, I ventured out to the Louvre to look at their collection of Arts of Islam, only to discover that it was on loan from the Met.

I didn't stay long. I bought some stamps, mailied some postcards, and went back to the hotel.

On Monday I was feeling much better. In the morning I went to Laudree on the rue Royal for boxes of maccaroons, and then up the steps of the nearby Ste Madeline. A man on the top step held out a pair of paper sunglasses and pointed towards the sun. I donned them and saw a small disc cut out of the bottom of the orb. It was a partial solar eclipse. He offered them to another man, who exclaimed, "C'est incroyable."

I ate a quiche along the rue St. Honore, stopping in to a design store because it looked hopping. I was out of place in my orange Old Navy windbreaker. A couple looked at a 500 &euro phone that was a new design. "Would you like one?" the seller asked. "No, no," they said. "Just looking."

I went to St. Chappelle to look at the stained glass windows. Entering the upper chamber, I was amazed at how bright it was, and then I remembered that I had last come during the winter. It was cool outside, but the sun shone brightly through the windows, and I was thrilled. I sat for an hour and looked at the panes.

Afterwards, I walked along the Seine towards Notre Dame. There was no line to enter, but I didn't feel like seeing anything after St. Chappelle and so I sat before it and watched the pigeons as they gathered around whomever was feeding them. The afternoon drew on, and then I realized I needed to drop off the maccaroons back at the hotel before my evening's plans. And so I gathered my things and walked off in search of the Metro, the sun low behind me.
Posted by eku at October 4, 2005 9:55 PM