Aaah..the weather has turned so lovely, it would be hard to stay indoors. After the rainy, cold Saturday, Sunday turned out to be perfect. Frank didn’t feel up to taking a long walk, so I went out by myself. I walked into the more central part of the city, still on the Left Bank.
I came to St. Sulpice Church, intending to walk inside and just view the many pieces of art work, as well as being able to see the display of the Shroud of Turin, but I knew the real deal is in Turin, Italy. However, the church was preparing for a Mass, so I decided to stay. From my experience with Catholic Masses, they are usually pretty short. I am not Catholic, but I love going to the services in Catholic churches in Europe. I do get such a sense of connecting with God, and I love the ceremonies, although I usually don’t know what certain things mean.
However, this Mass turned out to be the longest service I have ever attended. I should have known when no less than 10 priests came down the aisle, with a Cardinal at the end. I did stay until almost the end of the service. There were many hymns being sung, and responses by the congregation.
A French lady came in and sat next to me. I gave her the booklet with the hymns that I had received when I entered the church. I explained to this lady that I did not read French. She thanked me in English, and asked me where my home is, and I told her. Later, when the congregation had a response, she turned to me, with a grin, and said, “This one is in Latin”. As if I knew Latin better than French! I shared the booklet with her then, and sang the Latin response.
Almost two hours later, I made my exit, saying “Au revoir” to both ladies on either side of me. Both had been so nice, and welcoming to me.
From the church I headed east, coming to the Luxembourg Gardens. It was such a pretty day. The sky had these little puffy white clouds and the flowers in the gardens were so attractive.
It seems that no matter where one goes, the Eiffel Tower continues to be a beacon.
As I walked, I heard music coming from the bandstand. Now, wait a minute! The music was polka music. Munich beer hall music…it seemed incongruous to me…why am I hearing this in the center of Paris? However, if any of you know me very well, you will know that I LOVE that kind of music. Apparently, so do many other people in Paris.
The polka band, The name of the band is “Les Pils-Scnapps”. They are from Alsace, which, when I jogged my memory, remembered that Alsace is bordered by the Rhine River, just across from Germany. This region has been fought over many times; therefore, Alsace been German at some times, and French at others. Now it is French, with a Bavarian flavor.
Later, I walked back home via Boulevard St. Germaine I wanted to see the oldest church in Paris, and when I got there, a Dixieland band was playing in front of the church. Talk about incongruous!
That is one thing about travel that I love. Just keep going and something unexpected will pop up to meet you, and usually these are pleasant experiences.
Yesterday I just had to walk along the tree-lined path, from the Pont d’Alma to the Concorde. It was hard to remember that just two weeks ago, these trees were bare.
This time Frank went with me. It was a lovely walk, but we started to get pretty warm, so at Concorde, we walked back over a bridge and headed home. Frank said he needed a beer. We found a little beer garden/cafe down near the river, almost to the Alexander III bridge, and there we had lunch.
Today we went to the Rodin Museum, but unfortunately, the museum was closed, but we walked through the gardens, which had many of Rodin’s sculptures.
This is “Burghers of Calais”, which tells the story of an incident during the Hundred Years War, where six leaders of villages sacrificed their lives to save the village people.
From there, we went to the Opera district, but instead of sightseeing, we went shopping. Too boring, I think, to elaborate.
Oh, I forgot to tell you. Yesterday, Frank decided he needed a haircut. I know, from personal experience, that getting a haircut in a place where you do not speak the language, is a dangerous thing. Frank told me he closed his eyes and fell asleep during the haircut, and here he is, the new Frank.
All that gorgeous white hair gone. He assures me it will grow back, and if and when it does, no one but Rochelle will cut his hair again. When he came back to the apartment, after that haircut, I didn’t know what to say… For once, words failed me. I have to remind myself that this is still the Frank that I love. One thing is certain, he will not need another haircut while we are in France.
For now, you are caught up with our adventures. We had a quiet dinner in the apartment this evening. We have been busy researching French wines..trying a new one every few days. Let me tell you, French wines are very good. Like everywhere else, though, one can get pretty bad wines if you are not careful. That’s my job…the wine research.
I will write again in a few days. Now with the good weather, we will be out and about everyday.
Au Revoir for now,
Dolly
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