Friday May 2, 2014 - Paris, France - Day 2

We slept for 10 hours so I think we were both tired.  Both of us felt rested though.

Got ready, sent my daughter, Leslie, a "Happy 40th Birthday" greeting, and we headed out.  Went to a boulongerie down the street and had café au lait and a bit to eat.  Took the Metro at Hotel de Ville and headed to the Rodin Museum which is on the Left Bank next to Invalides.  There is a Mapplethorpe exhibit there as well as the usual Rodin pieces.  We got there just as they opened but the line was long and it took us about 30 minutes to get in.  But it was well worth the wait.

                                            "The Thinker" in the garden at Musee Rodin
There were lots of other beautiful Rodin pieces in the gardens and also in the museum - a former hotel:

                                             Beautiful gardens and statuary at Musee Rodin
The Mapplethorpe exhibit was exquisite and demonstrated lots of similarities between Rodin and Mapplethorpe and their interpretation of the human body.  Mapplethorpe in mostly black and white pictures and Rodin in bronze or marble. 

After the Rodin we took the subway just outside the museum directly to the Basilica St Denis, on the northern outskirts of Paris.  This basilica is the resting place of the tombs of many of the French kings and queens.  Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI both have tombs in the catacombs beneath the basilica.  Many beautiful carvings and structures and the stained glass in the basilica is beautiful as well.

When we got to St. Denis, there was a huge market in progress.  We found many of the items that we need for our trip - some forks, a knife, and a corkscrew.  Got all for 3 euros!!!  Tim was ecstatic.

Then headed to a boulongerie and got a freshly made sandwich as a snack - fresh and delicious.  Then to the basilica.

The Basilica St Denis

The tombs of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI in the middle

Other elaborate tombs at Basilica St Denis

 

We took the subway back to Paris Hotel d'Ville and went to BHF Department Store and found some plastic wine glasses to take on our picnics during the next few weeks.

Walked back to the rue Vielle du Temple and passed a most interesting "wall garden" growing vertically up the wall.  Beautiful:

We went to Café des Philosophes down the street from our hotel and had some soup, jambon (ham) and a bottle of wine and did some people watching.  Al's flat is just across the street from this café.

By this time is was 5 pm so we headed back to Caron des Beaumarchais for a short nap.  Got ready and headed to Al's for adult beverages.  He also had hot and cold hors d'oeuvres.  I had purchased a bottle of Bordeaux red to drink since I'm trying to stay away from scotch for now!

Great conversation with Al and lots of his fun stories.  We then headed across the Seine to the 5th to Le Buisson Ardent (The Burning Bush) for a fabulous dinner. 

Al has introduced us to La Fourchette which is a restaurant reservation system - many with great discounts.  Tim downloaded the application on his phone.  We'll try that for Friday night.

A somewhat chilly walk back to Le Marais.  A fun evening. 

Al also introduced us to "Uber" which is a taxi booking service with deep discounts - you choose your level of car that you want - from a smart car to a limousine and they charge your credit card automatically.  He said it is very reliable with good discounts - i.e. 70 euros to/from CDG with a regular taxi vs. 35 euros using the application.  We'll use that for our return to CDG.

A great full day in Paris, but we're tired.  Off to bed for a good night's sleep.