Walking past the museum, the streets were full of young, trendy types. We guessed maybe they were art students, seeing as there was an arts school next door. We found a park near by to at our lunch. Cheese pasta, cheese with bread, apple pudding and twix.
Our lunch time show was provided by the arts students. Young couples were scattered around the park. Two couples in particular were playing on a nearby playground. They were being loud and crazy as they courted. The sight had Jannelle and I reminiscing on our loud and crazy days. We talked about days gone by.
The museum covered the history of Paris mostly through the past four centuries. There were old paintings and street signs and furniture. There were also some excellent city models. All of these would have been interesting and informative if only we could understand the labels. We had no idea what was going on most of the time. So as interesting as everything was, it couldn´t hold our attention for very long.
We decided to try our luck on the more gruesome French Revolution section. Again, all in French. The Bastille room was pretty good. There were paintings of people being dragged through the street and stabbed. Then paintings of imprisoned monarchs. And miniature guillotines. The rooms had amazing wallpaper. It was brightly striped in primary colours, with matching curtains.
We reached the exit through the Henry 15th rooms, which had an large model of some historic event. It made me want to build models. I don´t think I had ever built a model like that. Most of the models I ever built were paper dioramas or dinosaurs. I like the idea of building a tiny city.
On the train we went to another free museum. The fashion museum was supposedly stocked with incredible couture and fashion from centuries past. I wanted to see the old dresses, complete with bustles. When we got there the museum was closed, for another 6 weeks. I was disappointed, especially since I wouldn´t even be in Europe by then.
Luckily the area was full of museums. We spotted the Museum of Contemporary Art which had been closed for renovation. Even more luck, it had picked this day to reopen. We went to the free permanent rooms that had just been redone.
First there was a photographer who put his works onto glass. Most of them were pictures of cereal boxes and photocopies of other peoples books. Then pictures of dirty street corners. There wasn´t anything in his work to be excited about. We moved on to more abstract works. We got through a few rooms of crumpled material with paint splotches. An attendant told us the museum was closing and we had to leave. I hadn´t realised how it was. We would have to come back another day.
On the way back I saw the Princess Di memorial.
We returned to the flat to clean ourselves up and headed off to meet Yoann´s friends for drinks. They were mostly guys, with one girl who didn´t say much. The bar was the second floor of an Irish themed place. We sat and talked with those who could speak English. Most could speak it quite well. It made me jealous.
We hadn´t eaten dinner yet and were getting peckish. The group had thought ahead. They had ordered traditional French pub fare. Bowls of bread and a board with meats and cheeses. All the hams and sausages were there,along with a selection of cheeses in various colours and flavours. I picked at the bread and cheeses. I wasn´t really full at the end.
We moved on to another bar two doors down, more of a club. The was music, lights and a dancefloor. The French guys bought two dozen shots with different rums and laid them all out on the counter. One was enough for me. The guys went on to down them all over the night. We didn´t stay too late.
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