Other wonderful things about Paris

For the majority of my experience in Paris, I was all alone absorbing the sights and sounds like a sponge. It was enjoyable and invigorating to be in a lively city with plenty of things to look at and do. On Sunday, I did my own tour of the city starting out looking for the Maison de Balzac. Little did I know, the museum was shut down until the 3 November when I had to leave. Note to self: Definitely come back to this area in December with my folks. I marveled around the 16th arrondissement looking at the traditional bourgeois fancy apartment buildings. This area had a great view of the Eiffel Tower and circled around back to the Metro. I took the Metro Line 6 to Charles De Gaulle-Etoile, which seems like the center of the world. You ascend up to the Arc de Triomphe which has a huge roundabout surrounding the monument. Camille told me that no one gets insurance coverage for this roundabout, because so many accidents happen frequently around it. I can see why; it's freaking scary! She said you can see the accidents happen every thirty minutes from atop the monument. Haha! So I took photos of Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees without paying money to go up in the monument. After having my dose of the Champs Elysees and all the tourists, I took the train to Montmartre and arrived at Amelie Poulain's Metro stop, Abbesses. Famous movie in France, perhaps the very best of Jean-Pierre Jeunet. I ascended the hill of Montmartre and could feel my heart gradually beating faster as I went on the physique-toning hill. I arrived finally and looked around the quaint little town with shops and artsy places. Then, I entered the Basilica of Sacre Coeur, which is beautiful inside but far from a holy place of worship. It's like a museum church and everyone looks around at the architecture, etc. It was fun walking through, in any case. The view from above is spectacular. You can see all of Paris at the altitude of the Eiffel Tower. No need to go into the Eiffel Tower to get a nice view (although I'm sure I will in December).

Tired and hungry, I sat down at a cafe with a terrasse in Montmartre and got a pasta dish and creme brulee to sooth my grumpy stomach. I almost left my umbrella but fortunately remembered it before descending down the hill. I then took the Metro to the Bibliotheque Nationale (National Library) to look at their collection as well as marvel at a study space that could be potentially mine one of these days. Aesthetically, it's kind of scary, you descend down into the library from above almost as if you're going into the Metro. Inside, however, it's such a workable space with card access to each section of the library. Of course, I had to see the large French literature section. My guide book told me every book published in France has been cataloged in this library. I was at the Francois Mitterand main site. A nice fun visit to the Bibliotheque, after which I returned home to Johan's apartment.