Third Day In Paris

Elena spent the night at Philippes place since she was out late. So I got to spend a nice quiet night by myself. She returned at about 9am. We decided to go check out the Notre Dame and I wanted to see the Goya prints. We took the Metro to Notre Dame. Elena thinks she saw the ring scammer in the courtyard out in front. Notre Dame is a magnificent cathedral. The stained glass is wonderful. The stone work is fantastic, in the front of the church at least. As you go back, the columns turn from the clusters characterstic of Gothic churches to single Corinthian columns. The only bad thing is all the tourists taking pictures and video. Can't they give it a rest inside the cathedral? The stonework on the outside of the church is in really good shape. I wonder if it is original or copies. The same parts of the cathedral in Cologne (Köln) aren't so well preserved. The only flaw I thought I was that one statue's head was gone, but then I noticed that he was actually carrying his head in his hands. Go figure.

After that we looked for the Finland Cultural Center where Elena would see a movie with Philippe tonight. We found it. There was a Starbucks nearby so we got €2,60 tall coffees. The space upstairs was very hot. I inquired as to how to get on the internet. You gotta buy a password for €2 for 30 minutes.



Then she went off to see her stuff while I went to see the Goya prints. The ticket for the Goya exhibit was €9. But worth it. They had most of his prints. The only one I know was missing was the one where a guy in impaled on a sharpened tree stump in the Disasters of War series. They even had a few of the copper plates from which the prints were made. It was very cool. When I came home, Elena was already there. We made spaghetti and chicken sauce and finished a bottle of wine we opened a couple of days ago. Then Elena took a nap while I watched the French Open.

After that we headed to the Pantheon but it was already closed. And the tickets are expensive. So we just looked at the outside. We went into a church Saint-Etienne? and were part of the way through when they started a mass. So we left. I got a couple of cans of beer at Monoprix and used the robo-checker without even switching it over to English. Yay me! Then I came home.

I decided that I can't leave France without trying their fast food. So I decided that this night was the night I'd have a Quick Burger. €7,55 later, I was carrying an enormous box (almost the size of a 12 bottle case of beer) with a drink, fries, and a hamburger. He included a huge pile of napkins, a ketchup, a mayonaisse, but no straw. I ate the whole thing. I wouldn't say it was worth the US$12 I paid for it.

Look at this box for a burger, fries, and a drink!