A Vacation Diary
Friday, August 2, 1996
Yesterday I landed in Paris at 5:30 pm having slept most of the flight
from Los Angeles thanks to Halcyon. I had been to Paris several times before,
all but one trip during the 1970s for durations as short as a half day
to as long as ten days. I went to Paris in October of 1995 as a side trip
on my London vacation. The purpose of the side trip was to experience the
Eurostar "Chunnel" train ride (Waterloo Station, London to Gare
du Nord, Paris) which took exactly 3 hours, the train reaching 180 miles/hour
(there is an announcement on the PA system when this happens, "trois
cents kilometres") this speed only being attained in France. Also,
I hadn't been to Paris since November, 1977 and I had learned that there
was going to be a special exhibit of Cézanne paintings which would
only be available in a few cities in the entire world, Los Angeles not
being one. I stayed at a hotel across from the Jardin du Luxembourg in
a room that can best be described as a roomy bird cage. That side trip
lasted only 30 hours, but it gave me a taste again for the most beautiful
city in the world.
Monday, August 5, 1996
I would have thought that by now the jet lag effect would have diminished
but it is still throwing me off in the morning. After lunch at the apartment
I went to the Jacquemart - André Museum (42 F) in the 8th. This small
mansion (sounds like a contradiction in terms) features Italian Renaissance,
Flemish masters and 18th century French school art. This recently renovated
museum opened after being closed for a very long time because of an embezzlement
scandal. I then went for a stroll down bd. Haussmann & avenue de Friedland
to the Arc de Triomphe and then down the avenue des Champs-Elysées.
As I walk around the streets I often get asked by other tourists and French
people directions, which of course I can't answer. I had dinner at the
apartment in the evening.
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@PLATT
Paris