Our plan today was to get a late start and then to go to the Rodin Museum and then walk to the Eiffel Tower, timing it so that we were there for sunset and then a walk along the Seine for a romantic evening with dinner along the way somewhere.
Things went mainly according to plan. We lingered through the beautiful gardens at the Rodin and then sat in their lovely outdoor cafe for a late afternoon snack of a raspberry pastry that was the best treat of its kind we have had yet in Paris.
After walking over to Eiffel Tower area, we sat on a bench in the Champs de Mars, a park that is in a direct line of sight to the tower and watched young French people playing with their dogs, playing soccer, just sitting together and enjoying the early evening. The weather here has been 65-70 for the most part with some intermittent rain which is generally at night or in the early morning. Today was absolutely perfect with a blue sky, no rain, warm sun but not hot, just my kind of weather. We did not need to put on a light jacket until the sun had disappeared for the day.
As the evening wore on, the crowds and energy at the Tower changed as one would expect on a Friday and that was the time for these old folks to move on so we wandered down the Seine, entranced by the lights of the Tower and the lights of the many tourist dinner boats crowding the Seine.
We had a bit of trouble finding a place to eat and by the time we did, we were most of the way back to our apartment and were pretty exhausted. Having eaten little all day, we ordered a hearty amount of food and did a pretty good job of dispatching it along with some large glasses of vin rouge et blanc.
Another twenty minute walk from there to our apartment and we arrived ready to stop walking for the day! Jack says he can tell when i get tired because I get “floppy” and I must have been pretty floppy on the last walk home from the restaurant!
Things are going pretty well with my French but it is a strange feeling that I have after an interaction in the French language: I walk away thinking “Oh! I should have said ……..” It’s a bit like when someone says something unexpected and then you stand dumbstruck or make a stupid comment and then walk away thinking of the most marvelous things you might have said at the time. Almost every French interaction I have at the moment ends that way…… I have 8 more days in France to see if that can improve!
Adventures after Retirement 