Bonsoir

A fine evening to end my trip. Not wanting a big meal, I walked to a nearby creperie. It was rustic like it belonged in the Alps. The owners were older and casual. He wore jeans. He quickly took my order and poured me a glass of wine. This is the kind of place with the small tables and one long bench on the side against the wall. If it's crowded, you sit very close to your neighbors. A family of four came in with two small children. They said they would be seven, so tables were pulled together, and the little boy sat next to me. When three women came in, with two who looked to be in their twenties, the faces of the children lit up. Some things are universal. When I left, the owner followed me out to ask me where I learned to speak French. Ha! It turns out he lived once in Vancouver, Canada and worked in the Yukon. 

Hotel Sainte Beuve

Yesterday I was looking forward to getting home, but today I realize how much I haven't seen and how much I will miss. I didn't buy a museum pass and couldn't bring myself to stand in long lines at museums. Maybe next time, and there are no shortage of things to do without lines. In 1977 there were no lines. We walked right into the Louvre. We walked right up to the Mona Lisa. Ok, maybe my memory has colored things a bit. We easily joined the crowd around the Mona Lisa. And the Pompidou? It was new. It opened in 1977. It hasn't worn well with age. 

Last night I turned the wrong way out of the Metro station on my way to a restaurant that was highly recommended by a friend. I caught my mistake when the vista opened to my right and there stood the beautiful-at-night Eiffel Tower. So close. The lights on the tower are stunning, and from this side there were no crowds. No good photo ops though because of construction. Yesterday's wrong turns led me through the classic buildings of the Sorbonne. Today is my one last day for wrong turns. 

Pont des Artes

Pont Alexandre III

A beautiful morning along the Seine among the joggers and Sunday strollers. 

American Church in Paris

An interdenominational and international congregation with a large presence of African and Filipino worshipers.