rich ruminations

Yesterday was about food… today I sampled the Musée d’Orsay, following another productive days with at the 4D office here.

The Musée d’Orsay is one of the premier museums in Paris, and is best known for its collection of art from the Impressions period. Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, Degas, Rodin, and more. I knew it would be a highlight of my trip, and it didn’t disappoint.

After leaving work, I stopped at the hotel to drop off my backpack and get my four-day Museum Pass. The Museum Pass is good at many of the most popular Paris museums, and besides saving money it lets you avoid the long lines of people waiting to buy tickets to enter a location. I chose to not bring the camera; rather, I’d travel light, and bring the camera when returning on Saturday (I am including some relevant photos I took on Saturday in this post).

I took the metro (line 1, then changing to line 12) and arrived at the museum less than 15 minutes after leaving my hotel. Have I mentioned that I like the metro?

The Orsay is open late on Thursdays, until 9:30, and in order to maximize my time, I immediately entered, deciding to have a late dinner after the museum closed. I also decided to spend my time tonight on the two lower levels, which are primarily displaying art from periods other than the Impressionism period. Saturday I would return and go to the top level, saving the best for last.

The Orsay used to be a train station, and has a large, open atrium with some of the largest works in the collections. I snapped this picture from a walkway on the 5th floor, above the main entrance, looking across the length of the museum.

The walkway I was on is behind the glass on which this very large clock is mounted.

There quite a few large statues in the atrium.

These smaller busts are quite interesting. They use different materials to achieve the effect of clothing, skin color, etc.

This status is of Napolean’s only son and his dog.

Here’s another statue using the multiple material technique.

These were just a few of the many, many amazing statues, painting, sketches, and more that I saw Thursday night. I returned Saturday morning, and will post more about that day’s visit, with pictures, later.

I stayed until closing, then walked back towards the metro stop, and ate dinner at a nice cafe nearby. I had a grilled lamb dish, a small carafe of red wine, and the requisite coffee. Another enjoyable day concluded.

Note on the photos — you may notice some of them are somewhat grainy. This is an artifact caused by using a higher ISO setting due to the low light conditions found in many areas of the museum. Flashes are not allowed, and generally I prefer the more natural look that results when a flash isn’t used. In these conditions, I keep the camera set in “Auto ISO” mode, which will automatically increase the ISO setting if required to achieve an adequate exposure. With a digital camera, a higher ISO is essentially increasing the sensitivity of the sensors, and this increases the noise in the image.

Wednesday was about food.

First, I ended up eating breakfast in the hotel breakfast room. And much to my surprise, I found not only the usual Paris choices of croissant, rolls, juice, coffee — they have fruit and EGGS and SAUSAGE and BACON! Buffet style, all you can eat!

For lunch, my French coworkers took me to an Indian restaurant, it was good. Not a buffet as we commonly find in the US for an Indian restaurant at lunch, but otherwise the food was prepared in a similar fashion.

During lunch, I asked for recommendations for a Paris restaurant or cafe/bistro that would have good and affordable French food, better than what I’d found in the area of the hotel, and the previous day in the Rue de Cler neighborhood. The guys suggested I speak with Phillipe, their CFO, as he was very familiar with the restaurant scene in Paris.

Later in the afternoon I asked Phillipe for a recommendation. He thought for a moment, said he would be back shortly. 15 minutes later he brought by a few printed Google maps with addresses, and showed me the Website. Both bistros he recommended are owned by the same chef.

I decided to visit Bistrot d’a Côté - Neuilly. The Web site is for all the restaurants owned by Chef Michel Rostang, click on the Menu link, and then “The Bistrots” to find the page for the Neuilly.

Matthieu, one of the programmers I’m working with here, helped me call and make a reservation for 8 PM for an outside table (the inside isn’t air conditioned, and the temperature at 8 PM is still in the 90s, so it is usually more comfortable outside with fresh air and a breeze). I was back at the hotel by 7 PM, and arrived at the bistro at the appointed time via Metro line 1.

One of the waiters spoke good English, which was quite helpful, as my 15-word vocabulary wouldn’t be enough to make it through the menu without frequent referrals to the menu translator I carry with me. He was kind enough to explain each item on the menu, and pointed out a few items which were specialties.

I ordered an appetizer which consisted of goat cheese, filled with a chopped tomato mix, deep-fried, the main course was a sauteed fish with vegetables (squash and mushrooms). He recommended a white wine which turned out well, and I ordered a “half bottle”, which turns out to be a half-sized bottle - I wish this was available in the US, as it is just the right amount for one person who has to get up and go to work in the morning.

Dinner was great, an onslaught of gastronomic delight! This was precisely the kind of culinary experience I was hoping to enjoy.

But, as good as the dinner was, dessert was spectacular — two small cups of a chocolate pudding (the name on the menu was much fancier), a special recipe created by the chef. And of course, accompanied by a cup of espresso. Très Bien!

I think I’ve figured out the secret to identifying the quality of a restaurant here… the quality is directly proportional to the number of squiggles and lines on the letters in the restaurant name. “Bistrot d’a Côté - Neuilly” has got to be good.

Here are some pictures from my visit to the Eiffel Tower. You can click on the images for a larger, higher quality version (unlike a few days ago though they aren’t enormous).

The first three shots are taken from the Parc du Champ de Mars:

Next is an image from the first level. By this time the sun was nearly gone for the day. The Louvre is on the middle right of the picture, somewhat distant.

Moving up to the second level, the next few photos are a bit darker. Keeping the camera still for the slower shutter speeds is difficult with no tripod. The Arc d’Triumph is visible in both pictures, although somewhat distant in the first.

Here is a shot looking up toward the top. The white lights are strobe lights that rapidly flicker, quite a show.

I didn’t take any pictures from the top… with no tripod, there is just no way to get a decent picture at night.

Finally, here is a shot looking back at the tower from across the Seine River, on my way back to the hotel. Quite an impressive and beautiful sight.

Just a quick post for now on my third day in Paris (Tuesday 7/18). I’ll try to post more later, including pics.

I decided Monday night to start my day Tuesday by eating petit déjeuner in my hotel room using room service. Good choice, the breakfast arrived at the requested time, and included two croissants, one with bits of chocolate, two other types of breakfast rolls, juice, coffee, yogurt, and jam. Quite good, although I am concerned that I continue to load up on the carbs…

Once again good progress was made during work, we found and fixed more issues. I tend to lose track of the time at the office here, and at 7 PM realized I needed to leave, get back to the hotel, and find dinner.

I decided for dinner to try an area in the Rue du Cler neighborhood. Rick Steve’s 2006 Paris guide book highly recommends this area as having many good cafes and bistros.

I think every American tourist in Paris had the same idea last night, every place was packed. I found a table on the sidewalk at one, and the dinner was good… I find watching other Americans to be especially entertaining.

But I want to find someplace off the beaten path. I’ll be soliciting recommendations from my friends and coworkers here.

As I finished dinner I realized the sun was going down, which meant that the time was getting late. Sundown in Paris is around 9:30 PM, and I wanted to get to the Eiffel Tower before it became complete dark. The Rue du Cler neighborhood is just a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower, so I quickly ate, paid my tab (no coffee and dessert this time), and started walking to the tower.

On the way, I passed through the Parc du Champ de Mars, a very large park that is adjoining the Eiffel Tower. Many people were enjoying the evening, having picnics, playing frisbee, couples cuddling, etc. Quite a pleasant place.

As I neared the tower the crowd density increased, and the line for the elevator ride up to the 1st level was quite long. So I opted for the short line to take the stairs up. Good choice, as the exercise was welcome after all the heavy eating I’ve enjoyed the past few days.

I made it to the first level, enjoyed the view for a few minutes, and snapped a few pictures. The sun was almost gone, hopefully the pics are good. I’ll try to check them and post later.

Continued on to the second level, the view is a bit better here. By now it was nearly dark, and since I don’t have a tripod I suspect my pictures won’t be so good.

From this level, the only way to the top is via elevator. I saw a group moving onto one, and quickly joined them. Unfortunately I should have checked the sign, as the elevator doors closed, and we went down, back to level one. Wrong way. I decided that since the first time didn’t take too long, I’d just climb the stairs back up… I didn’t intend to miss my chance to get to the top of the tower.

Back up on level 2, I found the place to buy the ticket to go to the top, found the line, and began waiting. The line was long, and along the way we were sprayed with a mist of water which provided a nice cooling effect. Unfortunately the mist was so strong people were getting soaked. I decided it would be prudent to put my camera under my shirt, afraid it would become damaged. About five minutes before reaching the elevators the mist was turned off, and everyone immediately cheered.

The ride to the top went quickly, and the view is pretty good, although not quite as good probably as during the day. Time was getting late, after midnight, and the line was long to get back down. By the time I made it back to the surface, it was 12:30 AM. The walk back to the hotel took about 20 minutes…

To be continued…

Started the day with a phone call from home from Michele and Alex. The time difference is nine hours, so we’ve arranged for them to call me at Alex’s bedtime, which is the time I need to wakeup. We use Vonage phone service, and they’ve just made calls from the US to France free, so we can talk as long as we want at no cost.

Following the call, and and a shower, I undertook a search of the area around the hotel for a breakfast. The “petit déjeuner” is usually a few pastries, such as a croissant, butter and jam, juice, and coffee. No eggs, bacon or sausage. There are many small cafes and boulangeries (bakeries) in Paris which provide to-go and sit-down service, although sit-down service prices are slightly higher. I got a croissant and juice at a local café, and sat at a bench on the Champs Elysées to eat.

There are many scooters in Paris, as they are very practical both for traffic and parking. During the rush hour, the scooter riders are mostly wearing suit coats/ties or nice dresses, and the mandatory helmet. Very chic and urbane.

After finishing my meal, I set off on a short walk to the metro (subway). The Paris metro has a deserved reputation for efficiency. I had spent some time prior to arriving in Paris getting familiar with the metro map, and the location of the stations I’d need to use near the hotel, the office, and various sites. The map is quite easy to read (although the handheld version has small type, so I’ve got to use my reading glasses), and I had no trouble at all finding the right train.

Paris metro riders have an interesting behavior… no eye contact, no verbal exchanges, no facial expressions. I remarked about this later to a few of my French coworkers here, and they laughed and said that yes, this is well-known. Maybe later in the week I’ll have some fun and start talking to everyone I see on the metro, just to watch the reaction.

The work day was quite productive. I’m here to work with the company which publishes software we use for our product. We’re working on some new stuff, and ensuring compatibility. We found and fixed several issues, and I’m encouraged that we’ll get good progress this week.

I was treated to lunch at a local café where I had a very nice seared tuna, garnished with sesame seeds, on a bed of ratatouille. Very tasty! Finished off with an espresso and a dessert crepe.

After work, and an uneventful metro ride back to the hotel, I spent a few minutes in the hotel lobby using the wireless Internet to catch up on email, post yesterday’s blog entry, and then walked down the street to get dinner. In bed around 11 PM, and that was my day.

No jet lag… but I woke up at 3:30 AM an can’t get back to sleep. So I will use this time to collect my thoughts and share the start of my Paris adventure.

I’m in Paris for 8 days… for a week of working with the good folks at 4D Inc. Yeah, it’s a tough job… I got lucky to get this trip.

Left Sacramento Saturday, and happily my flight schedule fit nicely with Alex’s return from visiting his grandparents in Houston. His Continental flight arrived an hour before my Delta flight departed — just four gates away from mine! Michele and I had left him with my folks on our way back from Grand Cayman a few weeks ago, and we were glad to see him. He had a great time with grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, but was clearly happy to be home. After lots of hugs, and hearing about his trip, we said our goodbyes. Alex and Michele went on their way, and I started on mine.

The flights were pleasant, thanks in no small part to my employer’s former parent company’s policy of allowing employees to fly business class for international travel. Sacramento to Atlanta was first class, and the Air France leg was business class.

Air France really knows how to take care of their passengers. I was greeted by a friendly French flight attendant, and immediately had an opportunity to start practicing the French I’ve been trying to learn the past few weeks. I made a valiant effort at responding to her “Bonjour!” but couldn’t get past that… I suddenly forgot every other French word I’d learned. She switched to English, and was kind enough to help me with my attempts at speaking French throughout the flight. Between the huge seats with electronic controls for adjusting the seat recline and footrest, the wonderful four-course dinner, five hours of uninterrupted sleep, and a tasty breakfast, I hardly noticed the length of the flight.
First note about jet lag — I took 3 mg of melatonin at about 9:30 PM Atlanta time (which is 6:30 PM Folsom time), as recommended by numerous sources to help my body adapt to the time zone change I was about to experience. I limited myself to just a glass of wine with dinner, and when I woke up after about five hours of sleep and another hour of snoozing, I felt quite refreshed and alert. So far the melatonin thing seemed to be working.

As we approached the airport, I got a nice few of the countryside. I saw farms, villages, suburbs, and all is just as I expected after several years of watching Le Tour de France on TV.

Arrival at the Charles DeGaulle Airport was initially uneventful. The flight was only a few minutes late, but once landed, we were unable to deplane for over 20 minutes. As best I can figure the guy who had to drive the tow truck to pull the plane the last 10 meters to the final parking place was on a coffee break. Finally though the plane parked, and we were able to deplane, and then onto buses for the trip to the terminal.

The bus driver had trouble getting one of the doors closed, which provided some humor for us, an international group of passengers crammed in like a can of sardines. After numerous attempts success was achieved, everyone cheered, and then we were taken on quite a scenic tour of the airport. It seemed as though we drove miles around, though and between various buildings, terminals, and airplanes. At one point, the bus stopped, backed-up, and turned around. Everyone started grumbling and groaning, thinking our driver had gotten lost. But, we had actually arrived at the right place, and quickly jumped from the bus and proceeded on the walk to immigration.

A quick stamp in my passport and I was on my way to get my one suitcase from baggage claim, and then find a taxi. My taxi driver was friendly but spoke only a few words of English — not a problem! I’d written down my hotel address… and we were on our way! I tried out a few more phrases I’d practiced (”How are you?” and “This traffic is crazy.”), which went OK, and got some laughs from the driver.

The traffic wasn’t too bad into Paris. My hotel is a block off of the famous Champs Elysées, and I got an up-close look at the Arc deTriumphe and many of the up-scale shops, cafes, and auto dealerships along the boulevard. Finally we arrived at the hotel, I said Au Revoir to my driver, and checked in.

The hotel is small and clean, as is my room. It’s comfortable and air conditioned, and will suit me fine.

Note 2 about jet lag — I’m still feeling good, plenty of energy. At this point I’m wondering if this is due more to the excitement and adrenaline, or my planning with the melatonin.

I decide to stick to my plan, and quickly unpack, grab the camera, phrase book, map, and head out to explore. As is my practice from travel in Asia many years ago, I like to spend my first few hours walking, getting familiar with the city, the people, and the vibe.

The Eiffel Tower looms large and is nearly always visible.

I snapped a quick shot on the Champs Elysées during a break in traffic. That’s the Arc de Triumphe in the distance.

Paris is getting ready for the Tour de France. All along the Champs Elysées barricades and seating is being erected.

I saw a spectacular structure, and decided to head over to investigate.

This is the Grand Palais, and is much of the exterior is being renovated (note the scaffolding).

Across the street, another amazing building, the Petit Palais.

There are many, many statues.

Here are a few shots of the Pont Alexander III (Pont is “bridge”).

The Assemblée Nationale:

Status of Thomas Jefferson:

The famed Musée de Louvre:

By now, I’d walked a few miles, and was starting to get a bit tired. So I began heading back in the direction of the hotel. Along the way I stopped and got a sherbert ice cream cone from a sidewalk vendor — cool and refreshing.

After a short break at the hotel, I ventured out again. I had a salad, beer, and decaf espresso at a bistro near the hotel, walked a bit more in the area and found a nice shopping center which is having an exhibition of original Dali sculptures (didn’t have the camera with me at this point).

Deciding a dessert would be nice, I parked myself at a very pleasant cafe in the shopping center. This cafe is outdoor, and has a large wall with a waterfall and fountain which is quite calming, and seemed to cool the air. I ordered another decaf espresso, and a small chocolate mousse and raspberry mouse combo. Quite good. Both this cafe and the earlier bistro were populated primarily by locals, so I guess these were good finds.

I brought with me to Paris a few of the Cuban cigars I brought back from Grand Cayman a few weeks ago. Background here… every year in Grand Cayman I enjoy about a half-dozen Cuban cigars, and bring back another half-dozen or so with me. SInce Parisians are known for being smokers, I brought them with me for precisely the situation I was enjoying — the perfect finale to a fine meal, watching all the people, enjoying the vibe.

I was a bit nervous though about smoking around so many people. The past three years in California where smoking in public is not allowed have conditioned me I guess. Amazingly though, nobody paid me any attention… my cigar smoke mingled well with all the cigarettes burning at nearby tables I suppose.

Note 3 on jet lag — by now I was feeling tired, and ready for sleep. A quick walk back to the hotel, a nice hot shower, and I crawled into bed. Sleep came easily.

And then I woke easily a few hours ago, much earlier than I would like to be awake, but after trying and failing to get back to sleep, I started this entry… which I will now end, as I must get ready to start my day. More later…