Cruising Along

We all got up early this morning and strolled along small sidestreets to the Seine. We passed the small Lutheran Church where LouAnne and her American choir sang last year.
On the river we went on a tourist cruise for an hour and a half. It was the standard format, with a commentary in French, English and Japanese. The passengers must have taken half a million photographs of the usual icons. There were two delightful young Japanese girls having the time of the time of their lives. They had perfected the technique of one holding their camera at arms-length, then quickly swivelling their bodies around to have, say, the Eiffel Tower behind them, then giggling and clicking. I can imagine them back home showing their friends: This is Mika and me in front of the Notre Dame – this is Mika and me in front of ……
After the cruise we walked up to the Arc de Triomphe, and down the Champs-Elysees. The cobbled surface is so rough that the vibrations must have been agony for le Tour de France riders after 1200 km in the saddle. There were the usual brands – LouAnne and Judith had a long look at the diamonds in Cartier. But there were a lot more of the big International Brands than I remember from last time – MacDonnalds, Adidas, Starbucks, and disappointingly beside a building renovation a sign “Marks and Spenser Prochaine Ici”. I remember vaguely a fable about wanting so much to be a part of something that when you finally make it your very presence destroys what it was that wanted you to be there.
We then had a nice stroll through les Tuileries , buying some bagettes and patisserie to eat for lunch in the gardens. After lunch we went over to Isle de Cite, where LouAnne and Judith wanted to see Ste Chapelle with its magnificent stained glass windows. They were planning to go to the Musee d’Orsay the next day, so it was a good chance for them to have a practice line-up at a smaller venue. After this they and Ted strolled over the two Isles, and came back to the town house where we LouAnne cooked a lovely risotto, which we ate with some French wine.
LouAnne had brought her pedometer along, and before looking at it we played “guess the distance we walked today”. We all underestimated big time, but Ted was closest to the actual distance – a bit over eighteen km.
Chris