Today was a quiet day, many things were closed because of a holiday for the annunciation of Mary. Sunbathers lined the Seine, that was something to see. We went to the Natural History Museum this morning, then had a long lunch at an outdoor cafe next to the Seine.
I have grown to love the little neighborhood where our hotel is located. Our hotel window overlooks the street below and I can see 4 outdoor cafes from up here on the 4th floor. All day, every day, people sit around the tables and smoke cigarettes, eat lunch, dinner, and just visit with each other. The same woman comes by every evening to dig in the commercial trash can across the street. It’s outside the small grocery store and we figured out she’s looking for food that’s just past it’s sell-by date that’s been thrown out. She wears a coat and a pretty scarf tied around her head, she has one of those grocery carriers on wheels which is where she puts her treausures. And I see the same homeless man almost every day, he’s fairly young, maybe late 20’s. I give him coins when I see him, he seems very sweet. I saw him yesterday walking purposefully down the sidewalk with a backpack, so maybe he has a home after all. And across the street from our hotel, in a window up a couple of floors, is the “naked man”. Enough said about that.
This really is a lovely neighborhood, though I suppose I’ve got you wondering with my description above. It’s a block from the large green area in front of the Eiffel Tower, though it doesn’t seem to be congested with tourists, which is a plus. There’s a Metro station at the corner and a wonderful bakery just past that corner. Even a laundromat around the corner where we did laundry one afternoon. And Chinese take-out close by. Everything we need is within walking distance, I am sorry to have to leave tomorrow, but it’s time to get back to Houston. School will start Wednesday for the kids, my husband goes back to work on Monday and I’ll be back to my usual routine. I hope I don’t lose all the wonderful artistic inspiration I’ve gained in the last 12 days. Oh right. And I was going to look into planting something in our backyard after seeing Monet’s gardens.
Now for a quick walk over to see the Eiffel Tower one more time and then it’s time to pack for our flight home tomorrow.