It was the Best of Times

I am nearing the end of my time in Paris now and faced with the first openly rainy day of my time in France - a natural time for reflection. This morning I took the metro to Sacre Coeur Basilica and the nuns were singing the mass. I took contraband pictures and assuaged my guilt at this by making a generous donation to the upkeep of this huge shrine (by emptying my coin purse into the wooden box that apparently had been emptied recently because each coin hit the bottom with a sound rivaling a canon blast in the middle of the reverent singing - nice). It is Saturday so I am not looking forward to the line at the Musee D'Orsay but all the people I have spoken to cannot be wrong and I am hoping that my natural reticence for visiting another museum will immediately vanish upon entering as it has everywhere else. Keeping in mind that this is not a complete list I will ennumerate the things I like the best about Paris;

Boulangeries: exhaustion aside, knowing that if you drag your sore body out of bed prior to 7 each morning you have a good chance of eating something delicious from the bakeries at every corner that is still warm from the oven is a huge inducement to bandage your blisters and carry on. Watch out for the street cleaners and garbage men, though - they clean and empty the refuse of Paris streets every day between 5 and 8.
The Metro: with very few hiccups (I still don't know why I sometimes use my ticket to exit to street level, I mean, I am leaving!) this system is truly brilliant and everyone in Vancouver should just shut it - if you end up with a system half as good you should count yourself lucky although I feel your pain that this tempting facade for millennia of grafitti will be above ground. Perhaps Vancouver will take a book from Paris and paing beautiful , murals and place Art Deco or Art Nouveau signs at entrances - somehow I doubt it.
The 360° History Lesson: Pick a place, twirl in a circle and see world history come to life. Paris has a law against modern buildings within Paris - not a glass skyscraper in sight. If it doesn't make you want to be Parisian - to navigate the streets with ease, slip between streams of traffic with just the slip of your scarf to spare then I have no help for you.
Churches: By far the most popular and repoduced image in this town is that of Jesus Christ he might be edged out by his mom - the holy Virgin - she is all that and more. The French know churches, they are free to enter and some of the most beautiful art is found there. Just try not to be annoyed with noisy tourists - LOWER YOUR VOICE FOR GOD'S SAKE - I mean, literally.

That's it for now I think. I mean, I am not done yet.

Love Kim