Strike or No Strike?



One of Hemingway's Hangouts

I started today thinking I had a great plan for my several days in Paris.  I was planning on walking around today, going to Giverny, which is where Monet painted his water lilies, tomorrow and then spend the following six days visiting museums. The plan started out good. 

I headed out for the Montparnasse area today – about a 20-minute walk from my apartment – where the Ernest Hemingway crowd spent a lot of their time.  Four restaurants, which Hemingway ate at and wrote about in books, like The Sun Also Rises, are still there.  In addition, a bakery that he used to walk though to get to Rue Montparnasse is still there.  And you can still walk through it.   I had a pleasant walk to Montparnasse.  I selected one of the Hemingway hangouts for lunch.  I am not really sure of the appeal of this since without a doubt there is new management and chefs, which is what makes a restaurant good.  Nonetheless, I decided to eat at one after checking the menus of all four and a couple of other restaurants in the area.  I can say with certainty that if Ernest and his crowd were still around, they would not be eating at any of these places.  The prices are not those for poor writers or other artists.  I had some sausages and potations, which were great.  (In the picture they look like hot dogs, but they did not taste like hot dogs.)

You Can Walk Right Up to this Fence!

I then headed to the Jardin du Luxemberg.  It is a 60-acre garden that was created in 1600s by Marie Medici to honor her husband Henry IV.  Amazing to me even though it is fall and chilly, lots of Parisians were in the garden.  Another amazing thing to me was how close people can get to the Palais du Luxemberg, which is where the French Senate meets, and is also in this park.  There is only a short little fence and although I am sure there are guards, there was only one that I saw.  People picnicking so near a governmental building was great to see.  I remember the pre-9/11 days when access to our Capital was not as restricted as it is today.  But even in areas that are not restricted, people in Washington do not take advantage of them.  In many of our parks, the only people there during the day are the homeless.  Here I found people from all walks of life and ages enjoying being out of doors even thought it was cold enough to require a jacket.



Opera from Au Printemps Terrace



Montmartre from Au Printemps Terrace

Once I finished here, I headed off to buy the Paris Museum Pass with which you get access to most museums free and perhaps more importantly without waiting in a queue.  You can also go in and out as much as you want.  You choose whether you want it for 2, 4 or 6 days. 

Well after walking about 45 minutes to buy the pass so I could start right out at a museum in the morning (okay, I could have taken the Metro but thought the walk through the city would be nice),  I arrived at the tourist office and in my best French said I’d like to buy the 6-day tourist pass.  To which I was politely but coldly asked in English, if I still wanted to buy a pass since there was a strike planned for tomorrow.  She pointed to a sign about a proposed strike.  Although I asked several more questions – all of which were answered politely, but coldly I did not have a lot more information.  There would be a strike at the Museum D’Orsay and Versailles.  Would other museums be affected?  I don’t know.  They might go on strike and they might not.  Had they gone on strike before?  Many times.  How long did the strikes usually last?  We don’t keep track of that.  We are happy when they are not striking, but when they do they do.  I decided to wait and see what tomorrow brings so left without buying a pass.



I was bummed about the potential strike on me (okay, I could be a little more concerned about the cause of the strike) and decided I’d feel better after a soda and a chocolate mousse in an elegant surrounding. My plan was a large department store, Au Printemps, which has a wonderful restaurant under an art deco dome that was saved from destruction during World War II by disassembling it and packing each piece away.  After finding the right escalator and making it to the 6^th floor, 13 escalators by the way, they didn’t have chocolate mousse and a soda was almost 6 Euros (about $9).  I decided it was not worth it.  I got to view the dome as I walked through to get to the down escalator. 



One of Au Printemp's Domes

I eventually found my way to their 9^th floor restaurant (in another building and thus I had to take the escalators back down and another set up).  Although it also did not have chocolate mousse, it did have a wonderful chocolate dessert and a more reasonably priced soda.  It also had an terrace that allowed you a 360 degree view of Paris.

I am anxious to see what tomorrow will bring – a large strike or just a lot of talk.