I feel like I followed the Red Balloon through Paris today, letting it take me where it would, my job just to follow and savor the treats along the way ..
I think I finally found my “own” cafe — and it is literally next door at a very nice wine bar. Trouble is it was closed the last two days and I have only discovered it today. Closed might be today’s theme as well, or at least part of it. The other part is making up for what I missed …
Though I missed mass at Notre Dame the day the sun first came out, I followed the bells today and attended a noon Mass. And as I sat there, I thought, this is what penitents have done in churches at this site for a thousand years.
I am trying to wrap my brain around age (chronological and metaphorical) … the construction of Notre Dame began three hundred years before Columbus (or someone) discovered America, or more than five hundred years before the Liberty Bell rang freedom (and cracked).
Leaving Notre Dame I followed the Red Balloon rather than a map and meandered in the direction of the Pompidou Center. Let’s just say it’s a long way, but not that long — sister Linda, you would be proud of me walking all over town. Especially on my sore foot which means I sometimes hobble rather than walk. I get where I am headed, it just may take a long time at a slow pace.
Well, if you know the Pompidou Center it is a formidable building and it took a long time to circumvent it before I found what appeared to be an entrance. However, the guards informed me the museum was closed (yes it is Tuesday) and that is the downside of not knowing where you are headed before you start. Otherwise you could read the guidebook for vital statistics like days closed (sometimes Monday, sometimes Tuesday, sometimes Monday and Tuesday…)
But at least I got to spend time enjoying the Stravinsky Fountain (pictures attached) which is playful and colorful, and I wandered into a great little local church just adjacent to the foundation, called (for real) L’Eglise Saint-Merry. Here’s a picture, butI’ll save the description of this small gem for another blog day. Let’s just say though that it was a more than adequate reason to have hobbled all that way …
Unfortunately, the Brancusi Atelier, which I also really want to see (just in front of the Pompideau), was closed as well (remember it is Tuesday) so I will just have to return another day.
When I started home I saw signs for both the Picasso Musee and the Carnavelet. I headed in that direction, then realized they too will have to wait because the Red Balloon veered off toward the Quai des Grands Augustins … home … and I needed to follow …