Paris 2018 – Day 4

Steps today: 21 878. You’d think with all my experience counting steps I would not be so surprised that it’s “this low”. Just goes to show that being on your feet all day is not the same as walking. Sightseeing, taking pictures, strolling, standing still…  doesn’t do much for the numbers!

Today didn’t turn out the way I planned it at first, but it was still a good one. Before leaving home, I worked hard on making daily plans that would maximize my time, museum pass savings, and distance covered in order to squeeze as much in as possible.

The plan today was to start using my museum pass by heading north out of town to see the Basilica of St Denis and the crypt, then get on the train from there and head further northward to a chateau I have on my list.

Well, thanks to St-Denis Day, the crypt was free so starting my pass today was kind of dumb (must be 6 consecutive days). To add insult to injury once I arrived at the St-Denis train station to keep going northwards there was a power outage so I could not buy a ticket. I was told the train would be free back to Paris, but I wanted to go in the opposite direction. The attendant told me that it in fact all destinations would be free, but as luck would have it the line I needed (Line H) was not running today due to construction. ARGH! I therefore made it my mission to do lots of things in Paris that were included in my pass to ensure I get my money’s worth.

The Basilica was great! I loved it. Frank and I came in either 2012 or 14, I forget, and it was scaffolded for restoration. We didn’t do inside but I can’t remember why…  was is closed or did we just not feel like it??

This is supposed to be the heart of Louis XVII

After this, since I was detoured from my original plan and sent back to Paris, I started with lunch. I ordered a cheese plate but could not finish it… I think my breakfasts are too big and it cuts my appetite for the rest of the day –  I am going to have to start scaling back so that I can indulge more at lunch. 

My first priority after lunch was climbing the Dome of the Pantheon. Last year I couldn’t do it because it was closed on the day I arrived and the year before that I got there after it closed. Before that, it was completely closed for restoration so I was NOT going to miss it this time! I arrived just in time to take the 1:30 tour… and it was cancelled so I had an hour to kill until the next one at 2:30. Not that killing time in the Pantheon is not enjoyable, but I’ve visited it so many times before that I just felt like I was wasting time.

The climb and the views were worth the wait!

Next, I went to visit the inside of the Saint-Étienne-du-Mont (famous for its outside side-steps featured in the movie “Midnight in Paris”)

After, it was the Cluny Museum (Museum of the Middle Ages) which frankly doesn’t interest me but I did want to see the famed Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries so I got out of it all that I wanted.  I took pictures, but I don’t think I was allowed. Whoops!

Once I was done with that, it was just after 4 so I had to start thinking about what to do for supper…  not that I was going to eat at 4, but rather think about where do I want to go and what am I in the mood to eat. Thanks to the cheese plate for lunch, I knew I wanted something small but wanted a brasserie atmosphere so I walked through the Luxembourg Gardens over to what I call “Brasseire Row” on Boulvard Montpanasse near Vavin metro.

I stopped at La Coupole for an aperitif. This place was on my list because it’s one of the very first places I ever ate in in Paris back in 2004 and I wanted to go back and see it again now that I have LOTS MORE experience with French food.  Well. That drink was HUMONGOUS! it was the size of a fishbowl and all it succeeded in doing was fill me up so forget supper there.

It was so big that it took too long to drink and I left without finishing it.

I heard that the Paroisse Notre-Dame-du-Travail was supposed to have a very interesting interior. It did with the nave all built from iron and steel, but it STANK of piss so I did not linger.

At that point I wasn’t too far from a Crêpe restaurant that was on my list for last year’s trip and I never got around to going, so I decided that was a good idea. Great meal, but I was not a fan of the cider.

After this, I walked back to the hotel and settled in for the 8PM show!

Here’s a little laugh for you…  and no, I did not eat here!