Passing the Sennelier Art Store on the bus - a typical Paris morning
May 28, 2024 — Day 12 (Tuesday)
Woke to rain with rain promised all day. It is also very chilly so we decided on raincoats and umbrellas. To start the day we had to deal with four lights that burned out simultaneously. Ed found the fuse box but it was labeled with numbers and we don’t have the key. I texted the substitute concierge and we ate breakfast in the dark. No return message even though I texted her in French so I broke down and telephoned. She doesn’t speak a word of English and my French doesn’t cover much past four of our lights are not working. She kept talking and I kept not understanding until finally I heard “j'arrive” and we both got off out phones. Five minutes later she appeared and we explained what happened, i.e. we tried to turn on the lights we use last night and four of them would not turn on. She looked at everything, examined the plugs and flipped a switch on the wall and all four lights came on at once. They are on a wall switch and one of us must have leaned against it and turned it off when we came in last night, probably me when I was attaching all the cables to charge our electronics. Problem solved; everyone happy.
We dug out our raincoats and headed for the #39 bus stop. About a block away I realized I forgot my camera so we returned home, got the camera and started the day again. We quickly walked up to Saint-Germain-des-Prés to the #39 bus stop. Within seconds the bus pulled up and we hopped on. I follow a map of the route on my phone so we know where to get off. As we rode through Paris, I snapped photos out the bus window including the Sennelier paint store along the Seine.
Café on Rue de l'Échelle from the bus - note matching flowers and bicycles (only in Paris . . . )
Palais Brongniart, the Paris Bourse or Stock Market from the bus - a market in front of the Bourse
We arrived at our stop, descended and started to follow Google Maps to the Musée des Arts et Métiers and were fine until we arrived at the appointed door and it was not only locked but definitely not the museum. I reprogrammed Google and we walked around the block to be headed to the same place when I looked around and saw a sign that clearly said Musée des Arts et Métiers around a corner behind a bush. Google obviously didn’t see it either.
Musée des Arts et Métiers - a little hard to find but worth the search
We went through a very cursory Security check and entered the museum. Fortunately they have convenient and very nice lockers so we left very wet umbrellas and rain coats in the locker and went upstairs to the museum along with a couple school classes that were pretty well behaved because they were kept busy filling out questionnaires from either the museum or their teacher . . . or both. We pretty much covered the museum by 12:30 and went downstairs to the church part that is now a transportation museum and also holds Foucault's Pendulum. Having seen proof of the rotation of the earth, we quickly checked the rest of the exhibits, steam tractors, airplanes, a mini Statue of Liberty, and several cars, and collected our umbrellas and coats and left in search of lunch.
Musée des Arts et Métiers
Musée des Arts et Métiers
Musée des Arts et Métiers
Musée des Arts et Métiers
Musée des Arts et Métiers
Musée des Arts et Métiers
Musée des Arts et Métiers
Musée des Arts et Métiers - Foucault's Pendulum
Musée des Arts et Métiers
There was a café across the street from the museum, the Café des Arts et Métiers, so we went in and got seats. The daily special was magret de canard which we had yesterday, but it was the most attractive thing on the menu so we both got it. I was delicious and came with a sweet squash or sweet potato mashed. The waiter was a gem and brought Ed a chocolate with my coffee so we both got a chocolate. [Café des Arts et Métiers, 51 R. de Turbigo, Paris; tel: +33 (0)1 4887-8325]
Café des Arts et Métiers across from the Museum - and no one was eating outside in the rain
I looked up how to get home and there was a #38 bus stop a half block away so we paid the bill and walked down to the stop and hopped on the first bus. This was another ride through Paris with pictures snapped through the bus window. We passed the Pompidou Center, Chatelet, the Hotel de Ville, the Tour de St. Jacque, the Place du Chatelet with the Sarah Bernhardt Theatre, crossed the Seine seeing the Conciergerie, and the Tour de l'Horloge du Palais de la Cité still looking elegant after its renovation a few years ago. On to Place St. Michel now covered with tacky souvenir tents and up Blvd. St. Michel to les Ecoles bus stop and an easy hike to the Saint Germain Market to do some shopping.
The Conciergerie from the bus
The renovated clock in the Tour de l'Horloge du Palais de la Cité - photo taken from the bus
Sainte Chapelle in the rain - from the bus
Line waiting in the rain to enter Sainte Chapelle - photo from the bus
Fontaine Saint-Michel at Place Saint-Michel - with vendors and construction
Saint Germain Market - looking for dinner
We got home to discover we had forgotten the very necessary daily baguette so after resting for a while, Ed walked back and got a baguette so we could eat supper. It’s been a wet day and we wonder how the French Open is going in the rain. This is supposed to go on all week so it may have been wise to bring the rain coats. They were very useful today!
This featured blog entry was written by Beausoleil from the blog Paris Was Preparing for the Olympics.
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