the rest of Paris

So much for writing more here. Ah well, here's my catch up of the last week. Cram packed full of amazing times, and a LOT of rain.
On Saturday, Jonette and I decided to go to the Latin quarter for dinner. Somehow we got lost. I know that this shocks everyone. How could we manage such a thing! Well, we did, and ended up on the far south side of town. I think it's fair to say we accidentally walked every square inch of this town, and not always intentionally.
Eventually we got back on track and ended up in an awesome fondue restaurant. Though instead of fondue we ate beef cooked on a hot stone at our table. It was delicious. And our table was amazing! On one side was a group of three from Brazil, leaving the next morning for Italy. They taught us that good-bye in Portuguese is Caio. On the other side was an amazing Parisian couple. We ended up sitting there talking to Camille and Stefan til almost one in the morning, and they wanted us to go to a bar with them afterward, though we declined.
Stefan was so interesting! His job takes him all over the world, and he was telling us stories about locals in Romania, where he has been working lately. In his spare time, he plays "funky music." His words on that one. He invited me to jam with him, but we just never got a chance to get it together unfortunately. He also taught me my new phrase. Pas un probleme. Not a problem.
Then while he plied us with wine, we had a whole discussion about how life is about coming in on the one-no count off, and feeling the beat. It was amazing. Music really is a universal language. Even when we lost track of what each other was saying we had an idea of what was going on. Or we'd just laugh and go back to "One!"
The next day was the first Sunday of the month, which starting in November means free museums. So we got up bright and early to catch the train out to Versailles. It was incredible. You could see it from blocks away due to the sheer amount of gold visible on the front and the gate. The Hall of Mirrors was so incredible. Pictures just don't do it justice. And the gardens! They were huge. Even though it was pouring rain, it was still really neat. All the side palaces were closed though, such as Marie Antoinette's personal estate. But we got to see the really cool parts in the main palace.
After that we hustled back into Paris and went to the Louvre. There was a line wrapped around the pyramids and into the back area, but apparently no one knows about the door we used, because we walked straight into the building, no waiting at all. Once we got hungry we headed back to the apartment, though we still managed to end up at the George Pompidou center for modern art that evening. Basically, we did a lot of big museums all in one day.
Tuesday we ended up in a history of cinema museum on accident. It had films, costumes, and information on old renditions of Marie Antoinette, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Beauty and the Beast to name a few. All were old French origin stories.
Afterward we went up to the catacombs on the south side of town. They had moved the bodies of over six million Parisians there due to diseases stemming from the cemeteries, and the bodies were all artfully arranged. The walls were lined with skulls and leg/arm bones to form patterns, there were hearts, and crosses, and quotes about death on all the walls. Eerily neat. Didn't like that water was dripping on us through random sections of the tunnels though. Very worthwhile though, quite an experience.
Later on that evening, we went on a walk to the canals. Very glad we went at night, they were much better that way! They lit up the different lock series which an iridescent blue light, and all the trees reflected on the water from the street lights.
On Wednesday, we went in search of Debussy's grave on my request. He is in the Cimeterie de Passy right behind the Trocadero, and it took us awhile to figure out how to get in, as the whole cemetery is elevated up above, with only one entrance. Right as we got there, it began to rain, and eventually started pouring. But with persistence I found it, and right as I came up to it, the rain stopped, and there was a rainbow. This really made the whole experience rather amazing. So I stood there and listened to Reflets dans l'eau, since the water had pooled on the top of his stone and was reflecting everything around. It seemed fitting.
Yesterday was Veteran's Day, and they had a ceremony at the tomb of the unknown soldier. We arrived a little late because the Metro dumped us out in weird places since they closed whole sections of it for the ceremony. It was very low key, and though we missed a good deal of it, we didn't think we would have understood the speeches that had come earlier anyway. Plus we got to hang out with the family on the Metro whose little boy kept saying, "Hey! Can I tell ya something? Me grandpa got shot!" The mom had to explain to us that he was a veteran from that war and they were going to the ceremony in memory of him. The kid was adorable.
Afterward we went to the Musee de Orsay, which has the best collection of Degas I have ever seen. And I love Degas! They also had an aerial view of the Opera House and it's surrounding streets under Plexiglas that you could walk over. and a side section of the Opera itself. I may have to come back and go to a show there at some point, just to see the inside in person, and of course for the amazing opportunity to see something in Paris' Opera. We wrapped up the day with our favorite resaurant on Vielle du Temple, the Cafe Marche. The pesto was still as good as before.
Today I felt pretty lame though. I've had a bit of a throat thing for awhile, though it never really bothered me, and it got worse last night. Jonette made me stay in the apartment most of the day, which was probably for the best, though not quite how I wanted to spend my last day in Paris. Definitely solidified my travel plans for tomorrow though. France will be rainy almost all week, so I am heading for sunnier places. Namely, Barcelona. I take an overnight bus tomorrow afternoon and will get there bright and early Sunday morning. Other than two days, the week is supposed to be sunny and at least a bit warmer. I'm very excited for Spain though. It's going to be an adventure!