Hot in Paris

Vive la France!

"Il fait trop chaud."  It is too hot today.  Paris is experiencing a record-shattering heat wave, yesterday was a brutal 99 degrees; today doesn't feel much different.  Unwilling to let the heat mar our first full day in Paris, we had a plan to spend the afternoon at the Musee d'Orsay amidst the art (and, more importantly, the air conditioning).  Sadly this plan failed, due to impossibly long lines outside the museum.  I guess everyone else had the same idea.

The queue zigzags back and then around the corner.  No Orsay for us today!

Just before we left the States, we purchased a box of City Walks cards.  There are 50 cards, each detailing a leisurely walk around a specific part of the city.  Printed on one side is a small map with the route, and on the reverse side is a brief write-up noting points of interest.  We are hoping the cards will help provide a kind of organization as we explore the city.  Otherwise we would just be wandering aimlessly around the Eiffel Tower.

Since the Orsay was mobbed and the Louvre was closed, we just continued with the Rue du Bac portion of our walk and saw a lovely, gentrified residential area.  We were melting, so after stopping for sorbet at Le Bac à Glaces we headed to the Le Bon Marché department store which we knew would be air-conditioned.

For dinner we explored the Montorgueil street which is just a few steps out our front door. We picked up a crusty "tradition" baguette, a small bag of tomatoes, kalamata olives, some brie de meaux, and a 2 Euro bottle of Bordeaux and had ourselves a picnic in our apartment.  Each item was bought at a different store and we still managed to complete our shopping in fifteen minutes start to finish.  Such a new experience after living in suburbia all our lives.

Rue Montorgueil/Rue des Petits Carreaux pedestrian area