Paris

I've spent the last 5 days relaxing in Paris. Hayden's apartment is in the 2nd, near Les Halles in a charming pedistrian-only district. There are shops right outside--cheese, wine, fruit, fish, and pastries. Getting to the apartment is a bit exhausting--it's on the 6th floor, with no elevator. Once inside, however, it's great. There's a small bedroom, a large kitchen/living room, and a great terrace on the roof that overlooks Paris. The Eiffel Tower and the Pompidou are both visible. I'm working on getting a picture of the sunset behind the tower. Saturday-Monday were gorgeous, and I lived up on the terrace. I actually managed to get a bit of a tan. I tried to escape for a few hours each day, and took a nice walk through the left bank with Kurt, the pilot I had met a few days earlier in Prague. I've been cooking quite a bit, which I have really missed. Just in case you're curious, you can't buy jack cheese here, but "tomme" works pretty well in its place.

On Tuesday, the rain set in. California definitely spoils you--I'm used to nice little sprinkles in the winter. The rain here is torrential, complete with gale force winds. I took the train to the Cathedral in Chartes, which has spectacular stained glass, was at one point destroyed by vikings, and holds Mary's veil. I was caught in a downpour for about 30 seconds on the way back to the train station, and had to ride home soaked. I might have well have jumped in a swimming pool.

I was a little more lucky today--I managed to fit in three churches, 2 museums, and the Parc Monceau between the showers. I've now spent around a total of 5 weeks in Paris, and am down towards the bottom of my list of museums to see. While some have been fairly weak (the doll museum), today's selection were great. In particular, the Musee Gustave-Moreau was excellent--a house packed with the artist's personal belongings, and then two large galleries of his work. While I'm not a huge fan, I loved this one:

The scan doesn't do the original much justice, unfortunately. It has a painted background with incredibly detailed line art over the top.

Tomorrow night Hayden, several of his friends, and I are off to London for a few days of eating fried food and visiting museums.