Monday 03-08-04
Met Judy at her apartment around 10am and ambled through the Marais on the way to the Centre Pompidou. On the way we were accosted by some hilarious 14-ish year olds who were on some sort of a treasure hunt (we'd seen dozens of them around all morning looking for things and asking directions from everyone). The kids giggled and laughed when they realized we didn't speak any french, and they didn't speak any english. We said back and forth "I don't speak french" and "I don't speak english" and they just laughed and laughed. At the Centre Pompidou we saw a very large Miro exhibit which was wonderful.
We walked to Samaritaine, a large old department store where we were going to have a ladies lunch at the restaurant on the top floor. The restaurant was beautiful. Most people dining were quite long in the tooth. We were hoping for wonderful composed salads like Judy and Roberta had eaten their last trip. Alas, they had changed the menu. I ordered a fish dish and it was the worst thing I have ever eaten, mainly because I think the fish was terrible! It was a piece of dorade (John Dory) wrapped in a piece of ham AND CHEESE, with a pesto sauce. The fish was terribly strong, which is unusual. I don't know what I was thinking. It was awful-- a totally wasted meal! Judy had a great sauteed rabbit with ginger and R had essentially a fish eggroll. The restaurant was lovely and I enjoyed being there...ladies lunch is always fun!
The scene of the crime...
From there we walked all the way to the Eiffel Tower-- a trip of a few miles (a forced march, according to R+J, through a really cold, strong wind). We didn't go to the top but we admired it from below. Then we walked across the Seine to the Trocodero and stopped in a cafe for a Campari for me (to get lunch out of my system) and vin rouge for J+R-- L'Anciens Trocadero. The waiter was extremely snotty and mocked our accents to our faces, which was a little hilarious, given that he was working in a cafe adjacent to one of the biggest monuments around-- you'd think he'd be a little more tolerant of tourists and their varied accents! We sat outside, though, and it was fabulous.