Paris and you can sit up or lie down as you wish.

I just must start with something entirely unrelated. One of my 'friends' on Facebook, a young man who went right through school with Sophie, has a little humorous saying on his profile every day. I don't know where he gets them all from - he may have a book, or they may be original. Whatever, this one just really got me cackling. 'Mike wonders.... what if the Hokey Tokey is not what it's all about?' I laughed and laughed!
Anyway, back to Paris, France, as they say. Monday, Day 3, dawned bright and clear. We had breakfast, packed up our stuff and stored it, paid the bill and set off. We got the metro to the Bastille. It was really interesting to walk around there as it was new territory for me. We even went into FNAC and I bought a DVD - Les Choristes. The previous day I had bought Walk the Line. It will be interesting to hear that in French! However, as Spongebob and Homer Simpson are both fluent in French - and Italian, Ian tells me - I have no reason to doubt Johnny Cash's linguistic abilities either. So anyway, we got ourselves into the Marais district, and to the Place Des Vosges.
It's Paris's oldest square and is surrounded by grand houses and covered arcades. There are Royal associations and in fact Henry II was killed here in 1559, while jousting. Sport isn't always good for your health! It's a lovely place to visit - surprisingly calm and restful. We wandered down an adjacent little street and found a very nice clothing shop! I tried on just about everything, and no doubt heartily pissed the woman off as I didn't buy anything. I would have, but nothing was quite right! Louise bought a lovely top.
Our next stop was for lunch in the Jardin des Tuileries. It was quite wonderful sitting there on a warm spring day eating crepes..... To mention the utterly ridiculous price would just spoil the lovely ambience so I won't. (But aaaagh!) We walked on through the gardens to the Musee de l'Orangerie, which I had been really keen to see. More Monet! Well, what a treat. His Waterlilies are just stunning. I don't know quite what else to say.
I have loved his paintings for ever I think, but have been less keen on the Nympheas. Up till now! I had no idea that a)they are so big, and b)they were painted especially for this gallery. They are just magnificent. They are in two oval rooms lit by natural light from overhead. I will have to visit Paris another time just to go back here and also to the Musee d'Orsay again! There are also more paintings on another level in the building - Argenteuil by Monet,
and works by Cezanne, Picasso, Utrillo, Derain, Matisse and others. It was a lovely way to wind up this vist. We went back outside and looked out over the Place de la Concorde and rejoiced in the 21 degree temperatures and the wonderful atmosphere. Not even a gyspy doing the ring scam to be seen.

Back to the hotel and time to go. Well, I was probably just a shade too early for my train, but I had to get the metro first, then do my long walk in reverse! And I would sooner be early than late. :-) It was a really quick trip home - Poitiers was the first stop after leaving Montparnasse Station. I hadn't struck that before. Very good indeed. It was a great weekend. Paris just does it for me.