28 July 2007

Americans in Paris

I gave up on being an invisible tourist the second day in to my trip. Not even the Parisians know which is more annoying, an American tourist who addresses them only in English or the one who only knows the four phrases listed in their travel books and must then apologize one minute into the conversation by saying, "je ne parle pas francais" (I don't speak French). Parisians speak so quickly that even my basic knowledge of French got me nowhere, and so I do look forward to staying with my friend Francois and having the opportunity to practice.
But this isn't complaining. Paris has been quite the experience and sometimes you have to give in to being a tourist. How many Parisians claw and scratch to get to the Mona Lisa? It was World War II over again: ignorant Americans, camera-toting Japanese and belligerent Germans. Amazingly, I cruised from the Pyramid main entrance to da Vinci's masterpiece in less than 15 minutes, including security screen and ticket purchase. While the Louvre is as good as they say, one cannot pass up the Musee d'Orsay across the river. The paintings are all quintessentially French and nothing gets you in a better mood for a walk along the Seine than a few Monets to please the visual pallette.
I now have to days left in the city of love, which has remained unsurprisingly loveless for me, and my big dilemma is what to do on Sunday when the Tour de France, doped and all, reaches the heart of Paris in a triumphant celebration. Lucikly I have a little less than 24 hours to figure that out. Sorry for the delay in a new blog post, but I am sure it's not necessary to explain there is too much to do in Paris. My next post will be written from the French countryside and written by a much more relaxed author. A bientot!

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