Ever the optimist, I wanted to see if sofagirl could get away for a few days. Since the Warfarin levels are all over the place and I still can't fly, the best option was to find three strapping lads to accompany me on the Eurostar to Paris.
I found two.
and the old man.
The Matisse blue sky was inspirational and although I left climbing the Eiffel Tower to Henri et Artuur, I enjoyed swimming around in Monet's water lilies in the Orangerie which has comfortable seats. Never before have chairs, benches, ledges etc been such an important part of my day.
We discovered an artist there who in his short life, had a wonderful way of looking at the world. Chaim Soutine (1893-1943)
Hasn't he got a lovely Stephen Fry nose?
I spent quite a while people-watching in the Tuileries Gardens where there are a huge amount of very stylish chairs to collapse into.
If you walk along the Seine over the padlock bridge, Pont des Artes, then beware the Gold Ring scam. You may notice a gleaming ring on the ground which will be picked up by a 'helpful' person who will ask if it is yours? Depending on how greedy you are, you are given the option to have it, for 'good luck' and they then proceed to walk away. They will then come back to you and say that they are hungry and need 5 Euros to buy a sandwich. Your train of thought will be "Hey, this person just handed over a gold ring they found, what's a few Euros?" The result is that you end up 5 Euros lighter and only a piece of brass to show for it. Save yourself the bother and simply do not entertain these con artists. This practice is rife in Paris. The areas concerned are between the bridge near to the Eiffel Tower down to the Pont Neufchâtel and all along the upper riversides and bridges along the way. And no, we didn't fall for it although we were approached four times with the same trick, in half an hour.
Another outrageous scam is children and adults pretending to be deaf. They approach you quite forcefully with a clipboard, indicating that you should sign it and give them some money. If you try to give them a few euros, they will turn over their clipboards which on the back say: '10 Euros Minimum.' If you give in to it and you remove your purse or wallet, they see where you keep it and when several children hug you to say thank you, they steal your purse or wallet from where they know you keep it. Just say "non" and keep walking.
At least Artuur et 'Arry's scam was a bit more entertaining.
The "Friendship" Bracelet: A vendor approaches you and asks if you'll help him with a "demonstration." He proceeds to make a friendship bracelet right on your arm. When finished, he asks you to pay a premium for the bracelet he created just for you. And, since you can't easily take it off on the spot, you feel obliged to pay up. 'Arry said it was a bargain as his was "only €15". Good thing we were only there for three days.
And thankfully, I couldn't fit into these, let alone afford them.
Isn't it odd how people who enjoy their work can end up morphing into it? We discovered this gardener (just) in the Jardin des Tuileries.
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