Day 30: In search of lost things, part II

I’m on the way back from the Paris lost & found, still sans camera, but with a couple of key bits of information:

1. The email of a guy in Lost & Found who speaks English. I’m supposed to email him to see if the camera arrives.
2. The fact, according to English speaking guy, that things like cameras do get turned in sometimes–even wallets with money in them.
3. The knowledge that your tax dollars are hard at work–apparently if lost items are found the Lost & Found cannot ship them to the US. It us the US Embassy that has to pick them up.
“Oh great,” I said, upon hearing that news.
“It is no problem,” said my new English speaking friend and source of information. “They come here regularly to pick up the items that Americans leave in Paris.”
Really?! I wonder who has that job…?

Day 30: in search of lost things

Today is our last full day in Paris, the last day of my month-long round the world journey–other than the 26+ hour trip home…

How better to spend the last day than in search of my camera at the Paris lost and found…? Actually, we had a nice breakfast out in the Marais, and I’ve just dropped my mom off at the Picasso Museum–supposedly the best collection of Picasso in the world–while I’m making the trek back to the Paris Lost and Found.

We did go on Friday, in search of my lost camera, but were told that was much too early for it to be there. I’m not all that optimistic that it will be there, but it seems worth at least checking. Supposedly things do show up there, so I guess we’ll see.

Day 29: orsay did you see?

If a picture is worth 1000 words, here are a few thousand (after a long day of Museum-ing–Orsay, Rodin, Napolean’s tomb–I’m exhausted!) words for today: 

breakfast

Musée d'Orsay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rodin Museum

reflection

Day 28: the picasso of pastry

sunny day in Paris

Today was a beautiful, sunny day in Paris. 

Here are a few highlights: 

• Guided tour of the Louvre (last time I went to the Louvre it was basically to see the Mona Lisa and leave, so this time was a bit more thorough, though at only 1.5 hours, only saw a tiny fraction of what could be viewed…and I’m probably okay with that! 
• Ice cream from Berthillon (recommended by Rick Steves and my good friend Julianne). I had coffee and chocolate. Yum. 
• We tried to go see Sainte-Chapelle but the line was really long so we did not wait. We’ll see if we can get in tomorrow. When I was here five years ago, but in February, we walked right in. 

pastry by the 'picasso of pastry'

 

• Dinner at Chez Lena et Mimile  a cute place we had seen a few days back and managed to find again, based on a photo my mom had taken of the awning. The photo did not have the full name of the place, but did have the phone number, which I was able to google and get the address. In addition to a delicious dinner (we both had ‘gambas’ (shrimp) with risotto) we tasted a fine pastry from the ‘picasso of pastry’ Pierre Hermé.

 

• To cap off the evening we decided to take another boat tour (we took one the day my mom arrived, during the day) so that we could see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. The boat tour did not disappoint–the Eiffel Tower views, with the moon alongside, were spectacular. We would up sitting next to a couple from Sherman Oaks, and a few rows in front of many young school children, all in matching red baseball caps, all hooting as we went under each bridge, until an announcement came on in French that, based on their subsequent silence, must have reprimanded them.