One of my favorite images of Parisians is of them walking down the street eating a baguette fresh from the boulangerie.  So after a great day of seeing beautiful art and city scenes, we got a baguette and ate a bite on the way home. I felt so French.

At lunch today we had our first crabby French waiter, at least at first he was crabby.  By the time we left, he was making jokes and exaggerated gestures.  We are not sure what changed, but he ended up being quite enjoyable.

We have been discussing why the Parisians have a reputation for being unfriendly.  Our encounters with Parisian people have been positive.  Sometimes they smile when I speak French, but I have never felt it was critical, just amused.  And I can understand why my French attempts are amusing.  They are reserved and speak very softly which may make them seem less friendly than people in other countries.  I wonder if they don’t make eye contact on the street because they keep their eyes on the sidewalk so they don’t step in dog poop-something I have done twice since I am always looking around when I walk.

After a beautiful walk,, we went to the Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, a wonderful art museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art of the 20th and 21st centuries.  I wasn’t familiar with many of the artists but fell in love with some of the paintings.

Raoul Dufy:

Robert Delaunay:

Albert Gleizes:

After dinner, we got off the Metro a stop early so we could walk home across the Seine.  For five minutes at the top of each hour at night, the lights on the Eiffel Tower twinkle.  It was a beautiful sight.