Thursday afternoon

16 October 2008- I am sitting at home listening to the gardienne vacuum the runner of carpet that goes up the stairs. Chad is home sick, not sure why his lungs just have not gotten better, must have been one heck of a Spanish virus. This goes all the way back to July. Poor guy, we have switched places. I used to be the carrier monkey for all disease and now he is.
Anyways, recap of my walking tour from yesterday. We visited Les Halles which used to be the giant market of Paris. Historical note of the cafe featured above. It is right near the spot where Henri IV was assassinated May 14, 1610. A drive by knifing by a former monk. This cafe marks the spot (Crowned Heart). Actually it is a bit further down the road at number 13 of all places. A giant placard fills the tiny street but it is on the ground. I remember stopping there on a previous visit and 3 people also stopped. They thanked me for stopping as they never saw it before. Good cheap pour of wine from this cafe as well.

No pictures of the actual Les Halles, its a miserable mall now overrun with teenagers. Here is the giant church St. Eustache that stood nearby. It even has a statue marking the day Les Halles was closed February 28, 1969. Huge church with lots of pieces of art by the masters, Pigalle and the like. It still has its original organ. Turns out it was hard for the revolutionaries to get up to it so they couldn't ransack it for the wood or metal fragments. A huge shame so many of the churches, organs and statues of Paris took the brunt of the revolution. C'est Dammage!
Not necessarily a master but here was a triptych by Keith Harring. If you click on the picture you will recognize the artist immediately. Very pop-y but interesting in its own way.

I am going to rant one last time before I embark on a project. I have been riding the metros of Paris for almost one year. I think every singer has their version of the spanish hit "Besa me mucho". Hysterical right? The most popular song heard on the Paris metro is done in spanish. Bad spanish and today's singer didn't even bother to learn the second verse. She "la-la-la-ed" it. My project beginning today is to record the various versions and see who comes the closest. I am voting for the blond on line 7! Besa me mucho. Look for my compliation of metro singers in a few months. Off to the metro...