Paris! It's such a relief to see a nice, clean city after Firenze. Looking back, Firenze felt really hemmed in, oddly laid out, tangled, and strangely claustrophobic. I mean, the old city has its charms, but maybe in the heat and the deluge of art to see, I missed the forest for the trees. Well, anyway, I'm glad to see Paris. Out here in the little neighbourhood of Duroc, the streets are nicely laid out, wide, the trees are friendly, it's not too hot, everything looks a little, well, cleaner, people sit out in restaurants and bars imbibing wine and having a brioche - it's all so inviting. I would later learn that I had dodged the Paris heat wave while I was in Italy. Well, it is what it is. And Paris has its charms, but you know, cities grow slowly on me.
I took a walk today after pasta at home - pasta was three kinds of store-bought ravioli and tortellini with pesto sauce. It was a beautiful day, the sun set at eight forty-five. It's still a little crazy to me, but since it wasn't too hot, it was pretty lovely. The apartment is an old two roomer on the seventh floor - it used to be servants' quarters. It was nice; I could see the Eiffel Tower and the Musée de l'Armée from the apartment. Since the day was so long, I went out. Walked past Notre Dame, and boy, it sure looks like it's missing something. All along the banks of the river Seine, people were sitting out, chilling, chatting, having drinks and food, totally relaxing. It was that kind of day. Well, I think the women of Rome are still more beautiful.
So along the river there were little restaurants, and at one of them, you could sit at a kerbside to listen to a little jazz bandstand. Well, they weren't so good, and the restaurant goers didn't really pay all that much attention to them. Still, it was nice sitting there in the shade, while cyclists, skaters and joggers breezed past, and children ran helter-skelter along the little road. Boy, it got a little warm again. Well, after that ended, I made it to a nice jazz bar, Sunset Sunrise, named perhaps after that crazy little jewish song. Well, the band they had tonight was fabulous. I would later learn from reading the program that a lot of bands came through Sunset, and most of the time, you'd have to pay like thirty euro to get in. I'm not sure if it came with a drink. Well, anyway tonight was free! and the music was great. Trumpet, guitar, double bass, piano, and a bunch of artists came by to get their jam on. Sitting where I was, I could see them come in and watch the band, and you know, they didn't all look too much like they could play, but boy, they could all play. It was really nice, I liked it a lot. I ordered a double Nikka from the barrel, and it was at least a triple. I drank and drank and drank for two hours and when I looked at my glass, it felt like I'd barely put a dent in it. Way too big for a double. In my mind, bartenders admire double orders, no rocks. And they should. Jazz and whiskey - it sounds like a cliche, but it was a beautiful night. I wished, as I often, often do, that there was a real jazz bar in Singapore, like good old Jazz at South Bridge, that moved and didn't survive. Well, I had to leave at midnight, as I was sloshed, and those guys looked like they wanted to keep the jam going.
Tomorrow is the cycle out to the Château de Versailles. Bonsoir!
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I spent (in EUR):
128 - Air France from Firenze to Paris
3 - breakfast
27 - metro tickets
21.5 - supermarket groceries
26 - double Nikka
52 - apartment in Duroc
