7:15 PM - Couldn't seem to find the fitness centre anywhere in the building, thought it's clearly mentioned in the Services guide to the hotel, and is shown on the map. Went down to the concierge desk to discover that in fact they don't have one - a private gym is close by and they take hotel guests - for 25€ a day, and the entrance is outside! Not terribly impressed, but too busy to use it much anyway. Just nice at night to have a hot tub after a long day of walking. Concierge tonight was a bit of a jerk - what it is with this desk? They got bad reviews on several sites - if I took over this hotel, all of them would be replaced on day 1.
7:20 PM - decided to go for supper and I want to try a place I saw by the Arc the other day, that seemed to have really cheap menu - called Les Aigles. Hopefully the food quality doesn't match the prices!
7:30 PM - Grand Armée was really busy tonight as I walked first toward the Arc. Lots of activity both on the road and in all the stores. City is really busy after about 6:00 - I still can't quite figure out what is rush hour and what's people going out for the evening - so many businessmen walking by right now leads me to believe they keep late hours in the office here.
The bakery I saw on the Monday morning, that smelled so good (Boulangerie Patisseries) was still open and saw it probably would be after I ate supper as well, so decided to stop in and check it out later.
7:50 PM - some other tourists helped me get a shot in front of the Arc, which was nice, but I found that I took the better picture on my own tonight - with the camera's timer. I'm not sure what it is about people and cameras, but it seems that I get so many crappy shots from people who are trying to "help me out". I'm always grateful, but most of them get deleted after. So I've gotten relatively good at finding a level spot, aiming the camera and getting in at the right place in the frame so I can take it myself. I always worry about people walking off with my camera anyway, and language is sometimes a problem here.
8:03 PM - walked back to Les Aigles and was a bit concerned that neighbouring restaurants had a lot of people in them, but it was empty. I decided to take the risk, however, because I was hungry (was always told to look for the restaurant with a line-up, but that's not always the best indicator in Paris). I got a table that looks out on Grand Armée (see picture left, click for larger) - technically inside still, but sitting right at sidewalk level, and there's no wall in front me - watching Paris go by.
I ordered a glass of rose and a cheeseburger - they had steaks, pastas, etc. but I thought they would take too long and I was starving already. Trust me a hamburger in Paris is always much fancier than it sounds (see picture right, click for larger). The burger itself was very gourmet - lots of different spices in it, and clearly home made, along with the bun. The fries weren't anything to write home about but were OK. When I first arrived, the waiter brought me a little bowl of popcorn that clearly was made fresh and theatre style, and very good!. The Arc, as you can see in the picture above, was just half a block from my semi-outdoor table.
8:08 PM - I've noticed in Paris that all waiters everywhere wear either all black, or a white shirt and black pants - adds a nice touch even to the smallest little cafe restaurant, which I would consider this to be. I finished eating and got a few nice dusk shots of the restaurant and the Arc. I probably won't come down this way again, so said my goodbyes to this beautiful work of art on the street (see picture right, click for larger). I truly hate this camera with a passion - it just can't figure out low light at all, but whatever - it is what it is.
I then started to slowly walk back to the hotel. It's not a very nice night outside tonight - windy and cold, and drops of rain here and there. I was going to do the Eiffel Tower but decided to defer to later in the week when the weather was supposed to improve - though I'll do it regardless by Friday night so I don't miss it!
I walked the two blocks back to the Boulangerie Patisserie (bakery - see picture right, click for larger). It smelled like heaven - not just breads and buns but all kinds of other wonders - from freshly made pizza to white chocolate golf balls (yes, they looked exactly like a golf ball), and cookies that took two hands to hold they were so big. I decided on a huge cookie that I'll show later. They open at 9:00 AM, I was told, so will try to come by and grab something early morning one day, as the Parisians do!I decided to walk down Grand Armée on the other side to look in the store windows, so crossed the street outside the bakery. They had a Lamborghini store at the start of that block, but sadly no cars on display. In fact, it almost looked they sold the cars from catalogs and videos!
However, next door they had a Peugeot dealership - which you see everywhere here, but aren't terribly memorable - the second largest car company in Europe (Renault is largest). The brand Citroën is part of the same family, which may ring bells with us older folks. This dealership was related to a larger Victorie! next door - the one with the two cars on revolving displays above two others. What I didn't see on Monday morning was a turn-of-the-century Peugeot (1900) in the front window (see picture right, click for larger) which seemed to be in perfect condition. Nothing really to look at, but added some character to the block. 8:45 PM - It was getting really windy now and clouds quickly made it black outside. By the time I got to the end of the block I was on, it started just pouring, so had to run back to the room. So glad I didn't do Eiffel Tower or boat cruise tonight - what a miserable mess that would be in an open-air boat.
9:00 PM - Safely got back to my room and had my cookie. It was reaaaaaaaally good, and for 2€ it better be! Regardless of the price, I wish I'd bought three of them! It was made of oats and nuts, and held together with some kind of maple syrup "glue", and then dipped on one side in chocolate (picture left, click for larger). When you first bit into it, it was crunchy like peanut brittle - but when you held it in your mouth it melted quickly down to pure crystalline sugar somehow. Amazing.10:00 PM - Was watching TFI, a French network, as I got ready for bed. They had a French crime show that was like watching a horror movie - I couldn't believe it. The story was about a Canadian pig farmer who was butchering male prostitutes - sounding strangely like Robert Pickton (though he was after women prostitutes). Now, we've all heard of dramas that are 'ripped from the headlines', but rarely have I seen one so graphic. So ridiculous.
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