From "Fear" to "Friendly" - The Metro

I've come full circle. Riding the metro is as easy as breathing and as practical as a gas sipping hybrid. Everyone uses the trains and they are part of the tightly woven fabric of the french culture. I've seen women in mink, young children alone and schizophrenics ranting. Gypsys play musical instruments in hopes of a "return" for their effort and all of us, connected by this transport, sit in stony silence. It's weird and it's wonderful, but I'm no longer afraid.

The picture is signage on a gate to a park. This beautiful park excludes dogs from entering. The signage is obvious, but I liked the words beneath the picture, "even held on a leash". This is quite ironic. The French and their dogs are inseparable. And the dogs seem to have special privileges here: they are allowed in restaurants, they wear "haute couture" apparel and they have owners who are blind to their dog's excrement on the sidewalks.  There are, however, some dog parks - big ones. I was at the "Champs de Mars" which is a very large park at the south-east end of the Eiffel Tower. There, dogs run free without being tethered. Owners whistle and the dogs come running. I did see one dog, a maverick, (large Irish Wolfhound) out of control, running with the wind, He looked very happy.

I visited "La Place des Vosges". It is a very interesting, very early concept of "condo" living. There are 36 units ( 9 on each side - all identical) built around a large square (about the size of a block) in 1612. They are a beautiful red brick and stone design with steep roofs and look, today, quite contemporary. Henri IV added a covered arcade around the outsides of the buildings (a place one could walk out of the weather). These arcades house art galleries and fine restaurants today. The park is lovely with fountains and a large statue of "Henry II" on horseback in the center. It was a fancy complex for nobles then and has remained "up scale" ever since, housing such luminaries as Victor Hugo and Cardinal Richelieu.

It was dinner time for me and I decided to eat at one of the fine restaurants under the arcade. From the moment I stepped into this establishment, I had a sense that I was about to experience "the real French Cuisine". Heretofore, I have eaten at the "take-out" bars along the main drags. Not memorable at all. But this was different. La Serveuse covered my petite marble table with a lovely dansk tablecloth. I ordered Sea Bass with Thai vegetables and ooh la la. My "plat du jour" (main course), upon arrival to my seat, looked like an "oeuvre" (work of art). It was beautiful. And since I did not have a camera, I will have to duplicate this experience in order to record its beauty. And it tasted good too. I finished the meal with a cafe expresso. On the saucer, next to the cup, I found a small (mostly butter, I'm sure) cookie. The French really know how to do it right.