Day 13 - Mmmmm. Internet.

Yesterday's walk was fantastic. There is more amazing architecture than I have time to see or photograph. And in truth, photography never does a space justice. It never does a sculpture justice either, which was part of the problem at the Rodin museum yesterday, surely the highlight. They had handsets much like the Churchill museum that made it possible to hear English commentaries on the works. It was very cool. I now know more than I'd ever have expected to about Rodin. And even though pictures don't do the sculptures justice, I'm already looking forward to sharing them when I get home. I wonder if I'll remember what I learned by then. I'll definitely need a refresher on his giant bronze "Gates of Hell" (strangely not a reference to Bill Gates). Rodin liked to reuse figures, so you can point out lots of other famous sculptures inside of it.

Let's see, where else did I go yesterday? I mostly went by a lot of places.

• The Eiffel Tower is way too crowded
• The giant park next to it (parc du champ de mars) was nice

(The english do gardens. The french do parks. Considering how many of those english gardens are private, I think I prefer the French approach.)

• I took a snap or two of some vaguely military buildings (ecole militaire; tourville)
• I made sure to get some nice shots of the incredibly gauche gold statues on tourville and Pont Alexandre III
• I was going to take a shot of the Assemble Nationale (which judging by the police presence is a working government building), but the giant "We want the games!" sign for sucking up to the Olympic committee kind of wrecked it
• I took a couple shots of the Leuvre from across the street, not even knowing what it was, just that it was beautiful and massive. Pray for my poor feet when I begin tackling that beast.
• I went by the Orsay (another museum). The line out the door convinced me I should probably go. It's so hard to decide in Paris. There are 23 museums and 22 monuments listed just in the fold out map I got at the traing station when I arrived. And many of those monuments include tours, so it's not like you just snap a few photos and keep walking. Well, I do, sometimes.
• I wandered through the Garden of Luxemberg. That's probably misspelled, but I fear reading nothing but British and French spellings has permanently damaged my already shaky spelling abilities.

Okay, that pretty much sums up yesterday. Whew. I'm starting to get the hang of the french keyboard. I've found a nice internet shop where I can take my time. It feels really good to share with all the different friends, relatives, and aquaintences back home. And I love hearing from you as well, so don't hesitate to comment! :)

Today is pretty drizzly, so no good outdoor photos today. Searching for my next hostel has been a chore. I keep hitting the same three names and they don't look any better than where I am now. I'll be looking into Hostelling International's offerings today. They're a separate network, so we'll see. If all else fails, I can survive my current residence another week. Paris is worth it.