Day 14 - Paris is Closed

Sunday is not the day to do much in Paris. Lots of shops close at 1PM, and many don't even open. This is a different internet place. Same rates and you can set the keyboard to respond like an english one, so I'm not complaining. Let's see. What the heck did I do yesterday.

• Made my reservation at the new hostel. It looks like kind of the AOL of hostels (a cafeteria as opposed to a kitchen, vending machines for everything from toiletries to maps), but I think it'll be a nice change of pace from the constant press of street vendors and the elevated train right out the window. It's pretty far out of town (practically the suburbs), but that's nice too because it lets me see a different side of the city.
• Took the subway (also called the metro) across town to the Arc De Triumph. It's big.
• Walked down the Champs Elysees. It's totally touristy with beaucoup movie theaters and expensive stores. Meh.
• I sat outside the Grand Palais (Palais = Palace) for a while. It didn't seem like the right time to hit another museum, so I kept going. I went around Palais de l'Elysee. It must also be a government building of some kind. You can't even walk on the same side of the street with the wall that surrounds it. The whole area around it is what I call a high security shopping district. Jewelry mostly. Southeby's. They only let customers in the door one at a time. If there isn't a free salesperson to help you, you probably don't get in.
• Then it was on to the Jardin des Tuileries. (Jardin = Garden or Park) It's a huge public space. I had fun wandering around, trying to find all the sculptures. It was really cool to run into a little cluster of Rodin's work.
• Finally I headed back to the hostel. I chatted with my latest roomie, a gal named Eulah who works with developmentally disabled adults. She was nice. We headed up to the church at the top of the hill near the hostel (Sacre Coeur). I'd been up there two days ago, but it was really fun to experience it for the first time again through her eyes.

You can probably sense a reduced level of enthusiasm. I've got to learn to watch for tourist burnout more vigilantly. Truth be told though, I don't really know what to do with myself when I'm not tromping around in search of whatever site is closest on my map. Today has already been a long day (9AM to 5PM of walking and trying to find places to buy food that were open). And I don't really feel the richer for it. It's definitely time for another slack day.