Night at the Museum

After the OuiShare Fest was over, we had one more free day in Paris before we took the train back to Montpellier. We were up early that morning and headed out the door to wander, taking in the sights and sounds. But one of our “must do’s” was to return again to a Turkish restaurant we’d found in “the old neighborhood,” near where we’d stayed in November. And, inveterate researcher that she is, Paula found that this Saturday night was the annual free museum night, when many of the museums in Paris (indeed, in all of France) offered entry without charge, from 6PM to midnight. We made sure our perambulations brought us back to our apartment in time to rest up for our big night out.

Classic "Roof-Top Paris"; from the top of Au Printemps department store

From the steps of L'eglise de la Madeleine towards the Obelisk at Place de la COncorde and the Assemblee Nationale along Rue Royal

The same view in 30 November 2015, the night before COP 21: no traffic!

As the hour for dinner approached, we rousted ourselves and headed to the Metro for a quick ride to "our" restaurant. We were greeted with great warmth and pleasure by the owner, a woman who had fussed over us on our previous visits. It was incredibly gratifying to realize that she not only remembered us, but was wonderfully welcoming, giving Paula a big hug and seating us grandly at the table.  We ate very well that night!

But we did not want to dawdle too long, as the Louvre awaited us with its free entry. And there were sure to be huge crowds! Another bus ride through the city, and we descended just outside the gates right after sunset (about 9:30 in these parts, this time of year).

The Louvre; 9:30 on a summer night!

Crowds were not so big, and we started trudging through this huge former palace, now one of the most recognized museums in the world. After a considerable walk we came to the Egyptian wing. But that didn’t seem quite right; we were particularly interested in the European painters. Ah, but it turned out that wasn’t part of the free night. Instead, we toured Napoleon’s apartments.

Well, the guy knew how to live, and how to impress. The guard on duty told me that this was not a reconstruction, but the actual place where Napoleon lived and worked. (It was, after all, a palace for the King of France for 300 years, surely satisfying Napoleon’s ego!). It did not occur to me at the time to be embarrassed by this lack of historical knowledge; on the hierarchy of Stupid Tourist Questions it probably ranks pretty low.

The Salon and waiting rooms

And the formal dining room: William Randolph Hearst, eat your heart out!

Midnight approached; our legs ached. After a quick tour of some artifacts (plates; tapestries) from the 12^th and 16^th centuries, we were happy to make our way out and down into the nearby Metro station. A quick ride through a few stops, and we were back to our apartment, and to bed. Our train left at noon the next day, so there was plenty of time in the morning to finish packing.

Just another romantic evening in Paris!

Detail of a 16th Century tapestry showing a waterwheel mechanism: you can take the boy out of engineering...