After the victorious Notre Dame climb, the group traveled to the Pompidou area for lunch. It is a nice neighborhood and a prime place for people watching. It also has plenty of shops to visit. Greg, Larry, and Don disappeared for a long time into a shop. When they reappeared, the hat had made a triumphant return in triplicate. Le Hat Boys were born. It was explained that the hats were the perfect head covering for potential rain days and that they thought it made them look quite debonair. (On a side note, Jerry was not too upset about the lack of a hat – remember he has a $1.00 store raincoat).
Next stop was lunch. Jerry decided to take the steak tartar plunge (maybe he was more upset about the hat than everyone thought). Joyce continued with her duck tour across Paris. The restaurant was very busy and service was someone sporadic (This is being really, really nice). The sequence of events were as follows:
- Soup was served to Joyce and Larry
- Greg and Don served lunch
- Joyce and Jerry served lunch
- Greg and Don finished lunch
- (Notice anyone missing here?)
- Larry volunteered to cancel his and Debbie’s meal because he could get by on soup
- Debbie gives Larry the stink-eye
- Larry decided not to cancel order (Plus the whole French/English explanation would be difficult)
- Jerry finished lunch
- Joyce asked where Debbie and Larry’s lunch might be
- Waiter picked up Larry’s soup dish and turned in order
- Jerry finished lunch
- Joyce took time eating
- Waiter avoided table
- Waiter brought Debbie and Larry’s lunch
- Waiter said that their order took awhile
- Debbie gobbled down her lunch
- Everyone finished lunch
After the long, long lunch, the group strolled to the Pompidou Center, a modern area museum among other things. (Retail Value: 8 Euro). It had some interesting areas. The nearby Stravinsky Fountain features sixteen whimsical moving and water-spraying sculptures which represent themes and works by composer Igor Stravinsky. The Place in front of the museum is noted for the presence of street performers. (Artistic review – Modern art is not for everyone).
The group split into two different groups. (Debbie suspects because she was advocating for another church visit.) Jerry, Joyce, Larry and Debbie stopped at Eglise-St-Eustache. History Moment: The present building was built between 1532 and 1632. St Eustache’s is considered a masterpiece of late Gothic architecture. The church’s reputation was strong enough to be chosen as the location for a young Louis XIV to receive communion. Mozart also chose the sanctuary as the location for his mother’s funeral. While visiting the church, a baptism was in progress with beautiful singing.
On the final day of the museum pass, the total value used was 125.50 Euro. Total savings: 51.50 Euro.
Sounds like you finally experienced the French dining experience. Les Hat Boys look very happy.