Paris, Monday 31 March 2025

Busy weekend.

Saturday afternoon, before meeting friends for dinner on the Right Bank, Place de l’Alma, I decided to walk over. It took about an hour and a half to go from the 6th to Trocadero, where I spent half an hour in the Musée de l’Art Moderne, entirely in front of the very first room filled with three huge paintings by Sonia Delaunay and her husband Robert, all as spectacularly joyful, as a collection of ferris wheels. After dinner we took a bus home, more complicated than we anticipated, because the ticketing has changed: one ticket if you want to ride a bus and/or the tramway, another if you want to ride the metro, RER or train, and various other options. Previously, you could use the same ticket, in Paris for everything. The ticket vendor was as confused as the snake of customers.

Yesterday we decided to (finally) visit Notre Dame, so walked over. The no-reservation line went on forever, though it seemed to be moving quickly. The with-reservation line was empty (no slots), though parents with babies in strollers were waved in. We chose the line for the 6 pm mass, and heard vespers. The cathedral is as spectacularly restored as it looks online. My husband found it too new looking. It’s true that there isnt an incongruous detail, unless it was the motley congregation.

Sun today, and sharp-angled shadows on our neighbourhood church,