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August 6-9 we hosted Mike Eddy, our friend from Lucent New Jersey. He and Jan worked together for a year or so on an airline crew scheduling system produced by AT&T's ADSS group.

Mike woke us up with a phone call at 7:30 a.m. saying that he had just arrived from KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). And then he complained we weren't letting him get enough sleep. Of course that is Jan's constant complaint too! Gerry went to Gare du Nord to conduct him over to our place for a breakfast and nap.

With Mike we visited the Marmottan Museum. A private home willed to the French government by its owner to house a collection of medieval art, it now houses two other gift collections, one containing the largest single collection of Monet paintings in the world.

After the visit to the Marmottan, we went to the Champs Elysés for a look and some refreshments. From there we caught a bus to Montmartre. We walked the last part on foot, seeing a former home of Vincent Van Gogh and the two remaining windmills on Montmartre. Then we supped at a place in Montmartre with a beautiful view of Paris, unfortunately a bit spoiled by rain.

Orsay Museum main hall

On Saturday we tried to start with a visit to the Bourbon Palace, site of the French National Assembly. We didn't get in on our first try because only 30 people are allowed in each guided tour, and we didn't make the cut. There is only one tour every couple of hours and so to fill in the time we walked along the quai to the nearby Orsay Museum, which specializes in the art of 1830-1914 and which all liked. Jan especially liked the section on the top floor that contained furniture from the turn of the century by artists/designers from the Ecole de Nancy.

Palais Bourbon - Assemblée Nationale

After two hours at Orsay we went back and spent nearly two hours in line at the National Assembly before finally getting in. It was worth the wait. From there we walked to and thru the Left Bank/ Latin Quarter and took a short break at the plaza in front of the Sorbonne.

Saturday we ate in a tiny but traditional French restaurant in the Ile St Louis. Each evening we were all tired and were very happy to sit down to dinner.

Left Bank cafe

During Mike's stay, Gerry, as is his wont, wanted to drag us all about everywhere. But the other two in the party managed to get him to sit down long enough to enjoy a few drinks in some of the many outdoor bistros (a word we learned comes from the Russian for "fast").

We particularly liked one near the Sorbonne, where we sat outdoors under the shade of a nearby tree and watched several different mimes trying to earn dimes.

Jim Morrison Grave, Pere Lachaise Cemetery

Sunday we went to the Cemetery Père Lachaise. It was our fourth visit and Mike's first. He wanted to see Jim Morrison's grave. So did lots of others. While looking for it two Irish girls asked Gerry where it was. He said, "Follow me; look for the crowd". And boy, was there a crowd. And a policeman to make sure no one damaged the grave. The grave was littered with gifts from admirers that ranged from poems to long-stemmed roses to packs of Camel cigarettes!

February 26, 2003