A Great Monday

On Monday 11 March I finally got me metro pass...the Navigo Decouvert, (by the way, sorry I don't know how to  put in the French accent marks).  It allows me to hop off and on the metro or the bus, just  show the pass to an electronic eye (I don't even have to take it out of my purse if it is faced in the right direction) and I'm off and running.  I'm only taking the bus at this point because of the issue of the stairs in the metro stations.  I got the pass at the RER station A at Charles de Gaulle Etoile and Ave. Carnot.  A very nice man in the ticket booth helped and even spoke English to me.....it was so much easier than I anticipated.

So I jumped on the bus and went down to the Trocadero to take a look at the Eiffel Tower.  The Trocadero was build originally 1878 Universal Exhibition and then became the Palais de Chaillot in 1937.  The Architectural and Heritage Museum is in the same building.  It sits high above the river, with fabulous fountains below and a bridge over the river to the Eiffel Tower.  I didn't walk down to the fountains.  My leg was hurting by then, so I sat for a while and soaked up some sun.

I went inside the building where there was a little cafe.  I had a salad with chicken, a glass of wine, a bottle of water and three macaroons.  If you have never tried a Parisian macaroon, you have missed the experience of a lifetime.  They bare absolutely no resemblance to an American macaroon...no coconut.  Delicate and interesting, out of this world flavors.  I will try to get a picture of a display and post it.  Anyway, this cafe had a view of the Tower.  There is kind of a statue in the window too, but it was beautiful as well.

So I jumped back on the bus, heading towards home, and saw there was a lovely large park along the way. The Parc Monceau.  What a beautiful park, with small lakes, a beautiful carousel with a Jules Vern theme and the airplane from The Little Prince.  I took tons of pictures....of the parc, the carousel, and people enjoying the sun.

                                                 There's a little waterfall back in there.....

                                        These are actually the restrooms.....

I'm sure it will be more lush and green as the Spring progresses.  Here are some more pix and some people.

Here is the fantastic carousel, and a guy watching it......

Finally one of the beautiful gates to the Parc.

I sat in the sun for a long time in this Parc.  I will certainly go back there again.  It's so easy with my bus pass.  Just another word about taking the bus.  I got two books which, along with the pass, has made getting around so easy.  One is Paris Bus, 109 bus lines.  There is a detailed map of every line complete with the exact location of every stop in both directions.  The other book is Paris by Arrondissement.  Each Arr. has two or four pages depending on how big it is and every street,no matter how small, is on the map.  You can find your way anywhere.  Both can be purchased at a news stand.