Metro Menace

An easy metro to the Gare Saint-Lazare to get tickets for Caen started a cool Paris day - cool weather that is. The RER person gave us the best route to avoid millions of steps for our exit from Paris with the baggage. Line 14 to the Gare de Lyon was highlighted by a cultural exchange with one of the ubiquitous Parisien Posures - snooty attitude, nose slightly raised as though avoiding the smell of the common herd and the pretence of reading a weighty tome on one of: politics, philosophy or, most common, one of Satre's exposition on the meaning of travelling on the metro. This dear lady gave me a lecture on how to hang-on when the train lurched into life. I was hanging-on for dear life whilst trying to support a women who had the misfortune to fall, unsupported, onto me. This woman apologised and, to my delight, quietly informed our intellectual what was afoot. Said intellectual found more gall and lectured me further. I quietly but, firmly as only a northern UK fellow can, told her she was mistaken and should be better advised to look to her own behaviour - oops, not at all to her liking. The fallen woman turn out to be a charming, mid-fifties person who spoke near perfect English so that we had a delightful conversation for the few minutes left of the trip. Note to self: note all Parisiens are snotty wankers ...

The afternoon saw us wander over to a church on the Boulevard Voltaire.

As expected all cafes serve excellent coffee so that getting a reviving "fix" is all too simple.

Day ends with a Monoprix stop.

Back at the hotel I had a long and interesting conversation with the receptionist. He was of the opinion that the last Presidential Ellection was the first time that there was felt to be a palpable division in the population. Some of the protests were very violent and he was disgusted that the Army had to be used to control some of the protests. Cars being set alight not being uncommon.

The "Traveller's Cold" seems to be abating ... gasp, wheeze, cough ...