Friday in Paris.

Laundry was one of the top things on my mind this morning. I washed everything I wasn't wearing except my coats. I bundled all my clothes into my suitcase and trundled down to the laverie around the corner. People in Paris are just as nice as they are everywhere else. First an elderly gentleman showed me how the washers worked. All the controls are on the opposite wall, but after you pay for your machine on the wall you have to press the button on your machine to make it start. Set the temperature and cycle, divide the soap between prewash and wash before you press the buttons. Same thing for the dry but remember to press the button or it won't start as the young lady showed me.

Next lets talk about toilets. Can we give all the architects in Europe lessons on what a toilet should look like. It should have a seat. A urinal is porcelain with no seat. Paris Omnisport Arena has women's urinals pretending to be toilets. It isn't the only bad one. I don't care how they flush or how much water is in them, but they should be comfy to sit on in order to do the job.

After laundry I decided to do a little shopping for Peggy. I found a new quilting/patchwork shop in Paris. Inez knew Diane from The other shop. Diane died just after we met her. Inez said that a few months after opening that shop she discovered she had cancer and passed away about three months later. The strange thing is that she was always afraid that her husband who was twenty years older than her would die first and she would have nothing to do. That was why she kept the store open. On the way I visited St. Ambroise Church. I love visiting the old churches to see the stained glass windows.

I next found the Place de la Bastille. We had never visited it before. Looks like there is a huge market nearby I may check it out tomorrow. I started wandering around and found Place des Vosges. It is a pretty little park with trees and fountains a few blocks from the Bastille. I spotted the arches under the building and when I walked through it was so pretty I stayed for a while. Very peaceful.

I picked up lunch as I wandered and found a bench down by the Seine and ate. Crossed the Ile de la cite and stopped to listen to a band on the street. Carried on past the back of Notre Dame and crossed over to the left bank.  Rue St. Germaine had a street market so I took all that in. Then I found a free museum - history of the Prefecture of Police. Kind of fun, not too gory but records on display back to the 1600's. Rather interesting.

Took a bus to Gare de Lyon. Took some pictures in the lobby and finally figured out the Metro was two floors down. Took the metro home. I'm heading down the street for supper. It will be an early night tonight.

Well I finally met a Frenchman who tried to rip me off. Didn't work though. I didn't just fall off a turnip truck. The waiter short changed me 5.00 euros. Did he think I wouldn't notice? I let them know even though I was counting on my fingers (onze, deuse, treize,) I know 13.90 from 50 is 36.90 not 31.90. Not eating ther again!