Day 6 - Musee Rodin & Wandering Around Paris

Today I allowed myself to sleep in a bit and take it easy. Paris is chock-full of museums and I didn't have many on my "To Do" list, which I'm sure some people will see as a travesty! I did want to check out the Musee Rodin and once again, there was no rain in the forecast so this sounded like the perfect thing to do. While a museum may seem like a good thing to do on a rainy day, many of the sculptures at the Musee Rodin are actually outdoors in a garden, the most famous of which is The Thinker.

The Thinker - Musee Rodin

The garden was quite lovely and once again, I can only imagine how much more beautiful it would be in the spring and summer. Although there was a special exhibit going indoors, the main building of the museum was entirely closed for renovation. And this was okay as the garden provided a good taste of Rodin.

Balzac Sculpture - Musee Rodin

Musee Rodin

Musee Rodin

Musee Rodin

I didn't really have a plan for the rest of the day so I just decided to wander around the city. As Les Invalides was right across from the Musee Rodin, I walked around those buildings a bit. I don't have a huge interest in military museums or seeing Napoleon's tomb, so I didn't go in. But the gilded dome was pretty in the sunlight.

Les Invalides

Walking towards the Seine, I encountered what is considered the most elegant bridge in Paris, Pont Alexandre III, opened at the 1900 Universal Exhibition. It was built to celebrate the treaty between France and Russia. It's a little over-the-top for my tastes but it's certainly something to see as it is so different than all of the other bridges in Paris.

Pont Alexandre III

Pont Alexandre III

Pont Alexandre III

Since I wasn't too far away, I next decided to take the Metro to the Arc du Triomphe. I had only seen it once before, at night, from across the very busy Champs-Elysees, and thought it might be worth returning, to at least stand underneath the arc if not climb the stairs to the top. When I walked up from the Charles de Gaulle Etoile Metro station, I was met with the largest crowd of tourists I would encounter in Paris. I don't know how many tour busses and tour groups were there at this particular moment, but you literally needed to elbow your way through the crowds to walk anywhere. I walked around trying to find where I could cross the street to be under the arc itself. Uh . . . not possible. Finally, I found a sign that said there was an underground passage to the arc. After finding that and walking below, I discovered that you have to pay to go to the top of the arc to even be allowed to stand underneath it, which was a bit disappointing. As I was already frustrated with the crowds, I decided to pass and move on.

Arc du Triomphe

At this point, I was craving some calm and decided to visit the pedestrian-friendly market street of Rue Cler. I'd been to Rue Cler previously on my first visit to Paris and I realize it's essentially Rue du Rick Steves but it is a charming little street with cute shops, colorful buildings and great outdoor flower and produce vendors. It was particularly quiet in the afternoon and I enjoyed the stroll.

Outdoor cafe table & chairs - Rue Cler

Rue Cler

Rue Cler

Rue Cler

After retiring to my apartment to rest for awhile, I had a very early dinner (very early by Paris standards) around 7:00 p.m. I wanted to try and get to bed early as the following day I would need to be up early to catch the train to Bruges.

I have to admit, dining out was not my favorite experience in Paris and it had absolutely nothing to do with the food. I had read that many people dine alone in Paris and I really didn't think I'd mind it that much but . . . rarely did I encounter other solo diners, especially at night, so I felt a bit out of place. I missed having company and wasn't sure what to do with myself when I wasn't actually eating. I definitely didn't want to be playing around with my phone, even though I saw plenty of Parisians doing just that. I brought along a small notebook and wrote almost every night but even then, I couldn't help but feel a little anxious. I will say, I never encountered rude service and the wait staff, for the most part, seemed to tolerate my French, even though their response was almost always in English!