Workshop broke up around noon. I struck out for Marais. Along the way I whirled through Notre Dame, the famous rose windows, and my favorite stop, St. Thomas, the patron saint of scientists (or if he isn't, he ought to be, the little doubter).
In the Marais, I managed to stumble upon a little Corsican restaurant, Salvi, which Donna and I had enjoyed a few years ago, and ate there for lunch, happy to have made its reacquaintance.
Alas, my luck for the day ended there.
From there I went to the Musee Picasso, only to discover it is closed for renovations. For two years. And three years ago, when we were in Paris, it had been mostly closed also for renovations. I know Picasso was famed for reinventing his styles, but this is ridiculous.
In one of my guidebooks it mentioned a nice little shop for gifts. I wandered around, got a bit lost, then found the address.
Closed and moving to a new address.
From there I went to the Pompidou center. It has a great collection of modern art, but after all this walking I wasn't really in the mood. So I headed out again.
Just then it began to rain.
I hung out for a while in an antiquities mall across from the Louvre. The rain did stop by then, so I walked through the Tulleries--although no rain, the wind was bitterly cold. At Place de la Concorde I crossed the Seine and headed back to my hotel, exhausted.
Not a bad day, but not what I was planning.
More tomorrow.
