Wednesday, August 3: I had been in Europe for about a week at this point, and I already missed my cats back home, so I decided to visit Les Cafe De Chats, a cat cafe that was about a mile's walk from our hotel. I got there at noon, right as it opened, and there were already people waiting to go in. By the time I left, the place was pretty packed.
A few of the cats came around to say hello, but most of them seemed indifferent. A lot of them slept. Still, you could walk over and pet the ones lying on the piano or other low-lying furniture. I needed my cat fix, and I got it. I can't comment on the food here, as I didn't order any, but I did get a tiny coffee and a regular-sized tea and they were both good.
Next I walked to the Musee Carnavalet, a history museum that happens to be free. It had a variety of things: furniture, art, artifacts, documents, all pertaining to the story of Paris. I really liked the exhibit that featured old shop signs and salvaged architectural decor from around the city.
It was a warm day, and the museum was a little uncomfortable, so I only spent an hour or so here. Still, I would definitely recommend this place. There's a lot to see here and it's laid out well. I probably wouldn't recommend it for kids.
I was planning to meet H. in the late afternoon to visit the Centre Pompidou, but I still had a little time, so I wandered around a bit, taking photos. I then found a nice shady spot in a greenspace around the Tour Saint-Jacques.
And at some point I bought these wacky cookies. They were good!
A little while later, H. met me there and we walked over to the Centre Pompidou. (€14 or less for adult tickets/ timed entries as of 2022.) This is a modern art museum and it's wild:
Unfortunately, that red tubey thing on the outside of the building is NOT a giant slide, but a series of escalators, and even more unfortunately, at the time of our visit that tube was basically a sweltering greenhouse. (Read: NOT whimsical or fun.)
The museum itself was a little confusing. First we went to one floor, where they had a large modern art exhibit. We spent an hour or so looking around.
Then we tried going to an exhibit on the top floor, but when we got up there they said our tickets didn't include that one.
We went to two exhibits on a lower floor, but one was meh and the other was creepy.
We attempted to visit an exhibit on the fourth floor, but there was literally nothing there, even though the museum map said something was there.
We also tried to find the children's museum room, but it didn't seem to exist either.
So we went to the gift shop.
The views from the top balconies of the Centre Pompidou were pretty cool...
A little before 8, we left the C.P. and walked over to the nearby LEGO Store. Google said it closed at 8:30, but we got there right after 8 and the employee at the door wouldn't let anyone else in! But because we still had another full day in Paris, we could always try again. We did take a few pictures of the window displays...
We returned to our hotel (probably stopping for some dinner first, as we often did) and called it a day.
Tomorrow: Versailles!
Things I learned today:
*Don't order any more coffee in cafes; the cups in Europe are made for dolls. Order tea -- it lasts longer!
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