I Turned My Collar to the Cold and Damp

It's not normal for us to have truly unpleasant days when traveling. Thursday was one of those days. It was cold and windy, there was a driving rain that hardly let up all day, and French labor unions called a general strike nationwide. That added up to a bad day. But even the worst of days can have bright spots.

Venus didn't seem to mind the weather and she was not on strike

The labor strike took us by surprise. We have no English language news sources here, other than U.S. newspaper websites (a long way from France) and the BBC (also a long way from France). So we've been a little out of touch on local news.

We did our usual breakfast routine (involving French bakeries). We noted that one of our favorite neighborhood bakeries was not open this morning, but this sometimes happens. We walked to another. Not quite as good, but OK (Bright spot!).

I had forgotten that "Winged Victory" stood in a boat

I believe we even remarked to one another that the Metro train was not nearly as crowded this morning (Bright spot!). We chalked it up to traveling at a slightly different time of day.

It was a long block's walk in the rain from the Metro station to the L'Orangerie. As the name implies, this was formerly a greenhouse on the grounds of the Louvre palace. It now houses Impressionist art (more on that later). It was locked up tight, with a paper sign taped to the front door saying, "Closed until further notice due to the labour strike." Strike?

We decided to try the Louvre. It would normally have been a short walk, but because of the wind and the cold and the rain, we elected to return to the Metro and ride the one stop back.

The Louvre, itself, is a treasure

Unfortunately, this Metro station is under renovation, so we couldn't re-enter where we exited. After some confusion, we found the entrance nearly three blocks away. By then we were really cold and really wet. The umbrellas weren't keeping up.

There is an underground entrance to the Louvre, under the famous pyramid, attached directly to the Metro station and to a high-end shopping center. At least it was warm and dry down there! (Bright spot!)

Tourists just go nuts around the Mona Lisa

But we, and several hundred other tourists seeking shelter there, learned that the Louvre (which should have already been open for some time now) might, or might not open an hour and a half late today, due to the strike.

As it turned out, it did! (Bright spot!) But they would not allow us in with our museum pass at this down-under entrance. The only entrance for passes is from the pyramid, in the main square, upstairs, outside. Several hundred other tourists also have the same pass, and we all had to get through security. That meant standing in line, outside in the wind, rain, and cold, for quite awhile. We were soaked by the time we got inside.

Fortunately, we got to see most of the things we came to see (Bright spot!). But parts of the museum were closed -- presumably because of being short-staffed by the strike -- so we were blocked from a few exhibits on our list.

We thus finished sooner than might have been expected, so we tried going back to L'Orangerie. It was open, but there was a long line outside in the rain. And by now there were other issues: Not only were we wet and cold and tired of being on our feet, but we were also hungry and in need of a toilet!

Restaurants in the area were all tourist places and all really expensive. So we tried one, small, non-descript little place that we weren't really even sure was a restaurant. What a surprise! (Bright spot!)

Inside, this place looked like it was a movie set for France in the 1920s. It was full of men in business suits having "plat du jour," the plate of the day business lunch. We were just about the only tourists in the place. In fact, Mary was just about the only woman there.

French was spoken here. The menu did not have English subtitles, as typical in the tourist joints. The waiter spoke very little English. Everything about the place was old-school traditional! The meal was very reasonably priced, and the food was really GOOD! (Bright spot!)

Fortified by a good meal and use of the restaurant restrooms, we went back out into the downpour to take on the L'Orangerie line once more. It was a long one, and as we got closer, we discovered why. The security people all over Paris have been courteous and efficient in doing their job. Security here was ridiculous and the staff had a real attitude. Was it the rain? The strike?

Monet would be disappointed that I did not find peace amid the Water Lilies

By the time we finally got in, I wasn't much in the mood for art. Claude Monet's masterpiece, the Water Lilies, takes up most of this entire museum. His eight giant canvasses were intended to help harried city dwellers to feel the peace of the countryside. But it didn't work for me, and I had trouble appreciating the beauty. Maybe it was because my shoes were waterlogged. Also, about a third of the museum was closed, probably due to the strike.

We returned to the hotel and dried ourselves out as much as possible. Dry socks helped, but when I put on the shoes to go out for dinner again, the socks just absorbed the water from the shoes.

We did find a new restaurant in the neighborhood. The food was good, and it was "happy hour" with half-price beer. So into every life some rain must fall, but even the worst of days can have its bright spots.

Location:Paris, France