What I Did On My Days Off!

We've had a couple of days with no assigned afternoon activities and wow! That was nice!  I actually got to choose what I wanted to do, and I got to do it  my way.

To begin with, Chloe and I went to a part of town I hadn't been to before and visited a park I hadn't been to.  Our hope was to take a ride in this hot air balloon, since balloons are such a part of Parisian history, but alas, there was too much wind and they were closed, so we had to eat lunch and people watch. 

This park, called **** might be one of my new favorites.  It was a obviously a newer park, and the landscaping was dramatic and big, and seemed to be an artistic effort to compliment the surrounding architecture. I love it that in Paris they are still trying to make everything just a bit more artistic.

Some very fun people watching....

....especially at this fountain.  This picture shows just a small corner of it, but what was fun for me was how most of those playing in it were older, not just the 6 year olds I'm used to seeing in Utah fountains.

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Then after the park--JAZZ

Mark gave me a little lesson on Paris Jazz before I came, and it was a goal of mine to attend a concert while I was here.  As luck would have it, one of the guys in our group, Aaron, is a Jazz bass player like Mark and was totally in to the jazz world here, attending every concert he could. He promised to help hook me up with some music, and this was one of his favorite concert opportunities.  Robert Glasper and his traveling group were participating in a Jazz Piano Festival in the village one metro stop away from mine, and what a treat!  Not only was the piano phenomenal, but the saxophonist was amazing too. This was modern jazz at it's best, and I just sat alone in the concert trying to soak up enough of it for Mark, Carli, and Jeff Fischer, my favorite Jazz lovers. 

One of the things I love about Jazz is how casual and friendly it is.  After the concert the musicians were just hanging out with people in the audience, and you can see Aaron up on stage talking to the saxophonist who is supposed to be very well known in the modern jazz world.  That's Glasper sitting on the stage just two rows from where we were waiting for Aaron. 

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The next day we visited the "Worlds Largest Flea Market," which was pretty much like the other flea markets I've visited in the world.  It was booth after booth of shoes, jackets, jewelry, and purses, and fear of pick pockets!

....except for it's antiques, for which it is famous.  I wish the girls I were with would have been more interested in this part, but maybe that was for the best, because it doesn't matter how good a deal an antique chair is, it isn't going to fit in my suitcase!

This picture of Brittany is really a picture of the guys behind her peddling watches and sunglasses.  There were literally dozens of these guys on the sidewalk between the metro and the market.  They were some of the most aggressive vendors I have ever encountered and I got really good at not making eye contact and plowing my way down the block.

And Sarah, did we go to this market??  Because I had another one of those strange déja vu moments walking down this street!

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The next activity was for my roommate Kelli and for Jeff F.

You follow these stickers on the sidewalk....

....and if you're lucky you get to follow a couple of very cute french girls....

.......

...and then you are at the Roland Garros Tennis stadium, the home of the French Open, which starts Sunday, so even on Saturday you had to have a ticket to get in....

...so we had to take pictures over the fence while standing on bus stop benches!

At the gate we met a very nice ticket taker!

And Jeff, when you come here, be sure and hit the street fair that goes with it, but remember that you have to have a ticket to attend that also!

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Then dinner!

 Good Senegalese food.

DELICIOUS!

Chloe and Ashley

Chloe and me.  Chloe went to Senegal last year and taught us how to eat.  Thank you Chloe!

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Preparing to say good bye to Paris

No trip to Paris is complete with out an evening at Place de la Concord watching the lights go on on the ...

Arc de Triomphe....

....and the Eiffel Tower!

I love having days off!