"MEMOS."

Wed. Nov. 12, 1980

Wake up call at 6:30. Don has to get to the plant today. Breakfast is coffee or tea and a basket of rolls, Croissant, Brioche, Danish, and hard rolls with asst. jelly and butter. The weather is cold but not as bad as in Munich. Left the hotel at 9:30 and walked through the shopping center to the Metro. Took Metro to the Louvre. This station has has paintings and statues displayed in cages in the walls. The Louvre is huge. Have trouble finding the entrance. Meet a man returning home to L.A. from Morocco. He too is looking for the entrance. We decide to tour the Louvre together. It is nice to have someone to talk to. Saw the Mona Lisa and Venus De Milo plus many many others. Tom Shoda later told me that if you spent 3 minutes in front of every exhibit in the museum it would take 18 years to tour the Louvre. My new friend bought me a glass of wine and then we said goodbye. He was off to visit another museum. I was off to Notre Dame. The walk along the Seine from the Louvre to Notre Dame is lovely. Saw some picturesque barges with lace curtains and small gardens on their decks. Notre Dame is incredibly beautiful. From a distance the stone work is almost lacy in appearance. The cathedral is huge inside. Lit a candle to Our Lady of Notre Dame. Climbed the tower, a really long and twisting climb but the view of the city was great. Even saw a juggler in a park nearby. Time to find the Metro and return to the hotel. My feet hurt terribly.
Got back to hotel at 3:15. Don returns at 5:30. We share a bottle of champagne and get ready for dinner. Meet Henri and Tom at 7:30, take Metro to Montmartre, a beautiful old part of the city crowned by the Sacre Coure (the Basilica of the Sacred Heart). From the Metro station to the Basilica is a long climb. Don lit a candle in the church - now off to dinner. Come to a small square where artists are selling paintings and see some we like, but too expensive (250 to 350FF). The restaurant is perfect, low beamed ceiling, red checkered table cloths, music provided by a violinist and a pianist - just like something out of a book. It is great to have Henri with us to handle the French - tonight we will know what we are ordering.
Before dinner we drink Kiri and I like it. Dinner was great. I had snails with plenty of garlic butter, Don had turine of rabbit, which was very good and served with chopped gelled meat pieces. I had Bouillabaisse (fish stew) served with small pieces of toast, cheese and a tasty sauce. Don had slices of roast wild pig in a sauce - both dishes were excellent. I was also served a plate with 2 crayfish on it. Fromage (cheese) had an excellent Roquefort. Desert was Peache Melba, delicious, then coffee and for me tea. After dinner we walk down from Montmartre through the Pigalle before catching the Metro. Pigalle is very dirty and busy and full of cafes, food stands and x-rated sex shows, both live and on film. There are hundreds of places devoted to sex. The Moulin Rouge is also in Pigalle. This place is like nothing I've ever seen before. Took Metro to the Arche de Triomphe and had a champagne cocktail (sugar, bitters, cognac and champagne) at the Winston Churchill Bar. My feet were killing me but we had to walk back to the hotel because it was 1:30 and the Metro was closed. Got to the room at 2:00. What a great day!!