On the way to the Notre Dame area I walked right by the Institut De Monde Arabe, so I stopped in to check out their high tech louvre system. I was surprised that I was able to go in and checkout the place for free, although I did have to go through an airport style security check because I was carrying my small back pack. I stored the main body (big part) of my backpack in a locker at the train station (another one of today's firsts). I went to the top floor of the Arab Institute and got a good close up look at the mechanisms that make the high tech louvre system work. While I was up there I checked out their roof top deck, which provided yet another perspective of part of the city.

From the Institut De Monde Arabe I headed over to the Deportation Memorial on the east end of Ile De La Cite. This sobering site has a large plaque that describes the fate of Jews and others deported from France by the Nazis during WWII. For a few more details, check out the "Deportation Memorial" section at http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/france/paris1.htm.

From the memorial I had a quick tour of the west end of the tiny Island of Ile Saint-Louis before heading over to the north side of the Pont Neuf. After Pont Neuf it was time to make my way back to the train station, however on my way I did walk through an interesting street along Ile Saint-Louis, which is filled with all kinds of little shops.

When I got near the train station I decided to grab something to eat, so I wouldn't have to worry about that on the train. I stopped in at what seemed like a decent restaraunt just across the street from the station. There I came across my first waiter (actually my first parisian) that responded to the question "Parlais vous englais?" with a real attitude and "Pas du tout. Nous etre en France et eci nous parlais francaise!", so I just got up and left. I found another restaurant down the street. The waiter replied to the same question with just a polite "pas du tout", so I thought he was at least worth working with and things were fine. There menus, unlike the first place, where bi-lingual, and my french was good enough to order a meal and then pay the bill.

I guess I should have expected this to happen sooner or later, but what I think surprised me most was the location where this happened. It was just across the street from the train station where I left for Madrin. They must get a lot of tourists through there that don't speak french, maybe too many?

In the restaurant I ate at, I encountered my first squatting toilet (not sure what they are really called). I've heard of these and saw pictures but this is the first I saw one with my own eyes.

Back at the train station, my train to Madrid left Paris right on time. Prior the boarding and departure I was wondering who I might be sharing the cabin with. All I knew when I bought my ticket was that they have separate cabins for male and female passengers. I shared one with just two other guys. A fellow named Mike from England who lives in Normandy and a fellow named Hosa from Chili who is just wrapping a one month trip through Europe. Mike is one his way to Madrid for the weekend and Hosa will be catching a flight home from Madrid. Both Mike and I needed to work on our Spanish, so Hosa helped us a bit while we shared a bottle of cheap red wine that Mike brought along. After that Mike and Hosa we off to the bar car for a while, so I took the time to write this up and put the maps for Spain and Portugal into my GPS device.

Here's a few last photos from Paris.

The louver system at the Institut De Monde Arabe

The roof on the Institut De Monde Arabe.

The Deportation Memorial.

The thousands of sparkling lights represent the deportees who never returned.

One of many strange scooters in Paris.

Interesting street along Ile Saint-Louis.

A dog on the above street by himself. He probably thinking "were did my owner run off to this time?"

The squatting toilet.

The Austerlitz station.