Napoléon, Rodin and Monoprix, with a pleasant surprise!

     I thought it would be difficult to keep the excitement momentum going after yesterday, but each place/activity/experience is so wonderful that I have no more doubts. We set out today to a different area - we'll return to the center of Paris tomorrow to see the Musée d'Orsay and, if there's room, participate in a wine-tasting experience [included with our Paris Pass - so, we figured we ought to try to get there; it would be a waste if we didn't at least try, since it's included :)]

      But - I'm getting ahead of myself here, including what's to come tomorrow, so back to today. The exterior of Les Invalides - which houses Napoléon's tomb, and is a home/hospital for disabled French war veterans - is beautiful, with a golden dome. (We approached from the side, and there was some sort of structure being constructed at the front, so we didn't get an exterior photo today, but did from the bus tour.) There was a veteran sitting outside in a wheelchair, smoking, and as we were leaving, a handicapped man was being helped out of a taxi - how interesting that their veterans' home/hospital is attached to the museum - or vice-versa, I guess.
The ceilings, like in so many of the monuments we've visited, have intricate paintings on them - I wondered how it was possible for the painters to safely do their work so high from the floor - Roger had the answer, though - "carefully." haha  Seriously, the ceilings, and walls leading to the ceilings had paintings similar to those we'd seen in the Louvre:

According to information, this ceiling is 351 feet from the floor - above the tomb - which is the picture below:

The tomb is in a "sunken well" that is overlooked from the entrance level. 

     Across the street was Rodin's museum. I don't know much of Rodin's work except "The Thinker" and "The Kiss" - but found out a lot more during this visit. He did sculptures of authors I'd studied in college - Balzac, for one, and Victor Hugo refused to pose for him, but he allowed Rodin to sketch him when he was having his afternoon nap, and Rodin was able to create sculptures from his sketches. "The Thinker" is the centerpiece of the beautiful gardens - with roses still in bloom this late in the season - and many paths with beautiful, albeit lesser-known sculptures. Unfortunately for us, "The Kiss" was off-exhibit until November, so we didn't get to see that. Another reason to come back, I guess!    

     This picture looks more like a silhouette - but - the lighting was beautiful! We stopped for dinner at the museum's brasserie - the only place nearby. It was about 5:30 pm, so was not at all busy, and we watched kids going home from school walking to the nearby metro, which was also our transportation. We stopped at our neighborhood Monoprix to see about replacing my rain/wind jacket, and to get some other things we needed, and they were having a 10-day sale. I'm not sure about Monoprix, but generally the only times to catch sales are in July and January; this sale required a Monoprix card (my Heinen's card wouldn't have helped, even if I'd brought it). I asked the French-speaking salesgirl how to get a card, and she said it was very easy, it could be done immediately at the checkout. So...we went to ask at the checkout before deciding what else we needed to get, and were told we had to live in France to get a card. Okay. So, no 30% off for me...but, that's ok, at least we asked.

      Monoprix smells bad in the food area. We wouldn't buy at home from a grocery story that had such nasty odors, but that's how it was - and we weren't getting "fresh" food except some fruit, along with some packaged items. I guess French (maybe all Europeans?) are less smell-sensitive. We happened to go to the same checkout line as where I'd asked about the card to get the discount, and I told him we were living in France for two weeks. I'm not sure why, but he took out a scan on a laminated paper, and gave us the discount anyway - which just about paid for our grocery items. See, there are some very nice French Monoprix cashiers - most of the others were either talking to each other, or just sitting looking bored and waiting for the customers to empty their baskets without interacting much. Another serendipitous choice, I guess. Back to the apartment, watching the Eiffel Tower, and end of today. Sigh...another VERY good day!  

(The café today was the first to give us ice and lemon slices for our water - nice touch!)