Notre Aventure Française, 2013: 10th November, Paris Day Two

I just love the French language. I can't speak it very well, if at all, but I can get myself into trouble and out again if I need to but what I mean is how some of the words and phrases when pulled apart and broken down tell you how they were derived. I have noticed that the French are able to convey a message or write a notice using at least twice, or maybe three times, the number of words than English speakers do. Two small examples are:-

Papillon de nuit - literally means "butterfly of the night", or, in English, moth. Isn't the French so descriptive and why use one little word when you can use three?

Parasol - means "sunshade" or "protection from the sun" (soleil), whereas Parapluie means "rainshade" or "protection from the rain" (pluie). Both articles look the same, are interchangeable, so why not use one word like umbrella?

Yesterday we went out without our parapluies and it started to rain during lunch and we were a little distance from home, but hadn't yet visited the Tourist Bureau as was our intent. It would have added quite some additional time walking in the rain as it was now set in.We got home a bit bedraggled and without the tourist information like which metro and bus lines do we use to get to the next must see Parisian monument. We got there today and are now armed to ride the Paris public transport system with our 72 hour tickets and maps.

On our walks though we have managed to tick off some more sights, monuments and unbelievable buildings, including the Palais Garnier, the 1,979-seat Paris Opera House built between 1861 to 1875. This is another symbol of Paris like Notre Dame and the Louvre.

The areas and streets immediately around the more famous places are pretty well packed and I can't imagine what it's like in peak times of summer. The crowds can be avoided though by navigating through the back streets and exploring and discovering some other unmentioned gem. The street our apartment is in one of the main thoroughfares in Paris and it carries a lot of pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
The restaurants in these areas are full at lunch time and coffee breaks come at a price. In the countryside of the last ten weeks, two café au lait could be had for around 5€. In touristy Paris locations near the Opera House, for example, it cost us 10€20 this morning.
But we compensated by having lunch in a little "Japanese" restaurant in a back street where the restaurants were of predominantly Asian persuasion. The local Parisians were frequenting the one we chose and it was an excellent choice.

Right next door and around the corner from our apartment is a multitude of cafés, restaurants, crêperies and sitting down and watching the world go by places. We haven't got the time to do that just now - there is too much else to do and see.

Tomorrow is Armistice Day (Armistice de la Première Guerre Mondiale) and a public holiday in France. We are aware that the French President will be giving a speech at the Arc de Triomphe tomorrow on this solemn day but I think we will stay away. I can imagine what the crowds will be like there. The metro will be closed from 9 am till whenever for security reasons and it will probably be chaotic. We will be able to observe it from our 4th floor apartment in comfort if need be.