Day 5 (Saturday)
I have to keep looking at the Itinerary to remind myself of what we've done so that I'll know what day it is.
This week has been a blur!
In the morning and early afternoon, we got to do fun sightseeing things--a guided tour of *some* of Le Louvre as we simply did not have time to see it all but I think you could spend days there and still not really see it all. I hadn't realized that there is a section that had been excavated (I think in the '80s?) to reveal the original castle that was on the site. Only the lowest section of its walls remained but some of the masons' markings were still visible in some sections and our guide told us that they knew the same masons also worked on the Notre Dame cathedral as they'd found the same ones there as well. Having the guide to tell us some of the history of the artwork and explain its importance and how it may have changed artistic styles brought a much richer experience to seeing these works. And when you're with Stephen King, you get to go inside the barrier and step right up to the Mona Lisa. I suspect the people who had to be on the outside with us in the way while the guide was doing his thing and we were taking pics weren't quite as enthusiastic.
Following Le Louvre, we met in a brasserie with the moderator of the evening's event, Augustin Trapenard. I found it very surreal sitting outside sipping cappucino and having to remind myself "you're in
Paris!!". From there on to the Jules Verne restaurant in Tour Eiffel. Unfortunately, it was a very overcast day so much of the view was obscured by fog but still amazing and the food exquisite. The pear souffle was to die for! And this was my first experience of eating pigeon--not bad!
Back to the hotel for a couple hours rest before the next interview and then the grand finale at Grand Rex. Seating was general admission so fans had lined up early--some as early as 5 AM--to make sure they got good seats. Steve was greeted with enthusiastic cheers as he emerged from the van for a red carpet entrance. I was able to experience what it must have been like for those who did not speak English as the questions asked by the two moderators were in French and only Stephen's responses were translated. Fortunately, it was easy enough to catch what had been said in context with his responses. Have not seen any reviews this morning but it seemed to go well and the crowd appeared to be pleased.
Here's proof that I really was there.