Metro Misadventures

Bon jour, mes amis!
No sign either sight nor sound of the crazy guy from yesterday.  Eventually he left and I had a decent night's sleep.  I wonder if CG has regular rounds he makes.
My purpose today, besides visiting museums, was to get a six day Paris Museum Pass.  These are expensive and will not save you money, unless you visit three or four museums a day.  What they will do--and this makes them worth any expense--is save you time.  Do you Really want to wait in line for a couple of hours at the Louvre or D'Orsay, or Versailles?  Not to mention a host of other, justly popular sites?  Didn't think so.  Go ahead and smile pityingly at the poor saps waiting in line to buy tickets as you breeze on in.
Consulting my guidebook I saw that the Invalides was open early.  Now this is a military museum where old Napoleon is buried, and not all that exciting to me, but I thought.  That's nice.  Open early. Unlikely to be crowded.  Great place to obtain Museum Pass.  Ha ha ha ha.
So I set out having planned my metro route.  Only.  Duh.  Instead of getting on the RER I transferred to another metro line by mistake.  Fine.  I always have a map with me.  I figured out a new route.  I transferred to another line.  And then another.   I fetched up on a platform only to hear an announcement in French, which naturally I could not understand.  Most of the people on the platform muttered angrily and left.  But not all of them did.  So I hung out and watched the notice board.  And waited.  And watched.  Then I pulled out my map and plotted another alternative route.
It was one of those stops where zillions of hopeful passengers waited on the platform and the train arrived packed.  Seriously.  Like sardines overcrowded in a can, the passengers were squished up against the doors and windows.  None got out.  A few were able to get on.  I was not among them.  I walked to the very end of the platform hoping to give myself a better chance.  This worked, and I squished in.
I arrived at the proper stop--Les Invalides and looked around because the tall golden dome of the church should be unmistakable.  Eventually I found it.  I arrived at the entrance.  What?  Not open until ten?  My guidebook had misled me!
So fine.  On to the next thing.  Nearby was the Musee de Rodin, a gem of a place with a fabulous sculpture garden.  Only I got turned around as usual and walked in the wrong direction and had to double back.  It wasn't open until ten either, but I got in line to wait fifteen minutes and had a nice chat with a Canadian woman in line ahead of me.  She also had shown up at Les Invalides due to a misleading guidebook.  Because the line was reorganized we ended up in front--until a group of blind people and their escorts showed up, and naturally they had priority.  She already having the museum pass breezed in.  I bought mine.
The Musee Rodin is terrific.  Only this year it was under renovation and part of the gardens were closed off because of some Bastille Day event they were working on.   I enjoyed what I could see.
Then back to Les Invalides.   The military museum is very informative for those as likes that sort of thing.  There's a nice formal garden.  The reason to visit is the Eglise St. Louis, a late Baroque masterpiece by Jules Hardouin.  Napoleon is there in a huge blood red sarcophagus, his body having been repatriated from St. Helena.  Never mind Nap.  Look up at the dome and enjoy the gorgeous church.
After leaving Les Invalides I walked around as I am unfamiliar with that part of Paris.  Actually I was looking for Sephora or some other perfume shop or an opportunity to window lick--neither of which I found.  I walked a lot, too.
And then it got hot and humid, and my feet hurt, etc.  So I came home to wash my hair and watch the Tour de France.  My guy Fabian crashed out in spectacular fashion yesterday while wearing the yellow jersey.  I am so sorry to see him go.  Now Chris Froome is in yellow, and we will have to see if he can keep it.
A demain