Friday 26/08/2011, Paris.

Paris 
26/08/2011 Friday; the Museum is closed.

I gave up on the Bank account, just for now, and concentrated on my "Smart Phone" SIM card; as noted in earlier posts it requires data as well as calls so a normal PAYG "international SIM card" is not sufficient. The online sites were helpful but not diagnostic, although I found a Wiki that was really useful; prepaidwithdata.wikia.com/wiki/France

At the risk of getting lost in the maze of Paris back streets I hunted down not one but three Orange Telecom stores and two SFR Telecom shops. An interesting exercise in comparing prices (and service). I was going to be charged 17 Euro for a Mobicarde that ultimately cost me 9.50 euros (as the online site had recommended); I walked out of that Orange Store. The assistants in the two SFR shops knew what I wanted but did not handle pre-paid cards. The final Orange Store was also very busy (they all were) but a young woman took the time for a "small order" and I had my Mobicarde. She even knew about the "Internet Max" option and advised I get the help of a French speaker to set it up, using my mobile phone texting. (She recommended doing it twenty-four later to let all my paper-work go through the system). This was also the Wiki advice.

She was amazing; she had disabled the internet and phone functions (just as advised in the Wiki) and had got the old SIM card out, in a flash. She validated the new Mobicarde in her own phone, swapped it over to mine and had typed in the un-lock code (that I had wangled out of "3" Telecom in Australia) and tested it before I could read out the instructions that I had copied laboriously from the web. All for 9.50 Euros for the Mobicarde and 10 Euros for a recharge to start me off (and pay for one month Internet Max). For this I also get a free bonus of 5 Euros in calls as a new customer.

Tomorrow I find one of the bilingual front-desk girls at the Maison to help me set-up the Internet Max option and I am away!

My trip to Le Havre starts at about 7 am on the 29th, which is next Monday. I was getting confused as to the dates because my computer was still set on the Cairns time zone, which made the date right 50% of the time. I reset it it to Paris so now my schedule makes sense.  I was nearly on my way on Sunday.

I emailed the curator Madame Baglione and set-up lunch then a trip to the archive. Thanks to Alice Lemaire at the Central Library I have a basic idea of what I am after! I also made contact with Tim Deprez at Ghent University and am setting up a 5 day visit and maybe a presentation. The next step will be to finalise the Vienna "Bauer sketches" research and the return though London to see the Westall paintings in Admiralty House. I may try for another visit to Le Havre, to get a little more time with the Lesueur paintings.

If there is time and funds I will make a dash for Prague, but only if it does not compromise the work. There is always next year.