2 Weeks in Paris
Nov 9th, 2014, 04:23 PM
#21
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Day 5
Malmaison was our next destination; I’d been once, but wanted to see it again, and Bob had never seen it. It was a fairly easy trip out of Paris; we took the RER A to Grande Arche and then the 258 bus to the Chateau. Walking down the drive you can instantly tell that this is no grand-scale palace; it’s large, but I imagine there are more than a few mansions in Beverly Hills that have more square footage. This is a home rather than a palace and that is its appeal to me. Although more Josephine’s home than Napoleon’s (she bought the house without his approval and lived in the house after they were divorced) there are many associations with Napoleon. Josephine was given the house after the divorce from Napoleon and lived there until she died in 1814; Napoleon returned to the house in 1815, after his defeat at Waterloo and before his exile to the island of St. Helena. Malmaison may not be as grand as Versailles and Fontainebleau, but you get more of a feeling of the people actually living in it, rather than the museum/stage-setting feel that the larger places give. Some may be disappointed that it’s not more palatial, but that’s the charm of it for me. I especially liked the architectural details and decoration in the library. The day was warm and sunny, lots of dahlias in bloom in the border gardens; a very lovely day out.
When we got back to Paris we spent some time on rue Cler and had dinner at Le Petit Cler, a pleasant cafe on rue Cler -- just omelets with french fries and a glass of wine -- then back to the apartment.
Malmaison was our next destination; I’d been once, but wanted to see it again, and Bob had never seen it. It was a fairly easy trip out of Paris; we took the RER A to Grande Arche and then the 258 bus to the Chateau. Walking down the drive you can instantly tell that this is no grand-scale palace; it’s large, but I imagine there are more than a few mansions in Beverly Hills that have more square footage. This is a home rather than a palace and that is its appeal to me. Although more Josephine’s home than Napoleon’s (she bought the house without his approval and lived in the house after they were divorced) there are many associations with Napoleon. Josephine was given the house after the divorce from Napoleon and lived there until she died in 1814; Napoleon returned to the house in 1815, after his defeat at Waterloo and before his exile to the island of St. Helena. Malmaison may not be as grand as Versailles and Fontainebleau, but you get more of a feeling of the people actually living in it, rather than the museum/stage-setting feel that the larger places give. Some may be disappointed that it’s not more palatial, but that’s the charm of it for me. I especially liked the architectural details and decoration in the library. The day was warm and sunny, lots of dahlias in bloom in the border gardens; a very lovely day out.
When we got back to Paris we spent some time on rue Cler and had dinner at Le Petit Cler, a pleasant cafe on rue Cler -- just omelets with french fries and a glass of wine -- then back to the apartment.
Nov 11th, 2014, 05:04 PM
#23
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Vanne, several years ago, I took the metro to La Défense intending to take bus 258 to Malmaison. I wasn't able to find bus 258. It was probably right under my nose....
So, Malmaison is still on my to-do list for Paris.
I enjoyed reading about your visit there.
So, Malmaison is still on my to-do list for Paris.
I enjoyed reading about your visit there.
Nov 11th, 2014, 07:15 PM
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Photobear - we were in Paris from Oct 14-30; I didn't see the temperatures every day but it was warmer than I expected; most days were partly cloudy -- usually overcast in the morning and then clearing in the afternoon. I would guess it ranged from 62-68 degrees for highs most days. Particularly in the first week I was quite comfortable without any kind of jacket -- just a tank top or blouse with a light cotton knit sweater. Toward the end of our trip I wore a light raincoat that I'd brought along. It drizzled a couple times while we were out, but we only had a real rain once. I was kind of surprised at how many people I saw walking around wearing parkas the last week we were there -- I doubt it was lower than 55 degrees during the day that week.
Powhatangal - It did take a little looking. I believe La Defense has 2 stops, so first you have to be sure to get off at Grande Arche. There's a shopping mall that you walk through and follow signs to the buses. We had an all-zone Navigo card so the trip to La Defense and the transfer to the bus was included. It took us a little time to find the bus. When you get to the chateau the stop is just called Chateau, not Malmaison. We didn't notice a sign for which direction to go when we got off the bus; you cross the street and then walk to the left.
Powhatangal - It did take a little looking. I believe La Defense has 2 stops, so first you have to be sure to get off at Grande Arche. There's a shopping mall that you walk through and follow signs to the buses. We had an all-zone Navigo card so the trip to La Defense and the transfer to the bus was included. It took us a little time to find the bus. When you get to the chateau the stop is just called Chateau, not Malmaison. We didn't notice a sign for which direction to go when we got off the bus; you cross the street and then walk to the left.
Nov 12th, 2014, 08:08 AM
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Day 6
The day was warm and sunny; we decided to visit Parc Monceau, which we had never been to before. It’s a lovely park, well-used by Parisians. When you walk through the elegant gate to the park it’s as if you’ve left the city. There are wide open spaces where lots of people had blankets spread out in the grass and were enjoying picnics, there are pony and carousel rides for children, there’s a circular path through the park that is well-used by walkers and joggers. It’s a lovely park for families. Scattered throughout the park are architectural follies: Roman ruins, a pyramid, a little Venetian-style bridge, and statues. We enjoyed our stroll through the park.
We then decided to check out a little museum I had read about, Musee de la Vie Romantique, near the Pigalle metro stop. It looked charming in photos I’d seen of it, but we were disappointed. There’s not much to see; the exterior of the house and the little courtyard in front have a little charm, but what you see of the interior of the house was dark and dreary and much as I enjoy the music of Chopin, the fact that he had lived there for a time with George Sand didn’t make the house interesting. There is a little outdoor tea room, but it was full so we weren’t able to try it. I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to visit. The musee Jacquemart-Andre, which we’d visited on other trips, isn’t far from Parc Monseau and I’d recommend going there instead.
That evening we had dinner at La Fontaine de Mars on rue St. Dominique, where we were seated in a small room upstairs. Tables are small and close together. The room had a rose colored french provincial wallpaper. We shared an appetizer of sausage, ham and pate and our entrees were roasted chicken and mashed potatoes and duck confit with sauteed potatoes. Again we didn’t order dessert because we had some wonderful pastries waiting for us at our apartment. The food was tasty. Bob just wanted water, so I ordered a glass of wine -- they had listed prices for a white wine and a red wine by the glass. I asked the waiter for a rose, which he brought. I was surprised that we were billed 12 euros for it when the white and red glasses on the menu were 6 euros. My fault for not asking I guess.
The restaurant isn’t far from the Eiffel Tower so we walked over; there were quite a few people gathered around to watch the Tower lights twinkle -- we noticed several people were going around selling bottles of wine. We found a bench and enjoyed the view and then made our way back to the apartment. All in all, a pleasant day.
The day was warm and sunny; we decided to visit Parc Monceau, which we had never been to before. It’s a lovely park, well-used by Parisians. When you walk through the elegant gate to the park it’s as if you’ve left the city. There are wide open spaces where lots of people had blankets spread out in the grass and were enjoying picnics, there are pony and carousel rides for children, there’s a circular path through the park that is well-used by walkers and joggers. It’s a lovely park for families. Scattered throughout the park are architectural follies: Roman ruins, a pyramid, a little Venetian-style bridge, and statues. We enjoyed our stroll through the park.
We then decided to check out a little museum I had read about, Musee de la Vie Romantique, near the Pigalle metro stop. It looked charming in photos I’d seen of it, but we were disappointed. There’s not much to see; the exterior of the house and the little courtyard in front have a little charm, but what you see of the interior of the house was dark and dreary and much as I enjoy the music of Chopin, the fact that he had lived there for a time with George Sand didn’t make the house interesting. There is a little outdoor tea room, but it was full so we weren’t able to try it. I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to visit. The musee Jacquemart-Andre, which we’d visited on other trips, isn’t far from Parc Monseau and I’d recommend going there instead.
That evening we had dinner at La Fontaine de Mars on rue St. Dominique, where we were seated in a small room upstairs. Tables are small and close together. The room had a rose colored french provincial wallpaper. We shared an appetizer of sausage, ham and pate and our entrees were roasted chicken and mashed potatoes and duck confit with sauteed potatoes. Again we didn’t order dessert because we had some wonderful pastries waiting for us at our apartment. The food was tasty. Bob just wanted water, so I ordered a glass of wine -- they had listed prices for a white wine and a red wine by the glass. I asked the waiter for a rose, which he brought. I was surprised that we were billed 12 euros for it when the white and red glasses on the menu were 6 euros. My fault for not asking I guess.
The restaurant isn’t far from the Eiffel Tower so we walked over; there were quite a few people gathered around to watch the Tower lights twinkle -- we noticed several people were going around selling bottles of wine. We found a bench and enjoyed the view and then made our way back to the apartment. All in all, a pleasant day.
Nov 12th, 2014, 08:41 AM
#26
Your take on the <I>Musée de la Vie Romantique</I> is totally accurate. The only thing that it has going for it is the fact that it is a municipal museum and is therefore free. If it happens to be between point A and point B when you are walking somewhere, you can stop by, but there is absolutely no reason to make a detour to go there.
Nov 12th, 2014, 09:19 AM
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Since kerouac has mentioned the fact that it's free, being a municipal museum, there's another one that's not uninteresting - the Cognacq-Jay, created to educate and edify the founders' employees at La Samaritaine; again, perhaps not one to go out of your way for, especially if you've limited time, but it has some lovely things.
Nov 12th, 2014, 09:33 AM
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Oh I liked the Musée de la Vie Romantique a lot, but admittedly we were staying in the 'hood when we went. It was a cold & rainy day and it was so cozy and pleasant inside. Small (so no chance of museum fatigue), intimate, not crowded, and yes FREE.
Nov 12th, 2014, 12:46 PM
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Day 7 - We decided to spend some more time in the Marais. First we wanted to check out Village St. Paul, which I'd read about in several places recently. It's not a village, but just a little enclave of mostly antique shops near rue St. Paul. Unfortunately, we picked the wrong time to go. I later read that a lot of the shops don't open until afternoon and some have erratic hours. We poked around and looked in windows; I really don't think I would have been likely to find anything I wanted to buy anyway. Again, this is more an area to look into if you happen to be in the area than a destination to seek out.
We're big tea drinkers so I wanted to stop back at Mariage Freres again to buy more of our favorite tea and then we went to Place des Vosges to just sit and enjoy one of our favorite spots in Paris. Wish we'd looked at the shops there a bit more, after I got home I discovered the Dammann Freres, whose tea we enjoyed at Le Valentin earlier in our trip, had a shop at Place des Vosges (love their caramel/toffee tea).
We then went for lunch at L'As du Fallafel -- loved their fallafel, but not quite as much as I remembered. Still, I enjoyed it. There are usually lines out the door, but the line moves quickly.
We then went to Opera Garnier, as we'd never done a tour. There was a sign that the auditorium was in use so wouldn't be on view, so we decided to try another day as I wanted to see the Chagall ceiling.
From there we went to some of the shops around the Madeleine, particularly Maille, where we bought some of their Dijon mustard with balsamic vinegar. We then searched out a tea shop I'd read about, Nina's, located at 29 rue Danielle Casanova, not far from the Opera. It's a pretty tea shop with a Marie Antoinette theme in pink and white with crystal chandeliers. They have a couple little tables at the front if you want to have a pot of tea. We decided to sample a pot of the Marie Antoinette tea before buying anything so we shared a pot of tea and a piece of a dense pink cake. We ended up buying canisters of a couple teas.
That evening we had reservations at Au Petit Sud Ouest at 46 avenue de la Bourdonnais, which was about a 15 minute walk from our apartment. We really enjoyed this restaurant. The atmostphere is very warm, with stone walls and warm woods, and the staff is friendly. They special in the food of southwest France, with lots of foie gras and duck dishes on the menu. They also have a little boutique area at the front where you can buy quite a few food items. We shared an appetizer called terrine landaise avec medaillon de foie gras which was very tasty. It's served with slices of bread and each table has a toaster so you can have the terrine with freshly toasted bread. I thought that was a nice homey touch.
We then both had the duck breast with potatoes and cepes --delicious, and I wish I knew how they got the potatoes to puff. Would have liked to go back again. Will do so on our next trip. Again, no dessert as we'd gotten to enjoy having some pastries back at our apartment with a pot of tea.
We're big tea drinkers so I wanted to stop back at Mariage Freres again to buy more of our favorite tea and then we went to Place des Vosges to just sit and enjoy one of our favorite spots in Paris. Wish we'd looked at the shops there a bit more, after I got home I discovered the Dammann Freres, whose tea we enjoyed at Le Valentin earlier in our trip, had a shop at Place des Vosges (love their caramel/toffee tea).
We then went for lunch at L'As du Fallafel -- loved their fallafel, but not quite as much as I remembered. Still, I enjoyed it. There are usually lines out the door, but the line moves quickly.
We then went to Opera Garnier, as we'd never done a tour. There was a sign that the auditorium was in use so wouldn't be on view, so we decided to try another day as I wanted to see the Chagall ceiling.
From there we went to some of the shops around the Madeleine, particularly Maille, where we bought some of their Dijon mustard with balsamic vinegar. We then searched out a tea shop I'd read about, Nina's, located at 29 rue Danielle Casanova, not far from the Opera. It's a pretty tea shop with a Marie Antoinette theme in pink and white with crystal chandeliers. They have a couple little tables at the front if you want to have a pot of tea. We decided to sample a pot of the Marie Antoinette tea before buying anything so we shared a pot of tea and a piece of a dense pink cake. We ended up buying canisters of a couple teas.
That evening we had reservations at Au Petit Sud Ouest at 46 avenue de la Bourdonnais, which was about a 15 minute walk from our apartment. We really enjoyed this restaurant. The atmostphere is very warm, with stone walls and warm woods, and the staff is friendly. They special in the food of southwest France, with lots of foie gras and duck dishes on the menu. They also have a little boutique area at the front where you can buy quite a few food items. We shared an appetizer called terrine landaise avec medaillon de foie gras which was very tasty. It's served with slices of bread and each table has a toaster so you can have the terrine with freshly toasted bread. I thought that was a nice homey touch.
We then both had the duck breast with potatoes and cepes --delicious, and I wish I knew how they got the potatoes to puff. Would have liked to go back again. Will do so on our next trip. Again, no dessert as we'd gotten to enjoy having some pastries back at our apartment with a pot of tea.
Nov 12th, 2014, 12:49 PM
#30
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I know some like to get an idea of costs -- from our bill I see that our dinner at Au Petit Sud-Ouest, including the shared terrine and two orders of the duck breast main course, and two glasses of wine came to a very reasonable 52.80 euros.
Nov 12th, 2014, 05:28 PM
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Thank you for the helpful info on finding bus 258! On past trips I've often thought of visiting the musée de la Vie Romantique but never seemed to fit it in. Glad to hear your and Kerouac's take on it.
Nov 13th, 2014, 01:30 PM
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Day 8's destination has been on my "bucket list" for many years, ever since high school French back in the late 60's. Monet's Garden at Giverny. We were prepared that the garden would not be at its peak since they were just 8 days away from closing for the season. And yet it was beautiful. Of course I've seen photos at its peak, so I'm determined that we will return and see it in the spring and summer.
Most recommend getting the first train from Gare St. Lazare; we were tending to sleep in a bit, so didn't plan for that. I'm sure it's great advice for going in peak season, but we figured in late October huge crowds wouldn't be an issue. Took the train to Vernon and found the bus to Giverny waiting. Actually there were two large buses waiting, so that was no problem. There were a good number of people, but as they were spread throughout the large garden it didn't seem crowded. Even though the garden was past prime, it was still wonderful to finally see it. Loved seeing the much painted water lilies and the Japanese bridge; in the flower gardens there were many gorgeous dahlias -- makes me think I'd like to try growing them. Of course the gardens are the reason for going to Giverny, but I enjoyed walking through the house as well. Monet is one of my very favorite artists and I've been privileged to see so many of his wonderful paintings in person and I really enjoyed seeing his home (he lived there from 1883 till his death in 1926) -- loved the dining room and kitchen. The sky was pretty overcast most of the time we were in France, so I was happy our day at Giverny was sunny.
Will put up a link to photos from our visit when I get them organized.
Most recommend getting the first train from Gare St. Lazare; we were tending to sleep in a bit, so didn't plan for that. I'm sure it's great advice for going in peak season, but we figured in late October huge crowds wouldn't be an issue. Took the train to Vernon and found the bus to Giverny waiting. Actually there were two large buses waiting, so that was no problem. There were a good number of people, but as they were spread throughout the large garden it didn't seem crowded. Even though the garden was past prime, it was still wonderful to finally see it. Loved seeing the much painted water lilies and the Japanese bridge; in the flower gardens there were many gorgeous dahlias -- makes me think I'd like to try growing them. Of course the gardens are the reason for going to Giverny, but I enjoyed walking through the house as well. Monet is one of my very favorite artists and I've been privileged to see so many of his wonderful paintings in person and I really enjoyed seeing his home (he lived there from 1883 till his death in 1926) -- loved the dining room and kitchen. The sky was pretty overcast most of the time we were in France, so I was happy our day at Giverny was sunny.
Will put up a link to photos from our visit when I get them organized.
Nov 13th, 2014, 01:54 PM
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http://www.oliviersandco.com/tomato-powder.html I am ordering some of this and love some of the other items. Great trip report.
Nov 15th, 2014, 12:44 PM
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Day 9
This was our 4th visit to Paris since 2006 and on our last trip we didn't go to any of the major museuems, although being huge Monet fans, we did go to the major exhibit at the Grand Palais in 2010, so on this trip we decided to get 2-day museum passes and revisit the Louvre, the Musee D'Orsay, and the Orangerie, along with first time visits to the Cluny and finally make it to the top of the Arc de Triomph. We started out by buying our museum pass at the Musee de Cluny, where we really enjoyed viewing the tapestries, particularly the Lady and the Unicorn series.
After the Cluny we had lunch at La Rotisserie d'Enface, (2, rue Christine, metro: Odeon) for Bob’s birthday lunch. We had dinner there in 2010 and Bob had fond memories of the dessert he had then. Bob started with pike poached mousse in creamy crayfish sauce and I had the chestnut soup; for main courses Bob enjoyed the creamy fish and shellfish stew and I had the roast chicken and mashed potatoes. For the highlight of the meal we both had the caramel and walnut ice cream cake with meringue and caramel sauce. As good as we remembered!
From there we went to the Louvre. It’s so big that we’d only scratched the surface on previous visits, so had a long list of things we wanted to see. Bob was anxious to see the David painting of Napoleon’s crowning himself (after passing by the Mona Lisa -- which I actually didn’t see because I’m short and there was a big crowd that I didn’t want to try to push through. It’s a fine painting, but I’ve seen it several times and am not really sure why it draws the crowds over so many other magnificent paintings. Nearby there was an Ingres painting of a lady and a young woman had an easel up and was doing a very fine job of copying it and I enjoyed watching her work. After the David painting we spent maybe an hour more walking through more galleries when I’d just had enough., my hip was bothering me and I find the massiveness of the Louvre daunting. Since we knew we could come back with our passes, we decided to leave and spend some time in the Tuileries. Eventually we made our way to Angelina, with a thought of having some hot chocolate, but as is often the case, the line to get in was long and we decided to head back to our apartment.
We usually don’t do anything in the evening when we travel, other than going out to dinner, but this time I thought it would be fun to find a find a special event for one night during our stay. At first I thought a classical concert or ballet, but then I thought I would check the website of the Olympia Theater, which is a venue for many popular concerts. I didn’t recognize the names of many of the artists that were scheduled to perform while we were there, but then I saw that Mireille Mathieu was performing 3 nights. I hadn’t heard anything about her for a long time, but remembered her well from the 1970’s and 1980’s when she would occasionally appear on variety shows on American tv. Bob wasn’t familiar with her, but I did a you tube search and played him some selections and he was fine with getting tickets. We had a wonderful time. I got us tickets in the balcony, so our seats weren’t that great, but okay for a performance where there’s just one person on stage most of the time. As is oftern the case, someone tall had the seat in front of me, so Bob and I switched places. The theater was pretty much full, but the couple rows just in front of us had a lot of empty seats and just before the show began the usher indicated we could move forward and we ended up with a much improved view of the stage. There was no opening act; the performance started with a montage of videos that gave an overview of Mireille’s career (she was marking her 50th anniversary as a singer). And then she came out and sang many of her most popular songs, including many I was not familiar with. She didn’t speak to the audience too much -- not that we would have understood -- but gave a wonderful performance for about 2-½ hours. We thoroughly enjoyed the concert, which ended with her bringing her mother on stage. I understand that over the years she’s received some (unwarrented in my opinion) criticism that she’s an imitator of Edith Piaf and because of that she for a long time avoided singing Piaf’s songs, but she has since then recorded some of Piaf’s songs and performed a few, including one of my favorites, Je ne regrette rien. A really wonderful evening.
One thing that was different, and I don’t know if it was peculiar to this performance, or if it’s commonly done, when she finished many of her songs, sometimes one, sometimes several, audience members went up to the edge of the stage and gave her bouquets of flowers. At first I thought it was a lovely gesture, but when it happened every few songs, it got a little annoying, as it brought the performance to a halt for a few minutes each time.
This was our 4th visit to Paris since 2006 and on our last trip we didn't go to any of the major museuems, although being huge Monet fans, we did go to the major exhibit at the Grand Palais in 2010, so on this trip we decided to get 2-day museum passes and revisit the Louvre, the Musee D'Orsay, and the Orangerie, along with first time visits to the Cluny and finally make it to the top of the Arc de Triomph. We started out by buying our museum pass at the Musee de Cluny, where we really enjoyed viewing the tapestries, particularly the Lady and the Unicorn series.
After the Cluny we had lunch at La Rotisserie d'Enface, (2, rue Christine, metro: Odeon) for Bob’s birthday lunch. We had dinner there in 2010 and Bob had fond memories of the dessert he had then. Bob started with pike poached mousse in creamy crayfish sauce and I had the chestnut soup; for main courses Bob enjoyed the creamy fish and shellfish stew and I had the roast chicken and mashed potatoes. For the highlight of the meal we both had the caramel and walnut ice cream cake with meringue and caramel sauce. As good as we remembered!
From there we went to the Louvre. It’s so big that we’d only scratched the surface on previous visits, so had a long list of things we wanted to see. Bob was anxious to see the David painting of Napoleon’s crowning himself (after passing by the Mona Lisa -- which I actually didn’t see because I’m short and there was a big crowd that I didn’t want to try to push through. It’s a fine painting, but I’ve seen it several times and am not really sure why it draws the crowds over so many other magnificent paintings. Nearby there was an Ingres painting of a lady and a young woman had an easel up and was doing a very fine job of copying it and I enjoyed watching her work. After the David painting we spent maybe an hour more walking through more galleries when I’d just had enough., my hip was bothering me and I find the massiveness of the Louvre daunting. Since we knew we could come back with our passes, we decided to leave and spend some time in the Tuileries. Eventually we made our way to Angelina, with a thought of having some hot chocolate, but as is often the case, the line to get in was long and we decided to head back to our apartment.
We usually don’t do anything in the evening when we travel, other than going out to dinner, but this time I thought it would be fun to find a find a special event for one night during our stay. At first I thought a classical concert or ballet, but then I thought I would check the website of the Olympia Theater, which is a venue for many popular concerts. I didn’t recognize the names of many of the artists that were scheduled to perform while we were there, but then I saw that Mireille Mathieu was performing 3 nights. I hadn’t heard anything about her for a long time, but remembered her well from the 1970’s and 1980’s when she would occasionally appear on variety shows on American tv. Bob wasn’t familiar with her, but I did a you tube search and played him some selections and he was fine with getting tickets. We had a wonderful time. I got us tickets in the balcony, so our seats weren’t that great, but okay for a performance where there’s just one person on stage most of the time. As is oftern the case, someone tall had the seat in front of me, so Bob and I switched places. The theater was pretty much full, but the couple rows just in front of us had a lot of empty seats and just before the show began the usher indicated we could move forward and we ended up with a much improved view of the stage. There was no opening act; the performance started with a montage of videos that gave an overview of Mireille’s career (she was marking her 50th anniversary as a singer). And then she came out and sang many of her most popular songs, including many I was not familiar with. She didn’t speak to the audience too much -- not that we would have understood -- but gave a wonderful performance for about 2-½ hours. We thoroughly enjoyed the concert, which ended with her bringing her mother on stage. I understand that over the years she’s received some (unwarrented in my opinion) criticism that she’s an imitator of Edith Piaf and because of that she for a long time avoided singing Piaf’s songs, but she has since then recorded some of Piaf’s songs and performed a few, including one of my favorites, Je ne regrette rien. A really wonderful evening.
One thing that was different, and I don’t know if it was peculiar to this performance, or if it’s commonly done, when she finished many of her songs, sometimes one, sometimes several, audience members went up to the edge of the stage and gave her bouquets of flowers. At first I thought it was a lovely gesture, but when it happened every few songs, it got a little annoying, as it brought the performance to a halt for a few minutes each time.
