Scones and Bones (10/09/04) After morning coffee and a snack in the neighborhood, we set out for an authentic Paris flea market. We see things we like, but after we see the same item for E40 in one stall and E200 in another, we become wary and don't buy anything. We do enjoy the crepe cart however, before our trip to the Catacombs, a very creepy giant bone collection that holds the remains of dozens of old city cemetaries, moved here in the 1800s. After the subway ride |
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| home (we take the subway everywhere until we become tired of walking so much and switch to cabs), we have a nice rest and then dinner at the local Cafe Hugo. We have great seats, looking out on the square, and we enjoy our meals. Afterward we make a quick trip to the local Supermarche before heading home. | |
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Antiques Shopping (10/10/04) Today we shop at the Porte de Clignancourt, the oldest and largest of the Paris flea markets. It's not really a flea market, but a collection of hundreds of individual shops that sell antiques. Most have a specialty, and some have some of this and some of that. We spend hours wandering. In one of these shops, we discover a vase that we just have to bring home...an arts and crafts era piece that was done by the glassmaker Galle. Clutching our prize, we have lunch in a restaurant nearby. That evening, we meet my old high school friend, Karen Wells, a Parisian expat for the last 12 years, at a Left Bank cafe. She takes us to one of her favorite restaurants, L'auberge Bressane, a lively, excellent, and rustically stylish place that has the flavor of a country inn. |
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Wandering the City (10/11/04) Today we walk the streets near L'Opera, window-shopping, touring La Madeleine church, and having lunch in a neighborhood brasserie with a chalkboard menu. In the evening, we have dinner at a small Italian restaurant near our apartment. |
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Classic Tourists (10/12/04) This is a fun day that stands out from a lot of fun days. We start early (i.e. 11:00) at the Rodin museum, and then tour Les Invalides, Louis XIV's grand hospital for injured soldiers, where we see Napoleon's tomb. Afterward, without a plan, we impulsively jump on the unbelievably garish, lime-green double-decker tourist bus, and spend three hours riding around paris on the open-air second deck. We see everything in Paris from this new perspective. The weather is beautiful, with a moody sky and some intermittent rain showers that have us huddled under our |
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| umbrella. Afterward we have a snack in St. Germain and then pick up a few things, like chicken, bread, and cheese from one of the many "fromageries", for dinner at home. | |
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"Dealer's Choice" Day (10/13/04) After a cozy breakfast in the apartment, we cab to the Galeries Lafayette, a huge and ornate department store where we wander the Epicee (grocery) and also look at sunglasses, before parting for the afternoon. Jill visits the shops that she wants to see, and I spend time in our neighborhood Cafe Hugo, eating a jambon (ham) sandwich and drinking wine. |
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| Cafe Hugo sits on the Place des Vosges, a square that is essentially unchanged after 400 years. After Cafe Hugo I tour the nearby Musee Carnavalet, the Parisian history museum. That evening, we dine in our neighborhood with Jonathan and Gretchen, the owners of our apartment. They are staying in the apartment above, which they also own. We had a fun evening chatting with them about their travels and lives, and then had a nice walk home. |  |
Last Day in Paris (10/14/04) After the infamous "lock out incident", in which a freak accident bolts our apartment door from the inside until the Harley Davidson mechanic next door comes by with a screwdriver and removes the bolt, we take a cab to the Left Bank and have lunch at L'Atelier de Joel Rubuchon. It is one of our best meals ever--the place is ultra-stylish, not stuffy. All seats are at the bar. Jill snaps a couple of spy photos to show the kitchen and prep chef at work behind the bar. We eat our way through the menu, starting with ham/tomato/toast, |
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| scallops in the shell, and a cermonial toast of champagne, then to the fresh lobster main course, and a few more tasting courses of sauteed mushrooms (we ordered them without the sweetbreads), clams stuffed with garlic and spinach, spagetti with a cream/butter/pepper sauce, and the 6-item dessert tart sampler. Merely naming these dishes doesn't do them justice, but let's just say we leave happy but ready to walk a little. | |
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| After lunch we tour the nearby Hotel Pont Royal to see if we would like to stay there sometime. Then we walk quickly through the Luxembourg Gardens on our way to the Cafe Rostand to meet a guy named Eric, a frenchman who helped us get reservations at the Jules Verne restaurant in the Eiffel Tower. We chat with him for quite a while, learning about the French view of America (like), George Bush (hate), Greg Lemond (like), and Lance Armstrong (don't like...because he only rides the Tour de France and doesn't ride the other classics!). We say goodbye to Eric and walk through the Gardens again, covering more ground and seeing the little corners of the garden, like this mini Statue of Liberty that honors the scultptor. We take a cab back to our neighborhood, pick up some mandarins, apples, and bread for a light dinner, and begin packing our suitcases. | |
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Homeward Bound (10/15/04) Jill photographs these Parisian cranes for Henry, on our way to the airport. We board the Air France jet up the stairs, the old-fashioned way. Henry, meanwhile, has made a "welcome home" banner, featuring cranes, of course. We have the best possible homecoming--Henry giggles and giggles while we take turns holding him. It's 7:30 pm California time, and we have been travelling for 21 hours. |
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Bleary and weary, but happy to be home! |