THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2008



Today was a get-up-late day. Erwin went out to a local boulangerie and got a wonderful bread with dried fruits and nuts. The boulangerie which is just up the block has a wonderful selection of breads. Finding a good bakery is important to living in Paris.

In the afternoon we took the bus to the Marais area. We did some window shopping (leche vitrines in French literally meaning window licking). We then went to our favorite tea room Mariage Freres where we enjoyed a lovely tea with a strawberry tart.

We went around the corner to the next street and stopped to visit with an old friend of Erwin's.
He runs a small antiques, brocante shop along with his wife. Erwin had met him years ago when the two of them did an exchange with students. We have always stopped in to see him on each visit. We were glad we did since he is planning on selling the shop. We plan to stop in again soon.

In the evening we did our first sort of splurge when we went out for dinner to l'Europeen, a restaurant across from the Gare de Lyon. I think I mentioned before here. Alexandria started with smoked salmon followed by scallops. Erwin started with foie gras and then the lamb steak. Both of us enjoyed our meals very much. The walk home was pleasant until we entered our building and found that the elevator was not running, the third time in 1 1/2 weeks. Had to walk up six flights. Tomorrow we get on the horn to the property manager. Good night.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2008

Today is a chore's day. We did some laundry and went to the Monoprix supermarket where we stocked up on lots of staples; bottles of water, cartons of milk, canned goods, made for a very heavy load. Thank goodness for the tote bag that we showed you earlier. Alexandria made some lasagna that we were to have for supper.

Later in the afternoon when it was nice and sunny, we went out to the Promenade Plantee and walked the distance from our street down to the Jardin de Reuilly. The Promenade is really a wonderful place to walk with a lot of plantings that are kept in excellent condition. You can look down on the streets that pass under the Promenade and observe the buildings alongside. There were quite a few people up there just walking or sitting on the many benches.

The Jardin de Reuilly at the end of the Viaduc des Arts is a large very popular park opposite the town hall of the 12th arrondissement. When we arrived, the were a lot of people on the lawn sun-bathing, picnicking and playing with children.

We took the bus back and had dinner. The lasagna was delicious along with a salad, cheese, and melon for dessert. Another wonderful day.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2008


We were a little short of fruit so off to the market again this morning. We got some wonderful Cavaillon melons. The avocados we nice and ripe and very unctuous. We had some of both for dinner.

Early in the afternoon we got the bus up the street and went to the WH Smith bookshop on the rue de Rivoli. Their stock is almost exclusively in English.You would not believe the selection of books in English available here. All the latest bestsellers, huge selections of fiction, technical publications, travel, etc. Alexandria had decided that she wanted to work on her French and we wanted to get some type of easy program that she could use. We found one that seemed workable with a CD and a book, French for Dummies. Before getting to Smiths, we stopped at Hagen Daz for an affogato cafe which we discovered in April. It is an espresso with a scoop of ice cream, chocolate for Alexandria and vanilla for me.

We had stopped first at Gagliani, the very first English book store in Paris. It is a rather more traditional book store, the rear of the store having a large selection of books in English. They had a few of what we were looking for but we decided to try Smith's. Much better selection there.

We are slowly mastering the Paris bus system with its nearly 80 different lines that crisscross the city. A much easier way to get around in Paris rather than using the metro.

See our other post for Tuesday and all about moving in Paris.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2008


No sun in the morning but that may change later in the day. Went to the market late in the morning after breakfast. It's only two blocks. Very convenient. And always something to see, as well as buy. Bought some fruit and vegatables for the next few evening meals. In the photos is a stand that sells only lettuces and greens. The other has everything.



Have you ever wondered how people move in and out of apartments in Paris what with the narrow stairways and small elevators? We had known how it was done but this afternoon we came across a moving company in action. They send a kind of automated ladder up the side of the building to the proper floor and them move items up or down. The photos below show the process. The crew at the top watched me take pictures and waved and gave me the high sign at the end. They were as much interested in the photography as we were of the moving process.



Here is the setup ready to go.



The crew awaits the arrival of the first load and the owners watch the procedure.








The first load is ascending awaited by the crew.











The load arrives at the top and the crew member gives the OK signal.

These photos were taken in the late afternoon after tea at the l'Europeen Cafe on the Boulevard Diderot just across from the Gare de Lyon. See you tomorrow.

MONDAY, AUGUST 26,2008

We woke up to SUN. Which was a sign of how the day was to be. Late morning saw us off to one of our favorite stores, the FNAC. But on the way, the bus route took us past the St. Sulpice church so we decided to revisit, We admired the fountain in front of the church which commemorates Fenelon, writer and former Archbishop of Cambrai. As you can see, the church exterior is being repaired, not by the Church but by the Mayor's office of the city of Paris. Interesting!

We always admire the interior of the church. The "chapelle de la Vierge" (Virgin's Chapel) is especially wonderful to see.

Those of you who have read The DaVinci Code will remember that St Sulpice figures prominently in the plot. The church has posted a disclaimer about the authenticity of that part of the scenario. See below a segment of that disclaimer posted on the wall of the church. Click photo to enlarge for better reading.



After our church visit, we went off to the FNAC. This is a chain of stores, a combination of Barnes and Noble and Best Buy. We like to look through the books, most being in French. The CD and DVD selections are also immense. One has to be careful about DVD's since ones bought here may not play at home because of recording systems in different parts of the world. There is also a very nice cafe on the lower level where we had a good light lunch. See the photo of a part of the store and the cafe.




After the FNAC we went to one of our favorite chocolate shops but it was still closed for vacation. Should have known better. We took buses to get back "home". We had purchased a transportation pass called "Navigo Decouverte" which allows unlimited riding on the buses and the Metro. It's about $75 a month and well worth the price. At full fare, it's about $1.25 per ride and we sometimes do five or six rides per day. Do the math!

For dinner this evening we decided to try one of the small local bistrots. We have found some very good spots this way usually at very fair prices. Not all were open on Monday so we went to one called Le Duc de Richelieu on Parrot Street. We entered and found a small room with about 12 tables and a large bar. There were a few more tables in a small rear room. They had a fixed price meal with several choices for each course (entree and main course) for $18. It was a very good buy. Wine and a dessert brought the price up a bit but it was still a good deal. They of course had a la carte choices too. The service was a tad slow but all were very pleasant and helpful. It turns out the bistrot is only a few steps from the Gare de Lyon, the rail station for the trains to the south of France. Interesting area.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2008

Another dreary day with clouds and rain. We had planned on walking the length of the Promenade Plantee but it looks as if this will be on hold for better weather. When we do make that walk, we'll fill you in with details and lots of pictures.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2008

Some days are more interesting than others. Today was rather dull. We spent over three hours doing three loads of laundry. French machines are notoriously slow. We then dried some at the local laverie and the rest of those drying racks that all French families seem to have. This took up most of the afternoon. We did some shopping in the open air market and at the local Monoprix. After a light supper at home, we went up to the Bastille for tea and sat in the cafe for an hour or so and people-watched. The tea here was $3 less than it had been at our first cafe on the square. On the way back on the bus, we spotted a very interesting cafe facing the Gare de Lyon which we will try next. Seemed like there was a lot to see there

In our "quartier", there are some interesting buildings. Below are pictures of a few of them.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2008

Today was a good day to stay in and do some catch-up things because it rained All day and it was exceedingly heavy during mid-day. We did have to visit the dentist. She was considerate and very competent young lady. Alexandria's problem was fixed in 10 minutes and the bill came to 22 euros ($33) which is apparently the approved visit rate for medical insurance. When was the last time you went to the dentist even for something minor and came away with a bill for at least $100? The dentist was the only one in the office (her partner was on vacation) and she did everything, forms, billing, greeting, and actual dental work. The equipment was the latest technology as far as we could tell. If you are ever in Paris and need a dentist we can recommend a good one. We lunched at a small cafe near the dentist and hopped the bus back.

We stayed in during the afternoon, but went out for dinner just up the street at a Thai restaurant called Bai Thong, very good but a bit on the pricey side for a small out-of-the-way place. The food was excellent and we were the only ones there when we left at 8:30. We took a detour out to the ave Daumesnil to go home. We stopped to look at one of our favorite shops on the Viaduct des Arts. It is Le Bonheur des Dames. They specialize in needlepoint, both supplies and finished products.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 21 2008

Here we are in our fifth day in Paris. Time is flying by. This morning we went for a walk to explore further the neighborhood. We headed north toward the place de la Bastille, this time approaching it from the east along the rue du Faubourg St Antoine. Rather commercial area. We detoured down a small alley called the Passage du Chantier which contains many shops dealing with the furniture business including dealers, upholsterers, and restorers. On the way we discovered a nice looking Thai restaurant that we will have to try later. So many things to do later. We arrived at the Bastille. The picture below is a night even though it was around noon.

We had lunch and hurried back to meet Joe who had come to check out some problems with the TV/Cable/DVD system. He finally got it straightened out. A bit later we had tea on our balcony, eat your hearts out.

After dinner at home again, we watched some DVD's and went to bed on the early side since Alexandria had a dental appointment the next morning. A broken tooth that needed a temporary repair. Ever try to find a good dentist in a foreign city? We got what we hope is a good recommendation from Adrian Leeds, the director of the Adrian Leeds Group, who handled our apartment rental.


Pictured below is a small cafe/tea shop directly below our apartment. The shop (and apartment) are on the rue Abel. For those of you who know some French notice the play on words. The name of the shop is l'Abel vie (La belle vie = the beautiful life).

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2008

We spent another lazy morning trying to recover from arduous week of singing and performing. After brunch we went for a walk along the Viaduct des Arts which is a block from us.

As you can see, each arch has a shop or workshop where many different crafts can be found. Many were closed for vacation and we will be checking them out in September. The viaduct runs for about a kilometer and has gardens and a path along the top. We will be doing that later. We stopped for tea (one of our favorite pastimes) along the way and noticed the building below.

It has six rather hideous carved statues along each side of the building. We wondered what was housed in the building although we did see that the ground floor was the local police precinct. This proves that if you keep your eyes peeled in Paris, you will find all kinds of interesting and provocative things to see.

Dinner was at home with Chef Erwin at the stove. After dinner, we did some TV, and some reading after a strenuous day in Paris.

The Odessey Begins

MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2008

The Odyssey of three months in Paris began yesterday when we arrived at the Gare du Nord in Paris from a week of singing in Canterbury, England. We were met at the apartment that we had rented by Joe and Adrian, the rental managers.

After an hour introduction to the apartment, we were left on our own to discover how we would set up the available space to take care of our needs. It is a spacious two roomer with a separate kitchen, bath, and toilet. It is located on the rue Abel which is a short block away from the Viaduct des Arts where an old viaduct has been transformed into shops under the arches and a lovely planted garden along the top. (More of this later) After several hours of unpacking and rearranging, we went to dinner in a small restaurant near the Bastille called Le Petit Bofinger where we had a very nice two course meal for 20 euros. Back at the apartment, we did some more unpacking and went to bed about eleven

Monday was spent orienting ourselves to the apartment and to the immediate "quartier". We are in a pleasant residential neighborhood in a seven story building. We are on the seven floor (sixth French style) fortunately with a brand new elevator. We overlook the Viaduct des Arts, more of which later. We spent the better part of the afternoon catch up with dirty laundry at a local laundromat. We had almost a week's worth of laundry to do not having done very much in England the week before. The apartment has a washer but it is typically a small one with no dryer, thus the laundromat. We had afternoon tea at a local cafe and later went to dinner at Le Machon d'Henri a block from St Sulpice church. We have been there many times and like it for its easy prices and simple but good food. There are only about a dozen tables. We call it the "hole in the wall" because it looks like a cave with its stone-lined walls with wooden beams overhead.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2008

Today we really settled into French life. We spent the morning shopping at the Place d'Aligre open air market. It is one of the largest and well-known markets in Paris and we live only two blocks away. Even though it was August, there were many people there shopping and many of the stalls and shops were open. We stocked up on fruit and vegetables for a few days and took it all back to the apartment in the typical French shopping cart.

After lunch, we went to the local MonoPrix where we did more shopping, this time for staples. Again, we had the market basket filled with Badoit (sparkling water), milk, paper products, and groceries. The store is a sort of a combination food supermarket and the old Woolworths. That evening, we cooked our first dinner, not very complicated, and later had coffee at one of our favorite cafes, Cafe Francais, that sits right on the place de la Bastille. Two cups were almost fifteen dollars, cafe sitting can be expensive but at least you can sit there for a good while and not be bothered.