WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2008

Well, Carl and Janet Bredlau arrived this morning at CDG at 10:30. Erwin went out to meet them and showed them the Air France Cars that go into the city. There is one that stops at the Gare de Lyon which was less than two blocks to their hotel. A lot cheaper than a taxi and a lot more convenient than the RER.

After checking in, we had a bite at a nearby cafe and then met Alexandria at the bus stop. We went up to the place de la Bastille where we showed them the various sights and told them about the history of the area. We then walked along the rue St. Antoine and turned in to the place des Vosges. The trees had started to lose their leaves so it was not quite as impressive as in the summer. We walked down the rue des Francs Bourgeois and stopped at the Carnavalet Museum primarily to see the gardens but also to show them the two rooms where there are exhibitions primarily of the various signs that were used before street numbers came into use and that illustrated the various merchants in the buildings.

We continued down France Bourgeois and went over to the rue des Rosiers one of the principal streets of the Jewish area of that part of the Marais. Then we stopped off for a few minutes to say hello to Marcel Lederman, an old friend of Erwin's. Marcel has a small antiques shop on the rue des Guillemites. Then over to the rue du Bourg Tibourg where we stopped to look at the tea shop, Marmiage Frères. At this point, it started to sprinkle a bit. Then down to the rue de Rivoli and the Paris Hôtel de Ville. We walked back into the Marais a few blocks where we caught the bus back to our quartier.

In the evening we went to the Duc du Richelieu for a nice meal. We had been there several times recently. We thought this rather typical local bistrot would be a good intro for the Bredlaus. We all enjoyed dinner at a reasonable price.

We all agreed that we had had a good day but everyone was tired so we went our separate ways for a good night's sleep.