SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2008

Usual morning routine. Found a good provider of fish at the Aligre market, so we now have our own fishmonger, baker, and cheese man. How French! Fish is expensive here. A good piece of salmon just for two of us came to about $16. It was good, though.

In the afternoon, we decided to be a bit touristy and walk down the Champs-Elysees. We like to do this since there are always many things to see, and today was no exception. First of all, it was crowded with the French presence after the summer holidays.

One of the interesting things to do on the Champs-Elysees is to visit the automobile show rooms of some of the major makers. We went into the Peugeot showroom and they had some interesting models on display. The one on the bottom is a bit revolutionary. Called the Moovie.

We also went to the Mercedes place. Much more traditional but the prices. WOW. Much more than in the US. New cars are taxed much more than in the US. We stopped also for some refreshment and then took our usual buses back. We getting to be quite expert at the bus system.

Dinner at home. The fish. A little DVD and then to bed.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2008

We are getting to be creatures of habit. Mornings are lazy with a late breakfast and chores including Erwin's favorite past time, shopping at the market.

This afternoon, we went off to explore the St Germain area a bit. We had some rain so we didn't get to do all we had wanted, but there is always tomorrow. We did make time to stop at Les Deux Magots (the legendary cafe across from the St Germain des Pres church) where Alexandria had what she says is the best hot chocolate in Paris, and she should know since she has tried it in many different places.


We got a front row table in the outside covered terrace. You can see the extreme outer tables were unoccupied due to the showers. We stayed for about an hour. If you go to the link marked above, you will be able to read all about the literary figures that made the cafe famous in the middle of the 20th century.

After Les Deux Magots, we went to one of our favorite chocolate shops called Debauve & Gallais. We always stop there for some of their fabulous chocolates.

They chocolates run about $45 a pound so we don't get too much.

We took the bus back to the apartment and were surprised at the difference in the number of people on this buses now as compared to last week. Vacation is over and people are back in Paris in what the French call "la rentree". Dinner was at home, again a light supper. We have been profiting from the fresh food now available in the markets. We do a lot of avocados which we love. Also, the melon season is good so we do a lot of them.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2008

Morning as usual. A bit of laundry and shopping.

In the afternoon, we went back to the Promenade Plantee (see Wednesday, August 27) and visited the section we did not see Wednesday of last week. So instead of going southeast, we went northwest. The part of the Promenade we visited is basically similar to the other half. However, what we did have was a wonderful view of our apartment. You can see it in the center with all of the flowers on the balcony, hence the name of the apartment, Le Balcon Plante.

As we walked we spotted a good possibility for afternoon tea so when we finished our walk near the Paris Opera de la Bastille, we went down off the promenade and tried it out. The people watching was good but Alexandria's hot chocolate wasn't very hot and made with water instead of milk. Oh, well. Try again.

Tonight was dining out night. We went just around the corner from the apartment on the rue de Cotte. It was called Le Cotte Roti. We found out it has been open for only about one year. Newly redone with only about 15 tables. We were warmly welcomed and shown the menu written on large slates that were on the wall and also brought to the table. The formula meal was 3o euros which included either entree (French use this as the first course) and plat (main course) or plat and dessert. For an extra 3 euros, you could get all three. This seems to be a reasonable rate for the small bistrot type of restaurant, which incidentally we prefere. The meal was very good with portions being a manageable size. Incidentally, the French have not yet discovered the doggy bag, or baggy dog as one of my French friends calls it. Just outside the restaurant we came across the car pictured below. I understand people can rent their cars out for ads as shown.

We have been on the lookout for small bistrots with good prices to try out. We have found several with the "formule" down around 11 or 12 euros, but usually the choices are limited and some only have the price at noon. For example, le Duc de Richelieu where we ate our first local meal (see Monday, August 26), today we could have had fish soup, which Alexandria loves, salmon, and a dessert for 11 euros, about $16.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2008

Here we are, still without TV and Internet. About the only thing we watch on the TV is the news, but no Internet? We did some laundry again today. It seems that we are doing laundry every other day but the machines here have a very small capacity. It takes 2 1/2 hours just to do two loads of personal laundry, plus another two loads of bedding and towels, both bath and kitchen. This does not include drying. Some we take to the local laundromat and others we dry in a traditional French manner. See below.

In the afternoon we went to the market. There are actually two markets, the typical outdoor one with the usual stalls. In the middle of the square is the covered section. The quality in the covered section is better but the prices are higher. We walked around in the covered section which is called the Marche Beaubau. It is like twenty shops under one roof. We discovered what will be our cheese purveyor (fromager). There is a fine selection of cheeses including about 50-60 different goat cheeses from various regions and in various stages of drying. The drier they get, the more pungent. The fromager was very helpful and explained all about the goat cheeses. There were maybe an equal number of other kinds of cheeses, but no Kraft slices. We intend to go back weekly for our cheese and will try to get some pictures for you later. We now have our favorite bakery and our favorite cheese store. Very French.

After market, we went to the cafe opposite the Gare de Lyon where we have been before. We enjoy people watching and we did for about two hours along with our tea and hot chocolate.

Two young ladies stop for a refreshment.

The waiter at a cafe, rather typical with his white shirt and black vest and trousers.

A young couple relaxes.


The elavater is not working during the day since Monday since they are painting the entire shaft and cage. So we limit our outings. Today we walked down to market but came back after the painter had finished for the day.

Supper was at home again. Pasta with Alexandria's sauce, some lovely French green beans in a vinaigrette, cheese, and melon. We are taking advantage of the melon season to enjoy them almost every day. We also have a little aperatif before dinner and wine with the meal. We haven't had after dinner digestifs yet, but maybe.


After dinner, our gardener came to tend the balcony plants. Did I tell you we have a gardener? She brought with her some winter pansies that will last all Winter until March. Interesting person. British, living and working in Paris.


Oh yes, about 6 pm I tried the TV and it was working. So was the Internet. Now we will report daily on our activities.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2008

Today, we have a luncheon appointment with old friends who live near Lyon but who had brought their grandchildren back to their parents in Paris. Six and four year old girls. They were baby sitting for a week. The joys of grandparenthood.

We met Alain and Daniele at the Motte-Picquet metro stop. Both looked well. We had not seen them in several years. We had some coffee and chatted for an hour or so before going to lunch at one of our old haunts, a restaurant called Marie Edith which we like very much. We had a lovely meal and made plans to go down to their country home in a small village called Buzeron, famous for its white wine called Aligote. We left them after about 4 ½ hours of good conversation and good food. In case you don't recognize everyone, that is Erwin and Alexandria on the left!!!!



Back at the apartment, our cleaning lady (from Serbia) had already finished and gone. Dinner was planned to be light since we had had our main meal at lunchtime.

We had a surprise at the dry cleaners. We picked up two pair of trousers that had been left for cleaning late last week. The bill came to $8 PER PAIR. I get mine done at home for $1.99 each.
We had thought that the prices might be more than at home, BUTTTTTT.

SATURDAY, SUNDAY, MONDAY, AUGUST 30-31 and SEPTEMBER 1, 2008

Bet you thought we got lost!!!. Still no Internet nor television. Did some more exploring of the neighborhood and some more café sitting. Went up to the Bastille Sunday afternoon and used the WiFi in the Café Francais. Plowed through about forty e-mail messages, but didn’t have all of my files with me so I didn’t do any more with the blog. Will get back to it as soon as Orange restores the service to the apartment. Went out to dinner Sunday evening at Leon de Bruxelles, a chain restaurant that specializes in mussels. The mussels were good reminding us of one of our favorite restaurants in Normandy called Les Vapeurs which we intend to visit later in the month. What with the TV out, we’ve been looking a lot a some of the DVD’s that we brought with us; ones that we had taped earlier in the summer.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 2008

Not much happening today. A day of waiting. First, we were expecting a FEDEX package and were told it would arrive on Friday. We didn’t dare leave for fear they would come with the package and no one would be there to sign for it. Alexandria did some laundry and took a few things to the laundromat for drying. Also, the TV and internet system were both out since Thursday evening. They both operate on the same modem. Someone was going to come and check it out also late in the afternoon. He finally arrived and found out that the problem was an “administrative”: one from the phone company (Orange). Either the bill wasn’t paid, the bank didn’t send the payment, or there was a glitch in their system, because the account was closed down. It is over a day later and we still haven’t heard. Since internet access and TV were a part of the contract, is this a breach of contract? We had dinner at home, watched a DVD (that works) and went to bed.