1) Street corner fountain; they seem to be everywhere!
2) Bateau mouche on the Seine;
3) R in front of Notre Dame; note the daffodils!
4) Side view of Notre Dame looking across the Seine;
5) Window of Notre Dame; great glass!

Allo, Allo!

Have decided that since the date automatically posts to day posted, I’ll spare the repeat at the top – instead, at a reader’s suggestion (thanks, Katy!) I’m going to post the photo captions at the top, to make things easier. R is investigating how to put actual captions with photos on the page, but seems like there is an inordinate amount of cutting and pasting involved – WAY too complex for the likes of me! I’m just writing a travel log!

So … Tuesday. To be honest, I had thought we were well over jet-lag, but apparently not! We both woke up around 7, and then, somehow, both of us went back to sleep! I dragged myself to the surface somewhere around 9 a.m. – whew! Felt like I’d been hit with a hammer! We breakfasted as usual – wonderful croissants with jam and O.J. – and then decided that rather than go anywhere specific, we would wander outside and see what turned up … so…

Yesterday at the bus stop, we saw a listing of a Vivaldi concert at a neighborhood church, along with a website…www.ampconcerts.com. Found it, and voila! There were several Vivaldi’s going on the neighborhood; lots of 4 Seasons. Thought we’d head over to one of the churches to see if we could get tickets – getting tickets on-line is sometimes tricky, as we don’t have a printer. Found the church – just downhill from the Pantheon, but it was locked up tight; possibly only open for mass on Sunday and concerts. From there, we continued downhill until we arrived at the Seine – with Notre Dame right in front of us! (Well I remember my first visit here, over 30 years ago – and how dark and dirty Notre Dame was!) We fought our way in with the rest of the crowd – do know where most of the tourists must be of a morning; they were all there! And lo and behold! a Gregorian Chant concert coming up on the 19^th! (We attended one here before, and it was marvelous; so happy that we’ll have a chance to do it again!) Got tickets, walked around and out, and headed toward Ile St. Louis.

Right outside the back garden of Notre Dame, on the very end of Ile de la Cite, is a very moving memorial – to all those deported to concentration camps by the Nazi’s (with the help of the Vichy government) in WWII, most of whom never made it back home. Had the place literally to ourselves; very, very poignant.

From there we crossed over to Ile St. Louis and did our old “roots” trip past several places we’ve stayed in the past, past the Sgt. Recruiter restaurant; (an absolute hoot and great place to eat!) and some wonderful food and wine shops. Decided then to head to Musee Carnavalet.

This must have been our day for concentration camp remembrances, because as we were heading toward Rue de Rivoli, we came upon a small alley that had been dedicated to the people who had somehow assisted in hiding or helping Jews escape the concentration camps. This was immediately followed around the corner by the Memorial de la Shoah; something like the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, with walls listing victims by name, birthyear and date they “disappeared.” Wow…

By now it was approaching lunchtime (even though we had started so late!) so we found a corner café on Rue de la Turenne for lunch. (And even if I’ve already said it: IT IS SO INCREDIBLY WONDERFUL NOT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT SMOKE!!!) R ordered Salade Cretoise, (prosciutto, feta cheese, olives, hard-boiled egg lettuce and mushrooms) and I ordered their special quiche of the day with green salad. The quiche was Forestiere, which meant lots of mushrooms – and it was SO light that it almost floated off the plate! I think it may have been the best quiche I’ve ever had! (R now bound and determined to learn how to make quiche…) Also had a nice pichet of red wine; great meal! (See picture!)

From there it was just a block back to the Musee Carnavalet, which tells the story of the history of Paris. It is housed in two wonderful old residences, and many of the details of the rooms of the houses have been preserved. The story really starts at the Paleolithic and Neolithic stages, with some very old pieces on display, and moves then through the centuries. There is lots and lots from the 17^th and 18^th centuries, and actually moves on to (almost) the modern day (in the 1920’s or thereabouts). Lots and lots of paintings of Parisien scenes and people. Also included were several rooms that were indicative of various periods (someone’s ballroom; someone else’s living room, etc.) In all, lots and lots to look at, and very well presented (as well as being FREE!).

After wandering for quite a bit, we decided to head home, stopping first for some needed groceries. Took several buses that dropped us off right in front of our nearest Champion grocery store. Actually, very disappointing! R says “no more” to this particular store (we’ve loved Champion’s in the country); will instead head to Monoprix on Rue de l’Opera if we can’t make it to our favorite shopping street! However, we were able to grab basics; will obviously do more shopping on the morrow!

Back to the hotel to see if R’s glasses had been delivered – and they hadn’t. Turns out that Fedex has done ALL the right things – but there is a new concierge and apparently some missed communication, because she did tell us that Fedex had been there – but she hadn’t taken the package!! Oh well! So, we dropped everything and headed out once again (oh for a nap!) to the main Fedex Office on Blvd. Haussmann. Direct bus ride there, and voila, there was the package!!!! Thank you Nic, Goyo & Kathy!! R can now see whatever he wants to look at – with BOTH eyes! (Simultaneously at the same time even!) Back home and a brief rest before starting dinner.

Made pork chops with onion and tomato sauce, boiled new potatoes and the most incredible haricots verts – YUM! Now, under the terms of our working agreement, R got to clean up the kitchen, and I’m blogging away! And actually … we’re going to head out shortly, for that bus ride and a much closer view of the sparkling Tour Eiffel!!

So take care all – more later!

Love,
m