The Paris adventure continues!

Monday, 6 September, 2010

Bonjour!

(We’re reading a series of books that take place in Venice – Thanks, Bob & Stew! – and I almost wrote: Bonjourno!)

Well, we have had quite a day, and it’s only 4:30 p.m.! Up about 7 to an overcast and lightly rainy day. Showered and dressed and R went out for our breakfast croissants – YUM! Seriously, can there be a better breakfast that that? (Notice that the grocery stores actually sell CEREAL! UGH!) He also stopped to pick up a newspaper, as our first stop this morning was La Poste to mail off a box and we needed packing material. Finished breakfast and loaded up the “stuff” to return to the states – books, maps, my bathing suit (which actually saw service in Aigues-Mortes, but not anywhere else!), salt from the Camargue – and of course all the other little things that people pick up as they travel. Headed down 2 stops on the 27 bus, and voila, a post office, just opened and NO line! (Oh! Our Navigo Decouverte passes – I of course couldn’t make mine work … R was fine – but then he pointed out to me that I was trying it against the written display, NOT the reader! Oh well! You know how I am with electricity!!) Lovely lady inside helped us with a box; didn’t even charge us for the overweight (slightly over 7 kilos)! R packed it up, and voila, it’s on its way! They are saying something like 6 weeks … so, hopefully it will arrive before I need the bathing suit again! Hopped on the bus back, and prepared for trip 2 of the day, to the Louvre to join up yet again with Les Amis du Louvre. Also found that there was a posting on the bus, saying that there would be “en grave” tomorrow – general strike! – and that the buses would only be running on a reduced schedule.

The Louvre is R’s favorite museum in the entire world, and one he loves to see constantly. We found Les Amis several years ago, and for an annual pass, not only can we come and go at leisure any time during the next 12 months, but they have a “special” entry that whisks you right in the door! NO waiting at all! This time we took the 27 bus, which stopped right outside the Carousel du Louvre entrance – boy, there were people lined up for a block at the Pyramid! We headed straight downstairs and to the Carousel entrance – no line, no problem, voila, we were in! Bought our annual passes at Les Amis office which is in the corridor leading to the Louvre, and headed straight to a special exhibition that is closing today. The exhibition is called “Meroe” (accent marks here and there that I can’t duplicate!) and is about a civilization on the Nile that was powerful in the Sudan, north of Khartoum for about three centuries b.c. Amazing exhibition! Really wonderful! We had never heard of the place, and to think that it was a very powerful civilization! From there we wandered into my favorite section, the Mesopotamia exhibit. Had a good look around, then a sit down with Coca Cola.

From the Louvre, we returned to the 27 bus, this time taking it to Les Pyramids and a very nice Monoprix. There are several things missing from the apartment this time – bath mat, cutting board – and whatever happened to the POT LID that we bought 4 years ago?? So, found the various items and then headed downstairs to the basement and their grocery store. Did a nice shopping, and the best thing about going there is that you walk out the front door, there is the bus stop, and the next thing you know, you’re at the apartment!!

Had lunch – sliced tomatoes that we picked up on Saturday, with grated parmesan cheese (from our favorite Italian market on Rue Mouffetard.) Yummy! Why do French tomatoes taste so much better than U.S. tomatoes?? Out again, this time to Bon Marche on Rue du Sevres, where we hoped to pick up what we hadn’t been able to find in Monoprix. As we took the bus past Les Ecoles and the Sorbonne, there was already a parade/demonstration going on; lots of people with signs milling about!!

Found our way to Bon Marche, which is a truly incredible market! Got the 1 kg of beef that we wanted for dinner tonight, and of course a whole lot of other things that we didn’t probably need … olives, pesto, hummous, pretzels, melon, haricots vertes – the list goes on! And of course, when you have a large shopping and NO car, carrying it back to the flat becomes quite a challenge! Especially when the protest marchers that you left behind at Les Ecoles turn up in front of your bus at Rue de Sevres – blocking the road! Finally decided to get off the bus and it was quite a schlog down Rue de Four to Mabillon metro station. From there to Cluny, then the bus back up the hill to the apartment. R was definitely NOT a happy camper!

We are now safely in the flat, and shortly I’ll be starting dinner. Cannot imagine (although we’ve heard about Paris strikes from our friends Bob, Katy & Hilary) what tomorrow will be like! Fortunately, we’ve got enough food and wine that if we’re stranded here, we’ll be fine!! What an adventure!

Much love; more later!

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