Problem posting pictures, so will try again!

1) Entrance to a metro station;
2) View of Sacre Coeur from down below!

m

A rainy Thursday...

Allo! Allo!

Well, we’re starting to clean the flat in earnest now, a sure sign that our lovely time in Paris is coming to an end! Woke up to a gray and rainy day; the forecast is light rain in the morning … certainly looks like an all-day kind of thing!

Did some housecleaning first, and ironed everything that had been washed yesterday – and, for the last time! – put away the drying rack! That is one thing I won’t miss, that’s for sure! I really am tired of laundry all over the place.

Not sure what we wanted to do today – neither of us having anything specific, I started looking through one of the Paris books in the flat. Found an entry about Avenue du Paradis, a supposedly interesting block of china shops – so, excursion! Changed buses at Palais Royal and found ourselves at Square de Montholon. A new area for us; interesting! The article about the street was from 2000, and it said there was something like 20 different stores along the street. Well, there certainly weren’t 20, but we did find a few – lots and lots of beautiful Limoges and Baccarat, as well as the Maison de la Porcelaine, which has LOTS of lovely things! (Too bad we couldn’t carry home yet another set of dishes…hmmm…) Bought a lovely bowl that I’m sure I can carry home! (Famous last words…)

From there, we bused to Montmartre to see if we could find material for a table cloth. Found the right street and stores, but didn’t find anything we really liked. Most of the fabrics had a very “winter-y” feel – which makes sense, as it is winter now! Did find a few things that were attractive, but nothing that said “take me home.”

As it was now approaching lunchtime, we decided to bus back to the Left Bank and try a restaurant that had been recommended to us, called L’Entrecote just off Blvd. St. Germain. We’d located it on Sunday, and understand that there is always a crowd for dinner – so thought we’d try lunch! Got there about 12:15, and no wait at all! Lovely big restaurant; lots of wood and framed prints; tables set right next to each other.

I sat down and R headed to the bathroom – and by the time he got back, we had green salads with walnuts and a terrific mustard vinaigrette on the table, along with a plate of bread! Whew! What was that, we wondered? The waitress came and asked what we wanted to drink – we ordered a nice red Medoc – and how we wanted “it” cooked? So, no menu?? Being the good little trained tourists that we are, we just told her – and then it occurred to us – no, they weren’t taking advantage of some dummies – the only thing they serve in L’Entrecote – is entrecote!! What a concept!

The steaks followed – perfectly cooked, with a very interesting sauce and with amazing home-made fries! YUM!!! We asked what kind of sauce and were told it was a “secret” sauce! We think it’s some kind of parsley pesto with a hint of tarragon but no garlic…hmmm…..We finished the steaks and fries, only to find that we had only eaten half our meal! Here was our waitress with the other half of our steaks and even more fries! As everything was SO good, we decided to try dessert. R had a warm tarte aux pommes (apple tart) with honey ice cream, and I had tartlettes citron; two small lemon tarts. Everything was just FANTASTIC! We absolutely ROLLED out of the restaurant and managed to catch a bus or two as we waddled home! A truly wonderful meal – we would highly recommend L’Entrecote! (It was interesting that we didn’t hear any other English being spoken, so obviously Rick Steves hasn’t discovered this place yet…hope he doesn’t, either, for a good long time!)

Such a wonderful culinary experience always calls for a nap afterwards … which is what we did this afternoon! (What was left of it, as it took us 1 ½ for lunch!) Up and finished cleaning the flat. Philippa is arriving tonight on the Eurostar from London, and we’re picking her up at Gare du Nord at 9:41 p.m. No idea what we’ll do tomorrow, other than pack (have to be out of the flat before 8 a.m. on Saturday) – we’ll leave that up to Phil!

So take care all!
Much love,
m

And last but not least...

Scenes from Marie-Antoinette's Hameau -

1) Temple of Love;
2) Robin!
3, 4 & 5) Little hamlet built for Marie-Antoinette, where she could be a milk-maid!

m

More from Versailles!

1) R next to the Long Pond;
2) Lunch!
3, 4 & 5) From the Grand Trianon!

m

Third Time's the Charm!

1) Royal Chapel at Versailles; INCREDIBLE ceiling!
2) Hall of Mirrors
3, 4 & 5) Various rooms at Versailles

Allo! Allo! We’re back! Yes, in case anybody noticed, we actually skipped a day of blogging! What, you may ask, happened to TUESDAY?? (Were we in Belgium??)

Actually, we woke up yesterday morning, and it wasn’t raining. The sky was actually blue and pink! So, we headed to Versailles. Managed to get through St. Michel on to the RER C5, and about half-way there – RAIN! And I don’t mean a few gentle drops -- I mean a DELUGE! We got to the station at Versailles, got out of the train – walked about 10 feet, and then agreed that it would NOT be a good idea to go any further, conditions being what they were! So, back into the train and a return to Paris, and then our flat. R had several hours of work to do for Caltech, and it was so wet outside, that we just stayed in for most of the day! So, not much news, and NO pictures! Did get some good reading time in! Braseola salads for lunch with fresh baguette.

Around 4, I was starting to get antsy, so we decided to take a trek to the far side of town…actually, to the Republique area, so we could check out a hotel for our Australian friends, Norm and Marg and their upcoming visit to Paris. Found the hotel without too much trouble; it’s the Leonard de Vinci. Neighborhood looked fine; restaurants and shops all around – and of course this was the time when, once again, it decided to POUR! Down it came – hard – for about 5 minutes – we got SOAKED, even though we had umbrellas! R, of course, not too pleased with me, as it was all my idea! Oh well!!

Back to the flat to dry off and have dinner. Made pasta with R’s sauce; just great! To bed around 10 (couldn’t even make it to the end of the PSG/Auxerre soccer match!) but when we went out then to see the lights on the Eiffel Tour sparkle as they do every hour, the rain had stopped and there were stars in the sky! How ‘bout that?!

Decided to try again this morning to get to Versailles, (3^rd times the charm??) so we repeated out foray down to St. Michel and the RER C5 to Versailles. This time, it was actually sunny, though crisp! Amazing what a difference a day makes!

Got to our entrance, door A, right at 9 a.m. and surprise! They were just opening up!
So…we were in!

Now, Versailles. Well…they were hosting two separate exhibitions, the first on silver, and the second, an exhibition of portraits by the Swedish portrait artist Rosand. We hit the silver exhibition first – whew!! There was silver from all over Europe. They had pieces from Windsor Castle, and museums/castles in Denmark, Moscow and Germany. Seeing it all together – just remarkable! There were silver tables, silver chairs, lots of silver mirrors and picture frames, silver fireplace screens – some of these pieces must have literally weighed a TON! Very ornate; very lovely; and it did get me to wondering just who on earth got to clean all that stuff…

Passed on from the silver exhibit to the “regular” rooms – the King and Queen’s rooms; the Dauphin & Dauphine’s rooms as well as the fully restored Hall of Mirrors; just amazing, and in some of the rooms, it was just us! …I could live there! [Note added by RJB – No you couldn’t. Keeping all those mirrors clean and free of streaks would drive you crazy!]

The Rosand exhibit was very interesting. He might not have been the greatest portrait painter of his time, but he could do beautiful things with fabric and lace! Wow! He also got around – portraits of the royal houses of Sweden, Russia and France.

From there we meandered (and I mean that literally) out into the gardens. On our last visit to Versailles (successful visit, that is…) with Mom and Robert, we rented a golf cart outside of the chateau and used that to get around gardens. This time, though, we walked dutifully past the golf carts (grrrrr…..) and walked … and walked… we stopped at one of the small restaurants near the long pond and split a pizza Marguerita (with ham as well, actually!) and had glasses of wine for lunch. Then to the Grand Trianon!

It opens at noon, and we were (surprise!) the first ones there! (What timing!) Had a nice walk through – again, even had some of the rooms to ourselves! Have never been inside before; rather an interesting place! Walked all through and then back out into the gardens.

The Petit Trianon is closed for refurbishing. (It’s supposed to re-open in June 2008, but I don’t think they’ll make it; looks like they’ve got a LONG way to go!) However, the gardens were open, so we went and explored. The buildings inside the garden – the Queen’s Theatre, etc. – were closed, but it was wonderful wandering around the Temple of Love and the Queen’s Hameau. Beautiful day, and a wonderful walk!

By now we had more than covered our 10,000 steps, so we decided to take the mini-tram back to the Chateau. Not long to wait, and a VERY bumpy ride, but eventually we got there!

Decided to take the bus back, rather than the RER. (Nothing scenic from the RER, and we do prefer buses!) Caught the 171 bus from right in front of the Chateau, and took it on a leisurely circuit to the Pont des Sévres. Lovely, lovely ride – would highly recommend it to anyone heading to Versailles! At the end of the bus line, we caught the metro and with only one change, found ourselves back at Cluny and St. Michel; and the trusty 27 bus back home!

Rested just a bit – also did some homework, as I had some Marie-Antoinette questions that we researched on the web – and then headed out again to a shop I wanted to see opposite St. Paul on the Rue de Rivoli. Nice walk, and then back home for the day. BTOR for dinner; we’re in the process of cleaning out the fridge, as only a few more days!

Not sure what we’ll be doing tomorrow, but Philippa arrives from London tomorrow night. It will be GREAT to see her, even if it’s just a short visit!

So, more tomorrow!!
Much love,
m

Still more sights to see!

1) Statue of George Washington & Lafayette at Place des Etats Unis;
2) Interesting view of the Tour Eiffel;
3) Arc de Triomphe; changing buses!
4) Porte de St. Cloud

Allo! Allo!

Interesting day today; saw some wonderful things! We started out late, as R had several hours of work to do first, for Caltech. (The wonders of the Internet! Thank you, Graciela!) Did give me an opportunity to do a load of shirts; again, laundry all over the flat! So, we didn’t head out until almost 10:30. Took the 82 bus across the Seine and up Avenue Kleber. Got off and headed to the Place des Etats Unis (United States). Beautiful square – very quiet, considering how close to the Etoile it is! Several embassies around the square, but we were heading to Musée Baccarat – right up my alley, a glass museum!! Whew!! Well, talk about feeling WAY underdressed! (I mean, have you EVER felt like that going into a museum??)

The museum is in a renovated house – and is quiet, discreet and simply beautiful. When you enter, a lovely girl at a desk directs you appropriately – there is also a restaurant and a retail shop. You follow a red carpet which is lighted on both edges with discreet fairy lights up several floors. The museum isn’t really much – just two rooms with various pieces of Baccarat crystal from the 1920’s and 30’s – but that glass is sensational, if you’re at all fond of glass! And their chandeliers are INCREDIBLE; some of them are actually set to turn slowly so the lights reflect everywhere! As I said, this wouldn’t be interesting for many people, and R avowed his preference for Waterford, but as I say – whew!

We saw a video about the making of glass (a bit anticlimactic, as we have seen glass blown in Ireland, Norway, England, Scotland and Italy) – but the sheer size of some of the pieces they were making was impressive! Much more art glass than standard pieces.

Then we wandered into the retail shop … Oh my…if we only had a spare $5,000 or $6,000 to spend … Don’t worry, Beth! We didn’t!! The retail rooms were simply elegant. Carpeted, lit by chandeliers, discreet sales staff waiting to be helpful if called upon – pieces arranged either on huge glass tables or on shelves … Got out of there before any damage at all was done!

From there, we headed to Pierre I de Serbie Avenue several blocks away, and the Noura restaurant on the corner. We had eaten at one Noura restaurant at the Monde Arabe several weeks ago, and this was another in the small chain – Lebanese food; YUM! Started with plates of hommous and baba ghanoush (sp?) and pita bread, and then R had the Kafta (ground lamb kebab) with salad, and I had the chicken kebab with salad – absolutely YUMMY! Also had glasses of Lebanese wine; very good, surprisingly!

Definitely were in the mode for a sit-down type of activity at this point, so we caught buses to the Etoile, and out to Porte de Saint Cloud and then back along the Seine where we’d been the other day; lovely ride! From there we headed home for late afternoon naps – talk about feeling pole-axed! Whew! Still, there were beef tips over rice (aka BTOR) to make, which we had with haricots verts. As R pointed out when he was finishing up the dishes, this is probably our last real cooking, as we now have leftovers for a few nights, as well as Bresaola! Our friend Philippa is scheduled to arrive on Thursday night, and will stay until Saturday morning, and I think we’ll probably be going out once or twice … So! That’s it for now!

Take care, all; more later!
Love,
m

What a lovely Sunday!!

1) Me and the tulips!
2) L’Isle Adam bridge3) Statue in the river;
4) Lovely stretch of water;
5) Me with Alain and Graciela

Allo! Allo!

Remember my resolution to write each night, regardless? Well, so much for resolutions…Sunday dawned bright and beautiful – cities look so VERY different when the sun is shining, don’t they? And after tidying up and doing yet another load of laundry (now remember, also, that “load” is ambiguous, considering the SMALL size of the washing machines!!) to spread around the apartment, we were off on our circuitous route to the country.

First, we walked through the Luxembourg and down Rue Bonaparte to Saint-Germain-des-Pres to look at a restaurante called L’Entrecote. Supposed to be quite good, and we wanted to find it and take a look – especially to find out hours and days – but, joke was on us; it’s not posted, even though the menu looked good! Possibly for a little later this week! From there we bused over to the Marche de Bastille – SO sorry we couldn’t get another chicken and other goodies, but what we really wanted were flowers to take out to Graciala.

Found some WONDERFUL tulips; two bunches, only 10E! And when the lady found out that they were for “une amie” she did an amazing job! Unwrapped both bunches, beautifully arranged them into one bunch; wrapped them with some sort of paper cord; trimmed the stems and wrapped them in clear cellophane! Voila! Just beautiful! From the market when then headed via bus to the Gare du Nord to catch the train.

We got their a bit early (which was good, as it’s not the easiest place to find your way around…) and caught the 11:14 train to Saint-Leu-le-Foret. Took about half an hour, so we were definitely early! Also, GREAT thing that we had our cell phone with us, as the two public phones took ONLY phone cards! Called Graciela, and Alain came down to the station to pick us up. (Think it wouldn’t be far to walk, if we knew exactly where we were going; lots of winding around in the car due to one-way streets.)

A truly beautiful day, and especially nice to be able to spend it in the country! Alain and Graciela’s house backs on to “le foret” and the flowers are just starting to come up all over. So hard to remember it’s still February!

Lovely lunch! We started on the glassed enclosed terrace with a pate de lapin with wonderful country bread. Moved into the house and the dining room for a casserole of canard with potatoes and oranges; yummy! A great cheese plate followed – will have to look for the cantal that was there; also lots of Roquefort. And this was followed by a wonderful apple tarte … followed by chocolate … we were STUFFED!

Then went for a lovely drive through the forest and over to l’Isle Adam, which is on the Oise River. Took a great walk – beautiful river, lots of flowering plants, both old and new bridges, as well as weeping willows. Quite, quite lovely!

Headed back to Saint-Leu as it got later, and Alain and Graciela dropped us at the train station. SOOOOO sorry to say goodbye; they are such fun; hope to see them again soon!

Got back to Paris around 6:30 and we were still so full from lunch, that we didn’t even give dinner a thought! In fact, I was in bed by 8:30! All in all, a lovely day!

Take care; more later!
Love,
m

Just a VERY leisurely Saturday...

1) Have you seen the latest Coke ads? With VITAMINS???
2) Me at leisure watching Italy lose to Wales in Rugby…

Allo! Allo!

A wonderful Saturday doing not very much at all – as R says, at his age, he deserves some down time! So…got up to a cloudy but non-rainy day. Breakfasted as usual and made a shopping list – yes, again! Took the 27 down to Rue Monge/Rue Mouffetard and got “the usual” – braseola, provolone picante, rocketta, tomates sechees, rice, and 1 kilo of faux fillet – yes, Katy, more BTOR. [To be honest, we tried to find something else to make, but everything else that we have in the family cookbook requires 1) a barbeque grill; 2) lots of other spices and ingredients that we would have to buy], and as this is our last week … BTOR it is. However, R insisted on getting it from our favorite butcher shop … and needless to say that 1 kilo of faux filet was upwards of 25E…so…some GREAT beef, for sure! Back home and dropped everything off.

Then headed to Gare du Nord. We are invited out for lunch to Graciela and Alain’s house in Saint Leu-le-Foret tomorrow, and rather than mess around with tickets, wanted to get them today so that tomorrow, all we have to do is get on the train. Well, again, MAJOR frustration! Here’s the story: There is only one ticket booth with two agents selling tickets. They are trying to push everyone into using the automatic machines that they have everywhere. Here is the problem: The machines will NOT take U.S. credit cards (even though they say VISA, MC, etc.) NOR will they take BILLS – coins ONLY! And I don’t know about you, but I don’t know too many people who routinely walk around with $20 in change in their pocket! So, waited in line and got the tickets (and also picked up next week’s Carte Orange).

As R had some Caltech work to do, we separated at Gare du Nord and he RER’d home and I took the 42 bus over to the Madelaine. Got off there and had a great walk – down Rue St. Honore; some neat shops; had a nice time rambling, as random looking at shops is something R HATES to do! Took the 27 bus from Pyramides back to the flat, and we decided on baguette avec jambon et fromage (ham and cheese sandwiches) for lunch.

I took another neighborhood walk after lunch. Wanted to find a Vietnamese restaurant that had been recommended. Very close; about 10 minute walk away; menu looked good. We’ll see! Headed back to the flat with l’Equipe (the sports paper) to see what if any sports would be on TV today! And, le voila! It’s Rugby! The Six Nations cup is in full swing – three matches today! Currently watching Ireland beating Scotland; England vs. France from Paris coming up next! Somehow just couldn’t find any more ambition of that, so we’re staying in! (and watching TV) Made the ravioli with R’s pasta sauce for dinner; just wonderful, both the store-bought ravioli (stuffed with gorgonzola and walnuts) and the sauce! Are now comfortable settled in front of TV set with bottle of wine between us … not a bad way to spend an evening – in fact, just to have one picture for the blot today…R took one when I wasn’t looking!

More tomorrow!
Love,
m

Rooftop view and the Statue of Liberty!

1) View from Galeries Lafayette of the back of the Opera Garnier;
2) Eiffel Tower from top of Galeries Lafayette;
3 & 4) Statue of Liberty #3;
5) Walk on Ile de Grenelle from Pont Grenelle to Pont Bir Hakim -

m

A wonderful Friday!

1) Statue in park outside Musee Marmottan
2) Outside of Musee Marmottan
3, 4 & 5) Inside of Galeries Lafayette, looking up into the dome!

Allo! Allo!

Wow, we’re just now finishing up our second week here! Where has the time gone???

Woke to a cloudy but non-raining day. Breakfasted and cleaned up a bit (getting REALLY tired of having drying laundry around all the time!!) and decided to head to the Musée Marmottan – Claude Monet out near the Bois du Bologne. To be honest, we’ve been multiple times to the Musée d’Orsay, and, while they have a wonderful collection of impressionist art, (and an architecturally very interesting building!) we really prefer the intimate nature of the Marmottan…and I’m rather down on waiting in lines at the moment!

So…R worked out the bus lines, and while I’d hoped to be there by 10 a.m. opening time, it does take a while for those buses to make their way through the city! Did pass some interesting places – the Afghanistan embassy (!) as well as Gabon’s. Arrived around 10:25 – only to find that the museum was CLOSED! (Is it us, or what?? … beginning to take this personally!) But, they said it would open at 11 a.m. Right… We walked back through the lovely park to La Muette where we found a nice café/restaurant to have a coke and a cup of coffee “Americane.” Relaxed for half an hour or so and then headed back.

The door finally opened around 11:05, and then it took – literally – another 20 minutes to process through the first 20 people!! It was UNREAL! They had one woman who obviously didn’t know how to work a credit card machine … I was willing to just hand her the 20 E(uro) note and let it go at that, but no….it must have taken her at least an hour to process in the people who were waiting!! As I said – UNREAL – but, once we did get in (around 25/26 or so…) at least we basically had the place to ourselves!! Took a good look around the basement level, which holds most of the Monets – truly beautiful. Unfortunately, NO photography, so you’ll need to google the Musée Marmottan to look at their collection. A new exhibit had premiered yesterday, which was Monet to Joan Mitchell. Very interesting, seeing some of the ways impressionism was represented in later generations; lots of very nice work, as well as a whole new slew of Monet’s we didn’t remember seeing before! All in all, an incredible place if you like Monet – which we do.

By the time we were finished looking, it was after 12, and still no lunch. We did NOT want a big lunch, as our recent experience has been that if we eat a big lunch, we don’t want to cook a big dinner – and we have chicken waiting in the fridge! Caught the 32 bus directly in front of the museum, heading toward Galleries Lafayette. Visited the food halls first, and picked up a few odds and ends … can ALWAYS find something to buy in a grocery store! They’re like bookstores! Then headed over to the 6^th floor cafeteria, where we did their salad bar – definitely different from the U.S., but very good! Lots of vegetables, paella with tuna, tomatoes and corn salad, green beans and couscous. Yum! Then headed to the 7^th floor (that is, the roof), for a look around – patches of blue sky, and a lovely view over the Opera and toward theTour Eiffel.

From there, we headed back to the flat, as we had things to drop off, and R had a few emails to send. I also was anxious to start my newest Wentworth wooden jigsaw puzzle that I picked up at the museum!

Once R was finished with his work, we headed out across town once again – this time to see the Statue of Liberty #3, on the Ile de Grenelle. While I had seen the Statue of Liberty here several times passing on the RER, I’d never REALLY seen it up close – and I hadn’t even realized that there was another island in the Seine, that nobody every talks about! The Statue is on that island, at the very end! We took the bus to the Pont de Grenelle, then walked over the bridge and down to the Statue. It’s really beautiful – and we did spend a few minutes trying to figure out where Benjamin Gates and Riley were standing when they were here looking at #3 in the latest National Treasure movie! Will have to see it again, I’m afraid…Then we decided to take the path, Allee des Cygnes (Swan’s Way) as far as it would go! And, it led us to the end of the island, where we climbed up on the Pont Bir Hakim, yet another very attractive bridge!

From here we figured it was time to head home – getting crowded on a Friday night! We were able to catch the bus at Bir Hakim, and with only one transfer, voila, as they say, we were home again!

R is now cooking up that chicken; the flat smells WONDERFUL; lots of shallots and garlic! That will go along with haricots verts (R getting tired of them, but my reasoning is that this is the ONLY place we can get them so fresh – so we’ll just have to O.D. on them while we’re here!) and potatoes – and, I stopped at our boulangerie and procured two wonderful looking tartes framboise (raspberry tarts)…so! In for the evening, after another truly wonderful day!

Our friend Linda has suggested that we look for fabric on the hill leading to Sacre Coeur in Montmartre…really wish our friend Anne was here to help us with that; NO idea at all how much of anything to buy! However, we can get the dimensions of our dining room table off the Stickley website, and may give it a go tomorrow – if R can convert the inches to whatevers…I certainly can’t! So – possibly a shopping expedition tomorrow!! Who knows?

Take care, all; much love!
m

Can't stop now...but last for the day; promise!

1) Slightly blurry salad;
2) Dinner!
3) Statue near Bois de Vincennes;
4 & 5) R's museum; incredible building!

m

And of course a few more pictures...

1 & 2) Most unusual police station I've ever seen!
3) Yet more flowers; a sure sign that Spring isn't too far away!
4) 12th Arr. city hall; lovely building!

m

WAY off the beaten path!!

1) Viaduct des arts; shops in each of the arches!
2) Start of the elevated walk from Bastille;
3) Beautiful flowering trees on the viaduct;
4) Lots of places to sit;
5) More flowering trees (and no, Katy, I don’t know what they are!)

Allo! Allo!

What an incredible day!! We woke up early (for us since we’ve been in Paris) at 6:30 a.m. – I stepped out on the balcony, and it wasn’t raining!! Figured this might be a good opportunity to get to Versailles … although I have to admit that I did get a bit of a jolt when I went downstairs to get croissants. I stepped out of the door, and the streets and sidewalks were soaking wet! Turned out that the street cleaners had been through, washing the streets … whew!!

Got to the RER station about 7:45 a.m. and bought Passeports Versailles (train tickets + access to Versailles). Transferred from the RER B to the RER C5, and made our way out to Versailles. It was a gray day, but very, very mild and not raining; yea! Actually got to Porte A (our entry door) by 8:55 a.m. for entry at 9 … and that’s when trouble began – or, to be honest, nothing began! Signs were posted indicating that Versailles would open “late” – although what “late” meant was very open to interpretation! We waited in the line for about 15 minutes, and finally a man came out and told people (in French) that there was a meeting going on, and he had no idea how long it would be! (“How Italian”, I told Robert!!) Lots and lots of grumbling, but what are you going to do?? In our case, we headed down a side street for a coke and cafe (actually a bathroom, truth be told…) Walked back to the Chateau, and apparently no one had any idea how long the chateau would be closed. We decided to head back to Paris, as we had other days we could visit Versailles; SO sorry for those folks, especially the ones on tours, who don’t have the opportunity to come back! So…back on the RER C to Paris; decided that we would tackle the Viaduct des Arts near the Bastille.

Got off at Gare d’Austerlitz, and from there caught the bus to the Bastille. And voila! There was the Viaduct! Our plan had been to walk the top of the viaduct one way and come back along the shops the other. However…turns out, the Viaduct is an AMAZING place! It is a wonderful park (about 20 feet above street level) along what was an old elevated railway line; closed in 1969. The plantings are wonderful, and divided into separate areas; many of the flowers are just coming up, but we did fine several patches of daffodils and flowering trees. The views were fantastic – including the most incredible Police Station we’ve ever seen (see the picture)!! We walked and walked – several km’s, and when we finally got to street level, we were WAY off of our Streetwise Paris map; thank goodness for local maps and our big bus and metro maps! And we were now VERY close to Bois de Vincennes!! Amazing! When we went there on the bus, it took 45 minutes and we wound all around – but if you walk straight from the Bastille, you get there in practically no time at all! Go figure!!

One of R’s favorite Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot stories is “Death in the Clouds” which primarily takes place in Paris; lots and lots of wonderful sights! On one of our bus rides, R instantly recognized one of the buildings used for outdoor shots, and we’ve been trying to find it ever since! Saw it again briefly when we went to Bois de Vincennes last week, and this time decided to really find it. So…from the street map, we located it at the Porte Doree, just outside Vincennes. It was called the Musée des Arts d’Afrique et d’Oceanie. The building dates from 1931, built for an exhibition.

As it was lunchtime, though, we needed to stop somewhere first for food! Wandered into a wonderful little bistro, La Truyere, near the metro stop Dugommier – just a wonderful find! We both had the same thing – chef’s salads followed by faux filet. The chef’s salads had boiled potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes, corn, red and green peppers, cucumbers and lettuce; excellent! The faux filets (sirloin steaks) came with potatoes Lyonaise, haricots verts (green beans) and grilled tomatoes – absolutely WONDERFUL! Also had the usual BIG bottle of sparkling water and a pichet of terrific red wine! All for something like 41 Euros! Plus, I wanted to take the little old water home with us; he was wonderful too!

From the restaurant we took the metro one stop and changed at Doumesnil for the Porte Doree. Got up to the surface again, and voila! The musée! However, it has changed quite a bit! The exhibits in the original museum have been moved to Musée Quai Branly, and the building has turned into an aquarium and a very controversial immigration museum.

We were beginning to wear out a bit by this time, and not being very interested in either the immigration museum or the aquarium, we walked around the open rooms inside – just an amazing art deco building; and the outside is truly amazing! No wonder it made such an impression on Robert!

Decided to bus back for naps, so we took the PC2 (one of the bus lines that run around ring-road around Paris) to Porte d’Ivry, where we caught the good old ever-reliable #27 which dropped us right off in front of our building!

Now we are napped and refreshed, and contemplating if we have any room whatsoever for a meal of chicken, potatoes and – yes, haricots verts! To be honest, not sure … but am sure that the chicken will last one more day; just as long as we don’t eat a huge lunch again!!

So take care from a gray but not-rainy Paris!!
More later!
Love,
m