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