And so, out of Paris...(sigh)...

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Bonjour!

Another late night last night; figure I just haven’t completely adjusted to the time yet! (Or I’m on somebody else’s clock!) We headed out for dinner around 9, this time bussing to the right bank and a Middle Eastern restaurant we know called Noura on Pierre 1st de Serbie avenue. Fortunately, this is a city where people do eat late, so no problem getting in. Had hommus, moutabal (another name for baba ghanoush) with pita bread, and then R had shredded chicken and I had a chicken skewer, both with salads. Food good, but R says he would prefer, after Japanese and Middle Eastern, to stick to French for a few days…so we’ll see! Got back to the hotel around 11:30 p.m., and so ends our last wonderful day in Paris!

Got up this morning around 7:30. I repacked and we proceeded to put the tiny room back to rights. It’s not easy keeping things orderly when there are few places to put things; no drawers, for instance, and only a few very small shelves! Managed, though, then went out for breakfast. This time headed to Le Rostand, on the corner of St. Michel and the Luxembourg Gardens. Absolutely stunningly beautiful morning; clear blue skies and probably the warmest weather we’ve seen.

Back to the hotel for a short time, as we were scheduled to pick the car up at 10 a.m. And yes, we took a taxi! Not too expensive – around 14 Euros, and it got us right to the Sixt door. Our car was waiting for us – a 2-door black Audi with a spacious trunk – whew! Nice little car to drive; also has some power. Where is the German Autobahn when I need one?!

This is our first trip with Emily, our new Garmin GPS – and THANKS, Tommy & Jay! She’s TERRIFIC! Granted, we have her set with an English accent, but wow, did she manage to get us out of Paris easily! The Sixt location was right off Place de Breuteil, which, to look at on a map – just down the street from Les Invalides and la Tour Eiffel, is a VERY quiet little backwater! Made transitioning to a car very easy, and our route – to Rueil Malmaison, very quick to find!

Got to the tennis venue about 11:30 a.m. – it’s at the Paris Golf and Country Club! (Anne; Linda – have you been there?) It’s BEAUTIFUL! Very old buildings, lovely shaded grounds. As we were so early, we parked and walked across the street to a small shopping mall and got some lunch at Flunch, (yes, that’s spelled correctly!) a French fast-food place. By the time we walked back, they were letting people enter, so in we went. They have one court set up as a “show” court, and there were television cameras there as well. Probably seats about 1,000 all told. We had wonderful seats, three rows from the court, just off the net. The first exhibition match was between Andy Murray and Paul Henri Mathieu. Mathieu won the first set 6-4, and Murray won the second set, 7-5. They were heading into a “super tie-breaker” when we decided to take a break – we were wearing jeans, and while the breeze made it pleasant, when it wasn’t blowing (most of the time!) it was down right HOT, and I of course had forgotten the sun screen!

Took a break from tennis, and decided we’d seen enough. (Gael Monfils was playing in the second match, and we’ve both seen him play before.) Headed to the car and of course it was now right in the middle of rush hour!

Emily guided us onto a freeway, which wouldn’t have been my preference – until we looked at one of the proposed side-roads, and whew! Talk about wall-to-wall cars! So! Thanks, Em!

Took us about 45 minutes to get to Saint-Leu-le-Foret, and it was quite an excursion to get to Graciela and Alain’s house! The road becomes one-way (going against us) about 20 feet from their driveway! Had to go a LONG way around; I despaired of ever finding their house, but R was terrific, and we made it! Will be heading out to dinner soon, but I wanted to pass along some Paris-type thoughts while I’m thinking of them!

First of all, I noticed a few years ago that almost all the children and most of the men were wearing American-style tennis shoes. (This is important, you understand, as yes, we both wear them constantly – here AND at home!) And now, WOW! Many, many of the ladies are wearing them as well! (America does have a lot to answer for!) And the big style seems to be the Converse type, with the big white leather patch on the toe! (I’ve always thought they looked VERY clunky, but apparently I’m in the minority on that one!) We’re seeing them in all sorts of colors, from purple to bright orange and pink! Quelle surprise! At least now when you see me in my tennies, I’m not alone!

Next, I have to say that in my opinion, Paris is the most beautiful city in the world! There is something to look at – fountains, bridges, buildings, monuments – everywhere you look, and the kaleidoscope is truly ever changing! I wonder if there are books of photographs dedicated solely to Parisian windows or doors or balcony railings?! They are ALL beautiful to look at!

So…those are some quick thoughts placed randomly so I can get them out of my mind!

More later!
Much love,
m