9/26/2014 rest day

Today we spent a great deal of time shopping for food. For lunch we had shrimp and bulots since Bill had been so taken with them. Francoise joined us.

Then Martine came for dinner. Martine was the saleswoman at Puyricard, our favorite chocolate shop. Marie made a great pork scallopini with a salsa verde.

Martine brought a dessert that was very popular in the 18th century. It was Vacherain enrobed with whipped cream and chocolate curls. It is called Merveilleux and it was.






It was fun to see Martine again.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

9/25/2014 Honfleur

A BIG ROAD TRIP!! Many people have been recommending Honfleur as a very nice excursion. All of those people saw it as an overnight, but Bill wanted to do it in one day. It is a 2 1/2 hour drive and Bill tends to doze off, so Marie and I were worried.

We made it in exactly 2 1/2 hours, and that included a big buchon in Paris on the way to the autoroute. (A buchon is the cork in a wine bottle and refers to traffic jams.)

Honfleur is located just where the Seine ends at the English
Channel. It has a rich history of being conquered and reconquered during the 100 years war. Some of the very old buildings are still there.


Salt was a major industry in this area and it ALL belonged to the King. This was a warehouse which held 10,000,000 million kilos of salt. (One of the reasons for the French Revolution was the salt monopoly.)


There was a lovely little boat basin which is surrounded by restaurants.






Bill walked around with us until we found a place for lunch. We were looking for a crepe place, but passed a restaurant with fabulous looking mussels and frites. Turned right in. We all started with the "fruits de mer" or shellfish plate.

There were shrimp, clams, and bulots (whelks in English) a sea snail.


Our waitress took our picture.


Then we all had the mussels.


After lunch, Bill went to the library to hang out and Marie and I continued exploring the town.

They had a butterfly pavilion. Look carefully. There is a practically transparent one sitting on the red plaque. It's wings are outlined in red, but you can see the leaf behind it.


This is a Blue Morphious at rest. You can only see the blue when they fly. If you watched Go, Diego, Go!, you may have seen the show where Diego rescued one of these.



We retrieved Bill and got back to Paris safely. It was a little touch and go, when a truck traveling much slower than we were pulled out to pass with no warning.

Since we had such a good lunch, we had leftovers for dinner.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

9/24/2014 A small road trip

We needed to get some more use out of the car, so drove to St. Germain-en-Laye. (For future reference it is the last stop on the RER A1.) this is a nice little town with, of course, a Chateau.

We walked around the pedestrian market streets and ended up in the Old Market Square.


Bill stood under one of the arcs of water in the fountain and didn't get wet. Marie and I didn't risk it.

For lunch Marie and I both chose the melted chèvre salad. Bill had roast chicken with frites.


Bill hung out in the library while Marie and I explored the park around the chateau. This is the courtyard:


From the edge of the park there is a famous terrace that was designed by LeNotre. On a clear day you can see Paris. We didn't walk the whole way out because it was too long.


We picked up Bill at the library and returned home. We had leftovers for dinner.

9/23/2015 On my own

Last night Bill got up very early to watch the Bears. He stayed up because Phillip and Evelyn were picking them up to play golf at 6:45. I told them to have a good time the night before, and not to wake me when they left.

When I woke up, I went out for a pain au chocolate for breakfast. Then I went to look at the street were I will be living next.

On my way I saw the method of moving in. The elevators are too small and most of the stairs circle, so nothing of any size can be carried into an apartment .


This is rue Perignon. I think our door is halfway down the block.


Next I metroed to Place St. Michael to buy cheap postcards and then wandered through the flower market. Succulents are hot here too.


For lunch I went to the Brasserie Isle St. Louis. I had my favorites, frisée with lardons and onion tart.





Still wandering, I walked for awhile on Blvd St. Germain. It was a beautiful day. Took the metro to Au Bon Marche to look for some tea that Jef wanted. They didn't have it.

Then I walked home and arrived just after M&B. All of us were tired, so we had leftovers and went to bed early.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

9/22/2014 taking it easy

After the big doings over the weekend, we had a relaxing day.

We went to Ikea. The snake railing pic was taken for Branwen, because she likes snakes.



All Ikeas are the same and as far as I can tell carry the same stuff.


That night we walked to La Petite Auberge. It is a really nice friendly little restaurant and the food is really tasty. Marie and I shared a warm chèvre salad. This is the half portion!


Bill had a mixed salad.


Then we all had roasted chicken with frites. The chicken was moist and the frites were fabulous.


Another 30 minute walk home and it was time to turn in.

Bill got up in the middle of the night to watch the Bears' game.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

9/21/2014 another day of culture

We met Geraldine and Valentine after breakfast. First, a little walk around the neighborhood so that Valentine could see more of Paris.


Then we went to Mass at a local chapel. Geraldine's nephew was playing the organ. He normally plays at a church on the other side of the city but fills in where needed. His mother (in the middle) was pleased that we all went to hear him.


Next we all went to the Institute Francaise. These are the 40 "intellectuals" of France. When one dies, another is chosen. Napoleon decided that they needed natty uniforms. (He was proudly a member.)


They had a fabulous library. I kept thinking how much Chuck would have enjoyed it. He probably would have been chastised for taking a book off the shelf to read it.


We had lunch on the Beaux-Arts bridge.



Saw a bride and groom putting one of those stupid locks on the bridge.


Saw a really ugly maid of honor dress.


And went to the Protestant church that was open and having a demo of its new organ. Our friend had,played here for a fashion show.


Marie and I split off because more guests were coming for dinner. Francoise from across the hall, and Phillip and Evelyn. Phillip plays golf with Bill and Evelyn has eagle eyes to track the balls. Marie is the translator since they don't speak English.

We started with oysters:


Then had grilled steak:


With roasted potatoes and green beans:


We had leftover Tiramisu for dessert.

A fine time was had by all. Marie must have been exhausted because I was tired and hadn't been cooking.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

9/20/14 meeting old friends

In 2009 Marie and I spent 5 hours in line to see the Élysées Palace. (It was worth it!) We met a lovely family from Brittany and have kept in touch. The Journees de Patrimoine are here again. Geraldine and her daughter Valentine are coming for the weekend and we are going to meet the at the Senate for a tour. (You can read about it in the September 2009 part of the blog.)

The plan is that Marie and I will meet them in front of the building. We got there and found that the line was not bad at all. Unfortunately the train from Brittany broke down and they were delayed 2 hours. We spent the time at the head of the line chatting up the gendarmes and security. We even pointed out that the very young gendarme had iron on letters on his shirt not embroidered like the others - was he a REAL policeman? He was in training, they need all hands because every public building is open.

Geraldine and Valentine finally arrive.


The entry garden:


We are loving the selfies:


Catherine de Medici's chapel:



There was an exhibit of the representations of Marianne, the French national symbol. Catherine Deneuve was used as one and we asked where it was. We ask A LOT of questions at these things. The security man didn't know, but found out and tracked us down to give us the answer. Here is Marie with her.


After the Senate we went to the green houses in the Luxembourg gardens.


Then Marie and I split off because they were coming for dinner and Marie had to get ready with a little help from me.

We started with Grilled veggies, mozzarella, and ham. Then had shrimp pasta and tiramisu for dessert.





Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

9/19/2014 LV Jardin d'Acclimatation

Marie and I went exploring today, leaving Bill behind. We went to the Jardin D'Acclimatation to see the new building by Frank Geary. It is going to hold the Louis Vuitton collection. It is sort of shaped like a sail boat and sits on water that reflects on the glass. This is on the garden side. We chatted up a young architect, but not well enough. He didn't take us on a tour. He did ask if we were "friends of Frank" when we said that we were from L.A. Of course, we replied. Still no offer. The side on the street:


The view from the garden:


Afterwards we walked across the park and visited an elderly friend of Marie's. I had met Jeannette before. Now, she no longer leaves her apartment. She was thrilled to see us and have a chat.

We went to Au Clair De Lune for dinner. This is Mike and Stewart's favorite and on Friday they have paella, which Bill really wanted to try.

On the way we stopped at the Monoprix where M&B know the wine guy. They were having a 3 for the price of 2 sale. We managed to steal 3 bottles of a white from another American who was buying all that they had. (42 bottles) An older blonde woman came in and when she left, Olivier asked if we had recognized her - Catherine Deneuve! She looks sort of dowdy.

We dropped the wine at Mike & Stew's and continued at a brisk pace (Bill was practically running.) to the restaurant.

The gift from the chef:


Lamb Chops:



Paella:



Mechoui:


Meat for above:


Couscous:



We picked up the wine and took the metro home. (We are getting old - we would have walked before.)

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad