Easter Sunday and Dinner at Jim’s

Sunday, April 8^th, 2012

Today was predicted to be a rainy day but it didn’t arrive until nearly 8 pm. We were dressed in our best clothes for Easter Sunday…I even had a straw hat and dressy shoes for the day! We stopped at McDonalds before the Metro and had Egg McMuffins for breakfast…I’d had my coffee at the apartment and Jim brought a small bottle of Orange Juice with him. Most shops are closed today and tomorrow for the Easter holiday. Jim thinks the crowds will be smaller next week….I haven’t told him that the crush will continue as France splits their spring breaks into sections of the country so we’ll have three weeks of this probably.

We arrived at St. Suplice Church…yes, one that was featured in the Da Vinci Code movie… in the 6^th arrondissement about 10:15 am; we’d chosen this instead of Notre Dame because of the organ music. The 10:30 high mass was packed but we had wonderful seats near the front of the church. After mass we rushed to the back to stand in line for access to the loft and the organ. Waited about twenty minutes and then climbed up about seventy very old stone spiral stairs to meet the organist, Daniel Roth, and catch the view from above of the altar. Stayed about ten minutes and then visited the Deleacroix Chapel that has three of his more famous works. We then walked across to the other side to see the chapel displaying the photos of the Shroud of Turin; very appropriate today as it was the burial cloth of Jesus in the tomb.

By 12:30 we were on our way and walked around to more sites in the 6^th arrondissement: Café Les Deux Magots, Café de Flore, Brasserie Lipp; all were packed so we snapped photos and continued our walk. These were made famous by Hemmingway and his fellow writers in the early 1900’s. Stopped for a visit at the Church of St. Germain de Pres and then continued to the bridge across the Seine known the Beaux Arts; a walking bridge that has been taken over by the newest fad of locking a padlock on the wire walls and tossing the key in the river. Symbolizing everlasting love, they say. We looked for our friends lock but could not find it and finally added our own lock that we’d brought from home to the mass of modern graffiti.

Moving into the 1^st arrondissement we visited the Eglise Saint Germain-L’Auxerrois before crossing the street to walk through the Cour Carree du Lourve; a totally enclosed courtyard that leads to the glass pyramide and entrance to the Lourve. You’ll love the photo that Jim took of me in the slideshow…I’m resting my arm on the pyramide!

Finished the stroll with photos of the original arc with views of the obelisk of Luxor in the Place de la Concorde and further down the Arc de Triomphe and further down but out of sight was the newest La Grande Arche at La Defense….they all form a perfect line.

Back on the Metro for a trip to the apartment for a late lunch…it was 3 pm… and rest for this evening. About 7 pm we dressed a bit warmer since rain was coming and headed back to the Metro for our trip to the 14^th arrondissement for “Sunday Dinner with Jim”.

Jim is an American Expat that has been inviting visitors to Paris for Sunday dinner for many years in his home. Mostly word of mouth and more recently through the Internet…and an article in the New York Times in March; brings about seventy people together each Sunday evening. We heard about it from my friend Carolyn who’d planned to attend last year when she was in Paris.

We had our reservations about the evening but decided to go see what it was all about. WOW…what an evening. We arrived at 8 pm and enjoyed every minute! One needs to be good at networking to really make it work and we have both had lots of experience at that. We each went our own way and found people who were staying in apartments; even one with a studio like we have, most were in hotels. Some had arrived today; one was on an overnight stop from Greece to California. Several from New York, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Iowa, Utah, Ottawa, England, so many more I can’t name them all. And there were a handful of Parisians in the group. But the most surprising ones were a group from Yorba Linda where we live; another who went to high school where Jim taught and best of all our daughter-in-law Holly’s best friend! What an evening! The food was great…simple but very good, choice of beer or wine and even a light dessert. If you’ve got a visit to Paris coming up…check the internet and make a reservation at least a month ahead…there’s always a waiting list!

We arrived home by Metro in light rain about 11 pm and I decided to do my blog tonight. We’re sleeping in tomorrow as it’s going to be another serendipity day!

Maisons-Laffitte….

Saturday, 7^th April 2012

Today will be a short blog; we spent the whole day visiting with friends in the village of Maisons-Laffitte; a short train ride from the city. It’s a charming village and we had the opportunity to visit the Saturday Market to shop with them for our lunch.

I met Nicolas and Maeliss in 2008 while traveling in Australia and with the wonders of the Internet we have kept in contact. This is the third visit with them in France. On the first visit we met their tiny new baby at a restaurant in the city…actually it was my twin sister and me at the end of our three month trip together to celebrate our 70^th birthdays in 2009. Then in 2010, Jim finally met them and Nine was over a year old! We enjoyed a lunch at their apartment in Maisons-Laffitte and a tour of the Chateau that their city is center around. This trip Nine is already three years old and speaking some English words as well as beautiful French! I’d love to be able to speak it as well! Leonel is six months old and the image of his father! Yes, Nine looks like her mother and has the tongue of a attorney in training. Both of her parents are attorneys so that is not surprising…she is very bright!

Lunch included barbecued chicken and special sausage freshly made by their butcher at the market. After the cheese course we enjoyed one of those fabulous pastries that you see in the windows all over Paris. They are almost too beautiful to cut; but delicious!

After lunch we enjoyed a tour of their new home. They purchased an old two story house and have remodeled it into a three story modern home over the past two years. They were purchasing their home in 2010 when we were here so we saw it from the outside before they owned the house. What a fabulous transformation.

We arrived at 11 am and finally stepped out the door to head back to the train at 5 pm. What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Hopefully, they will visit us in California one day when the children are older.

Happy Easter to friends and family!

GOOD FRIDAY…churches and passages…

Friday, 6 April, 2012

After a restless night for both of us…ate that chocolate bar too late and the caffeine was working overtime…we ate breakfast, checked the Internet and left the apartment about 11 am. Caught the Metro to Cite and walked to Notre Dame. The lines were long but we decided to check things out and sure enough…if you were going in for Veneration of the Crown of Thorns…no waiting in line. We did pay two euros each for a nice card that indicated we were not just tourist trying to cut the long lines that were circling the outer rim of the church. We joined the line down the center aisle and as Jim said, “had a once in a lifetime experience”. We kissed the crown that was encased in a plastic container and also saw the containers for one of the thorns and a sliver from the Cross of Christ and one of the nails of the Passion; all relics and displayed only on the first Friday of each month and for three hours on Good Friday.

Leaving Notre Dame we walked towards the small ancient streets that wind in and out of that area. We saw a man step from a small door in a larger door and we stepped inside before it closed. A beautiful courtyard with a well in the center; as we turned to leave we discovered we were locked inside. It took a bit of doing but while I knocked on several doors and finally found someone; Jim worked with the door and found the buzzer just as the man came out with me to show us how to get out. But…we’ll continue to try doors to private courtyards wherever possible. We’ve been told if they are not locked…it’s okay to enter.

Headed over to the Saint Chapelle to purchase tickets for a concert next Thursday and then crossed the bridge to the right bank and 3^rd and 4^th arrondissements.

We continued to stop in for visits at all the many churches we found open today. But we also were on a quest for Passages. Small covered shopping streets. We managed to discover several of the many that I had on my list. We also stopped by the Pompidou Musee to see the Homage to Stravinsky fountain designed by Niki de Saint-Phalle. Her final work is a small open air exhibit near San Diego that we visited just prior to leaving on this trip.

We found the Tower of Jean Sans Peur, built during the 12^th to 14^th Century. Closed today but something we’ll try to go back to see later. We also visited the Musee des Arts et Metiers that has the first model for the statue of Liberty that was given to the USA by France.

Passages we visited today: Passage Du Grand Cerf, Passage Bourg L’abbe, Gallerie Vero Dodat, and Galerie Vivienne. We strolled through the Royal Gardens…another first and found a building built in 1407 that houses a restaurant: Auberge Nicolas Flamel. Hope, Bill’s partner, asked us to find it; she’d read about it in one of her books. The menu looks good and reasonable and maybe we’ll go back for dinner. An expat walking by highly recommended their prices and food.

We also found the Paris Stock Exchange: Bourse de Commerce over by the Louvre. Long day…seven hours of walking…and we finally called it a day just after 5 pm. We climbed on the Metro at the Lourve and after two changes we were back in the 15^th and home for the night. Dinner is pizza at the apartment…cooked in the microwave. Nice to be home early; tomorrow’s another busy day as we go to visit our friends Nicolas and Maeliss in Maisons-Laffitte, a village outside of Paris.

The last photo in the slideshow is a rag in the gutter…notice the two openings…one is for water to wash the street and the other is to collect the water…the rags are used all over the city to divert the water into the correct spot. It an interesting story you can read about on the internet.

Photos from first few days....

I have finally fixed the problems with Picasa...hope you enjoy the photos from the first few days. It's Good Friday and we're off to Notre Dame.

Adjusting to French wi-fi…

Thursday, 5 April, 2012....late at night...internet slow so will try to send some photos tomorrow.

Continuing our journal for today; Jim was slow to wake and it was 2 pm by the time we left the apartment. We ate breakfast about 1 pm from food that we’d purchased last night at the store: Coffee, Orange Juice, bananas and bread with jam.

Off to the park with our computers to try the free wi-fi provided by the city. I had carefully printed the instructions before leaving home but could not find the right paper this morning so we were “winging” it from memory. No luck after half an hour so we went to the McDonalds in the opposite direction to try our luck there. That should be a breeze but by this time our computers were so confused they didn’t recognize the free McDonald’s hot spot.

Jim turned to a young man sitting next to us who was using his Wi-Fi on his telephone and asked if he could help us. What luck…he spoke perfect English! He spent a year as an exchange student in Michigan. While his food became cold; he worked with our computers; even sharing his code for the Paris free Wi-Fi. We finally got my computer connected and I was able to read a few emails and sent the first blog this morning.

We decided to bite the bullet and purchase a USB port that gives us our own Wi-Fi access. Off to the Orange Store and then home for a bit of internet time for Jim before shutting down and finally heading out of the apartment about 6 pm.

We headed northeast towards the Eiffel Tower; walking near the Peace Monument this time as we traversed the Champ du Mar heading towards Rue Cler. Steve, our internet guru at McDonalds, told us about his parent’s restaurant, Saveurs D’Asie, 145 rue Saint-Dominique in the 7^th arrondissement. We headed there for our dinner and met his family. Steve, a second year university student, sat with us for a while after he arrived. We enjoyed our very first Chinese dinner in Paris…actually probably the first in Europe. And, Jim said it was definitely one of the best duck…canard…that he’s eaten. And that is his very favorite dish when we travel!

After dinner we bundled up…it’s dry today but cold, yesterday we had light rain but very little….and continued on to Rue Cler. On the way we spotted what looked like the back of a Catholic Church so decided to walk around the block to see the front. Oops…large block so never saw the front but instead found a Lutheran Church. Started to enter and realized they were having a service so instead walked around it. Towards the back we hit a dead end filled with English speaking people. We looked around and realized we’d accidently found the American University that Steve had told us about. So we had another new site to add to our lists of first on this trip. Soon we were walking down the center of Rue Cler; all the restaurants were full but the shops were closed.

By this time it was well after 8 pm and dusk was coming. We walked back towards the west and home for the night. We stopped along the way for some items at Monoprix and then home. Hopefully we will get an earlier start tomorrow as its Good Friday and Notre Dame is on our list as the display the “crown of thorns” happens from noon to three pm.

Moving Into Our Apartment

Thursday, 5 April 2012

No Photos today...you can't imagine what it's taken to sign on...story tomorrow.

Yesterday morning we met the mother of our landlord who gave us the keys to the apartment. This was the first apartment in the city for her son who is working in New York City at the present time. Very nice lady with good English and that helped. She was a few minutes late and still had to clean the unit so we left our luggage with her and walked up to the McDonalds again for some breakfast; returning in half an hour. We are to put the keys into the mail box at the end of the lease as she will be in the country with her husband and daughters. We have a phone number for her but are basically on our own to figure out solutions to any problems. The place has new wood floors, is freshly painted and very clean. It is SMALL…much like a 2 star hotel room. But we are told that most French people live in these small apartments and that is one of the reasons that the parks are so full in the evenings! Jim is delighted that the television works so well…I’m missing the wi-fi connection and may go today to purchase my own from the Orange store where I purchased my cell phone. This morning we slept in…I woke at10:30 am and Jim is still asleep. Catching up to Paris time.

Yesterday we left the apartment about noon and walked the length of the market…we have one two blocks away on Wednesday and Sunday mornings. It is under the elevated metro. We are very close to the La Motte Picquet Grenelle Metro Station. We were looking for a hair brush for Jim…he left his at home; everything else but no hairbrush so we’ll buy that at the store on the way home this evening.

On the metro we got off at Cluny Sorborne and walked towards Notre Dame. The lines were several blocks long to enter so we headed west towards the park at the tip of the L’Isle de la Cite; I’ve never been there and Jim has only seen it once back in 1992, on a solo walk. We passed the hall of justice on the way and saw the front of the former castle; we usually see the gated entrance that is actually the back of the buildings. Then the Pont Neuf bridge, the oldest in Paris, and finally walked into the delightful park at the tip. Enjoyed watching the birds eat the bread crumbs that were tossed by Parisians eating their lunch.

Back towards the east we walked past the Conciergerie that is covered for renovations including the corner that has the oldest clock on quai de l’horloge. They have painted a copy of the clock on the cloth covering the work…but it’s just not quite the same.

The lines waiting to get into Sainte Chapelle were blocks long…it’s Easter week and the crowds are dense everywhere you turn. But we’re just walking today and not attempting to get into the popular tourist sites. So nice to know that we have three weeks to explore our favorite city; soon we’d passed Notre Dame again and stopped in the park at the back of the church for some more bench time as we watched the children at play and enjoyed the tulips. There was one red tulip among a sea of purple…must have been left over from a previous planting. I also used the convenient toilet in the corner of the park…free but with a cup for donations. Well worth the few pennies they expect for using their facilities.

We then walked around the quai side towards the house of Abelard & Heloise; they lived there for a time, and then back to the park through the very ancient streets that twist between the buildings behind the popular main streets. They are the width of one carriage, the size of the majority of streets in Paris prior to Haussmann and his wide streets! Then over the bridge to L’Isle Saint Louis; we stayed here during our first several trips to Paris so it’s always like coming home when we walk these streets that are full of memories of previous trips. We took the time to walk into the Church; not sure why but we’d never been inside; a lovely church but far too close to Notre Dame for most tourists to notice this one.

Then back outside and further east to the tip of the Island. We found the fishing shop that is on the point and a new park that we’d not seen. Both tips have parks with great views of the Seine River. This view is a modern one with the new library composed of four tall building resembling books standing on end on the far right side.

Across the bridge to the right bank and into the Marais where our first site was a small park that has a few of the old stones from the Bastille in one corner. Most of the stones were used to build bridges in Paris. We were headed for the Hotel de Sens and I found the lion looking over a pink doorway that I couldn’t resist. We then stumbled into The Village of St. Paul; another first! More of the old ancient streets with many little shops tucked in between apartment buildings. A very creative bicycle built with a covered seat on the front for children. A delightful hat shop with wares displayed on a chair outside the door; something new everywhere we looked. Suddenly we were looking at a portion of the city walls from medieval times. (I can hear a band playing outside…sounds like they are marching up by the elevated metro; Jim is sleeping right through it because he wears ear plugs! It’s nearly noon…but he said not to wake him no matter how long he slept this morning…sure wish I had wi-fi and a light…I’m working with a flashlight.)

Back to the plan we soon found the Hotel de Sens…now a library…it is one of the few ancient homes remaining in the city from medieval times. It is now Forney Library and we were able to walk inside and enjoy the building.

It was after four pm by now and we were getting hungry so we went to look for L’As Du Fallafel on rue des Rosiers; a short street that was not easy to find. But on the way we did discover more of the ancient city walls that included two towers! The King Phillip Augustus City Wall on rue Charlemagne/rue Saint Paul. We also entered Passage Saint Paul and ended up inside the church. Finally after much turning around and map reading…we finally got out our little magnifying glass that I carry…we found our way to dinner. The line was long but worth the wait and we continued to walk as we ate. Back to Rue de Rivoli we continued west and suddenly I spotted a 14^th Century half timbered building down a small passage. Yep…I’d done it again; stumbling upon another building saved from the fate of most of ancient Paris. Jim was elated as he had researched this very building before leaving home. I’m really making points today!

Finally headed back to Notre Dame and then the L’Isle Saint-Louis to have a special treat…the famous ice cream of Berthillon…that we ate on our way back to St. Michel and the Metro Station for our trip back to the apartment. It was after six pm and as we passed Notre Dame again we heard the sounds of Mass inside…on the square we found a large television screen showing the crowds what was happening inside. Many priests and beautiful music, must be a special celebration for Easter Week.

The Metro ride was like being in a sardine can…very crowded. But we were finally back and went shopping at the Monoprix store (clothing and food) near the Metro station before heading back to the apartment. Sorted suitcases while Jim watched television and after a dessert of wine and chocolate we were off to sleep before 11 pm. It’s now 12:30 pm and Jim has awakened…our day has begun!