Cafe Seville

Just because I really like the music.

A very slow week. Wednesday, we went to dinner at Cafe Seville. It's a Spanish restaurant not too far from our apartment. Well, far enough that we had to drive. The food is excellent and the ambience is quite nice with low lighting, as you can almost see from this picture. I forgot to adjust my phone camera for the light, but Flickr helped to lighten it a bit.  Of course, Flickr doesn't have any adjustments for my shakiness.  We both had Veal Segovia with a bottle of Legaris (a Spanish red wine).   For dessert, Robb had the Tres Leches cake and I had the Creme Catalan (kind of like créme brulée).

So far, there are two things I don't like about my smartphone.  The first, and most important, is the carrier.  AT&T drops so many calls.  The second thing is if I put the phone in my pocket before it shuts off, one of the apps will be turned on, and I never know which one it will be.  This can be a problem because I would be using my data usage while not even knowing it.  Today, I put the phone in my pocket without waiting and it turned on the camera.  I heard the shutter "clicking", but it took a few minutes before I realized what was happening.  I now have about fifteen pictures of the inside of my pocket.

Bad Choice Logo Of The Week:

¿Quieres patatas fritas como acompañamiento?

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Gay Egrets

Before I got sick, Robb and I went to the library, at which I used to work, to return some books.  While we were in the area, we decided to walk down to a section of the city called Riverfront.  Riverfront was developed several years ago as a means to get people back to the downtown area, which has basically been deserted after 5:00 PM when most people go home from work.  Before Riverfront, there was really no reason to be in that area.  There were no restaurants, no clubs, nothing to attract people.  One of the big attractions at Riverfront, was a restaurant opened by Dan Marino, former quarterback of the Miami Dolphins.  For a while, the area did well, but then the riff-raff starting showing up in greater numbers and people stayed away in droves.  Now, it's pretty much a 'ghost town'.  There are a few restaurants left on the actual river front walkway, and the multiplex movie theaters are still going, but that's about it.

Sunday afternoon, we drove to Pearl Art Supply because Robb was hoping to get his antique picture frame repaired.  Turns out they don't do that kind of stuff.  When we got back to the condo, there were about two dozen egrets walking through the parking lot.  They didn't seem even remotely afraid of our car.

Surely, no one can suspect me of being gay?  I was about forty when this picture was taken.

Bad Choice Logo Of The Week: Bonerfone 

Voulez vous des frites avec ca?

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Cold Logo

I've been battling a cold, or the flu for the past week.  I'm just now starting to feel a little better.

Bad Choice Logo Of The Week: Let's start with the Institute of Oriental Studies

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Voca Flags

In my last post, I mentioned that we wanted to fly Air France, but we weren't certain they flew to all the places we wanted to go. They do and we will.  We leave on 22 June.

I was checking my minutes with AT&T and I noticed they had charged me for one (count it - 1) minute, for a call Robb made to me, but it is not supposed to count against my minutes. So I called them and complained. The result was they gave me 1,000 rollover anytime minutes. Nice!

Geoff has stated on many occasions, that he hates going to London because it seems more like India or Pakistan than London because of all the immigrants. The other day, he received this from one of his friends in England:

THESE ARE INSTRUCTIONS HANDED OUT TO ALL OFFICERS AT C.I.D COURSES AND ANTI-TERRORISTS COURSES IN THE BEDFORDSHIRE FORCE/SERVICE

UK’s Bedfordshire Police’s rules regarding terrorists and dangerous criminals

If they’re non-Muslim

• Consider the most opportune time of day to be able to arrest suspects with minimum resistance • Apply all necessary force to enter the premises and arrest suspects accordingly.

If they’re Muslim:

• Community leaders must be consulted before raids into Muslim houses. • Officers must not search occupied bedrooms and bathrooms before dawn. • Use of police dogs will be considered serious desecration of the premises. • Cameras and camcorders should not be used in case of capturing women in inappropriate dress. • If people are praying at home officers should stand aside and not disrupt the prayer. They should be allowed the opportunity to finish. • Officers should take their shoes off before raiding a Muslim house. • The reasons for pre-dawn raids on Muslim houses needs to be clear and transparent. • Officers must not touch holy books or religious artefacts without permission. • Muslim prisoners should be allowed to take additional clothing to the station.

I just read an NPR report about an American consular member being charged with murder in Pakistan, and a thought occured to me (yeah, strange I know, but it does happen from time to time) where and how do these people so conveniently come up with American flags to burn at these demonstrations? Has anyone else noticed? Wherever in the world the demonstrations may take place, there are always several "convenient" flags to burn in protest of the US.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Phone Email

Well, we've done it. We're booked in Paris, Madrid and Prague. I'm so excited because Prague is beautiful and we've never been there. Now, we just have to make the airline reservations and we're good to go. We're hoping to use Air France, but we're not sure they go to all those cities.

Since I first wrote the preceeding information, we contacted the same tour company we used last time.  They've arranged all the flights and we only have to get up early once; from Prague back to the US.

I emailed PayPal today because I called to check on a refund and I got the dumbest clerk in the history of clerks. She could not understand that I wanted to know if the refund had been made. She kept reading my charges instead. I finally got tired of dealing with her and asked to speak to her supervisor. She didn't hang up on me, but she did put me on hold. After ten minutes, I hung up, called back and spoke to a woman who answered my question the first time I asked. As I am wont to do when I get pissed at a person or a company, I fired off an email (god, I LOVE email) in which I told them the whole story and mentioning the name of the good agent (I couldn't remember the name of the stupid one). They replied and it must have been a real reply because they mentioned the woman's name. I don't think much will change but it makes me feel so good to be able to send emails in these situations.

They say your hearing goes first. Tonight at dinner, Robb said, "The asparagus is chewy." I replied, "Well, of course, it's chilly with all that cold sauce you just put on it." I've been doing that more and more lately.

BTW: the picture of the 'art in unlikely places' was taken with my phone camera. I love knowing that I'll have a great camera with me no matter where I go. I cannot begin to count the number of times I regretted not having a camera with me.

I have spent most of the past week trying to upgrade my phone from Android 1.6 to the newer 2.1. After many, many attempts and failures, I'm happy to report that I've finally succeeded. However, if you're on my Gmail list, don't be surprised if you get some kind of totally strange email. I'm not sure why but apparently, it's because my online Gmail is synched with my phone.

Dumb, dumber and dumbest: Burglars snort ashes of a man and two dogs after they mistook them for cocaine

À la prochaine, mes amis

Harvey Sticks

I did manage to get up early enough one day to call the German shop (though can't remember what day it was). They told me the package has been re-sent to me. I don't know what day they sent it, but it hasn't gotten here yet. They originally told me it would take about six weeks, so I guess I have to give it a couple more weeks at least.

I am still loving my SE Xperia X10, but I can't figure out what or how the charges apply to my usage. I haven't gotten a bill yet, but my 'billing period' ends on the 27th or 28th of the month, so I guess I'll find out then.

Robb continues to improve but he's still not 100%.

There seems to be some kind of "art" thing going on in the city because things like this are appearing in the most unlikely of places.

Bought some Sesame Sticks at the market today. Damn! They are so good.

This was our Christmas decoration this year.

À la prochaine, mes amis. 

Supplemental Phone

 A few weeks ago, I got a letter from AvMed. AvMed was my Medicare supplemental insurance provider. They informed me that my doctor was no longer accepting AvMed patients (thanks for keeping me informed, Doc). After calling the doctor's office, I learned that he is not accepting Medicare patients at all, no matter what insurance they may have. Apparently, he has decided that since Medicare is  cracking down on fraudulent claims, he wouldn't accept any more Medicare patients. That, along with some other problems I've had with AvMed, prompted me to start thinking about changing providers and I joined the Humana program. When you join a supplemental program, you most often (though not always) have to change doctors. Humana recommended a guy and I went for my first appointment Wednesday afternoon. I have to say I was quite impressed with the new doctor.

Another thing I've changed is my cell phone provider, after years with T-Mobile. After returning my HTC EVO (See the tears in my eyes?  I LOVED that phone!  But I've found another that I like just as much.), I kept looking for something to replace it at a reasonable cost. I found it with AT&T. My phone, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, is amazing even if it is only Android 1.6, instead of the latest version, 2.3. It has a four-inch screen and a camera with 8.1 megapixel resolution (which for all you iPhone lovers, is about five megapixels better than the iPhone). Did I mention that in addition to the 8.1 mp for still pictures, it also takes HD videos? And it cost me a whopping ONE CENT! I cannot tell you how much I LOVE this phone. Well, it's not really just a phone is it? It's basically a hand-held computer on which I have access to the internet, GMail, Google, Twitter, Facebook, most of the world's newspapers, language translators (French, German and Spanish), a currency converter which allows me to keep track of the dollar versus the euro and a bunch of games.  Did I mention I can make FREE calls using Google Voice?  If I listed all the things to which I now have access on my phone, this would be a very long post. Oh, and I can also make and receive phone calls.

I've called the German shop at least three times now about my returned package, and they keep telling me they'll look into it and get back to me, but so far, they haven't done anything. I'll try again Monday, if I can get up in time.

God was responsible for the Big Bang, not science, says Pope Benedict  "The Catholic Church no longer teaches creationism - the belief that God created the world in six days as described in the Bible - and says that the account in the book of Genesis is an allegory for the way God created the world." Don't you love the way they just dismiss the "Word of God"? Well, the Bible isn't really true, word for word, only the parts we want you to believe. Sorry, folks, you can't have it both ways. Either the Bible is the "Word of God" and every word is true, or it's just another book of mythology.

An Introduction to Net Neutrality: What It Is, What It Means for You, and What You Can Do About It.

McDonald's Wi-Fi Blocks Gay Sites!

Tip of the Day: Never ask a vampire for a blowjob!

Bis zum nächsten Mal, meine Freunde.

Happy New Year!

   BON ANNÉE  !

Merry Christmas

 Merry Christmas

Joyeux Noël

Froehliche Weihnachten

Frohe Weihnachten

Zalig Kerstfeest , Joyeux Noël

jwaïeu Nouel

jénwèl

Chestita Koleda

Mutlu yillar et Kala Christouyenna

Glaedelig Jul

en gaélique écossais : nollaig Chridheil

Feliz Navidad

Roomsaid Joulu Puhi

Iloista Joulua ou Huyvä Joulua

Kala Christouyenna

Vroolijk Kerfeest

Kellemes karacsonyi unnepeket

Nodlaig mhaith chugnat

Gleðileg Jól

Buone Feste Natalizie, Buon Natale

Priecigus Ziemassvetkus

Linksmu Kaledu, su Kaledoms

schéi Chrëschtdeeg Joyeux Noël

il Milied it-tajjeb

en Provençal Bòn nové

Gledelig Jul

Wesolych Swiat

Boas Festas

veselé vanoce

Sarbatori vesele, un Crãciun fericit

Veselé Vianoce

vesel božic / vesele božicne praznike

God Yul

Fröhlichi Wiehnacht, Joyeux Noël

Mutlu yillar

Meatloaf

 I am really proud of myself.  For the first time ever, I made a meatloaf and it came out really good.  I used ground turkey instead of beef, since we rarely eat beef.  Making a meatloaf is relatively easy, but it's a lot of work. 

Saturday morning, I called a gift shop in Frankfurt, Germany because I had bought one of those ceramic buildings for Wendy's husband, Steve, who has a huge model train village that he sets up every Christmas..  At the time I ordered it, I was told it would take about six weeks to get here which was not a problem. Unfortunately, the postman wouldn't let our neighbor sign for it and they sent it back to Germany.  I waited to see if they would call me, since I had already lost the receipt and any other information I had.  According to the woman to whom I spoke, they didn't have my phone number nor email address, so it was a good thing I found them on the internet and contacted them (using Google. of course.  It cost me all of twelve cents for the call.)  She told me she kind of remembered my name on the package and would email me on Monday to let me know the status.  I asked if it would be possible to remail it to me and she said it was not a problem.

Then we called Jean-Michel in Paris to see what apartments he might have available in the Marais in June.

I no longer have a smart phone.  Tiger Direct wouldn't meet the reduced price of the other site and in the meantime, I had received my first bill from Sprint.  I would have been paying almost $200 a month.  That's a bit much for what is basically just a toy.  And it's not like I would be spending several hours a day playing with it. Plus I discovered that tethering to use it as a wifi hotspot wouldn't work all that well either, and that was one of the major reasons for getting it in the first place.  There is a mobile service that charges very reasonable rates, the kicker is you have to buy one of their phones, and I don't really like any of them.
    

Bis zum nächsten Mal, meine Freunde.

Secret Channels

Robb continues to regain his health, though it seems to be taking longer than either of us thought. He is mostly pain-free but still has an occasional twinge. I took him for his two-week check-up with his surgeon on Friday. He is pleased with Robb's progress thus far, but indicated that he's at least a couple of weeks away from anything strenous, like driving or carrying anything that weighs more than twenty pounds.

I have no idea how I got them, but I now have 45 music channels on my TV. I have two classical channels, two jazz channels, a Big Band channel, hip-hop, rap, easy listening, a ton of rock channels both old and new, and several spanish music channels (of course, no French or German, or any other European country representation).

I love how the media coverage of "global warming" is slowly switching to "global climate change".  It's only a matter of time until they'll be back to predicting a "global ice age".  It was bound to happen. After all, Gore's ridiculous film, An Inconvenient Truth, was so inconveniently full of misinformation and outright lies, there was no way it could stand the test of time.  Most of the scientific community (those who weren't looking to add a few bucks to their endowments) always argued against "global warming" in favor of climate change.

OK, it’s no longer a well kept secret. Answer To An Age Old Question. Why are Jewish Men Circumcised? Jewish men are circumcised because – Jewish women won't touch anything unless it's 30% off.

Bis zum nächsten Mal, meine Freunde.

Recovering

Reason number 1001 why there should be no pets in the house:

Wednesday afternoon, around 16h30, I went back to the hospital because Robb had been told he was definitely scheduled for release. We were still there at 18h00 when they brought dinner around. He wasn't going to eat, but I suggested he might as well. That reminds me of an interesting thing that happened during Greg's last meal there. They brought in his lunch, but they had given him whole milk which he doesn't drink. He asked for skimmed milk and the woman said it would not be a problem, then promptly forgot it. But Greg had asked her to take back the whole milk and she told him she couldn't do that. Once she puts it in a room, she can't take it back, even though it had never been opened. That was only one example of the runaway waste I saw while I was visiting. And we wonder why it costs so much for medical care. Hospitals (and doctors) are just as bad, if not worse, than the government when it comes to wasting our money.

The good news is we finally got out and drove home around 19h30. We stopped at the drugstore, but when I told Robb it would be a twenty-five minute wait, he asked me to drive him home. I did that, and then went back to get the drugs. Wow, talk about getting ripped off. He got three drugs, two antibiotics and a pain killer (Percoset). It was over two hundred and fifty dollars. It's a good thing we don't need socialized medicine in this "greatest country in the world".

A friend who has a house in the Loire Valley of France, posted the following in his blog. I thought it was interesting enough to share. "A friend from Blois called last night just to say hello and see how we were doing. She said the school buses around Blois haven't been running this week, so all the kids are staying at home. Teachers are posting lessons for them over the Internet to keep them busy and productive. That's the 21st century, I guess." 

I don't know how many of you may have watched those really stupid drug commercials, but I love them. I'm referring to the ones that always have a disclaimer at the end in which they more often than not, indicate that their drug's side-effects are far worse than the reason you're taking them. They always have a section near the end during which they tell you to tell your doctor about various things. My absolute most favorite of these is the one for Plavix, in which they tell you to tell your doctor if you're planning any surgery.

As if we didn't have enough about which to worry, here's another:

Hasta la próxima, amigos.

Hospital

Thanksgiving didn't go so well. Around 04h30, Robb awoke in pain and he spent most of the day in discomfort. He found some of the medicine he had brought back from France. He took it and it seemed to control the pain to the extent that he could move without being wracked with pain. Then he thought it was over. But the next day the pain was back. He called the doctor but the office was closed on Friday, which is normal for this doctor because they work on Saturday. Saturday morning, we drove over to find that they had closed the office for the entire weekend.

Robb was still in pain, so we drove to the Holy Cross Hospital Emergency Room because it is closest to us. We both thought they would give him something for the problem and we would be on our way in a couple of hours. But they did an Ultra Sound Scan and discovered that he had gall stones. The ER doctor wanted him to check into the hospital, but, since he retired, Robb is one of those millions who have no health insurance. Finally, we decided if he checked in, they could run some tests and when they found nothing, they would at least give him something for the pain.

The problem was that when they ran the tests, they discovered that he needed to have his gall bladder removed and they recommended doing it NOW. Supposedly, they would do the operation on Sunday morning and he could leave that night, but because he wouldn't sign the paperwork before he talked to me, he missed that window. We talked it over and decided that he should go ahead and have it done and get it over with instead of waiting until March when he would start Medicare. At least, he would be rid of the pain which seemed to be coming on more often each time.

His roommate, Greg, was already scheduled to have the same surgery on Monday, and that's the day for which they scheduled Robb. Originally, they were told they would go down to the operating room around 13h00, but they didn't come for Greg until after 14h00 and Robb learned that he was scheduled for 17h30. The nurse told them that it would take about three hours; an hour in prep, an hour for the operation and then an hour in the Recovery Room before they would be back in their room.

I went over to the hospital around 19h30, Greg was there, but Robb hadn't been brought back yet. I sat around talking to Greg for awhile and then went down to see if I could see Robb in Recovery. I could find it, so I went back up and sat in the visitor's lounge for a few minutes. While I was sitting there, his doctor walked by, saw me and came over to tell me what had transpired in the operating room. He began the conversation by telling me that Robb's was the absolute worst gall bladder he had ever seen. He went on to say, that he couldn't remove all of it because it was attaching itself to his liver and if he had cut any more, he would have been cutting into the liver and that was not a good idea. So he had to leave about fifteen percent of it inside. He said that wasn't really a problem because Robb's body would compensate and get rid of it.

Both Greg and Robb were originally scheduled to leave the hospital on Tuesday morning, but because of the complications, it was necessary to keep Robb for another day or two until they were certain they were no more problems and the healing process was moving as expected.

I drove back to the hospital tonight, after taking a couple hours off. Robb was in good spirits and just a while later, the nurse came in and unhooked him from the IV, which means he'll probably be released tomorrow. As confirmation, he was told the doctor had written on his chart "For probable release tomorrow". He really wants to get out of there and I have missed him being home, muchly.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Hasta la próxima, amigos.

Smart Phone

You may have noticed I don't post as often when we're not traveling about.  Normally, I post once a week, but our daily lives aren't that interesting, so it could be longer between posts until we go somewhere.  I know you're all heartbroken.  We're already discussing where we'll go this summer.  At this point, it looks like Paris, Berlin, and either Madrid or Valencia in Spain.

Last week, we went to dinner at Candela's with Robb's niece Wendy and her husband Steve. Candela has changed muchly since we were last there.  It's bigger, the menu has changed and the prices seem to be higher.  I guess that's what happens when a restaurant becomes successful. The food is still good, well actually great, although I wasn't crazy about the presentation of my Trout Andaluza.  All in all, it was a good meal and we had a nice conversation with Wendy and Steve.  At the end of the meal, Wendy introduced us to a dessert wine she had brought (Candela is a BYOB place although you can buy from their wine list).  It is ChocoVine and it tastes very much like Bailey's Irish Cream.  I really like it.

After we left Candela's, we drove to a store named To The Moon.  It's a tiny place and I couldn't believe all the stuff they've got there.  They have just about every candy ever manufactured from the forties until now.  I even found the milk chocolate bar with hazelnuts that I just brought back from Europe.

In other news, I finally succumbed to the smartphone craze.  I was already pissed at T-Mobile because they wouldn't replace Robb's phone without charging us way too much. Tiger Direct sent me an email advertising the HTC EVO 4G, which is the latest, hottest mobile on the market.  So far, Sprint is the only company offering it, and since I was looking for a new mobile company (and since just about every electronics site I checked said it was the best) I went for it.  It's kind of expensive, but I get unlimited calling to and from any mobile phone in the US, unlimited text, Pic and Video messaging; unlimited emails, web browsing and messaging; all calls free after 7PM weeknights; and nationwide long distance.  It also has an 8 megapixel camera and it can shoot HD videos.  Here is the first picture I took with it.  I think it's a pretty good deal.  But there are two really great features; the HTC EVO has a 4.3 inch screen so I can easily see what's there, and I can use the phone as a WiFi hotspot no matter where I am.  I've already used it to post on Twitter.  EDIT:  Since I ordered the phone, I found another site that's offering the same deals for $40 less per phone.  I am currently negotiating with TD for a matching price or a refund.

Am I the only one who has noticed how things are getting smaller and smaller, while the prices rise and rise?  The other day, I bought what I thought was a half-gallon of Edy's ice cream.  A half-gallon is two quarts.  What I got was 1.8-quarts (and that was with 20% more).  Breyers is even worse; I only got 1.5-quarts.  I think we need to start an email campaign telling these companies that we won't buy their products until they give us the full size for which we're paying.  I've already fired off emails to Edy's and Breyers.  Our local supermarket, Publix, still sells half-gallons of their own brand, and it's just as good if not better than the others.  The same is true of coffee.  The usual containers have 39 ounces.  But when they're on sale, have you noticed they're only 33 ounces?  I've already gotten a reply from Breyers.  They're so unhappy that I'm unhappy. They're going to send me a coupon.  But this is just the tip of the iceberg, it seems to be true of just about everything sold in this country.
  

Here's something fun: The Tone Matrix.

An ingenious French anti-ronflement (anti-snoring) solution?

Hasta la próxima, amigos.

Home...Again

Monday night (wow, has it been a week already?), after we got home and dragged our bags up to the apartment, we attempted to drive to the store to get milk and stuff.  The car was dead.  Our neighbor who had agreed to start it at least once a week, forgot to do it.  Tuesday I called for the Smart roadside assistance.  Because it has only been a little over a year, it's covered by warranty and it cost me nothing.  The guy came and got it started, after I showed him where the battery was located.  Forget normal cars.  In the Smart Car, the battery is under the carpet on the passenger's side of the car. Talk about a pain in the butt.  There are so many things to love about the Smart that you've got to shake your head in wonder at how they could have ever come up with such a stupid idea.  I drove it for about an hour and a half, but as soon as I turned it off, it was totally dead.

Wednesday, I called roadside service again, and they came with a tow truck, got the car and took it to the dealer who put in a new battery.  All at no cost.  However, they did rip us off big time for an oil change and rotation of the tires.  I couldn't believe they charged us $35 for one (count it - ONE) quart of oil. The total bill, which did not include the towing or the battery, was over a hundred dollars.  I'll never change the oil there again.  But in Florida, as in most of the US, you must have a car.  As much as I love riding the trams and buses and métros in Europe, I really miss being able to get into my car at my convenience to go, or return from, wherever I want.

It seems so strange to be back to our normal life.  One of the things which takes a lot of re-adjustment for us, is the never ending number of commercials on American televison shows.  This was driven home when I attempted to watch a football game on Sunday (an hour early because we hadn't set the clocks back).  Thankfully, we don't watch that much TV, but it's so annoying for those few times we do.  You would think American businesses would have figured out by now, that almost no one actually sits there glued to their TV screen during their (usually) obnoxious advertisements.  It just seems like a hell of a waste of time and money to me, or do they really gain or lose sales this way?

Turtles could hold the secret to human immortality.

Hasta la próxima, amigos. 

Paris 2010-End

29 Octobre (Vendredi) - We were already late when we left the apartment, so when we saw that the bus wasn't going to arrive for another half hour, we grabbed a taxi. On our way to Avenue de l'Opéra and rue du 4 Septembre, we of course, passed one of my favorite "sculptures".  Although all of them have the correct time at least twice a day, none had the correct time as we passed.

Because we had taken a taxi, we were more than half an hour early for our meeting with FWAB (Frog With A Blog) in front of the BNP on the corner. We wandered about until the appointed time, noting there were at least three BNP buildings in the same area.

FWAB was on his lunch break.  He took us to a great restaurant, Le Zinc d'Honoré, on the Place du Marché Saint-Honoré.  I wasn't planning to eat anything, but then the waiter mentioned cassoulet and, well....  We had a very nice lunch and a very nice chat, and then FWAB had to get back to work.  We wandered around the area a while longer.  All around the square containing this huge building, that I think is full of artist's ateliers, are a bazillian restaurants and a few clothing stores. 

We walked over to Avenue de l'Opéra and caught the 68 Bus to rue du Bac, passing these interesting sites; a beautiful fountain near Place Collette, l'Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, the section of the Louvre through which traffic flows (and where Robb got lost the other day), la Seine et Pont Royal and the representation of the City of Paris.  We walked down to rue de Grenelle to the Musée Maillol, where we saw Trésor des Médicis.  It was a great exhibit, but rather crowded.

Checking out the area after the show, we came across this fountain, this antique store and a boulangerie.  Then we walked over to Boulevard Raspail and caught the 83 Bus to Place d'Italie and Italie2..  It's a good thing Robb bought a large suitcase, because the two bulky sweaters he bought at Jules will take up a lot of space.

Dinner at Pizza Trionfo.  We had the lasagna bolognaise.  I couldn't eat all of mine and, again brought it home.

30 Octobre (Samedi) - Oh, I forgot.  Thursday, when we were changing trains at the Concorde station, we came across a group of buskers that I've seen on many videos, but had never had the pleasure to see and hear in person.  Of course, I had to make a short video.

We thought today we would pop over to the 13é and visit Aimee at her tea house, L'Oisive Thé.  We rode the very crowded Ligne 6 to Place d'Italie, walked down rue de Bobillot to rue de la Butte aux Cailles.  As has been our luck the last couple of times we tried, Aimee was not in today.  Since we were there anyway, we had a pot of Thé Vert Amande (Almond flavored green tea).  It was excellent.

After our nice, warming tea, we caught the 57 Bus, past Gare de Lyon, to Nation where we got the Ligne 6 métro back home.  I shot another picture of l'Arc de Triomphe, but this time with the lighted Tour Eiffel in the background.

Robb wanted to eat at Chez Gabrielle, but she flat-out lied to us and said she was full.  So we ate again at Pizza Trionfo, which was fine with me because I really like the place, the owner and the food.

31 Octobre (Dimanche) - It most definitely does not seem like we've been in Europe for three months already.  Not only that, but tonight they're turning the clocks back an hour.

It's about 13h30 and I've packed everything that can be packed.  Surprisingly, I got it all in the one suitcase.  I'm not sure how I did that.  Of course, picking it up now will be the problem.

Jean-Michel called and arranged to meet around 17h00 to give back our deposit check and reimburse us for the money we spent to have the washer fixed.

We had our last Parisian dinner at the Hippopotamus.  You smirk, but it was quite good.  Since they will be turning back the clocks tonight, we ate earlier than usual.  Also, because we have to be up at the crack of dawn to get to the airport around 08h00.

1 Novembre (Lundi) - Up at 07h00.  Jean-Michel had arranged for a taxi to pick us up at 08h00 and whisk us off to Aeroport Charles de Gaulle.  I was bringing down the last of the bags when he arrived.  Because Monday was a holiday celebrated by the French (Toussaint), traffic was extremely light and we made excellent time.


We were flying American Airlines and it was the very last check-in counter in the airport.  But we had no trouble and were directed to the self-serve machines for online ticket buyers.


When we arrived in Dallas, ten hours plus later, it was all I could do to get off the plane.  Luckily for me, one of the airport security people noticed the trouble I was having and arranged for a wheelchair.  One of the problems with landing in Dallas-Fort Worth is that you have to do the whole customs thing.  Meaning, you have to check in with passport control, pick-up your bags and go through customs.  Because I was in a wheelchair, I was treated as special, and I have to say I really enjoyed it.  We just whizzed through the whole process in a few minutes and were on our way to the boarding gate.  Of course, the plane wouldn't leave for another four and a half hours.


With about forty-five minutes to go until they started boarding, Robb ran off to the men's room.  He'd only been gone a couple minutes, when I overheard one of the staff tell someone that the gate had been changed from A35 to A21.  No announcement was made.  If I hadn't overheard their conversation, I would not have known.  I went over to the men's room to alert Robb.  As I was about to go in, I overheard a 'guy' with a wheelchair ask another staff member if he would like a ride.  I said, "I would certainly like that."  I told 'him' of my problem and 'he' offered to take me in the chair.  However, when we got to gate A21, we were told it was now gate C43.  That meant we had to take the Rail Link (an elevated tram) to Terminal C.  We barely made it in time.  Just before we left, I discovered that the 'guy', whose name I thought was Bill, was actually a woman named Marilyn.


I thought the flight to Fort Lauderdale would never end.  My legs were cramping up like crazy and I was in a middle seat.  Robb and I were in different rows on different sides of the plane.  Once off the plane, my legs were fine.  Again, a staff member saw the trouble I was having and called for a wheelchair.  I coudln't believe that all the stewardesses actually stood with us until the guy (really this time) with the chair showed up.  A few minutes later, we were in a taxi on the way home.

You can see all the Paris pictures here: Paris 2010 

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Paris 2010-7

25 Octobre (Lundi) - Started with a trip to G-20 for a few essentials and some chocolate.  All of a sudden I have this craving for chocolate.  Wonder where that came from?

Then, we bundled up and hopped the métro to Italie2 in the 13é.  I love riding the Ligne 6 métro  (be sure to scroll to the bottom for some very good pictures) because a lot of it is above ground.  Of course, my favorite part is when it passes la Tour Eiffel and la Seine.  Fantastic views of both!  This has been a strange Paris visit, because I am alternately loving and hating it.  A lot of the hate is caused by the very cold weather, of course.

In Italie2, we came across Celio, and since everyone was staring at my Dolphin cap, I bought a cap that looked really nice and even has a 'bill'. Unfortunately, when I got out into the cold, the wind just whipped through it like I was wearing nothing. Drat, I HATE the cold, and especially the windy cold!  Robb bought another suitcase similar to mine with four wheels.  The guy who invented them is most definitely a genius.  Now, if only they came in a size just a little larger.

Because of the suitcase, we took a taxi back.  During the ride we saw these signs, the Panthéon, Notre Dame, the Louvre the statue represents the city of Marseille.  We also saw they are working on the Louvre, but I couldn't get a good picture from our side of the Seine.
      

Dinner tonight at Chez Clément, the site of our first meal in Paris this trip.  The staff was much more friendly this time.  In fact, the guy who gave us a hard time before, was nowhere to be seen.  My dinner consisted of Crème de champignons "Maison" (a really great mushroom soup), Travers de porc au miel et épices, pommes Pont-Neuf (I found the description of the French fries quite funny and the pork was ribs which I would not have ordered had I known, even though they were also very good).  Coupe Mont-Blanc was the dessert and it is an ice cream sundae with chestnut sauce. Robb's dinner started with Salades fraîches de saison (salad with cabbage and jicama).  He then had Noix de Saint-Jacques, légumes oubliés (scallops and forgotten veggies - which were forgotten because we didn't recognize most of them).  His dessert was Tarte Tatin à l'envers et sa crème fraîche d'Isigny (an apple tart with créme fraîche which is sort of like whipped cream but not).

26 Octobre (Mardi) - Walked to the 30 Bus stop.  Just acoss the street was a pharmacie, so we went over and I bought a package of PepcidDuo.  Then back to the bus stop.  We rode the 30 Bus to the Trocadero to check out the Architecture Museum.  I knew it would be closed today, but I wasn't exactly certain where it was located or how to enter.  We both saw it as soon as we got off the bus and walked to the corner.  There are several other things in the Palais de Chaillot (commonly called the Trocadero, but the Trocadero is actually the name of the area, not the building) and there is a ticket office there which was open.  I asked the guy there how to get to the Architucture Museum and he obliged with the information I needed.  We're not sure yet, if we're going tomorrow or Thursday.

After getting my information, we went out and walked a little.  I took the obligatory pictures: the golden statues with a view of la Tour Eiffel, Apollon Musagète (Apollo), and a picture of some of the knock-off copies being sold by the blacks.

We caught the bus back and stopped into Brasserie l'Étoile for a café.

Dinner at Thai Siam on Avenue Wagram. It's a very prettily decorated place, as are most oriental restaurants. We wanted to sit at one of the window tables, but after only a couple minutes, we became aware of why we were the only ones sitting in that area. It was freezing and actually felt like they had the air conditioning on. We moved to an inside table. My dinner began with Ho Mok Pla (steamed fish in a white curry sauce). Robb had Pet Yang (roasted duck with veggies). We drank Pinot Noir d'Alsace, which was listed as a rosé, but was red. For dessert, we both had the Beignet de Banane (flambé bananas), we didn't like it.


Upon leaving, I took a picture of l'Arc de Triomphe at night.

27 Octobre (Mercredi) - Woke up to no hot water this morning. The water heater is one of those that only heats the water as you use it. It's another love-hate relationship. I love the way it saves on electricity, but so far, I've never seen one that heats enough water for a full shower. Ours works on gas, so apparently the gas had been turned off for some reason. 

Around 14h15, while Robb was out getting bread, a repairman came to check the gas in the apartment. All was well and he left. I tried the water, but it wasn't heating. That meant it had to be reset. I called Jean-Michel and he told me how to do it, so now we have hot water again.


When Robb returned, we walked down and got the 30 Bus to the Trocadero and Palais de Chaillot, with the intention of checking out La Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine (the City of Architecture and Heritage). "Mais au'jourdhui il est fermée" (but today it is closed). We asked but no one has any idea when it will re-open. So we came out and I took a couple photos, statue of Foch and a couple of buildings on Avenue du President Wilson.


Since we couldn't do that, we thought we would go back, get the métro and check out the Louvre. We haven't been there in ages.


The first problem was we got off at the Louvre-Rivoli station, from which we used to be able to enter the Louvre. No longer, but I did get an example of how Paris is changing (and not for the better). This copy of an ancient relief has been in this station since before our first visit and had suffered no damage.  How sick must one be to do this kind of damage?


 We climbed the steps to the sidewalk and started to the museum, when I detoured to get a photo of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois. When the Louvre was still a royal palace, this was the royal church. Just around the corner, on rue de Rivoli, is l'Église Réformée de l'Oratoire du Louvre. A little further down the street is the Conseil d'Etat (Council of State) and the Hôtel du Louvre.

It was only minutes later that everything went to hell and Robb managed to get himself lost. He says one of those supposedly deaf people accosted him and he lost sight of me. I guess I need to explain that Robb never walks beside me, he always walks a couple of steps behind. And, of course, when he gets lost, he never stops, he continues to wander around, so I would have to get really lucky to find him, especially in a crowd like there was today in that area. I waited for quite awhile until it became obvious he wasn't going to show up and took the métro home, where I found him waiting. He had taken a taxi.

Dinner at Lacombe. We both had the duck with winter fruit and pureed potatoes. It was very good. Dessert was disappointing for me. I had what they called 'carrot cake'. It wasn't like any I've ever had before. I'm not really sure what Robb had. It looked a little like a macaron, but wasn't.

28 Octobre (Jeudi) - Robb had an early meeting with his BNP representative, so we were up bright and early. The reason for the early meeting was because there was another retirement demonstration scheduled for around noon. We took the 43 Bus to Gare St-Lazarre where we got the 81 Bus to Opéra. We saw no grève, but I was surprised to see construction on the Opéra, and there were police vehicles filled with policeman all up and down the boulevard. We stopped at the American Bistro for a cafe and watched as they pulled into position. By the time we left, there was still no demonstration, but it had screwed up the bus service.


We decided to walk up to Galeries Lafayette, where just beyond it, I saw another of those temporary buildings. I'm still not sure what they are but they seem to have something to do with construction of some sort. We left Galeries Lafayette and walked up to Trinité, because I thought maybe we could get the 43 Bus back to the apartment. Then we decided, instead, to take the Ligne 12 métro to Concorde where we could get the Ligne 1 métro to Saint Paul.


 We were walking past Saint Paul, but detoured to have our first look inside. It was very nice, but looked like most of the other churches we've seen in the past three months. We continued to Fontaine Sully where we were greeted warmly by the owner. We sat at a table by the window from which we had this view.

We left Fontaine Sully, caught the 76 Bus to BHV, walked through to BHV Homme, bought nothing again and finally walked to Les Marrionners where we would meet Rhino75. We were an hour early because we thought the place would be full, but it wasn't. Steve showed up and we chatted for an hour or so.


We were going to hang out and go back to Fontaine Sully for dinner because they were having tartiflette, but I was just too knackered, so we caught the métro home.


You can see all the Paris pictures here: Paris 2010  

À la prochaine, mes amis.