Paris 2008 - 4 Juin

Mercredi -

The original plan was to make yet another trip to the bank for some ridiculous something, but overnight, I managed to talk Robb into forgetting the whole idea. I mean, it would be nice to have a French bank account, but not when we have to put up €8.000 that we can never access without replacing it immediately. We don't have $12,000 that we can just give to a bank. It rankled me to the core to even think of doing that, and Robb finally woke up to the stupidity of it also. Of course, stopping the process is almost as difficult as starting it, so we most likely haven't seen the end of it, yet. We're still waiting for a call from the person with whom he dealt at the bank.

In the meantime, we needed to go to Place d'Italie and Italie2 to pick up Robb's pants from Armand Thierry. Then I had an idea; I've been wanting to go to the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle for some time, why don't we go there first and then go pick up the stuff at Armand Thierry? A brilliant plan if I do say so myself.

I even came up with a new way to get there. Instead of taking the 69 to Gare d'Austerlitz, we could take the 56 to Nation, a section of the city to which we've never yet been except on the métro. Great idea! Nation is rather nice. More so than I was expecting for some reason. After we arrived there, I took these three shots of the area: 1, 2, 3. At Nation, we caught the 57 to Gare d'Austerlitz and the museum.

We entered, paid our six euros and proceeded to look around. There were bones everywhere, even on the walls above the display cases, as well as on the floor. The stuff on the floor was cordoned off and watching some of the too-young-to-be-there kids, I could easily understand why they had done that. I think it's totally admirable for parents to want to take their children to educational places like the museum, but I think it would make a lot more sense if they waited until the kids were old enough to have a clue as to what they were seeing. Many of the kids thought it was just a cool playground, and I'm certain that tomorrow, they will have no remembrance of where they were or what they saw.

The first floor, starts off with an excellent argument for evolution, although it was somewhat obvious in their display that a link or two might have been missing. Most of the stuff on the first floor was primates (including man), four-legged animals and fishes and whales. We walked up the stairs to a mezzanine where I took the pictures, somewhat hesitantly, because I had asked if it was okay to take pictures and the attendant said it was if you do not use a flash. I took the first picture and there was no flash, so I figured I was good to go.

While the first floor was quite interesting, the second floor was more to my liking. Dinosaurs! They had a full skeleton of a Brontosaurus and even the head of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Wow! Those were the biggies for me, but there was a lot of lesser sized critters filling the room, including some not-so-small mastodons. There was a guy on a ladder cleaning one of the skeletons. That was interesting because it never occured to me that they ever needed cleaning, but after seeing him at work, I began to notice that some of the skeletons were a bit "dusty". I took my first picture, and wouldn't you know the flash came on. Well, we had seen pretty much all there was to see, so I took a chance and took the second picture. If anyone noticed, they said nothing.

I have to admit, as much as I liked it, I was disappointed. I had seen pictures in which they had whole dinosaurs, mastodons, sabre-toothed tigers and much more. I saw none of that today. Maybe it had been a special display. Still, it was easily worth the pricce of admission and I'm glad we went.

Then, it was off to Italie2. Robb collected his jeans from Armand Thierry, was very satisfied with the alterations and bought a light jacket, though I'm beginning to wonder if he'll ever get to use it. The weather has been very much on the cool side (according to some, it's downright cold to me). I can't believe it's this cold on 4 Juin. It feels like it should be mid-February or something.

We wandered over to Chez Jules for lunch. I had an Omelette Mixte, Robb had a steak filet. We drank Sancerre.

After lunch, it was back to Italie2 because Robb decided he needed pants with which to wear his new jacket. While he was doing that, I bought yet another man-bag. A larger one because I seem to be carrying more and more stuff with me whenever we go out. With the crazy weather here, I'm afraid to go out without a scarf, my hat and an umbrella. Then there is my camera and all the métro/bus plans and my copy of Paris Practique. Robb was complaining that the original man-bag I had bought and given to him, was too small, so I gave him the second one. Now we have one that will never be used.

Part of the plan for the day had been to bring all our purchases back to the apartment, get some rest (me) and then go to MK2 to see Sex and the City with dinner at L'Avenue afterward. It never happened. By the time we got back to the apartment, it was after 19h00. I laid down to take an hour nap, that lasted until about 20h30, which meant there was no way we could make the movie. Ah well, maybe tomorrow, after the laundry is done. Finally. I hope.

Plus à venir, mes amis.

Paris 2008 - 30 Mai

Vendredi - We started to make a special trip the the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, but Robb wanted to go to a bank to open an account. We walked down rue Maillard which becomes rue Mercoeur, to Boulevard Voltaire. Over Blvd Voltaire, past rue de Charonne to the BNP Paribas. Again we had to go through two doors. The second door does not open until the first door closes behind you (it's the same on the way out).

BNP Paribas is a strange bank. All the executive offices are on the first floor and the main banking takes place on the second floor. I'm chalking that up to being typically French. If there's a more complicated way to do things, they will find it and utilize it at evey opportunity. Mostly, it's amusing but I can understand how, for some people, it could be a huge pain in the ass.

BNP Paribas, as expected, told Robb there was no way he could open an account in Paris, or France for that matter. That's probably not true for a couple of reasons. First is the complication factor. Second is the fact that when a French clerk tells you it can't be done, it's impossible or just 'no', that is just the beginning of the conversation. But, Robb being the non-confrontational person that he is, will always say "okay" and consider the conversation over.

So we left the bank. It was too late to go to the museum and too late to have lunch at the tearoom. I suggested we could go to Monoprix and see what kind of luggage they might have. We found no luaggage at all, but did buy a bottle of cologne each. Considering the problems I'm having with umbrellas, I considered buying one I saw there because the one I just bought to replace the one I had bought in Toulouse, is already about to become garbage. I'd bet there's no more than another day or two of functionality, at most. We are used to things being made with built-in obsolescence in the US, but I expected more in France. I guess it just goes to show how much France is being Americanized.

We left Monoprix and wandered around the area for a while. We saw the police checking some guy's ID. There were three policemen but one of them was busy talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone. Then, I thought I saw a sundry shop down the street and we checked but it was just the sidewalk tables in front of a resto. We walked back to the apartment. I was again near exhaustion and took a nap for a couple of hours.

Around nine-ish, we walked down and got the bus to Place d'Italie. A person who read my Blogger blog, left a restaurant recommendation and we thought we might try it. It is Chez Gladines at 30 rue des Cinq Diamants in the 13éme, just a couple blocks off Boulevard Auguste Blanqui. From two blocks away, we could see that a crowd was collected outside the place. There was another resto across the street and that, too, had a crowd waiting to get in. Now, while that usually means the resto is good (or cheap), it also means that we probably won't be going there, because there are far too many good restaurants to wait to get into one.

We turned around and back-tracked. On the way to Chez Gladines, we had passed several likely looking places. We first stopped at a creperie, but decided against it since that was all they offered. We found a place right on the corner of rue des Cinq Diamants and Boulevard Auguste Blanqui, called Jardin d'Italie. There was an available table right next to the window and I had my eye on that, but the waiter suggested that we might be just a bit snug there between the tables on either side that were already occupied. He was right and we chose a table which still permitted us the view of the street that we (I) desired. I found the decor of the place to be fascinating. There was almost no square inch of the place that had not been painted with 'something', flowers, or leaves or abstract things. We began with pâté de compagne, that came with the crispiest, tastiest pickles I've ever had. Because of their deliciousness, they kind put the pâté on the back burner. I followed that with spaghetti bolognaise and Robb had veal marsala. The spaghetti was great with just enough spiciness to make itself known but not feel like your mouth is on fire. Robb,on the other hand, felt that his veal was not a good cut even though it was tasty. We partook of dessert. Mine was "three scoops of ice cream" (it was written in English). I chose vanille, café and pastachio. Robb had something they called "Kilmanjaro". I'm not sure what it was, but it appeared to be a rounded cake surrounded with chocolate sauce with whipped cream on top and a few dollops around the plate. Finished with café.

We had thought that we would take a taxi back to the apartment, but I was feeling up to taking the bus, so we walked back to Place d'Italie and caught the 57 to Gare d'Austerlitz. Unfortunately, I missed our stop and we ended up somewhere near Gare de Lyon. From previous experience, I knew there was a bus stop nearby, so we walked over there. After we arrived and were awaiting the 61, I discovered that we could have stayed on the 57 and it would have brought us to the same place. Okay, information for another time. Also, I forgot that since it was the weekend, the buses run until 01h00 or 02h00, I thnk. I know the métro runs later on the weekend.

Plus à venir, mes amis.

Paris 2008 - 19 Mai

19 Mai - It was borderline freezing today. But we went out anyway.

A few days ago, on our way to the tea house, I saw a suitcase at a little store. I thought about buying it because of a few reasons; I wanted it, I could afford it, it would certainly stand out in the luggage racks (it's orange) and it appears we're going to need another piece of luggage to get all the stuff we're buying back home.

So today we went back to get it. Of course, it was gone and the guy had no more.

Then we tried Tati. They had a bunch of nice suitcases, but nothing like the one I wanted. After Tati, we walked down to another little store I know on Avenue d'Italie. They had one I might have bought if they had had the size I wanted, but it was a no go.

So we hopped on the bus back to the apartment, but when we got to the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, we decided we had passed by it long enough, it was time to go in. So I pushed open the door to enter and was greeted by a young girl who informed me the the museum was "fermer". It wasn't a total loss though because while wandering around the grounds, I saw this guy and then got a shot of some interesting detail on the side of the building.

On the way home on the bus, I got this shot of one of the columns holding up the metro tracks that ran alongside the street. I think there were eight of them in all.

Yesterday, Robb did some light laundry. This is how it is dried since there is no drier. When we were looking for an apartment, one of the critereria of our search was laundry equipment in the apartment. Well, there is a washer in this place but about the only thing it will hold is a few pairs of socks or maybe a couple T-shirts. Ha ha, the joke's on us. I took a picture of the washer with my coffee cup on top for scale.

It's almost 01h00 and it feels a bit warmer. The temp tomorrow (today) should be near 19C which is around 62F. Not hot, but not really cold.

Plus à venir, mes amis.

Paris 2008 - 16 Mai

16 Mai - I slept pretty good, though Robb woke me about midway through "my night". I didn't get to bed until nearly 03h00 (or 3 AM to you guys). I know, I couldn't believe it either when I looked at the clock, and now it's about 01h00, so it could be another late night.

Robb wanted to go to l'Oisive Thé today, so we bundled up and took off. The weather has taken a slight downturn, although it's still a lot better than when we arrived. But we've learned to take some simple precautions....just in case. We took the bus to the Gare d'Austerlitz stop, which is really just in front of the Jardin des Plantes. Normally, we walk around it to the next bus stop, but today I decided to walk through because I saw a sculpture of a dinosaur,and I have a thing for them. Just a few feet from the dinosaur was a sculpture of a mammoth. Also at the Jardin des Plantes, is the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle. I've been wanting to go there for many years, so I think this might be the year. And soon, if I have my druthers.

We had another lovely afternoon at Aimee's teahouse. Then we walked up to Italie2 where we went to Tati again and bought a bunch of stuff. We then caught the bus(es) back to the apartment area. But I wanted to check out the local sundry store. I bought a clamp-on lamp because we really need another light in the living room. Robb bought some very nice champagne flutes. The lamp definitely adds much needed illumination.

Back at the apartment, Robb prepared some stinky cheese which we accompanied with some very expensive champagne (hey, it cost almost €6). Okay, it's not really champagne, but it is a very nice sparkling wine. Considering the price, it was a great bargain and I would recommend it if you ever come to Paris and want to drink well but at the same time save a couple of euros.

It was then decided that we would finally go back to the area of Avenue de Choisy for dinner. We discovered that riding the bus well after rush hour has many advantages, not the least of which is the diminished number of people riding at that late hour. We got off at Place d'Italie and walked down to rue de Tolbiac. The wind picked up a bit and it was rather cold. Robb had worn a light jacket and he was about to freeze. Luckily, we didn't have much further to go. We turned onto rue de Tolbiac and walked down to Avenue de Choisy. Right on the corner, is a great restaurant to which we have gone many times, Le Mandarin de Choisy. I tried to get a shot from our table, I don't think it came out too well.

Because of the chill in the air, we started with a wonderful asparagus soup. Our main course was scallops deep-fried in a fantastic batter and dipped in a lovely duck sauce. Words cannot convey the splendorific taste! We shared a bottle of Sancerre. We opted for desert and each had a wonderful ice cream concoction. Mine was called something Saison and Robb's was Menthe (mint). And, of course, café to end it. The wait staff must be noted because they were so friendly and attentive and helpful. I called one of them over and asked if I could keep my chop sticks. He left and returned with two pair for each of us. WOW! At one point, we thought we were going to be the last ones in the resto, but shortly before midnight, a huge number of local people started showing up and the place became quite lively.

We were going to take the bus back, but Robb decided he couldn't cope with that and had the waiter call a taxi.

Plus à venir, mes amis.