13 Juillet (Dimanche) - Dinner at Au Cadran Voltaire. There was some poor guy there who had drunk a bit too much and fell asleep. The waiter tried to get him up but had no luck. It wasn't long before the security guy was there rousting him out of his slumber. Who would have thought they actually have security people at a restaurant?
14 Juillet (Lundi) - I am so pissed at this city right now. We could not get to the Invalides for the party with our new friends last night. Both the buses we needed were not running. The two taxi stands in our area were closed because of a music thing they were having at Place Léon Blum and the ones we tried to hail on the street wouldn't even think of stopping. On top of that, our €55 passes would not work in the métro. To say I was upset is putting it EXTREMELY mildly.
Around ten-ish, we decided that we could either hang out at the apartment stewing in our own juices, or we could bop on down to Place Léon Blum and check out the festivities there. We walked down, got ourselves a table at Au Cadran Voltaire, ordered deux bieres and set back to take it all in. There was some kind of music thing going on that was either presented or, sponsored, by MTV. I'm not sure which but there were MTV signs in front of the stage area. They played a lot of old stuff (like Respect by Aretha and We Are Family by Sister Sledge, for example) plus some new stuff and a few French things that I recognized.
It wasn't the way we had planned to observe the celebration of le Quatorze, but it was the best we could do under the circumstances. If the situation had been different, it would have been much more enjoyable.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
Showing posts with label Place Léon Blum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Place Léon Blum. Show all posts
Friday, July 18, 2008
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Paris 2008 - 1 Juillet
Mardi - We started by going to the Marché for some fundamental things, which of course, includes champagne and cheese. After carting it all back to the apartment and putting it away, we went down to the bus stop and caught the 69 to Pére Lachaise because I wanted to go to the pharmacie there.
A strange thing has been happening since I reported that I could buy my medicine with no prescription. Apparently, it's not true. I've been to at least a half-dozen pharmacies in the attempt to buy it and they have all turned me away for lack of a prescription. That had me wondering how and why the one guy sold it to me so easily. So to find out what was going on, we went back to that pharmacie. The guy with whom I did business the first time was not there, and the guy who waited on me asked for a prescription. I told him that I had bought the medicine there a couple weeks ago without one and that started a general conversation between the other three people working there. It was finally decided that they would sell me another, but they put my name into their computer. I'm not certain if that was for the next time I try to buy the medicine, or if it's just something to cover their butts. It doesn't really matter becuse now I have enough to last until after I get home at the end of the month.
We walked out of the pharmacie just in time to catch the bus. Neither of us wanted to go right back to the apartment, so we stayed on the bus (during which we passed a group shooting a TV commercial as we passed Place Léon Blum) until it got to rue de Rivoli. We walked down rue de Rivoli for a while and then walked up to rue des Archives to les Marroniers We got a nice table that was technically inside, but for all intent was on the café terrasse. We ordered a couple of beers and sat back to enjoy people watching. The bar and the area were quite crowded. We sat there until after 19h00, then left to get the 75 bus right outside the door.
Before the bus came, Robb decided he wanted to go to BHV Homme, right around the corner, to see if he could get a pink T-shirt, which apparently is all the rage right now. He first found a hat that he liked. He put it on and asked a couple of strangers what they thought of it. It turned out that the "strangers" were two gay guys who have been together for about a year. We sort of bonded after they asked how long we've been together. Their names are Ashan and Enias. One is Swedish and the other is French, but we're not sure which was which since they were speaking English. They wanted a picture of us and we of they, so we had one of the salesgirls take a picture, first with their camera, and then with mine.
We said our goodbyes and Robb continued his search for a pink T-shirt. He found one he thought he loved until he got home and tried it on. It's a V-neck and it doesn't quite fit right. We're hoping "it will ride up with wear". Is anyone familiar with that phrase? Think: Mr. Humphries.
We hopped onto the 75 and rode to Place de la Republique where we just sort of wandered about for a while. I saw a little manége and couldn't resist shooting a short video.
After, it was the 56 to Place Léon Blum, then the 69 to our stop and home, where we crashed for a couple hours.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
A strange thing has been happening since I reported that I could buy my medicine with no prescription. Apparently, it's not true. I've been to at least a half-dozen pharmacies in the attempt to buy it and they have all turned me away for lack of a prescription. That had me wondering how and why the one guy sold it to me so easily. So to find out what was going on, we went back to that pharmacie. The guy with whom I did business the first time was not there, and the guy who waited on me asked for a prescription. I told him that I had bought the medicine there a couple weeks ago without one and that started a general conversation between the other three people working there. It was finally decided that they would sell me another, but they put my name into their computer. I'm not certain if that was for the next time I try to buy the medicine, or if it's just something to cover their butts. It doesn't really matter becuse now I have enough to last until after I get home at the end of the month.
We walked out of the pharmacie just in time to catch the bus. Neither of us wanted to go right back to the apartment, so we stayed on the bus (during which we passed a group shooting a TV commercial as we passed Place Léon Blum) until it got to rue de Rivoli. We walked down rue de Rivoli for a while and then walked up to rue des Archives to les Marroniers We got a nice table that was technically inside, but for all intent was on the café terrasse. We ordered a couple of beers and sat back to enjoy people watching. The bar and the area were quite crowded. We sat there until after 19h00, then left to get the 75 bus right outside the door.
Before the bus came, Robb decided he wanted to go to BHV Homme, right around the corner, to see if he could get a pink T-shirt, which apparently is all the rage right now. He first found a hat that he liked. He put it on and asked a couple of strangers what they thought of it. It turned out that the "strangers" were two gay guys who have been together for about a year. We sort of bonded after they asked how long we've been together. Their names are Ashan and Enias. One is Swedish and the other is French, but we're not sure which was which since they were speaking English. They wanted a picture of us and we of they, so we had one of the salesgirls take a picture, first with their camera, and then with mine.
We said our goodbyes and Robb continued his search for a pink T-shirt. He found one he thought he loved until he got home and tried it on. It's a V-neck and it doesn't quite fit right. We're hoping "it will ride up with wear". Is anyone familiar with that phrase? Think: Mr. Humphries.
We hopped onto the 75 and rode to Place de la Republique where we just sort of wandered about for a while. I saw a little manége and couldn't resist shooting a short video.
After, it was the 56 to Place Léon Blum, then the 69 to our stop and home, where we crashed for a couple hours.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Paris 2008 - 29 Juin
Dimanche - Laid around the apartment all day. Around 21h00, we went down to Place Léon Blum and Au Cadran Voltaire for dinner. We sat at a table that was, for all intent and purpose, on the café terrasse even though it was technically inside. We got to see Italy win the EuroCup 2008, though at the time I had no idea who was playing, nor the importance of the game.
About the same time as we got our meal, three black guys came and sat at the table behind Robb. He hadn't seen them come in, but it was only moments before he was complaining about the smell. It's true, almost every time one is anywhere close to a black person over here, one is overwhelmed by the stink. Of course, it's not just black people. One day on the bus, a cute guy came and stood next to me. Then he raised his arm to hold onto the overhead rail. Oye, such a stink. Strangely enough, most of the French people aren't offended by it and probably don't even notice it.
Later, I used my new video tool to do a short video of the Place and a bit of the restaurant from our table.
A few things I really don't like about being in France. First and foremost, having to wait for a bus or walking down to the metro instead of getting into my car and driving to my destination. That isn't a major problem at this time of year, but I don't even want to think about having to do it in the winter. Secondly, the inability to communicate and be understood easily. If you don't have a good grasp of the language, and don't understand the colloquialisms, you miss so much and feel like an outsider all the time. Thirdly, the "stink factor". Especially at this time of year on the bus or on the métro. And finally, having to watch where I walk.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
About the same time as we got our meal, three black guys came and sat at the table behind Robb. He hadn't seen them come in, but it was only moments before he was complaining about the smell. It's true, almost every time one is anywhere close to a black person over here, one is overwhelmed by the stink. Of course, it's not just black people. One day on the bus, a cute guy came and stood next to me. Then he raised his arm to hold onto the overhead rail. Oye, such a stink. Strangely enough, most of the French people aren't offended by it and probably don't even notice it.
Later, I used my new video tool to do a short video of the Place and a bit of the restaurant from our table.
A few things I really don't like about being in France. First and foremost, having to wait for a bus or walking down to the metro instead of getting into my car and driving to my destination. That isn't a major problem at this time of year, but I don't even want to think about having to do it in the winter. Secondly, the inability to communicate and be understood easily. If you don't have a good grasp of the language, and don't understand the colloquialisms, you miss so much and feel like an outsider all the time. Thirdly, the "stink factor". Especially at this time of year on the bus or on the métro. And finally, having to watch where I walk.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Paris 2008 - 13 Juin
Vendredi - Today, we did nothing. Robb went to the store, but other than that - nothing.
This evening, though, we went to a concert held at a place called Kiron Espace about two blocks down the street from the apartment. The Aurore Quartet was appearing in concert. And what a fantastic concert it was. They are a hundred times better in person than these videos. There were even a couple of surprise guests, although I'm not certain who they were. The first was a young boy (somewhere between twelve and fifteen) who appeared to be a bit retarded. He attempted a break-dancing routine at which he wasn't very good, but the audience was very generous and applauded him nicely. The second guest was another young person. A female of about the same age category, and we think she was the boy's sister. She however, was greatly talented and played jazz violin backed by the Quartet to very enthusiastic applause. If you somehow have the opportunity to see them in person, I urge you to go. If you like jazz-swing, you will not be disappointed.
There was an amusing incident before the concert. When it was our turn to get our tickets, they had nothing set aside for us. After a little explaining of how we had made the reservation, one of the girls went over to the main desk and found the book into which the information had been written. We got our tickets and stepped to the side, out of the way. Robb tried to take off his jacket and discovered that he had zipped it onto his scarf. We tried and tried to get it out but finally had to tear it out. It's just a little hole. No one will notice. Then they let us into the concert room. It was like a tiny theatre with seats that could have been a little larger, but the view of the "stage" was quite good. The thing I enjoyed most about the place was.....it was warm!
After the concert, we walked down to Place Léon Blum to find a place to eat. We considered Le Royal, but ended up at Le Rey again. This time it was quite crowded. A lot of people had come to watch the game on the big screen TVs. Robb started dinner with a HUGE salade of haricot vertes. For our main course, we both had Filet de Canard (duck) with the best-tasting potatoes I've ever had. We drank two pichets of red wine, skipped dessert since we had both eaten too much, and finished with café.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
This evening, though, we went to a concert held at a place called Kiron Espace about two blocks down the street from the apartment. The Aurore Quartet was appearing in concert. And what a fantastic concert it was. They are a hundred times better in person than these videos. There were even a couple of surprise guests, although I'm not certain who they were. The first was a young boy (somewhere between twelve and fifteen) who appeared to be a bit retarded. He attempted a break-dancing routine at which he wasn't very good, but the audience was very generous and applauded him nicely. The second guest was another young person. A female of about the same age category, and we think she was the boy's sister. She however, was greatly talented and played jazz violin backed by the Quartet to very enthusiastic applause. If you somehow have the opportunity to see them in person, I urge you to go. If you like jazz-swing, you will not be disappointed.
There was an amusing incident before the concert. When it was our turn to get our tickets, they had nothing set aside for us. After a little explaining of how we had made the reservation, one of the girls went over to the main desk and found the book into which the information had been written. We got our tickets and stepped to the side, out of the way. Robb tried to take off his jacket and discovered that he had zipped it onto his scarf. We tried and tried to get it out but finally had to tear it out. It's just a little hole. No one will notice. Then they let us into the concert room. It was like a tiny theatre with seats that could have been a little larger, but the view of the "stage" was quite good. The thing I enjoyed most about the place was.....it was warm!
After the concert, we walked down to Place Léon Blum to find a place to eat. We considered Le Royal, but ended up at Le Rey again. This time it was quite crowded. A lot of people had come to watch the game on the big screen TVs. Robb started dinner with a HUGE salade of haricot vertes. For our main course, we both had Filet de Canard (duck) with the best-tasting potatoes I've ever had. We drank two pichets of red wine, skipped dessert since we had both eaten too much, and finished with café.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Paris 2008 - 8 Juin
Dimanche - Got up around 13h00, still tired. I think it was a mistake to come to France for so long. Robb just cannot grasp the severity of my illness and it's getting really frustrating for both of us. I simply cannot go day after day. Even simple little things like walking down to Place Léon Blum and walking back, wears me out if I don't get sufficient rest. I think the best I can do is maybe two weeks, but then I need at least two days of down time. Robb can't understand that and thinks I'm just being lazy, which in turn, pisses me off.
He wants to go to Toulouse, then Montpelier followed by Barcelona. I want to do that also, but there's no way I'll be able to do it without a couple days of doing nothing.....no little walks, no trips to the store and certainly no major trips like the one he wants to make tomorrow to the bank.
The problem is further aggravated by the fact that he cannot find his way around without me, so I feel guilty if I don't go with him.
So anyway, I could sense that he was feeling antsy today and I knew we needed some staples plus the weather actually took a turn for the better, so I got myself ready and off we went to Place Léon Blum because that's the only place to find an open store on Sunday. We again went to the Cocci Market. Then, on the way back, I stopped at a patisserie and bought several items; two macarons, two apple tartes and two fantastic cookies with whole hazelnuts.
Of course, once we got back to the apartment, which took a while because I had to keep stopping to get my breath, I was pretty much wasted, so going out to eat tonight is out of the question. As luck would have it, we do have something in the fridge.
He wants to go to Toulouse, then Montpelier followed by Barcelona. I want to do that also, but there's no way I'll be able to do it without a couple days of doing nothing.....no little walks, no trips to the store and certainly no major trips like the one he wants to make tomorrow to the bank.
The problem is further aggravated by the fact that he cannot find his way around without me, so I feel guilty if I don't go with him.
So anyway, I could sense that he was feeling antsy today and I knew we needed some staples plus the weather actually took a turn for the better, so I got myself ready and off we went to Place Léon Blum because that's the only place to find an open store on Sunday. We again went to the Cocci Market. Then, on the way back, I stopped at a patisserie and bought several items; two macarons, two apple tartes and two fantastic cookies with whole hazelnuts.
Of course, once we got back to the apartment, which took a while because I had to keep stopping to get my breath, I was pretty much wasted, so going out to eat tonight is out of the question. As luck would have it, we do have something in the fridge.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Paris 2008 - 1 Juin
Dimanche - We needed a few things from the store today and since it's Sunday, that means we have to walk down to Place Léon Blum. Once we got there, Robb saw the pharmacie was having a sale on Elgydium toothpaste, buy one, get one free. This was not to be passed up. I tried Elgydium several years ago and didn't much care for it, but Robb loves it.
Then it was off to the little store down the street, Cocci Market. We got some stuff, but the main thing we wanted was not to be found.
We took our booty and started back to the apartment, but we came across a boucherie that was selling roasted chicken. We bought one and went home.
Around two-ish, Robb wanted to go to L'Oisive Thé. Going there is a two-bus affair, but nothing difficult....if you pay attention to what you're doing. Today, we did.
The tearoom was semi-crowded, but we found a nice table in the back near a window. We each ordered Le Coque; two soft-boiled eggs with bread and butter. The object is to break open the egg and scoop out the yolk with the bread. I know it doesn't sound all that tasty, but it was. We drank Earl Grey tea. We opted for a gateau citron for dessert.
After a while, Aimee's husband showed up with her son, Max. He's a cute kid. And very lively. He had his father and Aimee chasing after him the whole time he was there.
After leaving the tea room, we wandered around the area a bit. We discovered that the neat red buildling down the street is actually a swimming pool. And there were people in there splashing about. It made me pull my jacket tighter, just thinking of them in that water. Just a couple doors down was another neat looking building.
While we were walking to the bus stop, I snapped a picture of a guy wearing what appears to be the latest style here; skin-tight jeans. This guy didn't seem to have them as tight as most I've seen. They usually look like they were painted on the wearer. I don't know how they get into them. But more and more younger guys are wearing them. A few older guys, too. Trying to remain young, I suppose.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
Then it was off to the little store down the street, Cocci Market. We got some stuff, but the main thing we wanted was not to be found.
We took our booty and started back to the apartment, but we came across a boucherie that was selling roasted chicken. We bought one and went home.
Around two-ish, Robb wanted to go to L'Oisive Thé. Going there is a two-bus affair, but nothing difficult....if you pay attention to what you're doing. Today, we did.
The tearoom was semi-crowded, but we found a nice table in the back near a window. We each ordered Le Coque; two soft-boiled eggs with bread and butter. The object is to break open the egg and scoop out the yolk with the bread. I know it doesn't sound all that tasty, but it was. We drank Earl Grey tea. We opted for a gateau citron for dessert.
After a while, Aimee's husband showed up with her son, Max. He's a cute kid. And very lively. He had his father and Aimee chasing after him the whole time he was there.
After leaving the tea room, we wandered around the area a bit. We discovered that the neat red buildling down the street is actually a swimming pool. And there were people in there splashing about. It made me pull my jacket tighter, just thinking of them in that water. Just a couple doors down was another neat looking building.
While we were walking to the bus stop, I snapped a picture of a guy wearing what appears to be the latest style here; skin-tight jeans. This guy didn't seem to have them as tight as most I've seen. They usually look like they were painted on the wearer. I don't know how they get into them. But more and more younger guys are wearing them. A few older guys, too. Trying to remain young, I suppose.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Paris 2008 - 22 Mai
22 Mai (Jeudi) - Robb fell in love with the jacket I bought yesterday and decided he had to have one too, so we headed for the bus stop. When it came, I decided we should get off at Place Léon Blum and take the 56 to Place de la République. While we were waiting for it to show up, someone came and put up a notice about another damned manifestation. According to the notice, the manif would last from 13h00 to 18h30, during which time the bus service would be disrupted. A woman came along and saw the notice, but like we, she also noted that the bus had just driven past and it was well after 13h00, so we all just sat there and waited and hoped the bus would come by. Sure enough, it did. But when we got to Place de la République, we got to see the actual manif. The notice had said something about the police, but the people we saw demonstrating were blacks. Yesterday, we had seen a black guy handing out brochures, but he only gave them to black people, so I assumed and still believe, it was some kind of black thing. Of course, that meant the second bus we wanted to take would not be running.
We started walking in the general direction of our goal and finally came across the police manif. Then we had a choice. We could continue to walk or we could take the metro. I figured walking was the lesser of the two evils. Does anyone hear that annoying buzz? So off we went. I thought we were following the correct street, but somehow we missed a turn. We stopped at a shop because I was hoping to get another man-bag just a bit larger. They had one that I liked but I decided to shop around a bit more. We asked the salesgirl for directions to rue des Archives. She supplied the info and we set off again.
People in France, and Paris in particular, love their plants and they can be seen almost everywhere.
As soon as we got to the corner of rue des Archives, I recognized it immediately. We walked down to the clothing store where Robb got his jacket, which I like more than mine and, indeed, looked at yesterday but they didn't have it in my size, although I might have been able to get into one a size smaller which is the size Robb bought.
We left the store and walked down to rue de Rivoli and the sidewalk shops outside BHV, where Robb bought a scarf. I was going to get one also, but they didn't have the color I wanted.
We then walked down by l'Hotel de Ville. We were going to just walk past on our way to the Notre Dame area a couple of blocks away, but I saw they were having some kind of exhibit and I suggested we should see if we could get in. No problem. We approached the gate to the entrance and a guy handed us an information brochure and we walked in. Just after entering, we had to stop and let them search our stuff, which was a simple formality. We entered l'Hotel de Ville and began looking at the stuff. It was about a French Navy aircraft carrier, le Charles de Gaulle. It was a great exhibition. They actually built a mock-up of the carrier in one of the rooms and there was a big screen movie showing life aboard the vessel, including the diferent planes taking off and landing, the section in which the guys slept and lived when not on duty, the mess hall and of course, the operational areas. Except for the cute sailors, I think Robb was kind of bored but I loved it.
We left and headed over to the Notre Dame area because the tourist shops there are the least expensive place in town to get souvenirs. The shop to which we went had the kind of scarf I wanted in the color I wanted. Than just to make the deal irresistable, they offered three for the same price everybody else in town was asking for one.
We were both getting hungry, so we stopped at a cafe just around the corner. I had a ham and cheese sandwich; Robb had a salad.
After eating, we walked down to the Pont Neuf and got the bus back to the apartment.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Paris 2008 - 15 Mai
15 Mai - This is our NEW favorite French song by our NEW favorite French star:
We didn't really plan to do anything today except go to the store because we had run out of a few essentials (wine). We walked to Franprix, and the local pharmacie, got the things we wanted, plus a few that caught our fancy while we were there, and returned to the apartment. We are definitely thinking of buying one of those little carts with wheeels that people here use when they go shopping. I did think you might be interested in the parking situation in Paris. It is a major hassle and you can pay as much for a garage as for an apartment. Most people just take their chances finding a place on the street, and that's especially true in our working class neighborhood. There are some free spaces, but mostly they are areas in which you have to pay a parking fee. They don't have parking meters like you find in the US, they have one or two machines per block at which you make your payment. I think that's a much more viable method. Of course, that's just for those who own a car. Motorcyclists usually use this method.
We came back to the apartment, sat around for a while, had lunch which was a sandwich with ham, tomato and cheese we had just bought, then sat around some more. We were both getting a case of "cabin fever" after a while, so I suggested we go for a walk. Robb was more than ready for that also.
Before we really got started, we stopped at a shoe repair shop so Robb could check on the shoelaces because the ones he bought were a bit too short. The lady who waited on him was so very nice. She even put the laces in his shoes after he bought them.
My original idea was to walk down to Place Léon Blum, and then follow the bus route down rue Chemin Vert for a few blocks. Everytime we've taken the bus, I've seen a store on that rue that had nice leather jackets in the window, and I wanted to check it out. Of course, we ended up on the wrong street, but at the time I wasn't sure that it wouldn't turn into the street for which I was looking, so we just kept walking. It finally dawned on me that it was the wrong street, and I suggested we try one more street over. Sure enough, that was rue Chemin Vert. So we walked all the way down to Boulevard Richard Lenoir.
I couldn't believe we had walked so far, but then with the Colonne de Juillet staring me in the face, I couldn't deny the length of our journey. As we traversed Blvd Lenoir, we came across an office supply store. It was the famous Office Depot with which we're all familiar. There are several in the city. I have been looking for a refill for my pen in every place that sold pens that we've come across, but to no avail, so I figured why not try Office Depot, and sure enough, they had the one I needed. I bought a package of ten for about €3.
We continued down the boulevard to Place de la Bastille, where we came upon a flea-market-like thing that has been there since we first got here. We checked it out, stopping at an oriental booth, where I bought a couple of oriental jackets for €15. I tried to bargain them down to €10 and thought I had been successful until the guy handed me back €5 change for a €20 note. It was still a bargain. We passed one booth where they were selling incense. It smelled so good and I was hoping Robb would buy one, but he didn't.
Then, we made our way through the crowd to rue de la Roquette where we got the bus back to our area. I've told you before about the cool offer they have here for getting ADSL-TV-Téléphone and today I was lucky enough to come across an advert for it. If you're pc gives you a large enough picture (or if your eyes are good) you can see that the offer is €19.90 for the first three months, then €29.90 per month with a €3 a month fee for the box. But even with the box, that's only about $51 bucks a month. I pay more than that for basic cable. And by the way, their ADSL is faster than our cable internet.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
We didn't really plan to do anything today except go to the store because we had run out of a few essentials (wine). We walked to Franprix, and the local pharmacie, got the things we wanted, plus a few that caught our fancy while we were there, and returned to the apartment. We are definitely thinking of buying one of those little carts with wheeels that people here use when they go shopping. I did think you might be interested in the parking situation in Paris. It is a major hassle and you can pay as much for a garage as for an apartment. Most people just take their chances finding a place on the street, and that's especially true in our working class neighborhood. There are some free spaces, but mostly they are areas in which you have to pay a parking fee. They don't have parking meters like you find in the US, they have one or two machines per block at which you make your payment. I think that's a much more viable method. Of course, that's just for those who own a car. Motorcyclists usually use this method.
We came back to the apartment, sat around for a while, had lunch which was a sandwich with ham, tomato and cheese we had just bought, then sat around some more. We were both getting a case of "cabin fever" after a while, so I suggested we go for a walk. Robb was more than ready for that also.
Before we really got started, we stopped at a shoe repair shop so Robb could check on the shoelaces because the ones he bought were a bit too short. The lady who waited on him was so very nice. She even put the laces in his shoes after he bought them.
My original idea was to walk down to Place Léon Blum, and then follow the bus route down rue Chemin Vert for a few blocks. Everytime we've taken the bus, I've seen a store on that rue that had nice leather jackets in the window, and I wanted to check it out. Of course, we ended up on the wrong street, but at the time I wasn't sure that it wouldn't turn into the street for which I was looking, so we just kept walking. It finally dawned on me that it was the wrong street, and I suggested we try one more street over. Sure enough, that was rue Chemin Vert. So we walked all the way down to Boulevard Richard Lenoir.
I couldn't believe we had walked so far, but then with the Colonne de Juillet staring me in the face, I couldn't deny the length of our journey. As we traversed Blvd Lenoir, we came across an office supply store. It was the famous Office Depot with which we're all familiar. There are several in the city. I have been looking for a refill for my pen in every place that sold pens that we've come across, but to no avail, so I figured why not try Office Depot, and sure enough, they had the one I needed. I bought a package of ten for about €3.
We continued down the boulevard to Place de la Bastille, where we came upon a flea-market-like thing that has been there since we first got here. We checked it out, stopping at an oriental booth, where I bought a couple of oriental jackets for €15. I tried to bargain them down to €10 and thought I had been successful until the guy handed me back €5 change for a €20 note. It was still a bargain. We passed one booth where they were selling incense. It smelled so good and I was hoping Robb would buy one, but he didn't.
Then, we made our way through the crowd to rue de la Roquette where we got the bus back to our area. I've told you before about the cool offer they have here for getting ADSL-TV-Téléphone and today I was lucky enough to come across an advert for it. If you're pc gives you a large enough picture (or if your eyes are good) you can see that the offer is €19.90 for the first three months, then €29.90 per month with a €3 a month fee for the box. But even with the box, that's only about $51 bucks a month. I pay more than that for basic cable. And by the way, their ADSL is faster than our cable internet.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Paris 2008 - VI
10 Mai - It's a lovely, lazy Saturday in Paris. My cold medicine ran out because I stupidly forgot to buy more, so we're off to a pharmacie for that. We walked down to Place Léon Blum since the only open place seemed to be the one to which we went the other day. Then we noticed that a lot of stores had a sign in their windows indicating that they would be closed from 13h00 to 15h00. So now we know not to try going to a store between one and three in the afternoon in this neighborhood.
I got my Jour et Nuit and then we wandered around the area a bit. Just a block or so from the pharmacie we found a Monoprix; the bottom floor is is a general department store, while the upper level is a large grocery store. We bought a few items and left. The building above the Monoprix contains many apartments and was nice looking. We started back towards the apartment walking toward Parc de la Roquette, the edge of which can be seen by the trees on the upper left. The upper end of the parc is just a block from the apartment. At the lower end of the parc is a marchè at which we bought some things for tonight's dinner.
We started the walk back to the apartment when we came across a building with the popular French liberté, egalité, fraternité and the French flag flying just below the words. It's not unusual to come across buildings with those three words emblazoned across the front.
We also came across this advertisement for a Big Band concert on 15 Mai, to which we hope to go.
I couldn't remember the champagnes we had on the cruise, so I wrote to Ô Chateau, the sponsors, and asked them to supply the names. Mademoiselle Claudine Kervadec emailed them to me. The first sampling was a brut, LeLarge Ducroq. The second, which was most preferred by all seven of us, was a demi-sec, Vincent Perseval. And finaly, a champagne rosé, Floquet Doucet. I was not previously, nor since, familiar with any of these wines. I assume they are small, little known houses. I will continue to look for them.
Dinner tonight, at home, started with a wonderful appetizer of Coquille Saint-Jacques, followed by Penne au Poulet et Champignons (Penne pasta with chicken and mushrooms). Robb had his usual salad, but I couldn't handle any more than the appetizer and the main course. I drank Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Robb drank a light chardonnay.
11 Mai - This was a day of miscues.
Robb, forgetting that it's Sunday, got up and made his way to La Poste. I arose a couple of hours later, had my coffee and checked my email. Since most stores are closed on Sunday, by law, we set off on rue de la Roquette to see what we could find. There are a lot of places run by Muslims here, so we figured we could find something. And we did, a nice little store down by Place Léon Blum. On the way back to the apartment, Robb stopped at a fruit stand for oranges, while I went next door to a sandwich shop to get a sandwich for lunch.
We finished our lunch and decided to take a bus ride on our favorite line.....the 69. Unfortunately, the RATP decided they didn't want to operate the 69 line on Sunday, so we're out of luck for today. While waiting for the bus that never came, Robb noticed this birdhouse just outside the parc de la Roquette.
We did go for a very nice, very long walk in the neighborhood. We came across a Ford that you will never see in the US (if the oil companies have their way, and they always do). Across the street from the bus stop is this Chrysler-Dodge showroom, where they sell American sized vehicles including the Jeep Liberty, one of which you can sort of see behind the car on the right of the picture. We have seen a lot more SUVs this time, though most of them are either Mercedes or BMWs.
We were just going to walk around the block, but ended up walking all the way to Père Lachaise and back down to the apartment.
Then around nine-ish, we thought we would go to a restaurant in the 13e, L'Avenue, but after checking the internet, we found a bazillian restaurants by that name, but not the one to which we wanted to go on Avenue de France. Then we thought we might go to one of the great oriental restaurants on Avenue de Choisy, but after walking down to the métro station, we decided to have dinner at Au Cadran Voltaire.....again.
I'm really glad we made that decision, because we had a table by the window on the coin de la rue (corner of the street) where we had an excellent view of all the comings and goings in Place Léon Blum. We sat there for many hours taking it all in and appreciating the fantastic lifestyle we were enjoying. At one point, an older couple was seated at a table next to us. The guy was trying to take their picture with his camera and was having a difficult time. I volunteered to take the picture for them and did. They were most appreciative and I got my brownie points for the day.
We finally left the restaurant and were going for a walk, when we both "got the call" at the same time. We canceled our planned excursion and headed back to the apartment.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
I got my Jour et Nuit and then we wandered around the area a bit. Just a block or so from the pharmacie we found a Monoprix; the bottom floor is is a general department store, while the upper level is a large grocery store. We bought a few items and left. The building above the Monoprix contains many apartments and was nice looking. We started back towards the apartment walking toward Parc de la Roquette, the edge of which can be seen by the trees on the upper left. The upper end of the parc is just a block from the apartment. At the lower end of the parc is a marchè at which we bought some things for tonight's dinner.
We started the walk back to the apartment when we came across a building with the popular French liberté, egalité, fraternité and the French flag flying just below the words. It's not unusual to come across buildings with those three words emblazoned across the front.
We also came across this advertisement for a Big Band concert on 15 Mai, to which we hope to go.
I couldn't remember the champagnes we had on the cruise, so I wrote to Ô Chateau, the sponsors, and asked them to supply the names. Mademoiselle Claudine Kervadec emailed them to me. The first sampling was a brut, LeLarge Ducroq. The second, which was most preferred by all seven of us, was a demi-sec, Vincent Perseval. And finaly, a champagne rosé, Floquet Doucet. I was not previously, nor since, familiar with any of these wines. I assume they are small, little known houses. I will continue to look for them.
Dinner tonight, at home, started with a wonderful appetizer of Coquille Saint-Jacques, followed by Penne au Poulet et Champignons (Penne pasta with chicken and mushrooms). Robb had his usual salad, but I couldn't handle any more than the appetizer and the main course. I drank Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Robb drank a light chardonnay.
11 Mai - This was a day of miscues.
Robb, forgetting that it's Sunday, got up and made his way to La Poste. I arose a couple of hours later, had my coffee and checked my email. Since most stores are closed on Sunday, by law, we set off on rue de la Roquette to see what we could find. There are a lot of places run by Muslims here, so we figured we could find something. And we did, a nice little store down by Place Léon Blum. On the way back to the apartment, Robb stopped at a fruit stand for oranges, while I went next door to a sandwich shop to get a sandwich for lunch.
We finished our lunch and decided to take a bus ride on our favorite line.....the 69. Unfortunately, the RATP decided they didn't want to operate the 69 line on Sunday, so we're out of luck for today. While waiting for the bus that never came, Robb noticed this birdhouse just outside the parc de la Roquette.
We did go for a very nice, very long walk in the neighborhood. We came across a Ford that you will never see in the US (if the oil companies have their way, and they always do). Across the street from the bus stop is this Chrysler-Dodge showroom, where they sell American sized vehicles including the Jeep Liberty, one of which you can sort of see behind the car on the right of the picture. We have seen a lot more SUVs this time, though most of them are either Mercedes or BMWs.
We were just going to walk around the block, but ended up walking all the way to Père Lachaise and back down to the apartment.
Then around nine-ish, we thought we would go to a restaurant in the 13e, L'Avenue, but after checking the internet, we found a bazillian restaurants by that name, but not the one to which we wanted to go on Avenue de France. Then we thought we might go to one of the great oriental restaurants on Avenue de Choisy, but after walking down to the métro station, we decided to have dinner at Au Cadran Voltaire.....again.
I'm really glad we made that decision, because we had a table by the window on the coin de la rue (corner of the street) where we had an excellent view of all the comings and goings in Place Léon Blum. We sat there for many hours taking it all in and appreciating the fantastic lifestyle we were enjoying. At one point, an older couple was seated at a table next to us. The guy was trying to take their picture with his camera and was having a difficult time. I volunteered to take the picture for them and did. They were most appreciative and I got my brownie points for the day.
We finally left the restaurant and were going for a walk, when we both "got the call" at the same time. We canceled our planned excursion and headed back to the apartment.
Plus à venir, mes amis.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Paris 2008
29/30 Avril - We are here.....finally. What a time we had. The AirTran flight from Fort Lauderdale was okay, and the Atlanta airport was very nice. Of course, some of you probably already know that it's a lot bigger and nicer than Fort Lauderdale. We had to get off the plane because it was just reloaded and headed straight back to FLL. We checked the flight schedule and discovered that instead of leaving for Newark at 2:15, our flight was delayed until 2:53. Then a flight attendant didn't show up and we had to wait for her. By the time they got it all sorted out, we were not due to arrive in Newark until 6:00 PM. Somehow, the pilot managed to get us there by 5:30, but then we had to wait and wait and wait for the bags to show up.
To make a long story a bit shorter, we got to the L'Avion ticket counter just as they were about to shut it down for the day. Thankfully, they were really nice and we explained that our plane had been a couple of hours late. They checked our bags, gave us our boarding passes and we literally ran to get on the plane, though I'm pretty sure they would have held it for us because I heard the guy at the ticket counter tell someone that two more were on the way.
L'Avion was disappointing and wonderful at the same time. The plane was a bit bigger than it looks in their videos and the seats were nice and wide with tons of leg room. However, there was no pre-flight champagne. They did offer it with the dinner, which was pretty good but not great. I think it was prepared in the US. The champagne wasn't too good, maybe a tad better than Korbel but not much. The purser was even better looking in person than his picture and was really super nice. Other than the purser, there were three female flight attendants, who were also very nice. I didn't know there are two Orly airports, Orly Sud and Orly Ouest; we landed at Orly Sud which is not as good as the other.
The taxi ride to the apartment was great and cost about ten euros less than coming from CDG.
The apartment is very nice, but a bit smaller than we were expecting. We were greeted by Mme Chicha's mother who gave us the keys, the digi-code (to get into the building) and showed us how a few things worked. I was happy to find that connection to the internet was easy. I even had the choice of using her ADSL or a wifi connection.
I got a surprise call from Mme. Chicha (owner of the apartment) asking if we would mind if someone showed up to check it out because he wanted to rent it for the rest of the year after we left. A few minutes after she hung up, the guy called. He asked a lot of questions and then said that because we are Americans he was just going to take our recommendation and rent the apartment, instead of coming in from the airport to check it out during his layover as he had previously planned. I suppose that meant that he thought, "If those nit-picky Americans like it, it must be okay".
We're very tired because neither of us slept much last night. We did run out to the local store, a very nice Franprix about four blocks away and picked up some coffee fixins. Our first dinner in Paris consisted of ramen noodle soup that we found in a kitchen cupboard, because we were just too cold to go back out into the raging ice storm that greeted us upon our arrival.
1 Mai - Today is a big holiday in France (May Day) so almost everyone had the day off which resulted in a lot of noise for most of last night. People were still coming in at 2h00, slamming doors and stuff like it was the middle of the day.
Neither of us slept very well; me because my feet were freezing and Robb because he didn't eat enough. We managed to rouse ourselves around 11h00.
We had coffee and then took off to find the métro that is somewhere near Cimetière du Père-Lachaise. We located the métro with no problem, and on the way back to the apartment, found an unexpectedly open Petit Casino where we bought a few things that we didn't get yesterday.
Because today is our "official" anniversary, I booked us on a Champagne Cruise on the Seine. Only seven of us showed up for the cruise and we all drank a bit more than we probably should have. But it was so good. It was an interesting group; two girls from London, a couple from North Carolina, a girl from someplace where they speak French and Robb and I. We sampled three different kinds of bubbly. Most of us preferred the second offering which was a bit sweeter and smoother. I'm sorry I didn't get the brand names, but at the time it just didn't seem to matter. I'm sure you understand.
After the cruise, Robb and I checked out a carnival-like thing that was taking place just opposite the point of the cruise embarcation point. Then we walked up the stairs, across the street toward the Tour Eiffel to a taxi stand. We got a taxi to Le Fregate, a restaurant on the Seine, where I had Oignon Soupe, then Sole with potatoes. Robb had Canard Foie, then Duck. We shared a demi-bottle of Sancerre and finished with a café.
2 Mai - After suffering all night with a headache, the day began in a rather curious way. The doorbell rang. When I answered it, there was a little old French lady there with a cat. She started talking at a mile-a-minute and, of course, I had no idea what she was saying. But by watching what she was doing, I figured out that she was asking if the cat was mine. I told her it was not and she left to check all the other neighbors.
We had our coffee and left for our meeting with Katia and Kyliemac. They do a podcast a couple of times a week to which we listen. I had told them we were coming and would like to get together. Yesterday, Kyliemac called to set up the meeting point. It was agreed we would meet outside the Gare Montparnasse at the Odessa exit. The only problem was that when we got there, there was no Odessa exit because she was confused about the location of the exit (the Odessa exit is actually in front of the Tour Monparnasse, though I didn't know that at the time). But she did mention a Hippopotamus restaurant just across the street, and when we found that, I called her to see where they were waiting. They were standing just a few feet from the Hippopotamus, near the métro station entrance from which they had thought we would emerge. We walked down Boulevard Montparnasse to Le Select brasserie. We got a nice table on the terrace for people watching, I gave them the Mint Crisp M&Ms I had brought from the States, and then we started the process of getting to know each other. They are very different and yet, at the same time, very similar. They were cute, warm, funny, and very easy to like. We are glad we had the opportunity to meet them. They insured us that we would be invited to a lot of ex-pat get togethers during our stay in Paris. That is going to be a lot of fun because I already know most of them from their blogs. We chatted for a couple of hours and then they had to take off to keep an appointment across town. Oh yeah, while we were sitting there chatting, les pompiers (firemen) showed up and put out a fire in La Coupole (a famous brasserie) which was just across the street.
After the girls left, Robb and I wandered around the area for awhile, then headed back to the apartment, where I pretty much just crashed for the rest of the afternoon and most of the evening.
Around 10h00 we left to have dinner. Robb wanted to go to a restaurant we had seen on our way to the métro station, but I didn't want to walk that far. As a result, we found a very nice place just a couple of blocks from the apartment, called L'Artiste Café. On the way inside, I saw the specials and had Osso Bucco. Robb had lamb chops. The Osso Bucco was great and there was so much that I couldn't even come close to eating all they gave me. Robb wasn't too happy with his lamb chops. He claimed they were too fatty without much meat. Even though I couldn't finish the Osso Bucco, I had desert anyway; créme caramel, while Robb had a fantastic fromage blanc with raspberry sauce. I will definitely have that the next time we go.
I forgot to mention, when we were walking to the Champagne Cruise, we were stopped by a lady who appeared to be either Japanese or Vietnamese, looking for directions to Place d'Italie. She thought we were French and was so happy when we spoke to her in US English because she was from California.
3 Mai - Yesterday, we tried to buy a métro pass for the month at the closest métro station, Philippe Auguste, but were told we had to go to the Père Lachaise station, so today we went down there and got the pass. It was a bit more than I was expecting, but it's good on the métro, the bus and the RER, so it's not too bad. And, of course, it's for unlimited rides.
After getting the pass, we wandered down rue de la Roquette to small park just a block from the apartment. Do any of you remember the 2CV?
We hung out at the park for a while and then came back to the apartment so I could rest before we went out to dinner.
Last night, after leaving l'Artiste Café, I saw a place just a couple doors down that looked cool, so that's where we went.
Bistro Expo was was practically empty inside, everyone was sitting on the café terrrace; smoking of course. That was okay by us. We checked out the menu and decided on a tagine with chicken, olives, potatoes and lemon peel. It was fantastique! We shared a pichet du vin rouge (a small pitcher of red wine). For desert, Robb had a pomme tarte, but I had le gâteau du chocolat fondant (soft-center chocolate cake). If you love chocolate, you would have been in heaven eating this confection. Beside being soft-centered, it was swimming in the richest, darkest choclate sauce I've ever eaten.
| Paris 2008 - III | Monday, May 05, 2008 |
A South American band that was playing at the carnival-like thing after the Champagne Cruise.
The entrance to our building.
Robb entering the elevator to go to downstairs. The elevator is about 2 feet by 3 feet. We are on the 4th floor (5th in the US).
I could never figure out what everyone found so fascinating about rooftops in France, but here's a couple of shots from our apartment. One. Two.
This is typical of the way drivers park in Paris. You can see he's on the corner. I believe in the US that would guarantee him a parking ticket, but here, you see it all the time. This was taken about fifteen feet from the door to our building.
We left the pharmacie and started back to the apartment. We stopped at a patisserie, where I bought a couple of croissants. Then we wandered across the street to a little store that sold a little of almost everything. I bought a euro extension cord and a package of screws so we could fix Robb's suitcase.
Just across from parc de la Roquette, there is a small café, where we stopped to have a café and enjoy the weather.
Around nine-ish, we walked back to Place Léon Blum to have dinner at Au Cadran Voltaire. I wanted to have the Coté d'Agneau, but they were out of it, so we both had the Poulet Roti. Again, there was so much food I could barely eat half of it. They gave me a piece of chicken that could have fed a family of four. Needless to say, Robb ate every bit. We ordered two small pichets of Saint-Émilion. No dessert for a change. The usual café to finish off the excellent meal.
Except for the night before the holiday, this place has been exceptionally quiet.
I would like to apologize in advance for not keeping up with all your entries. I'll try to catch up from time to time.
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