Basically, I’m a homebody. After a few weeks away from home, I start to miss it. I begin having dreams that my cats are lost and I’ve got to find them. I get a little dissatisfied with everything.
Fortunately, after a little of this, I can usually pull myself together and remember why I’m traveling. I’ll be glad to get home at the end of next week, but right now I’m loving Paris again!
A delicious Chinese lunch with our friends Karen and Craig yesterday was a good start, then last night we finally went to see the Eiffel Tower after dark. In all of my trips to Paris, somehow something has always happened so that we missed this. It looks smaller in the dark—I didn’t expect that!
Today we just wandered, starting with the Jardin du Palais Royal, then we explored the Galerie Vivienne and walked back to the Opera and Madeleine, stopping for a very good lunch in a very ordinary café along the way. It was a warm, busy, cheerful place, which felt really good after being out in the cold all morning, and my lunch of roast chicken legs with sautéed potatoes and salad and a good rose from Provence couldn’t have been more satisfying. I love the sound of people speaking French, probably in a setting like this more than anywhere.
My wanderings weren’t completely random, since I knew exactly where the Maille mustard store was, but I usually don’t explain things like wanting to go the mustard store in advance to Frank. Then I don’t have to explain why. I’ve got six jars of various flavors of mustard to take home, and he’ll appreciate them someday when I feed them to him, I’m sure.
We stopped at another Boulangerie Paul (we stopped at the one on Rue de Buci a few days ago) for a mid-afternoon warmup. Café crème is only €3 at Paul, much less than I’ve seen anywhere else. I wonder why?
We each bought a carte d’orange for the metro and bus when we arrived, and we’re using the bus a lot. The metro is usually faster, but we’re in no hurry, and I like to see what’s along the way. The bus ride back from the Eiffel Tower to Hôtel de Ville last night was beautiful.
Comments (3)
Ha! I had to laugh because Kim took Colleen and I on a similar mustard hunt last fall (but she told us where we were going, most of the time.)
You can get a lot of that mustard here - but it just seems to taste BETTER if it is from there. Tonight I am having some Calvados mustard on my chicken apple sausage.
Enjoy every last minute - home will be waiting.
Posted by Shannon | March 20, 2008 8:32 PM
Posted on March 20, 2008 20:32
Maile is one of the stops I have to do when in Paris. Then LaDuree for macarons around the corner before or after hitting Galleries Lafayette.. :)
I love the picture! Makes me want to go back...
Posted by Eden | March 21, 2008 9:07 AM
Posted on March 21, 2008 09:07
:) My brother just found out he's going to Paris in July on business. I'm giving him a list of mustards to bring back for me. Still can't find curry mustard here though.
Posted by Kim | March 27, 2008 5:30 AM
Posted on March 27, 2008 05:30