Live, Love, Eat and Travel

Well, we are back home, safe and sound, from one of the most wonderful trips we have ever had the privilege to enjoy. We were so happy to see our little Sebastian yesterday, we missed him so much.

We were very tired last night from our travel day and were in bed before 8 (which was really 2am Paris time, meaning we had been up for about 20 hours). I'm hoping that getting up at my regular time of 6am this morning will help me return to my normal schedule by tomorrow when we go back to work.

I've downloaded my pictures to the blog for anyone that's interested and I will also try to create a site for more pictures, I am still working on discovering all the options the mac offers in this area, which seem to be pretty numerous.

I've really enjoyed blogging about our trip. I've forgotten how much I like to write and this has given me the opportunity to pretend I am good at it! If anyone wants to pay me to do this full time, please let me know ASAP!!

Thanks Kim for helping me set up the blog in the first place and being so patient with my many silly questions. I'll try to continue posting from time to time and will definitely be back next year for our next European adventure, either Italy or back to Paris again, who knows!

Thanks for everyone's encouragement and kind comments, I really appreciated them.

Jo

Ah, the beauty of the internet and an laptop. We are at CDG, waiting for our flight to board in about an hour. Since we have the time, I thought I would blog yesterday's events.

We were up early and ready to leave the apartment after our last pain au chocolat and croissant from our corner bakery. We made sure to leave a tidy apartment and sent an e-mail to Thierry that we were leaving a bit early if he wanted to get in early to clean for the next tenants. We have loved our little pied a terre in the Marais and would not hesitate to rent from Paris Best Lodge again. Thierry is constantly in touch via e-mail and only a cell phone call away if you need him quicker than that. We really enjoyed having the computer and the washer/dryer in the apartment and will hopefully travel lighter next time we rent one of his apartments!

We took a cab to Hotel des Grandes Ecoles on rue Cardinal Lemoyne in the Latin Quarter. We found this hotel through Slow Travel and Trip Advisor reviews. It is a cute little place set off the main street in a courtyard and very close to rue Mouteffard and many bar/restaurants. The room wasn't ready yet since it was before 10am when we got there, but they let us store our luggage and locked up our computer and away we went to explore our new neighborhood. We walked down Mouteffard and the Saturday morning market was just beginning to get going. I don't think we will ever get blase over French market food and we walked through the market salivating at the many stalls and storefronts.

Den spotted a sign for Jardin des Plantes, so we headed in that direction. We walked through the beautiful gardens full of flowers and trees and enjoyed the calm Saturday morning. We came out near the Seine entrance and walked along the main street, spotting some hyenas and ostriches through the gates of the city zoo! A place we will have to remember when we bring Sebastian to Paris in a few years. We continued walking until we came to the Arab Institute, I had read about their unique windows and wanted to take a look. A whole side of the building has these windows that open and close according to the sunlight hitting them at different times of the day. They work similar to a camera's aperture and it was very interesting to see them. We took the elevator up to the 9th floor to check out the view from the restaurant. It would be spectacular to have dinner here and view Paris all lit up.

We continued walking back towards the Mouteffard market which was in full swing when we got there. We ordered some sandwiches and pizza squares along with drinks and a few little pastries and went to a nearby park to eat our bounty. The park was filled with little kids playing and we just sat there and enjoyed watching them while we ate this deliciously simple French lunch. We walked back to the hotel but our room still wasn't ready, so we headed towards the Luxembourg gardens and just sat there for a while watching Parisian families enjoying their weekend. We walked towards the St Germain des Pres area and window shopped along the way. It started to rain, so we stopped and had a little cafe cremes, one of the last ones of our trip! As we were walking back towards St Michel, there was a big student protest which went by. Denis was so happy to finally see a "manifestation" and we stood in the street with hundreds of other viewers watching the noisy procession. Democracy at work!

We finally made it back to the hotel a little after 4pm and took a well deserved nap for about an hour. After freshening up, back out we went for our last evening in Paris. We had drinks at a little Irish pub on a corner, sitting outside watching the rain fall and eating some pate and baguette. We walked around looking at our dining choices for tonight (I had thought of going to one of the restaurants on my "list" but there were so many in the area, it was raining and we just wanted to keep it simple on our last night out). We stopped for another drink and watched as young and old Parisians and tourists started their Saturday nights. We finally dragged ourselves out of the little bar at around 8:30 and made our way to a little Greek restaurant on Mouteffard. Yes, we have decidedly gone tourist for our last night and I know not to expect great food, but it was cute, it was close and it was cheap! We both had the 14 euro prix fixe and a bottle of Santorini white wine. We have the pikelia to start, a nice mix of Greek appetizers including tzatziki, tarama, squid salad and those delicious broad beans in a tomato sauce. Den has a very tender lamb brochette and I have the moussaka, which is good but not as good as my hubby's version! We are so happy to see Greek yogurt and honey on the dessert offerings, so I choose that and Den has the baklava and we split both. We have a wonderfully simple meal, joking with our Portugese neighbours on one side and our German companions on the other. Dinner is 45 euros!! and we walk back to our hotel happy, satisfied and tired at about 11pm.

Off to bed we go since it is a travel day tomorrow. I had had grand plans about staying up and going drinking but like so many other times we've had those ideas, the reality is that we are still middle-aged grandparents who like our sleep more than staying up and partying! I know, kinda sad, but such is our life!

We are up early this morning, have breakfast at the hotel (9 euros each for coffee, oj, croissants and baguettes with butter and confiture). Our shuttle is right on time to pick us up at 8am and we are at CDG by 8:30, checked in at the Zoom counter and through security by 9 and just waiting to board and go home and hug our little grandson later today.

We have had a wonderful trip, but it is always nice to go home to those you love.

See you next year, Paris!

Jo & Den

After more delicious French pastries and coffee (thank God I am doing all this walking, or else all this rich food would mean mucho extra pounds ~ hopefully, I'll come out just a little bit up in the end or maybe just about even!), we leave the apartment at around 9:30 am and head towards Mortorgeuil. We do a little more window shopping but I'm not really in the mood to try stuff on today, I just want to walk around and take in more of the city. This is our second to last full day in Paris and the last one based in our apartment. Tomorrow, we move to Hotel des Grandes Ecoles in the 5th for our last night in Paris. This way, we were able to squeeze one last day and night in Paris. We kind of kill time walking around the garment district until it is late enough to eat lunch. We go back to Rotisserie Dorius, the great place we ate at earlier this week. It is at 12 rue des Petits Carreaux, which is really 12 rue Mortorgeuil. It's only 11:30, but we've been waiting to have this meal for 3 days! I order a quarter roast chicken again, with vermicelli noodles and a mix of veggies stewed in tomoto sauce. Den gets the roast pork with potatoes and vermicelli. With our 2 soft drink, lunch is 16 euros and so good and filling.

We decide to take the metro to the Trocadero, since we haven't seen the Eiffel Tower from that angle yet. On our way out of the metro, we buy some magazines so we can just sit in the park and relax for a while. Den take his many pictures of Eiffel and we find a shady spot on the grass where we just sit and read and maybe even nap a little for over an hour and a half. We needed this little break because we will be walking back to the Marais from here over the next 6 hours.

We cross over the bridge into the 7th and find a little outdoor cafe/bakery where we have 2 great cafe cremes. I swoon over a caramel macaron and Den has a millefeuille AND a pistachio/almond shortbread. We walk slowly towards Pont Alexandre III, our favourite bridge. We just can't get enough of the grandeur and beauty of this bridge. (This bridge is also indirectly responsible for our coming to Paris for the first time last year. When we were planning our 25th anniversary trip, we were having a hard time deciding between Paris/Italy and Greece. We watched an episode of the Sopranos about that time that showed Tony's wife and her friend in Paris and they were on the Pont Alexandre III, marveling at the decorations of the bridge. We both looked at each other and said at the same time, "We're going to Paris!".)

We head towards Les Tuilleries and L'Orangerie, we will see if we can get in to see Monet's Waterlillies. We both need a little break from the sun and this is the last museum on our list for this trip. We only have to wait in line for about 10 minutes and we are in the 2 beautiful oval rooms, marvelling at the man's genius. Again, we are not art experts, but it is hard not to be moved by such colour! We sit in Les Tuilleries and finish our magazines and then walk to the little pond where kids are racing little wooden boats.

We had thought about getting some sandwiches and wine and walking towards Pont des Arts and having an early picnic, but the wind has picked up and it's a little too cool. We decide to walk down Rivoli and pick up the same kind of food but just have it in the apartment while we pack. We've had so many gourmet meals in the past 2 weeks, we just want something simple tonight. Close to the St Paul metro station, we walk past a little pizza joint and a woman sitting outside is eating a great looking pizza. We both look at each other and just go on in. We each have a delicious pizza, mine is vegetarian with olives, artichoke hearts, eggplant, peppers, mushrooms, and cheese. Den has the Napolitan, with capers, anchoivies, olives and cheese. They are made in a wood burning oven and are some of the best pizzas we've ever had, even in Italy. With a 1/4 litre of red and some sangria, our bill is 27 euros! Pizza Momo is on 105 rue St Antoine.

We stop for some chocolate treats at a little chocolate shop next door and walk home. We are in the apartment before 9. We do our packing and call it an early night (again ~ do you see a pattern here? I had so many plans of going bar hopping, going to jazz clubs, sitting in cafes late at night...............but alas, we are just 2 middle aged people who are up early in the morning and in bed early at night, even on vacation. Oh, and I guess the 6-10 miles of walking we do every day kind of tires us just a little bit, too!)

This is probably my last blog entry until I get home, I don't think we have internet access at the hotel on Saturday, so I'll wrap it up on Monday.

We've had a wonderful trip and I have had a great time blogging. If anyone knows how I can get paid to do this, please let me know!!!!

Thanks for reading and all your kind comments.................Jo

So we decide on Chez Omar for dinner and we start walking back up rue de Turenne to rue de Bretagne. It is a nice breezy evening and it seems all of Paris is out for an early evening stroll. We make it to the restaurant at about 7:30. I had wanted to come early since they don't take reservations (or credit cards) and I have read you sometimes have to wait in line on the sidewalk to get in. Well, no worries about that today, there is only one table taken. I know we are very early by Parisian standards, but I feel like the waiters are not really happy to see us. We sit at a table by the window so we can indulge in our favourite activity, watching Paris go by. 3 different waiters come by within 5-7 minutes looking for our orders and again, I feel like they want to rush us and get rid of us as quickly as possible. We order a tomatoe salad and an avocado salad to start, a beer for Den and a 1/4 litre of Rose for me. Den gets the lamb michoui couscous and I order the merguez one. Our salads are served in about 2 minutes, mine is just 2 tomoatoes cut up and sprinked with dressing and Den has 1 avocado sliced and covered with the same dressing. Not a lot of effort in presentation and while the veggies are fresh, that's about all I can say about them.

The couscous come to the table within 15 minutes of ordering. We are served a huge platter of couscous, a big pot of steamed veggies and broth and the lamb and merguez on a wooden platter. There is enough food here to feed at least 4 people! It is OK, but I was expecting so much more from the reviews I had read. The lamb is tender and falls clean off the bone, the merguez is slightly spicy, the veggies are very soft and the broth is instantly absorbed by the couscous. We both looked at each other and kind of shrugged our shoulders, it wasn't a bad meal, it just wasn't a knock your socks off Parisian gem we have come to expect and enjoy on a daily basis since we arrived.

The retaurant is starting to fill up and the waiters are getting a little more animated. We can only manage to eat less than half of our meal and our waiter seems annoyed that we don't want coffee or dessert. Dinner is 61 euros and we are out the door within an hour of getting there.

We decide we need to walk our meal off, so we head down one of the side streets off de Bretagne towards the Seine. We get to the river just as the sun is starting to set and turning a spectacular red/orange.

Den takes lots of pictures of the water, the Bateau Mouches gliding on the surface, and the many bridges crisscrossing the Seine. We end up back at the Pont des Arts and there are hundreds of mostly young people sitting on the bridge, in groups of 10s or more, having picnics and enjoying the sunset. Some have very elaborate meals and some have simple sandwiches and almost all have wine and/or beer. What a great way to enjoy a dinner in Paris and it makes us wish we had done something like this tonight as well. Maybe tomorrow if the weather is as nice.

We walk across the bridge into the Louvre courtyard and Den take more pictures of the Pyramid with the sun setting behind it. He also gets some great shots of the Arc de Triomphe in the distance.

We continue walking home and it is past 10 by this time and we have been walking for over 2 hours since dinner and since about 10am this morning. I hit the wall and can go no further, we grab a cab and stumble into bed for a well deserved sleep.

We are a little slow getting out the door this morning. Den has made a nice breakfast of eggs and croissant and we have a second cup of coffee while I finish blogging yesterday's events. We hear the clip clop of horses passing outside our window and there are about 20 mounted policemen passing on our street. We think they are headed towards the Bastille for today's general strike. Den takes a few pictures of another decidely Parisian scene.

Today, we have decided to just walk in whatever direction we feel like and see what we happen upon. Den wants to see if there are huge crowds at the Bastille first, so we head towards there but the strikers must be sleeping in because there's just the usual mid-morning traffic. We walk down Rivoli towards the Jewish area and stop at Finkelstein's bakery, right across from the L'As du Fallafil, for a coffee with steamed milk and a delicious cheese danish. We continue through the streets of the Marais, up rue du Temple towards the Republique area. We happen upon a very cute park called Square du Temple which is filled with kids and their mommies/nannies playing in the sand and running around squealing with glee. We stop and sit for about 20 minutes, pretending we are a Parisian couple out for a stroll. As we walk down rue de Bretagne, we find Chez Omar, a Morrocan restaurant I had read about and wanted to try. We are not hungry for lunch yet but check out the menu and may return later tonight for couscous. We also pass by a little alley way off de Bretagne and it looks like there are people and food in there so we turn in. We have stumbled upon le Marche des Enfants Rouges, which I have not heard off but have seen signs for. There are about 4 rows of food and market stalls serving all kinds of food and fresh produce, as well as fresh cut flowers, and wines. There are stalls serving fresh pasta, tanjines, sushi, and several other cuisines. Now I really wish we were hungry because everything looks so good. There are rows of picnic tables set up and people are enjoying their lunchtime platters with bottles of wine. What a find for someone who wants an open air lunch with all kinds of selections!

We turn on rue de Turenne and head back towards the apartment to change our clothes. It has become a bit warmer and I want to change into sandals and a tshirt since we're in the area. We find a few more stores to stop into and we both buy a pair of jeans at a destockage place selling at outlet prices. Yeah, another parisian buy!

Now it's almost 2 and we are officially hungry, so we head to L'as du Fallafel for another sandwich fix. Den has the schwarma and I have another fallalel, we share a plate of fries and each have a soft drink. We opted to go in and sit this time so we don't have to eat on the curb with sauce dripping down our arms! Fortified and stuffed to the gills, we walk out and just follow whatever tiny streets strike our fancy, zigzaging our way to St Denis, St Eustache Church, back to Hillerin and the Chamber of Commerce and finally towards the Seine near the Louvre. We finally sit for a little while on the Pont des Arts, a little pedestrian bridge between Pont Neuf and Pont du Carrousel.

Den takes more pictures of the Seine and the wonderful Parisian scenes that will never, ever get boring and we decide to head into the 5th and have a little coffee somewhere in the latin quarter. I wanted to get a crepe from one of the stands, but Den wants to sit down somewhere to eat, so we finally end on on rue St Michel, probably one of the most touristic streets in Paris, overpaying for 2 coffees and a tasteless crepe. Ah well, live and learn, but we do get a phone call from Danielle telling us that her fiance got a new job! Great news and we head back towards our apartment with smiles on our faces. We finally are back home a little before 6pm and have a glass of wine and some olives while we decide what we want to do for dinner. I decide to get a headstart on today's blog and so here I am, blogging away in our Paris apartment while we decide which great restaurant we will go to tonight. Life is pretty good right now and I'll let you know later what we finally choose!

Jo