Picnic & Duck for dinner, Sept 27

Sept 27

The 'backside' of Notre Dame with less scaffolding than 2 years ago

Side of  one Notre Dame's towers - cleaned since last visit

   Another gorgeous day in Paris - perfect weather for walking - another 4+ mile day.

   We began with croissants from the wonderful bakery down the road.

We went to the Monoprix and bought some meat and juice and then make a picnic lunch with a baguette from the bakery. We then strolled to the near end of the Ile St Louis and had a nice picnic watching the river boat traffic.

Boat traffic from picnic, Sebastien freight boat

Picnic spot at end of Ile St. Louis

   Afterwards, we strolled to the other end of the Ile St Louis and wandered our way home. We chatted with Jerry on the telephone and read for a good deal of the afternoon.

   

For dinner, we had reservations at La Grange Aux Canards, a wonderful little restaurant that specializes in duck. Mark had crispy duck breast in a honey sauce and Barbara had duck confit. The waiter recommended these as two traditional ways to eat duck. They were SO good. We'd definitely return to this restaurant in the future. Besides our waiter, there was a new waiter doing his first shift. A hard job and in a small restaurant.

Duck confit

   Then - "home" - a nice day!

    

Monet & the Eiffel Tower, Sept 26

 Sept 26

 

   Today was another lovely, warm day. We took the RER train to the 16th arrondisement to see the Marmottan-Monet Museum. It houses over 300 paintings by Claude Monet, most a result of a donation by his son and heir, Michel Monet. 

Monet from time at Giverny

There is also a large collection of the works of Berthe Morisot, one of the first, if not the first, woman Impressionist. She married Monet's brother.

by Berthe Morisot

  Other paintings include Renoir, Sisley, Pissarro and Manet, but far few of those artists.

   The museum is housed in an old historic home, bequeathed by the Marmottan family to the Academie des Beaux-Artes.

St Bernard, gifted by Ephrussi family

    Also of interest are decorative swords to members of the Academie, including one to Marcel Marceau, the great French mime whose most famous character was Bip, the Clown.

 

The hilt of the sword for Marcel Marceau

One of the rooms in the museum

  Afterwards, we walked to a nearby patisserie, got sandwiches, water and some gazpacho and walked to a nearby park, Park Ranelagh where we had a picnic.

     Not ready to be done with our day, we took the RER to the Eiffel Tower which was very busy. We sat and lay on the lawn and watched people on the ground as well as climbing the stairs. We had no intention of going up the Tower as we did so in the past with the children.

   

Picnic in Ranelagh Park

 Then, we took the RER home. We had to wait quite a while for the trains today as only 1 of every 3 were coming through due to a work slowdown by the union.

    We had a nice chat with Nick and Sebastian. We fixed the data problem that he was having on his phone, which is quite amazing considering that we are in Paris.  Christian is enjoying kindergarten.

Montmartre & St.-Germain-des-Pres, Sept 25

 

Sept 25

Another day of over 4 miles of walking! Beautiful weather. 

 We started the day with croissants from down the  Our main goal today was the area of Montmartre. It took us a little while to find the entrance to La Cite Metro, but we it and it took us all the way to Barbes-Rochechouart Metro. From there, we walked to the Funicular and took it up to Sacre Coeur which was very crowded. We opted not to wait in the long line in the full sun to get into the basilica. The view of Paris was a bit hazy. 

After a bit, we took a touristy little train around Montmartre. It was a little hokey, but only 10 Euros each and it did wind us around the neighborhood which was good, especially as it is so hilly. A highlight was the cabaret "Lapin Agile" as the play by Steve Martin, Picasso at the Lapin Agile is one of our favorites. (Picasso meets Einstein....and Elvis!)

Lapin Agile

We found an excellent creperie where we each had a gallette. (The Comptoir Breizh) Mark found it on Trip Advisor which gave it 5 stars and so did we.

Next we took the Abbesses Metro (the deepest in Paris - so many stairs down!) to Sevres Sebastopol in the Saint-Germain-des-Pres district which was a bit further from our flat than we'd have liked. 

As a break, we went into the super posh store, Le Bon Marche and had coffee and split an apple-pear tart at the Rose Cafe, recommended by Christopher Kimble.

Ceiling of Le Bon Marche

From there, we walked a short distance to Le Grande Epicerie, a huge, gourmet (expensive) grocery store which was very interesting. 

Mark in The Rose Cafe

Then - a long walk home and a puzzle to figure out how to use the washing machine and then put the drying rack together. We never figured out the rack and think it has a piece missing.

First Day in Paris September 24, 2023

 Sept 24

Stairwell at 12 Rue de la Huchette

    This is our first full day in Paris. Our crowded street last night was empty this morning and we walked to the end of the road for a delicious croissant and a cappucino. Heavenly.

Mmmmm. Croissants!

     We walked almost 4 miles wandering from the Left Bank where we are living to the Ile de la Cite. We walked by the Quai aux Fleurs where we stayed with Michael and Nancy before.

Then, we cut across to the Marais and walked up the Rue de Vieille du Temple where Barbara was happy to find the same kind of socks that she bought on the last trip. From there, we continued to reminisce as we found the

Last time we were here, we were in this building on Ile de La Cite

restaurant Glou on the same street. Last time, we ate there with Claudia. Mark had lamb chops with fennel & sweet potato. Barbara had a white fish in a sesame sauce with lots of vegetables. They were excellent meals.

      From there, we sauntered back, sat on the bank of the Ile St. Louis, got some cheese for dinner later.

     We facetimed with Alice and the crew in Bridgewater around 5 and then went for another walk. Almost 5 miles of walking today!

      

     

Where Barbara bought socks

London to Paris, Sept 22, 23

 Sept 22

Chris and Ken at Fez Mangal, a Turkish restaurant

Our last full day in London was split between packing and cleaning, as well as with Chris and Ken. They met us here at our flat and, after a cuppa, we went to the Turkish restaurant on Ladbroke Grove Road. We strolled Portobello Road and Chris and Barbara had gelato. Then, we returned to the flat for a chat and a bit more tea.  Then, more cleaning and organizing for tomorrow's journey.

Goodby to 70 Cambridge Gardens

Sept 23

    Today was our "Go to Paris!" day. We caught an 11:30 Eurostar at St. Pancras. The train was very full. Many of the people were en route to a rugby match in Paris: Ireland vs South Africa. The train is so easy, so smooth and so convenient. Although we were in the Standard (lowest) class, we had seat trays and plugs for our electronics. We went about 299 kilometers (186 in miles) an hour at our fastest. The under-the-English Channel bit is 50 kilometers long.

 

Our selfie on Eurostar

  We arrived at the Gare du Nord around 3 p.m. (France is 6 hours from home and 1 hour from England.) We got 10 tickets for the Metro and got on the RER (B) - two stops to Notre Dame-St. Michel.

From there, we walked to 12. Rue du la Huchette, a pedestrianized street which dates to the Middle Ages.

    It is now crowded and touristy, especially on a Saturday. Under our apartment building is an Irish Pub and so excited about the rugby match.

    We are at #12 at a nice green door.

Rue du la Hachette

    The process to get in the flat was complicated with a key to enter the building and then getting into a lock box for the key. Then, the key got us into the rest of the building where there is a TINY elevator which we barely fit in with our luggage and then a key to get in our flat, #6.

    It's a funky flat with old beams. It's smaller than the photos made it look on line, but it is growing on us. The kitchen is very good. The living room is comfortable with the exception of one sprung chair. The bedroom is small, but adequate and the shower is terrific (always a plus for us). There is also a little washing machine. We will have fun here.

    We took a walk to get our bearings, first by heading to the river where, in less than a block, we have a great view of Notre Dame which is less covered in scaffolding than it had two years ago. We then walked to a nearby Monoprix and got some essentials including a baguette, Brie, and ham for dinner.

Beamed ceiling

Mark loading up the fridge

Wilton's Music Hall burlesque, Sept 21

 Sept 21

We started the day with catching up on emails, the blog etc. We also took a bus to Sainsbury's to buy Hobnobs, a favorite biscuit which is expensive at home.

    We met Maura at Waterloo and made our way together to Tower Hill.

      When we left the underground, we got a bit lost trying to find Wilton's Music Hall. And, it had started to rain fairly hard. However, the rain lessened and a cabbie gave us the directions.

     

  We met Pete and Shirley at Wilton's, the oldest surviving music hall in London. (Pete and Shirley had never met Maura, so that was nice) The building alone was worth the visit with small rooms abounding on two floors, perfect for a drink or a bite to eat. It is a Grade II listed building that began life as 5 houses. It comprises a mid-19th century music hall attached to an 18th Century terrace of 3 houses and a pub. The pub dates from 1743, or even earlier! In the 1860s, they were combined by John Wilton as a music hall. It had gone to decay, but restoration began in 2004 and continues today. 

            

Barbara and Shirley in Wilton's Pub

Pete and Shirley admiring the old bricks

      We had a snack in the pub and then made our way to the first row of the balcony.

           The cabaret show was by Bourgeois & Maurice, a duo (Liv Morris and George Heyworth) that got together in 2007.  This show was called "Pleasure Seekers" as they explored the point of life with its ups and downs. "Is there a point in life?" The pair has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and have appeared in shows all over the U.K. They write their songs and lyrics and have several albums. 

     In the show, they sang about veganism (Meat), eliminating babies to help in climate change as well as the dopamine rush released by seeking "likes" in social media. There was a parody on obsession with late-night shopping at Amazon and a song about optimism/pessimism.  Their encore was a poignant song, Hold On, composed by a man who died of AIDS. They invited the audience to sing along, which it did.

       We all made our way back to Tower Hill together. Mark and I went one way, and Pete, Shirley and Maura went their way.

   

Mark congratulating the performers

 

 Thus ends our "events" in London. Wow - so many and with such variety. From serious drama in Dr. Semmelweis and The Father and the Assassin to absurdism in Pleasure Seekers and slapstick in The Play that Went Wrong. Musically we were treated to the amazing jazz at Ronnie Scott's and cabaret singing at Wilton's. Thank you to Maura for getting tickets to the National Theatre performances and to Pete and Shirley for the musical performances.

The end of the night - Mark and Pete