Success

Got a new metro pass for Peter easily, took about 10 minutes,  and we were off to the Rodin museum, which is beautiful as always; but, some of the gardens are closed due to some sort of huge construction project. Then went to l'Orangerie (one of the museums I've never been to) to see the Walter-Guillaume Collection & Monets Water Lilies - two oval rooms with the paintings surrounding you. If you've seen "Midnight in Paris", one scene is filmed there. Really beautiful!!! Then walked through the Tuileries, stopped for wine, cheese & french fries & home. Afer a rest, went down the street  to Le Parvis for a light dinner--I had escargot & Sharon & I shared a crepe with chocolate, chantilly & vanilla ice cream. It was a beautiful day in the 70s with a constant breeze. We have all discovered that it was a lot easier to walk around the city in our younger years!

Cooler Days Ahead

After 3 days in the 90s & high 80s, today, Wednesday, has been in the low 70s. When we were out yesterday afternoon it was 85+ with very high humidity. We came back to the apt to cool off & rest & when we went out for dinner about 9:30 it had gone down to about 70 and we ended up walking home from the restaurant in the rain. Strange weather! But I'll take the cool & rain over the heat, and I like heat. Yesterday, we walked over to rue Nevers - a 13th C alley with part of the city wall & arch of King Philippe Augustus. Had lunch at a Cafe Conti in the area; a very good, but different, Salade Nicoise as it had rice in it. Stopped in at Saint Severin on the way home & it's sad to see the beautiful churches without their altars & crucifixes. Later went over to the Ile St Louis to a creperie for dinner-I had cheese & mushrooms with tomatoes & herbs & Sharon & I shared a sugar & butter crepe for dessert. Today was not the best as Peter's Metro pass didn't work on the second attempt & he had to climb over the turnstyle & we couldn't find anywhere to get it fixed or buy some tickets so, instead of going to the Rodin Museum, we found a spot to eat lunch (Brasserie des Invalides) & then took a taxi back to the apartment. Non-working Metro passes are very frustrating. This morning we went to the Musee D'Orsay and had no problems. Paris is really packed with tourists but it hasn't been a huge problem so far.

Still Sizziling

Tuesday morning, finishing my coffee before going to the boulangerie for more pastries. It was 95 yesterday & 90 is predicted for today so we probably won't stray far from the apartment. Yesterday, we got more groceries (found a closer store) but we're out of wine so will have to shop today. Early evening yesterday we walked over to the right bank, down to the Pont Neuf, stopped for a beer at the Cafe Pont Neuf & people & traffic watched. Didn't eat much due to the heat but had cheese, ham & bread in the apt. We have no air conditioning but 2 floor fans keep it very comfortable ( This building is early 1900 & built around lots of little courtyards) and we didn't even need the fan during the night. Will try & post some more pictyres later.

Pictures

Peter on Day 2

Notre Dame

St-Severin

The crepe maker on the corner

I Love Paris When It Sizzles

It's Monday morning & we just finished breakfast - went to the Boulangerie down the street & brought back croissants, pain au chocolate, crossants amandine & a couple of baguettes. It's warm out and may be really hot soon - 95 is predicted & yesterday was the hottest day of the year. Yesterday was a down day as both Sharon & I had a little stomach bug (Peter & Gary insist it's because we ate raw meat) but we're feeling OK today. We walked around a little yesterday, just in this area - down rue de la Columbe ( one of the original Roman roads). There was a parade along the Seine with people singing hymns but didn't figure out why. Last night we went out & got a bowl of onion soup & ice cream cone & watched the fire twirlers in front of ND.

Who do we think we are?

It's almost noon on Sunday & I'm trying to wake up. Went to the Latin Quarter last night to walk around & stopped for a glass of wine at a Brasserie.  Then, while walking back toward home, we  found La Taverne de Cluny with live music about to start so we spent some time(several hours) & several bottles of wine listening to some terrific guitar players; one who also sang & had a great voice. A group of girls (about 10 of them) came in and sat across from us. Turns out, they were from San Diego State & celebrating the 21st birthday of one of their group. Now that's a 21st birthday party!!!!! Back home to unwind and to bed at 2:30 after way too much wine. Today will be a lazy day, I think.

So far, I'm unable to post pictures here or on facebook from my i-pad, but was able to share some of Sharon's to my Facebook page. Later, I will try and post some pictures here using Gary's laptop.

saturday

Back at the apartment resting after lunch at Au Vieux Comptoir which lasted about two hours. I had steak tartare & sauteed potatoes, Peter had beef bourginon & the 4 of us shared a cheese & charcuterie plate. It was delicious, every bit as good as when we ate there in 2009. We were the first ones there for lunch but it filled up quickly and every table was full when we left. Then went to the grocery store to get some staples -- orange juice, diet coke, cheese, crackers, ham, a baguette & wine. The weather was overcast when we went out but became very sunny. intended to add a picture but can't get it on here - am researching a solution &,

Arrival

It's now 8 am on Sat & we arrived last night at 8 pm.  Lots of traffic as the Paris air show is in progress, so it took almost an hour to get to the apartment. Dumped our luggage and went out & walked around, had a glass of wine until about midnight. Watched the roller bladers in front of Notre Dame, walked along the Seine, but never found the fireworks. A little chilly but comfortable with a light jacket. Today will get some provisions for the apartment --bread, cheese, wine, diet coke for Peter etc. The apt is miniscule, but what I expected, and very pretty & functional. The one surprise is that each bedroom has a shower & lavatory but there is only one toilet-- a totally separate room the size of an airplane restroom that also has a sink. It will work fine but is the one thing I didn't understand in the description. The bells of ND are ringing, as they do every 15 minutes - playing Ave Maria.

Not Quite Yet

Long story and I'm going to make it as short as possible.  Our flight on AA out of LA was delayed  over 3 hours,  making our connection impossible,  so we're now flying to London on British Air at 9 tonight and then to Paris (with a 2 hour layover) arriving Friday night at 8 pm, instead of 10 am.  It's now 4 pm, we've been here since 8 and we leave at 9:20.  The good news is, they were able to retrieve our luggage from plane #1 and it's going with us.  Yea!!  Now, I just hope we can still catch the Friday night fireworks off the Ile St Louis--hope I'll still be awake but think I'll be able to sleep on the plane tonight.  Sidebar: On our trip in 2009, our flight out of LA to Chicago was delayed, causing us to miss our connection, and we had to fly from Chicago to London to Paris.  Note to self --If  you do this again, do not, I repeat DO NOT fly out of LAX to anywhere to Paris.  Try Orange County to Chicago to Paris instead!!!

Ready to Go

Checked in, boarding passes printed, suitcases packed & about to get some sleep.  Can't think of anything I've forgotten so I'm presuming I'm ready.  Au revoir.

Picture Test

This is a test -- the picture is of a dinner in Paris taken on our last trip -- as I thought I better acquaint myself with the procedure of adding pictures to this blog.  I want to spend more time taking them than trying to get them on the site.  Seems to be working so now I'm going to go and start packing.

Home Stretch

Only three more days and several loose ends to tie up before then.  Weather is still looking good (mid 70's & sunny or partly cloudy) and we'll have about 16 hours of daylight while we're there.  Have to decide where to eat our first meal on Friday night as my restaurant guide is a 6 page excel spread sheet (Yes, I do know that it's overkill, but there's something to be said for being prepared).  The dog knows something is going on & I don't think he's too happy.

Only One Week to Go

Hard to believe that we'll be on our way one week from today -- guess I can legitimately start getting really excited.  Weather check for 10 days out is a little more promising; no rain, mostlu sunny and temps in the low 70's.  Exchange rate went down 3 cents overnight & I'd like to see that continue.  Can't think of much I have left to do except pack and it's still to soon for that.

What do you want to read about?

I will be posting things important to me--food, wine, sights and my feelings about them but I'm very willing to post what you'd like to read -- so, if you have any special requests, leave a comment and I'll make a note of it and try to accomodate you.
Weather is still cloudy & rainy for the next 10 days--hope it's getting that out of it's system.  I don't mind a day or two of drizzle or rain but sure would like sun and warmth so we can enjoy the spectacular parcs with some picnics -  bread, wine and cheese.

Nine Days & Counting

I decided to change blog sites as this looks easier to add pictures than the one I started using so I apologize for the switch but hope you'll join me here.
I received our metro & museum passes, picked up our euros (horrible exchange rate), checked the weather (not very warm, rain & clouds) so now I just have to decide what to pack & wait for the days to pass.