Tuesday, August 28, 2018

My Paris Pilgrimage #4

Tuesday, 28 August, A Taste of the Future

So, this morning started slowly again. S&B slept in a bit since they were so tired from yesterday's adventures. Decision was to go to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur.  Once more, I realized I had no desire to do that. I wanted to explore the neighborhoods around the apartment and go to this little street called Rue Mouffetard that I had heard about. So, we split up again.

I'm sure S&B are having a wonderful time, but my day was EXACTLY what I hope most of my days will be during my stay.  I leisurely walked to Rue Mouffetard along our main street to Avenue Les Gobelins and then quickly to the Rue.  What a treat!  Here are a few pics so you can get the idea:





On my way to the Rue, I stopped at a little department store called Monoprix to see if they had a simple, wheeled cart to use for shopping excursions and I met a lovely woman about my age named Elaine. She was an American who moved here with her husband when they retired. She was informative and sweet (told me the best place to get what I wanted was at La Defense--it's a bit of a ride, but who knows? I might tackle it someday).  I didn't get an invite to connect with her again or exchange contact info, but I'm hopeful we'll have another chance encounter so I can get to know her better. She was delightfully charming and a wealth of info!

So, after walking up and down the Rue looking at shops and cafe after cafe (Oh MY! It's an international plethora of food!) serving every possible genre of food from Albanian to Zoroastrian, I chose a small place that was in a good spot for watching people go by.  Here are pics of the menu, my salade Nicoise (doesn't that look like the perfect French lunch?), and the view: (Sorry for the lousy picture placement! I can't seem to get this thing to do what I want it to do!)


Finished my lunch and decided that I absolutely needed to find Shakespeare and Company, the famous English bookstore in Paris that wasn't all that far away.  I found the path on Google maps and had another wonderful stroll through a couple of neighborhoods, past ancient churches, across busy streets, past butchers, bakers, and sellers of flowers, fruit, cheese, and wine. I even passed by The Hurling Pub (do I dare ponder how they got that name?), the  O'Tacos shop [Hmmm? Irish/Mexican?], and Lucha Libre [the San Diego franchise has a very long arm!]. I finally turned a corner where I was almost upon the bookstore and realized that Notre Dame was right there in front of me!  Here are more pics of that part of my day:










So, I'm finally there--it sits alongside a cafe by the same name and it's quirky, old, busy, and filled with tiny rooms and levels and books and books and books. They don't allow photographs inside, but I took many outside. I also managed to buy a few items to add to my own library and picked up a couple of canvas bags that they were selling even though they were much too expensive for a bag! The outside has signs and quotes and one elderly lady was sitting on a bench with her Pomeranian...of course, I had to get the dog into the picture with the Shakespeare logo! The quotes are all interesting...even the one on the bag that they gave me in which to carry my new bags and books! The next group of pics tells all.
 




So, my quest for today was complete. I tried to take the Metro home, but one section of the train is still under construction and I couldn't immediately find the right Metro station, so when I saw an available cab, I took it!  Amazing how cheap cabs are. Spent about $10 to get home--albeit much more expensive than the $2 Metro, it saved me frustration and  confusion. I'd do it again and probably will.

At the end of it all, I spent the day alone and loved every minute. I didn't have to discuss where I was going, how I'd get there, what I wanted to do next, or wait for folks doing stuff when I was ready to move, or feel badly that others were waiting on me when I got slow. I love my friends--but I'm learning that here, under these conditions, being alone is exactly what I want.  I'll enjoy the next few days with Barb, Sheila, Linda P, and Donna, but I'll also look forward to them leaving!

And, wait!  One more thing: The crowning moment of the day was meeting Lara, Luke, and Beth on the stairs up to my apartment. Lara is a young mom who is British (!) and speaks English. Luke is her son (he looked about 15 months) and Beth is her daughter (she was perhaps 3). They live on the 3rd floor and she invited me to visit her! I have a neighbor-friend!  How exciting is that???

A bientot, mes amis!










My Paris Pilgrimage--#3

Day 4 in Paris (27 August--with recap of first days)

Every day is wonderful...even when they aren't.  I'm hopeful that I can catch all of you up a bit.  First things first: I have pictures to share! Just transferred from phone to PC by cord...to hell with trying to figure out why the Cloud isn't doing it.  Glad Cloud works between iPhone and iPad.

Well, it seems that I'm a definite wimp.  After traveling around with Sheila and Barbara to see the sights on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday...I crapped out on Monday and left them alone.  Then, today (Tuesday), I didn't even leave with them!  I just had my own solo adventure, and it was perfect.

Quick recap of arrival through Monday: Thursday, arrived, unpacked, Metro to Seine for river cruise and dinner out (day of my stupid fall through the Metro door onto the platform). Friday, we did the Louvre, walked from there, through Tuileries to Arc de Triomphe, then taxied home--I was a wreck & extremely sore from the fall, I think. (Long day: more than 15K steps and 14 floors of stairs, according to my Health app!) Saturday, we did Versailles. Sunday we did Musee d'Orsay, Sainte Chappelle, and Notre Dame amongst getting lost, having museums close before we realized, etc., but ended with delightful dinner & wine.

Monday, we began even slower and threw out our plans to do Montmartre and went to Galleries Lafayette (huge, beautiful department store--see pix online if you're interested) instead.  Here's pic of rooftops of Paris with Eiffel Tower in distance from top of department store!

Again, I was a party pooper and decided to leave Barb and Sheila to their own adventures.  Glad I did!  I enjoyed my quiet afternoon alone and they did marvelous things on their own! They went to the Orangerie Museum and did the Eiffel Tower tour all the way to the top at sunset!  They were ecstatic and I was a much nicer person after enjoying a few hours alone.

While they were enjoying more touristy things, I leisurely took Metro home; went to a boulangerie for croissants, a baguette, and eclairs; and then stopped at a grocery store to get a few staples for the apartment. (See my crazy video on FB, if you can of my walk down the block to my door.) After arriving here, I rested for a little while then decided that I actually could do the stairs another time, so I took myself down the block to a small creperie (don't know the name yet), where I had a glass of cider, a mushroom & cheese crepe, and a simple sugary dessert crepe for dinner. I returned home and called it a night.  They returned around 11 pm and were happily exhausted. We were all pleased at how the day had gone.  #LLOParisPilgrimage




Saturday, August 25, 2018

My Paris Pilgrimage, #2


Day Three: Versailles and a delightful neighborhood dinner

Disclaimer:  Haven't figured out how to get my pictures from my iPhone to my PC, so this blog is all words.  For pics, you need to go to Facebook or Instagram (sorry).  I hope to have it fixed soon.  But, I've really not had much time in the apartment when I wasn't sleeping!

I just returned home from my third day of activities in Paris.  Sorry it’s my first blog from here.  Each day has been exhausting.  Our flights were uneventful and we arrived a little before scheduled.  We had a mix-up finding each other after we deboarded, and had a giggle when we got to the baggage claim to find that our 3 bags were the only ones left on the stopped carousel.  We had taken so long connecting with each other and then using the restroom, that EVERYONE else on our plane had already retrieved their bags.

The apartment is a little smaller than the pictures led us to believe, and the 69 steps it takes to get there can be daunting at the end of a tiring day, but I’m confident that I’ll be happy here. My visions of a lush courtyard view from our windows were also overblown.  It’s a small area with one big tree and the rest filled with cobblestones. Yet, it is my home and I’m excited to have it.  The neighborhood is fun and totally NOT touristy, which is what I wanted.  I haven’t met anyone local yet, but I hope to do so.  Now that I’m here with Barbara and Sheila, I’m not as open to meeting others, but I know that I will when I’m left to my sole living.

We arrived on Thursday, and did a little exploring and stocked up on groceries that day...Friday we did the Louvre, walked down the Champs Elysses to the Arc de Triomphe, and went up to the top for the view of Paris. Today, we did Versailles. CROWDS everywhere.  I’m getting a bit overwhelmed. Versailles wasn’t really worth the time and energy, although we did learn a bit more than expected about taking the train.  Our proposed route was unavailable because they were working on the tracks. Luckily, the second info person we spoke to showed us an alternate way that took an extra stop, and extra train, but we got where we were going—albeit much later than we had planned. (Part of that was just because we have a bit of trouble getting three women out of the house in the morning!)

By the time we arrived in Versailles, the line to enter was huge. Proposed time to wait: 1.5 to 2 hours. We waited.  Actual time was 1 hour and 20 minutes. And, it was COLD!  Our poor, spoiled California blood isn’t prepared for 50-something degrees in a biting wind, standing on cobblestones, awaiting the line to reduce. We eventually got in.

I had visited Versailles in the late 70s with my mom.  The tour today was probably 1/2 of what it was then...many rooms and wings were off limits. The gardens, though, are still spectacular. Unfortunately, the crowds made it hard to see anything for very long.  I had decided to not take pics of everything around me and only focus on what I really was drawn to and the three of us. When I can figure out how to post pics here, I'll let you see!  The best thing that happened today at Versailles  was that the young man who waited on me in the cafeteria there told me he thought my French was great and I spoke better than most Americans he heard.  He actually first asked me if I was Spanish.  Guess I have a Spanish/American accent in my badly done French?

Yesterday’s journey to the Louvre and walk from the Louvre, through the Tuileries, to the Place de la Concorde and along the Champs Elysses to the Arc was adventurous and interesting.  Again, I am not enamored of the Louvre.  I think it’s just too overwhelming and I am not well-educated enough about art to really enjoy what I’m seeing.  I did get to see the Mona Lisa (I had seen it much closer when it was not behind glass and ropes in the 70s), a few of Michaelangelo’s sculptures, and various other paintings and sculptures I didn’t appreciate or understand.  Truth be told, I was not in my best form—possibly because I managed to fall out of the Metro car that took us to the Metro stop at the Louvre early that morning and was just plain sore!  I had an encounter with the Metro door—being too stupid to know how to open it and somehow, the details are a little sketchy, I fell onto the platform out of the door just as the door closed with Barb and Sheila still inside!

No, I wasn’t hurt badly—despite being seriously embarrassed.  My first Metro ride and I managed to delay the train!  The doors opened so S and B could join me, several strangers tried to help me, and the driver of the train even came out of the cab to yell down the platform to see if I was ok and needed help (ergo the delay).  And every bit of this was in FRENCH!  Holy catastrophe, Batman! What a way to greet the city of my love.  Yet, despite being sore, I am fine.  Nothing broken. Hallelujah..

So, that’s what’s happened so far.  Today, after Versailles, we had a lovely walk from Gare D’Austerlitz to our hood and ate dinner at Le Canon de Les Gobelins.  We had Kir Royal for an aperitif; escargots, gazpacho, and onion soup for appetizers; a lovely bottle of Bordeaux; and three delightful main "plats" before sharing a creme brulee for dessert.  It was a delightful day.  And, even with the crowds, the minor issues, and a bit of cool wind---I'm In Paris, living my dream.  WoW.


LLOParisPilgrimage


Sunday, August 19, 2018

LLO's Paris Pilgrimage #1

Three Days 'til Liftoff...

Three days from now, I'll be in the air, headed to New York, where I will change planes and then fly to ORLY! How can it all be happening? Sometimes, the days leading up to a dream-come-true are hard to believe...can this adventure actually happen? Is my dream coming true and how will it work out?  

And then, I think: YEP.  Just let it happen. Don't overthink it. Don't worry about forgetting something...don't stress on what you forgot to do or pack or notify or pay. Paris is a world away, but it's not out of this world! I will still have internet connections and can connect with all of you through the wonder of electronics; I can still go to a store to buy a pair of shoes if the ones I think will work for walking really don't; I can pay a bill from my computer in Paris just as though I were in La Mesa...but I WILL BE IN PARIS!

Here's a picture of the bedroom in the apartment where I'll be staying:

Bedroom. Windows are on courtyard.

Look at those floors, the lovely blue walls (did you know my home bedroom has blue walls?), and the incredible casement windows!

Now, look at this petite galley kitchen!  I bet it's smaller than in most boat galleys!

Full kitchen.

I laugh when I think of prepping any meals there when more than one person tries to fit into the room! Luckily, I don't think I'll be doing any major gastronomic feats--I'll prefer to walk outside and down the block to a local eatery.  Can you call a restaurant in Paris an eatery?  Seems a bit sacrilegious to me! (SIDENOTE:  I can't believe I spelled that word right!  I had to look it up because it didn't have the red underline and I didn't believe the system--and I had spelled it correctly!)

So, despite making you read through a stream of consciousness today, I do have a reason for blogging this morning!  To post the URL on FaceBook and Instagram, and send to various people who might not be on either.  That way, you can all follow me as I move through the next 6 weeks, as I walk the streets of Paris, as I soak in the wonder and beauty of this City of Light...as I live the dream.  I don't know what might come of it or how it will change me, but I know that it will.  I'm ready for whatever God and the Universe have in store.  And I know it will be phenomenal.

I think I'll even try a hashtag: #LLOParisPilgrimage  Now, you can all search for it, and as long as I remember to tag it, we'll have a system!  (I might double-check with my kid to be sure I'm doing it right sometime before I go. LOL!)   

Come along with me.  You're all invited.

Linda O

Linda O
Glamorous Me