Rain, Rain, No Worries! - Friday, 29 August

Today was a typical Parisian rain day – sunny one minute, clouding up quickly, a short thunderstorm, back to light drizzle, then bright sunshine to dry up all of the streets and sidewalks and bring the humidity down.  And then all over again, often for several cycles throughout the day!  Refreshing!

So I headed out for lunch under the awnings of Au Bourguignon du Marais at the end of my block.  Here's the view from my table.  A terrific bakery, Au Petit Versailles du Marais, is just across the street - they won the prize for the best baguette in Paris in 2014.

First, a refreshing melon & cucumber gazpacho with spheres of perfectly sweet cantaloupe, strips of dried Speck ham, roasted pumpkin seeds, and a toasted brioche log.  Glorious!

Then their house terrine of baked ham in “fine herbes” (parsley, tarragon, chives, and chervil in a light vegetal gel) and terrine of pickled onions, cornichon halves and mustard seeds.  And a couple more slices of baguette.  Deeeeelicious, and I could eat only half of it, so my server packed up the rest for me to take home.  

I hope this doesn’t give you vertigo, but I thought you might enjoy the sound of the rain on the awning in this short video (sorry for tilting my phone camera – don’t know why I did that!).  As they say, "turn up the volume!"

With a glass of Saint-Bris Sauvignon Mont Embrasé Domaine Bersan and an espresso, just €41.  And with bonus leftover snacks in my fridge!  https://aubourguignondumarais.fr/  

And here's a video about the resto that someone posted on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/reel/713028188401367

When Assistance Takes a While and it's Chilly - Sunday, 2 March

You've been waiting for mobility assistance news from the sprawling Charles de Gaulle airport, haven't you?!?  (The last few trips have provided unique experiences, challenges and delights in almost equal measure - check out those stories elsewhere in this blog)

Well, today the wheelchair assistance service presented a new twist.  I was excited that the plane pulled up to a jetway (rather than parking out on the tarmac somewhere), and that they had ordered a wheelchair to meet me at the airplane door.  I hoped that the assistant would roll me all the way through the hallways, monorail shuttle, passport check, baggage pickup, etc.  But alas!  There was another group of six passengers who apparently had trouble walking long distances (although they didn’t request wheelchairs) and there were only two attendants.  So the attendants called for a small van (rats – these things are hard to get in and out of) to take us to the transfer point.  But the worst part was that we waited in a cold drafty jetway for 45 minutes (it was about 34 degrees F. and windy this morning).  I should have asked to shift from the wheelchair to a regular chair so that I could at least move around a bit while waiting for the van, but who wouldda thunk that it would take 45 minutes?  A couple times I was sorely tempted to get up and walk the distance, but realized that I might be the only person in the hallways (since the rest of the passengers had long ago made their way out), which could be risky if I were to trip and fall.  So I waited.  

Eventually the van came and drove us through the underbelly of CDG to another mobility assistance area where a very nice agent took me the rest of the way, handled my bags for me, jumped the G7 taxi queue for me, and and took me right to the car.

Now, at the apartment after a bit of a nap, I’m congested and sneezing.  Not that I'm complaining, but, well, I sort of am!  Hopefully one day of rest will take care of it.  It looks like 50s and 60s with sunshine for the upcoming week.  Wow!

Il Pleut - Saturday, 1 June

It's raining = "il pleut" in French, and "pleut" is pronounced approximately (and totally appropriately) "pluugh."  It's been drizzling all day, with temps in the high 50s, and when I went out to run a couple of errands this afternoon, it suddenly started pouring.  Happily, multiple cafés were a couple of steps away!   Normally, downpours pass pretty quickly, but this one kept going, stopped for a minute, started again, ....

Nobody comes to Paris for the weather (although when it's glorious here it's GLORIOUS!), but still....  Happily, I had nothing that I absolutely HAD to do this afternoon, so I could sit and watch others deal with their umbrellas (or lack thereof) and their little kids and taxis and strollers and tour group leaders and squeaky bicycle brakes and parcels (like one guy I saw carrying a couple long 2x4s)!  Not to forget those who had to work in the rain, like the cleanup crew at the temporary open-air market across the street.  And the homeless woman sitting on the sidewalk under an umbrella with her little puppy.

Flakes and Lifts (two kinds) - Friday, 20 January

Guess what meteorological condition greeted me when I arrived in Paris this morning.  If you guessed "snow" you get to eat a croissant! (Sorry I can't deliver a free one to you, but at least you have my permission to indulge in all that buttery goodness!)  Hey, I thought I had escaped the flakes for a while.   

But the skies were bright blue by the time I got to my apartment.  

And for those of you who were worrying, I'm happy to report that the elevator is working!

If you know someone who might need mobility services at the airport, there's a new scheme!  On the past couple of trips I was met at the gate by an airport worker with a wheelchair, who wheeled me down concourses, down and up elevators, onto and off the tram, down the "exclusive" speedy line at passport control, and then to the baggage claim.  This time, I walked to the elevator just outside the gate, rode down to the tarmac, and stepped onto a small shuttle which drove the few of us gimpies a significant distance (it's always fun to see the underbelly of an airport) to the lower level of the passport check area.  Then get a lift there from one of the employees to head up the elevator and continue the rest of the process.  Slick!   

Hoo boy, what a difference the season makes!  Rather than long snaking lines at passport control for "regular" people, there were just a couple lines with 5-minute waits.  Where are all the tourists?  Waiting for fairer weather?

Miscellany from the Week - Saturday, 23 April

“Paris is loath to surrender itself to people who are in a hurry; it belongs to the dreamers, to those capable of amusing themselves in its streets without regard to time when urgent business requires their presence elsewhere … waste time … experience the faint distress that comes from thinking you have lost your way."  Julien Green, Paris

There are giants among us!  This façade on rue du Louvre was pretty arresting!

For lunch one day, chicken paillard (chicken breasts pounded flat and quickly grilled to be slightly charred and crispy on the outside while still juicy inside) served with a big lemon wedge, arugula, and a tasty uncooked tomato-shallot-herb-vinegar salsa, fries, and a beer at Café Étienne Marcel.  Very tasty, and there must have been five paillards here - could have easily fed a family with them!

I’m usually a beer or wine person for the afternoon “break” but one day I thought I’d try one of Le Compas’ signature cocktails - the “I Love Paris” - strawberry juice, Champagne and the elderflower liqueur St-Germain.  Tasty, but hoo boy, it went to my head right away!  Good thing I was just about 20 yards from my front door!  That brown bottle on the table is hand sanitizer - you’ll see them on the tables of many cafés and restos.

Many Paris streets, gardens, and squares are named after artists, writers, musicians, royalty, religious - a few are named after business persons or politicians, but happily, not many!  Just for you music fans, here’s a tiny (and overgrown) small square in the 6th named after Francis Poulenc.

Loved the metal “lace” fences outside the Haute École de Joaillerie (jewelry-making school) on rue du Louvre

It’s a bit hard to see, but this bicycle courier was delivering an Amazon box to the building across the rue Marie Stuart from my door.  I have always seen lots of deliveries via bicycle, but the volume seems to be increasing.  Also, with more and more streets being carved up to add a bicycle lane and remove some vehicle lanes, more and more commuters are on rental bicycles.  The bicyclists and pedestrians have the right-of-way, so if you hit one, the driver is liable.  There are still a lot of accidents, though.  But my drivers were all very cautious, so no accidents this trip! 

I should have thought to explore the other direction on rue Tiquetonne earlier. Perfect fish & chips, not strictly French of course, but SO yummy! 

And, my latest heartthrob….

It started pouring with rain one afternoon, so I *had to* seek shelter under the awning of a sidewalk café!

There's this cool little shop of "stuff" in the Passage du Grand Cerf at the end of my block, and I always try to stop by when I'm in town to find something odd & interesting to bring home.  This time I really wished I could pop this, um, stationary bicycle exercise stool (?) or one of these cool cabinets in my suitcase!   For more of their stuff, check out their website:   https://www.rickshaw.fr/en

A Dark and Stormy “White Night” - Saturday, 2 October

Well, it was a dark and stormy night for the 20th annual “La Nuit Blanche à Paris,” which also happened to coincide with the launch of the Paris 2024 Cultural Olympiad.  

La Nuit Blanche, held the first Saturday of October each year all over Paris, incorporates concerts, art installations, dance, exhibitions, staged scenes, video shows, neon light shows, disco-rollerblading (I kid you not!), etc. - mostly performing events but some participatory ones - from both French and international artists.  It was canceled last year due to the pandemic and apparently was a bit underfunded this year, yielding more video productions of performances than actual live performances.  Still, about 200 artists registered for the event.  It’s an all-night festival - the buses and Métro run through the night and some streets are closed.  

Sad to say, after a week of glorious sunny and warm weather, it drizzled all day today, started raining more heavily tonight, the wind picked up, and the temperature was in the low 50s F.  I had thought about venturing out to see something - there were some dance/orchestral events scheduled for Place de l'Hotel de Ville just a few blocks from my apartment, but I wimped out.  A sad response for a Duluth native - what happened to that old Nordic toughness?!?  In any case, I read that some events were canceled at the last minute.  Hey, I wouldn’t have wanted to be out performing in those conditions either!

https://quefaire.paris.fr/nuitblanche

May I Never Become Inattentive to the Beauty - Monday, 23 September

It's a gorgeously balmy and calm evening - 65 degrees and barely a hint of a breeze and quiet in my 'hood - so I decided to sit for a while on one of the benches in the little square just outside my door before heading inside after dinner.

As you can see, the streets are beautifully and safely lit without being overly bright. The beauty never ceases to charm, center and calm me. I hope and pray that I never become inattentive to it.

Au revoir, Paris! A tout a l'heure! - Thursday, 9 October

OK, it really wasn't this bad! 

And if I had brought a smaller umbrella that I could tuck in my purse at all times, 

I wouldn't have gotten nearly as soaked!

Necessity is the Mother of Invention - Friday, 12 April

Cafes often have freestanding electric or gas heating umbrellas, or building-mounted heating lamps, under the canopy that shields their sidewalk tables.  These are very welcome on a cold and rainy day when one wants to eat or drink outside in the fresh air.  But I saw this new invention a couple days ago, and just had to test it on my way back home from dinner tonight.

It might be hard to see from this photo, but it's an electric heater that wraps around the pedestal of the table!  I'll take another shot of it from a distance and add it here so that you have a better perspective.

For now, though, I can tell you that it was nice and warming!  My kneecap next to the heater was much warmer than the other one by the time I finished my espresso. Quite a few people stopped to admire the table and ask me if I was warm and (I'm sure) wish that I would move on pretty soon so that they could try it!

And I need to modify (a bit) what I said in my last post about people not entertaining friends in their apartments.  It was about 11:30 when I got back to my apartment, and there was a large (from the sounds of things) party going on in the apartment next door!  I should have crashed it so that I could see how these things work, but - duh - I just let myself into my own door.  The party suddenly stopped at midnight and everyone left and the music ended.  I normally like quiet, but I actually found myself missing the music and the laughter!

Memories of Mom on Vacation - Wednesday, 24 October

When I was a kid we often rented a cabin at Bay Lake (near Brainerd) for our summer vacation.  I have vivid memories of my mom packing the station wagon with a bunch of projects for her "leisure" time (ha ha ... as if moms ever have leisure time) - even the sewing machine - and items to be mended were not the least among the projects.

Those memories came flooding back today when I sat down to mend my leather coat that I ripped (big time) last week.  Beth Ann, Lydia and I were being seated at a tiny booth in a café next to Notre-Dame, and the pocket of my coat caught on the corner of the table as I was plopping myself in, and (totally ungraceful person that I am), not only did the stitching rip but big swaths of the leather tore as well.  I said "oh, phooey" (or maybe it was another word that sounds a lot like "Dame").

It warmed up this week, so I haven't had to use the coat, but today was a bit chilly and damp so it was time to get to work!  Needle and thread wouldn't be enough, so I hoofed it down to the local hardware store and found some glue that could be used on leather.  After an hour or so of prepping, positioning, gluing (times 5) and then some hand stitching, it's back in usable form.  It doesn't look like new, but it's not TOO bad.

Mom would be proud (I hope).  And I am cozy warm again.

We Need all the Light we can Get! - Sunday, 7 November

It's a chilly and rainy Sunday afternoon, so not many people are out on the usually-very-busy rue Cler.  But that's good news for the Christmas lighting installers, who have the street almost to themselves!

It seems to be rushing the season a bit, but hey...I guess we need all the light we can get, especially on drizzly almost-winter days in these northern latitudes (Paris is just below 49 degrees north latitude, about the same as Thunder Bay).

Don’t Like the Weather? Just Wait a Few Minutes! - Monday, 15 June

Back in my hometown of Duluth, the weather taught us to be very hopeful people. We’d say, “Too hot for you? Just wait a couple minutes, it will change!” (Of course, we could only say this in August, but you get the idea….) Maybe that’s one of the reasons Paris has always felt like home to me. Don’t like the weather? Just wait a few minutes – it will change! [Fun fact: Paris is at 48 degrees N latitude, farther north than Duluth at 46 degrees N!]

We descended through thick clouds, and by the time I got outside we had “liquid sunshine” (as my mom used to call it), a.k.a. a downpour. While waiting about 20 minutes for my shuttle it changed to a drizzle, then rain again, then just overcast, then….

But the rain doesn’t seem to dampen Parisians’ spirits. Just outside the immigration hall at Terminal 2E of Charles de Gaulle airport is a fairly dingy “arrivals” hall with a small Illy coffee bar. It’s always mobbed with confused people trying to figure stuff out. The people in front of me were taking forever to find the sugar and coffee stirrers, so the young black man working the bar looked over their shoulders at me and asked for my order. I said “café noir, s’il vous plaît” (black coffee, or espresso), and he chuckled and pointed at himself and nodded his head in approval as he said “noir, comme moi” (or something like that, in any case a reference to “black like me!”). Just the warm and cheerful welcome I needed!