Another day of exploration and marvel in this amazing place. We set out early this morning in “the early morning rain” (another song left over from the bridge last night) in hope of getting to the Musee de L’Orangerie prior to the arrival of the crowds, to spend some quiet time looking at Monet’s room length mural impressionist paints of water lilies. WE arrived well before the museum opened and were among the first in the door. At times we had each of the two huge rooms all to ourselves. The rooms are oval with four long curved paintings in each room. There is something reverent about seeing them up close and full size. One of those experiences that is hard to describe.

We meandered back to the hotel via a cafe for breakfast, and the first cup of coffee for the day. Just saying the coffee here has us hooked. Brenda takes it as cafe au lait, while mine is black and strong enough to have to be beaten into submission so as not to having it climb out of the cup. Wonderful, wonderful flavor. Back at the hotel we caved in for a nap. How refreshing to have that luxury!

Next. After days of hoofing it, Brenda has a couple of blisters needing attention, so we located a pharmacy (pharmacie) and relatively quickly learned to discuss the relative merits of Eau Oxygenee (hydrogen peroxide) and the french term sparadrap (bandaid). All fixed.

We then headed for Les Deux Magots, a famous cafe, for a touch of lunch (if you can call four o’clock lunch). Another marvelous sidewalk experience to watch the world go by in so many strange and different ways.

Next we headed to Saint-Chapelle for a concert. Brenda had gotten tickets on line, and this seemed to be an extraordinary opportunity to visit one of our have to sites and hear an Ava Maria concert. The chapel is beautiful beyond words with towering stained glass windows all the way around. The concert consisted of a string quartet, and a lady with an amazing range of voice that filled the entire space. We sat transfixed for the hour and left in a state of awe!

Well, well now it is nine in the evening, must be time for dinner. The usual strolling took once again to Ile Saint Louis to discover new alley wide streets and hidden alcoves. Tonight Brenda found a restaurant I would likely have passed by. A tiny hole in the wall with only eleven tables. To be honest I entered with a certain amount of hesitation. The owner, host, cook, waiter, cashier, dishwasher, table cleaner, and translator of food titles was a single tee shirted individual working at an amazing pace to keep it all going. What an astounding meal. Best so far in Paris! From the first taste, to the hand written check at the end it was marvelous. Brenda had a Creme Brulee for dessert, and I had the mystery flambe dessert. Instead of just using a torch to caramelize the surface of the Creme Brulee in the kitchen, he brought out a branding iron just the size of the dish top, and did it right at the table with a rush of sweet smelling smoke and quite the dramatic flair. For mine he brought out a small metal pot with leaping flames and poured it over the top of the dessert where it continued to flame for a while. Both were delicious. It was such a stunning finish to the evening we did not even stop on the bridge tonight en-route back to the hotel.

I know for sure we have settled in, because tonight Brenda said what we both always think about places we come to love, “I could just so live here”

Tonight’s post will be brief due to exhaustion on this end. Sigh of relief by all. After walking over ten and a half miles yesterday, we added almost twelve today, The day blessed us again with crystal blue skies, sunshine, and temperature in the high eighties. After a late and leisurely breakfast at an outdoor cafe we headed along the river in the opposite direction from Notre Dame. We only left the river when we reached the  Louvre Museum. We didn’t enter the museum today, but strolled through the courtyards, admired the glass pyramid and the Tuileries Gardens. From there we continued on via the Avenue des Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triumph, and then a long circuitous route all the way to the Eiffel Tower. By this time the feet were screaming for a break and we found a quiet neighborhood with a shaded cafe. Refreshing drinks and a small plate of wonderful cheese with crusty bread put things right again. Back to the hotel with a leisurely stroll along Rue Cler’s quaint shops and Boulevard  Saint Germain’s shaded lengths, Both peaceful and tiring. Brenda put it all in perspective when she said “nothing here is ordinary. Everything here has a special touch, a subtle different in cultural, unique architecture, and so incredibly much history.”

It is only our second night here, and I fear already there is a trend developing. As we crossed the Pont St Louis (the bridge over to Ile St Louie) to have dinner in a small back alley restaurant, we paused to listen to the same player caress melodies from his piano. After dinner as we recrossed, a young man from Alaska (now living in Paris) was playing guitar and singing on the bridge. He had a golden voice and I swear he has been studying my iTunes play list. He performed songs from Simon & Garfunkel, Woody Guthrie, Kristofferson, Lightfoot, Lenard Cohen, and many more than I can recall. Needless to say we sat on the bridge until midnight and then strolled tiredly back to the hotel beneath the fresh half moon shimmering over the river.

 

As we eased into the trip waiting for the plane to board in Boston, the anticipation began to build. After years of trying and thwarted efforts, it was time to go to Paris. All aboard Delta Airlines for a flight to France. Took off at seven-forty in the evening east coast time and winged through mostly clear skies to Charles de Gaulle airport. Landed at eight-thirty-ish time in France, cleared customs, and headed for the train into the city. There are some minor confusions over ticket machines that only Euro coins or chip credit cards, but it all works out. A short time later we disembark less then a block from our hotel right in the heart of Paris. At long, long last we are in the “City of Light”. Let the magic begin.

The hotel is located on the left bank in arrondissement five. Our room is on the third floor and looks out on the Seine River just at the Ile de la  Citie. In one direction there is a view of Saint Chapelle and the other way has a stunning view of Notre Dame Cathedral. This afternoon we walked for miles along the river, and through old neighbor hoods with ancient tall buildings and narrow streets; explored mixes of high end boutiques, tourist shops, wine and cheese markets and bakeries, oh my!  In the process, of course, we had to sample a few sidewalk cafes to re-hydrate and soothe the spirit.

Finally, this evening we strolled across the Seine and found a quaint little sidewalk cafe just off the end of the bridge over to the Ile Saint Louis. Great food, good company, excellent people watching, and leisurely wine drifted the dusk into the twinkle of the night lights coming on all along the river. In the back ground an incredible street musician played Chopin on his piano to a mesmerized crowd on the bridge. As I pondered how very far from home we are, an amazing added touch  emphasized yet again how small the world really is, and how connected we may be. The last people to sit at the table next to us consisted of a slightly older gentleman, and a younger woman and man (late teens, early twenties). They spoke in English, and noted that we did also. He was the grandfather and the two visiting him were his grandchildren. As we rose to leave he asked where we were from, and we replied  Portland, Maine. He replied that he was from Philadelphia and the young woman lives there now. He then pointed to the young man and said he lives in Dover Foxcroft, Maine. Just up the road. Small world!

As we headed back across the bridge a very heavy quarter moon hung over the river and the magic was truly there!

We are at Logan Airport in Boston on the first leg of a new adventure. At this moment  the conversation swirls around things like; did you pack the ….., where is the ….., do you think we should….. Slowly the relaxation is beginning to seep in and the thrill of heading out again starts to take over.  Bonne nuit!