A Beautiful Day…Oops, Until It Wasn’t

Bonjour,

There was no blog yesterday morning because there were no photos to share from the day before. We stayed inside amid some lousy weather. We have a cute efficient apartment and we LOVE where it is but it is not quite 500 square feet. After a day there, we were ready to do something else!

In pursuit of Metro Line 1 we ducked into L’Eglise St. Paul, St. Louis because despite all the excitement over some of the other Paris churches, it is still my favorite. Not as massive but so very elegant. The nativity scene which I shared before now has the star and the Wise Men but still no baby.

Since it is almost Christmas and since it was the fourth Sunday of Advent, we thought going to a church service might be just the thing. We like to go the American Cathedral of Paris on Avenue George Cinq because the service is mostly in English. Gone are the beautiful flags flying from the rafters for each state in the Union but it is still a lovely spot to worship. We were a bit disappointed because the sermon was delivered by a young woman whom neither of us could understand. We sat in the back in case Bernie had a coughing fit and needed to leave; maybe that was the problem.

We managed to dip into the George Cinq or the George V hotel along the way and captured their Christmas decorations.  I am never hesitant to go inside. My rule is always just to act like you belong there.

As we approached the church, we were able to capture the Louis Vuitton display next to their huge store on the Champs. I think it may just be a promotional gimmick for work going on behind the scenes. Bernie says it’s going to be a Louis Vuitton hotel. They are taking over the city! Before 11am, people were already lined up to get in.

We had lunch at one of the classic old bistros in the area called Chez André. It is a popular  spot for families for Sunday lunch. It is pretty famous for all the movie stars, etc. who have eaten there. We both had the sea bass followed by our first Île flottante or eggs and snow as Bernie likes to remember it from his childhood. It was delicious.

So all was well until we finished our meal and stepped out the door. What had been really a nice day became a vicious rain and wind storm, turning our umbrellas inside out. We had a long walk back up to the subway entrance. Every piece of me was soaked, just what we needed for our colds. Bernie, still hatless, did have the umbrella I had purchased only that morning. So our fate is caught somewhere in the shadows. My shoes, stockings, pants, coat, scarf and hat were not dry again until late in the evening.

Salad and sandwich in the apartment for dinner trying to get warm again.

Just 2 days until Christmas and we have much to do in preparation for the lunch we are making to share with our friend Hannah Swartz whom we haven’t seen in over a year. She arrives in Paris on Christmas Eve.

Hope your holiday preparations and festivities are going well. It is odd to be away from all the traditional Christmas activities from home and mostly away from our families.  May they know how much we will miss them, but they have my Christmas cookies delivered to them at Thanksgiving!

A bientôt

L & B