Bonjour mes amis, Yesterday was a journey of steps, steps and more steps. And Bernie and I are discovering the difference in young legs and old legs! Climbing almost 600 steps in this heat was a bit of a challenge but we made it to the top of the highest “butte” in Paris…the beloved Montmartre […]
Bonjour, Well, the gang’s all here! From the first moment off the plane, it was all smiles. They opted to be brave and very Parisian by riding the train home instead of taking a taxi! We had a great first day, getting everyone settled in, answering a lot of questions, enduring some yawns, indulging in […]
Bonjour, Last evening we welcomed the Newberry’s into Paris, though not without a moment or two of complication. So it was truly a Paris welcome…ha! I had already counseled them on the phrase, “C’est complique” (It’s complicated). They faced a mighty swell of traffic trying to get from the airport to their Marriott Hotel, had […]
Salut, It’s Thursday in Paris, and we are ramping up for company with some housecleaning, grocery shopping, and pure excitement. Tonight we have the pleasure of meeting Joe and Marie Newberry from Huntsville for dinner (pics forthcoming) at a delightful restaurant called La Fermette Marbeuf. Google it and you’ll be amazed at the interior. Tomorrow, […]
Bonjour, It’s Wednesday morning in Paris, and we have a new experience to share with you. We have tried on several occasions to visit the Institute of the Arab World which is directly across the river from us. It has been under restoration, but yesterday, we found it open. It is not a museum about […]
Bonjour mes amis, It was just a year ago that Paris looked like this (see the photo above) after nearly a month of rain and dreary weather, flooding the Seine over its boundaries, stopping all river traffic, and closing the then river-side expressway to automobile traffic. June of 2017 has been the exact opposite with […]
Salut, Yesterday (Sunday) began for us just before 8am with blaring music and loud commentary outside our window as a lively 10K race for the city of Paris was staged. Around 18,000 people participated, and Bernie grabbed his camera and chased around after them. I attended church services at St. Paul/St. Louis and lit a […]
Bonjour, Our weekend was made for strolling because the weather has been terrific. We are hoping it will continue for at least another week or two until my son and his family complete their visit. Paris is a different city when it rains…not all bad but not at its total best. Just like at home, […]
Happy Saturday to all, We are having fantastic weather in Paris, especially yesterday, when it was just barely 70 degrees under blue skies and a frequent breeze. What a contrast from the year before when we had rain and flooding the first few weeks of June! The highlight of our day was a trip to […]
Bonjour, Our step meter hit almost 16,000 yesterday thanks to our great luck in once again encountering Diner en Blanc or Dinner in White. This is a phenomenon which began in Paris many years ago and has spread to other large cities in Europe and beyond. If you read Bernie’s Paris, you will remember the story. A Parisian […]
Bonjour mes amis, It’s Thursday in Paris and even here, we are smothered in the James Comey testimony. We were so hoping to get away from the politics, but it’s impossible. Yesterday was a fun, busy day beginning with some housecleaning in our apartment. We will leave it far cleaner than when we arrived, and […]
Dear friends, I know the question on your minds is in regard to yesterday’s incident at Notre Dame. Though minor, it was surely scary for those who got caught up in it. We were safely in our apartment but had been right there just the other day. Notre Dame is within easy walking distance of […]
Bonjour, Yesterday, Monday, was a holiday in Paris, in commemoration of Pentecost. However, the city was still alive and bustling with plenty of tourists. The weather was ideal for a jaunt to Montmartre, truly my favorite spot in Paris. We had a cool breeze all day under blue skies and fluffy white clouds. We have been […]
Bonjour mes amis, Sunday morning is my very favorite time in Paris, where the streets are empty of traffic, people are fewer in number, and a lazier haze rests over the city. Many shops are closed, church bells are ringing, and families and friends gather round for a brunch of croissants, coffee, and le jus […]
Bonjour, Yesterday in Paris was a surprise-much cooler and culminating in an aggravating rain which kept us from our after-dinner walk. It did not, however, keep Bernie from his nightly soirée with his buddies downstairs. They bandy about all manner of subjects which greatly increases Bernie’s French vocabulary. The group broke up abruptly to scurry […]
Bonjour, It’s wonderful to have new folks following the blog this year plus all the Facebook friends. We love hearing from you so leave us a comment, s’il vous plaît. Some communicated that they were having difficulty with that so I contacted my webmaster last night, and hopefully the issue is fixed. Many of you […]
Bonjour, We have arrived in Paris, and all is well: a good travel day, only ten minutes at Customs which was a great improvement over the forty-five minutes last year, and a welcome home to our favorite apartment on rue St. Paul. Our neighbors heard us as we came up the steps and came down […]
Bonjour, I want to go on record that turning one’s body clock around to Paris time is the pits! Yes, it’s a great help after arriving at our apartment but pretty grueling before we leave. I’m now getting up at 1am and going to bed at 6pm in the light of day! Going to bed […]
Dear Friends, Once in a while, life hands us an opportunity to step outside our present reality and see scenes from the past which are rich and enlightening treasures. Such was the last three days for me at a special reunion. If you have read my latest book “Bernie’s Paris,” you may remember a quick […]
Bonjour mes amis! No, we are not in Paris yet but eagerly anticipating our thirteenth year of summer fun. Many of you have gotten your copy of Bernie’s Paris, and we are so pleased with your feedback. God bless us as we travel into the often uneasy European stage. Many have expressed their hesitation, but rest […]
Bonjour mes amis, In case you haven’t heard, our Paris book is published and available on Amazon or with a direct order from Amazon’s createspace.com/6010540. To say we are a bit excited is the understatement of the year. We’ve been zealous in getting the word out, and truly hope we haven’t beat the social media […]
Dear Friends, You’ve heard it said, as I have, that there’s a book inside every one of us. That’s probably true, and there are hundreds of new books that come out every day, far too many to ever read. The publishing world has morphed into an entirely new creature, even in the last two years. […]
Dear Friends, We have been home from Paris for a month almost to the day. If you read my final blog which I posted on July 16, you may remember that I had injured my foot, etc. etc. This was especially challenging because of the 78 steps we had the last month! FINALLY, I was […]
Au revoir to our wonderful friends and family! Our summer jaunt is done, and it’s been a different year for us in many ways. I always like to reflect in my final blog and talk about what’s been different during this visit. It’s hard to believe that we’ve been coming for twelve years. I’m so […]
Bonjour, After a very late night, we waked up to hear about the horrific attack in Nice which is hundreds of miles from us on the Mediterranean Coast. Thanks to all who have checked on us. I had already written most of this post in nothing but fun; now, the sadness lingers. However, I decided […]
Thanks to all 50 of you who voted! The winner is # 16, the traditional Drucker chair. I think this bodes well for keeping Paris in its classic style. This chair received 17 votes. Second place goes to # 11, the purple chair with 11 votes. Third place goes to # 15, the black and […]
Bonsoir, On Saturday, we visited our very favorite museum in Paris, Musée JacqueMart-André and had lunch at their beautiful tearoom. We were lucky enough to get seating on the patio where we met a delightful couple from London who have an apartment in Paris, Malcolm and Antonia Alexander. They were celebrating their 11th anniversary by going […]
Bonjour, Our outing to Fountainebleau was quite nice, but held a surprise. The other chateaus we have visited in France have been in remote locations in the countryside. Fountainebleau is in the immediate town of Fountainebleau, lacking a sense of separation from the modern world. The gardens are massive behind the chateau, but we didn’t have time to thoroughly visit […]
Bonjour mes amis, As our time together comes to a close, I thought it would be great to have a little fun AND perhaps learn something new at the same time. Thanks to Bernie’s French cousin, Laurie, I have learned that all café chairs in Paris are not created equal. A House of Tradition, Maison […]
Bonsoir, This blog post is a day late arriving because we have been without any internet for almost 24 hours. So read this as though it was yesterday! Our weather has been glorious today, all day long. No clouds, no gray cast, no rain…just blue skies and warm temps. Since it was so nice, we […]
Bonsoir, We had not been to Père LaChaise in many years, and a second visit was our main itinerary today. The weather was breezy, cool, and mostly cloudy so it was an appropriate ambiance for walking quietly through this huge green space. I was very surprised at how few people were visiting, almost no Americans […]
Bonjour, There’s nothing better than spending Sunday morning at one of the largest markets in Paris at Marché Bastille. And for us, it’s a convenient wonder that it’s only two blocks from our apartment. We decided to stroll through and let the pictures tell the story. Despite a gray, drizzly day, we found color and enjoyment […]
Happy Fourth of July Weekend! I will take a break on the blog for a day or two since I’m sure most of you will be busy grilling burgers, eating watermelon, and visiting with family and friends. We will be as proud to be Americans here in Paris as we are at home! This morning […]
Bonjour! What a surprising weather day today with a foreboding forecast of rain all afternoon, but the joy of sunshine with 68 degrees was what we actually got. We decided to venture out again into new territory for us and became flâneurs or strollers through the 18th arrondissment. For those who may not know, Paris is […]
Bonjour, Today has been a lovely weather day in the upper 60s with mostly sunny skies. Our morning is usually devoted to shopping, as was the case today. Then we grabbed some take-out lunch from a little patisserie including a splurge with a fresh cherry tart! Most days we are averaging between 12,000 and 15,000 […]
Bonjour mes amis, I thought I would give all of us a little break from the blog for a day or two! Hope the weather has moderated some in Alabama. Things are certainly “hot” over here with Brexit and some additional manifestations at the Bastille and the closure of the Eiffel Tower today. But as […]
Bonjour from Paris on a Sunday morning, We are hearing from so many of you about the terrible heat in the USA. Hopefully, you will get a break soon! Not to add salt to your wound, but yesterday in Paris was just perfect. I think the high was 68 degrees with a gentle breeze, and […]
Happy Weekend, I love a day like yesterday in Paris. . . new territory, charm, and surprise, all amid gorgeous weather. Thanks to a suggestion from friends, Connie and Jim Malone, we struck out after lunch for a long, complicated subway ride to the suburbs of Paris in the 20th arrondissment, an area which is […]
Bonjour, We awoke this morning to the shock of Great Britain’s vote to leave the EU, followed by David Cameron’s resignation. If you have investment in the US stock market, there will likely be some some rocky days ahead. Regardless of your opinion on this issue, it will bring huge changes to Europe and the […]
Bonjour, One of our fun goals each summer in Paris is to explore new places. . . which is becoming more challenging as the years go by. But we generally can find a new surprise or two, some of which have been on our list for a long while. After many attempts to find our […]
Bonjour mes amis, The question I have been asked by many of you is, “Are you all okay in Paris?” This seems to be driven by extreme media reports coming out of Paris about street riots over football, stinky garbage piling up on streets, strikes and other manifestations over labor disputes, dysfunctional transportation, etc. I […]
Bonsoir mes amis, Sunday is such a special day in Paris. . . easier, quieter, more relaxed with families outside everywhere. Most stores are closed and many restaurants as well. Our day began with a walk across the river for a special Father’s Day lunch with Bernie’s son. We noticed that the Seine has risen at […]
Happy weekend to all of you! I can tell that summer has arrived as I’m sensing many of you are busy with summer travel and side trips to fun places. At least I hope so. Happy Father’s Day tomorrow to all the Dads! This morning was laundry day for us in our new apartment which […]
Bonjour, After a very busy morning of packing and unpacking, we are in our new apartment which will be our home for the second month of our Paris visit! We LOVE it…very light, breezy and much more room than we had before. However, we will remember 42BIS on rue St. Paul with much fondness and […]
Bonjour, Some days are slow and lazy, and this has been one of them. The weather is still quite cool, and we managed a pouring rain about 1:30 which kept us inside at the Musée d’Arts Décoratif. I began my day early with a much-needed haircut. I always hold my breath a bit when I […]
Bonjour mes amis, Last evening, though tired, sleepy and feeling our age, we made our way to the Eiffel Tower. . . when reasonable people should be heading to bed! There were special ceremonies in memory of the victims of the Orlando shooting. We felt we had to be there since it was our country […]
Salut! It’s a gray Monday in Paris with intermittent light drizzle and around 60 degrees. We welcomed Bernie’s son, James, this morning and his partner, Stephen. Their studio apartment is about a 3-minute walk from us on the top floor of another 16th century building in the Marais. I’m sure they have at least 70 […]
Bonsoir, Our weekend has been easy and fun, slightly cooler with more rain! Ugh! However, we are excited to greet Bernie’s son James and his partner, Stephen, tomorrow for a two-week visit. They will be staying in an apartment very close to us, about a 3-minute walk. We are glad the river has found its […]
Bonjour mes amis, I love to start with good news. The River Seine is almost back to normal, and I think within a day or two, sans any significant rain, we will see the cruise boats back out on the river in force. The water needs to drop another couple of feet in our estimation. The […]
Bonjour, After almost a week in Paris, Jan & Tony left early this morning (Friday). It was a good week but certainly less than hoped for with Jan’s being under the weather. She was able to make all of our dinners, but none of the daily activities. They stayed at the Hotel Caron (http://www.hotelcaron.com) It’s […]
