Bonjour, Yesterday was all about waiting for the arrival of my daughter and her family. It’s the first time my son-in-law, Steve, and youngest grandson, James, have been to visit! And you already know that they miraculously ended up in our building, one floor and elevator ride away. They came in from London on the […]
Bonjour, Our late wake-up yesterday was not disastrous, and we met our friend Hannah right on time at a restaurant in the sky, Le Ciel de Paris, which is on top of Tour Montparnasse. They provide “le petit dejeuner”or breakfast Monday to Friday. We were on the Metro at rush hour which is a bit […]
Bonjour mes amis, Life is always so funny, mais oui? We had to leave the apartment by 8:45 this morning to meet our friend Hannah for a special brunch. (More on that tomorrow) Instead of waking up at 4 or even 5am, I slept until 7:10! Bernie and I were in fast gear trying to […]
Bonjour, It isn’t easy to incorporate the body clock switch when traveling abroad with new food, new water, new bed, etc. and it’s especially difficult the older we get. Our message: don’t delay. Travel when your days are younger. We do “okay” but it’s getting more and more difficult. Slowly we are making progress. I […]
Bonjour mes amis, It’s almost summertime and for us that means Paris! This is our twenty-second year, and we hope to share the next two months with you. Our travel day on Friday was less than the best with a 3-hour delay out of Huntsville because of a mechanical problem. Ugh! The rest of the […]
Bonjour mes amis, This trip has been different from our many others over these 20 years. It has been shorter, colder, grayer and fraught with health challenges, heavy coats, gloves that went missing and scarves that were never quite warm enough. BUT any time in Paris is good, and we are deeply grateful to have […]
Bonjour mes amis, Well, we’re down to only two days and enjoying them with friends. Our Saturday dinner with our former neighbor, Chantal, was delightful as always. She had just returned from two weeks in Germany for Christmas. She left a plumbing problem in her apartment and returned to the same issue with a cancelled […]
Bonjour, You can bet that when I don’t post it’s directly related to the weather. After a couple of really lousy days-cold, gray and rainy, we finally had some decent weather with sunshine. So here are some catch-up photos to start your weekend. It is our last one as we will depart on the 8th. […]
Happy New Year, friends near and far! We wish for you a happy, healthy and productive New Year. We have exactly one week remaining and it will be busy connecting with friends before we depart on January 8th. The weather is still chilly, BUT we haven’t had any rain in ten days or so. That […]
Bonjour, Our days are becoming fewer and colder but no indication of any snow in the forecast. It will be in the mid 30’s today which is pretty cold to walk around in especially at night. Yesterday was a slow easy day as Sundays should be. We decided upon lunch in La Place de la […]
Bonjour, It barely got above freezing yesterday so a very cold (hatless) day. Ah, Bernard. We did not stop out of the apartment until after 3pm for some grocery shopping and then a last effort to see Christmas decorations after dark at the suggestion of Google’s Top Ten. I had only missed one, GalerieVivienne behind […]
Bonjour, Yesterday was a great weather day, though quite chilly. It was 38 when we headed out for coffee with our friends Richard and Vincent. Gosh, we’ve known Richard for over twenty years now! We always enjoy their company and got some advice about cold medicine to get from the pharmacy. I’m so disappointed that […]
Bonjour, Yesterday was a wonderful weather day with bright sunshine and temps close to 50 degrees with very little wind. Bernie and I are still struggling with what the French refer to as “le rhume” or a very bad cold. It just doesn’t want to let go of us and the lingering cough is a […]
Hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas Day!!! I walked to the church around 6pm to see if there was a baby in the manger scene at the church I love so much. It was so quiet, with candles and beautiful candlelight. It was the best part of my day. Hope you have enjoyed our […]
Bonjour mes amis, It’s Christmas Eve and I’m sure everyone is quite busy with preparations for tomorrow’s big day. To family, we miss you and would love to hear from you. To friends, celebrate the joys of the season with passion and lots of wonderful memories, food, gifts and and recognition of the true meaning. […]
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 […]
Bonjour, Even though it’s beautiful Paris, you can have a bad day here and such was our fate yesterday. But before I walk you through the saga, let me say once again how very thoughtful all of your comments are in regard to Bernie’s health. I read and approve every single one so they will […]
Dear Friends near and far, Your comments, texts and even phone calls yesterday were such a support to us. It was a long grueling day spent mostly at the Urgence or emergency room at the American Hospital of Paris. It’s way the heck on the other side of Paris so the round trip cab fare […]
Bonjour mes amis, Bernie was still very under the weather yesterday. Despite my insistence on a few simple things like a hat, he persists that he’s doing okay. So, I left out on my own yesterday to see what the situation was over at Notre Dame. The web site always says that the tickets are […]
Bonjour, Yesterday produced no new photos as Bernie is really under the weather with a horrible cold. I did catch-up with laundry, grocery shopping, a little cleaning in the apartment and some other shopping. Looks like today will be much the same. I scanned back through all the photos I’ve taken and found some which […]
Bonjour, We’ve had a full, very full, week with James and Andrew and their visit comes to an end with many memories. Since it was Sunday, we spent the morning at the Bastille market. I must have a 1000 photos from over the years but took just a few more to give you a flavor. […]
Bon Dimanche, Happy Sunday to everyone. It’s quite cold here in the upper 30’s and low 40’s always with a slight mist in the air. Yesterday’s outing was to Montmartre, my favorite place in Paris. However, I must admit that I much prefer summertime there. What happened along the way is the real story. It’s […]
Bonjour, Yes, yes, yes! We did get into magnificent Notre Dame last night about 8:30 after the Mass. It was a mad rush of people with a long line. BUT it moved fast. We were thrilled but of course the beautiful stained glass windows which have all been cleaned were not visible because of the […]
Bonjour, The last two days have been full of surprising aggravations so today, Friday, the 13th is pretty appropriate. Allow me to explain. Yesterday, we had reservations at Jules Verne in the Tour Eiffel at 12 noon. This was a generous and very expensive extravaganza from Bernie to James, Andrew and me. He never said […]
Bonjour mes amis, Cold but dry was our day yesterday. James and Andrew spent their day at Le Louvre and the four of us enjoyed the programme that Laurie had put together. She is always totally up on what’s happening culturally in Paris! First to the beautiful L’Orangerie in the Tuileries Gardens, home to the […]
Bonjour, Yesterday was a cold, wet day in Paris filled with a multitude of this and that, mèli, mèlo as they say in France. We started quite early by doing laundry in the apartment. We can wash but must go down the street to dry. Our laverie is just across from the famous and delightful […]
Bonjour, Yesterday was an early start for Bernie as he met his son James and his partner Andrew at Orly airport. They had a smooth flight on La Compagnie and arrived at their hotel around 10:30 to store their bags. We had a quick coffee and started walking which is the main activity in Paris. […]
Bonjour, I always marvel at folks who say they love Paris in the rain. All of you who do would absolutely love the last few days as the weather by my standards has been awful. It certainly puts a damper on our activities. Combine that with still not feeling well, and I apologize for few […]
Bonjour, Yesterday was all about the reopening of Notre Dame. The city was abuzz with incoming royal guests who would be attending the opening ceremonies with President Macron at the magnificent Notre Dame. Trump, Prince William, Elon Musk, and First Lady Jill Biden representing the USA were all in attendance. And no, we were not […]
Bonjour, I was under the weather yesterday unfortunately but did manage to keep our lunch date with our dear friend, Carolyn Barnabo. Years ago, Carolyn, who lives in England, started following my blog. She and her husband Clive linked up many times with us, always with gifts in hand, as we made our way through […]
Bonjour mes amis, Someone forgot to tell us that we aren’t ten years younger! We spent the day zipping around to see Christmas decorations and ended with a lovely dinner at the Bonnie restaurant atop the SO hotel. It was dark, cold and rainy so no chance for many pics. It was also quite loud […]
Bonjour, Yesterday was sunny most of the day which was a nice surprise! We met our friend Richard Nahem for lunch at a new crepe spot on rue de Rivoli. He has a blog many of you follow called Eye Prefer Paris. We’ve known him and his partner, Vincent, for almost 20 years! He told […]
Bonjour, Thankfully, we slept yesterday morning until 9am which reset our body clocks! Travel is a challenge with new bed, new pillow, new shower, new heat, new food, new light switches, and on and on it goes. It can be quite comical learning when to push, when to pull as we enter or leave all […]
Bonjour mes amis, We are here in Paris as of yesterday and it is cold! We had rain, blue skies, clouds and wind all in our first day after a good flight over. Bernie treated us to Delta First Class but with the caveat of landing at Charles de Gaulle…ugh. Tip to travelers: fly into […]
Bonjour mes amis, Today in Alabama is absolutely lovely with a touch of fall in the early morning air as well as that distinctive “ciel bleu” blue sky that only fall of the year creates. This is Part Two of my series on the best exhibits we’ve attended in Paris. This one was special not […]
Bonjour mes amis, Over the many years in Paris, we have been so fortunate to see some amazing exhibits. I’d like to share some of them over the next few posts with you again. The best part is how moderately priced they are, usually under 25 euros per person. The arts are supported in large […]
Bonjour mes amis, I’m sure most of you watched the wonderful opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Magnifique! I watched it LIVE and then again Friday evening with Bernie. However, for some of the locals, it has not been a great experience. Our beloved neighbor shared the frustrations of scrambled metros, stores that are closed, […]
Bonjour, I have been remiss in capturing summer memories on my blog. The culprits are travel, a busy schedule and just plain laziness. As we approach the conclusion of this year’s Tour de France, I thought it would be fun to cycle back through some of our photos. This year’s finish will be historic, concluding […]
Bonjour mes amis, Many of you have probably been to see the Van Gogh art extravaganza which is playing now in Huntsville. If not, I hope you will. It’s a concept which has captured the world, and it started about 8 years ago in Paris in a not-so-well-known area of the 11th arrondissement. I read […]
Bonjour, Wow, how can it already be July! As we approach the celebration of our nation’s birth, I thought it might be fun to recap how the French do a similar celebration in Paris on July 14. It goes by many names Quatorze Juillet (14 July), Le Fete du Nationale, or Bastille Day. Oh, what […]
Bonjour mes amis, The heat is a killer for so many of us and I hope you are safe and able to stay cool. Paris would be tough in this kind of heat as A/C is not always available. When we’ve gotten caught in a “canicule” or heat wave, the only reliably cool spot is […]
Bonjour mes amis, Forgive the self-focus on this post, but I was on an early morning walk thinking about how I’m the luckiest gal in the world. Great family, great career, great retirement, great guy! You’ve heard me say this probably before. Though I had traveled a lot in my life, I had never been […]
Bon Dimanche, Happy Sunday and Happy Fathers’ Day to everyone. On this Sunday, it seems appropriate to highlight some of our favorite churches in Paris. Certainly most are Catholic but there are a few scattered around which are wonderfully different like the American Cathedral of Paris which is high Anglican. This is where we worship […]
Bonjour mes amis, We understand from several folks that Paris is “okay” but crowded, and full of construction. Not all subway lines are functional. First-time visitors won’t know the difference, but I’m thinking that we would. Well anyway, our decision not to go is made, and we are looking forward to our December/January visit. It […]
Bonjour mes amis, I was up early yesterday morning, and watched the ceremony live from the American cemetery in Normandy for the 80th anniversary. I cried. This blog really requires few words, just photos of the many times we’ve been there with friends and family. It is a sacred spot. There are just a few […]
Bonjour, Yesterday was my daughter’s birthday, and we’re both wishing we were in Paris. Last year we celebrated together at the lovely restaurant atop Georges Pompidou museum. It’s a chic spot called Le Georges with an incredible view of the city. Carson, my grandson, ordered a piece of salmon and loved it. Not bad for […]
Bonjour mes amis, It was quite by chance twenty years ago that we found the Marais! Now it is our stomping ground and the very core of our love for Paris. Originally, it was a swamp. Imagine that? Now, we seem to know every square inch especially around the St. Paul, St. Louis church. The […]
Bonjour, Our Memorial Day weekend was delightful. We drove up to Louisville, Kentucky to see our friends, the Shorys. Bill was the News Director during some of my time as GM at WHNT; his wife, Michelle who just got her Doctorate and their precious daughter Isabella (Izzy) treated us to a wonderful holiday weekend. And […]
Bonjour mes amis! So many of you have asked if we are going to Paris for the summer. The answer is unfortunately “no.” We are choosing to avoid the huge crowds and the disruption associated with the Olympics. We believe we’ll have a better seat from our television at home, especially for the opening ceremony. […]
Bonjour mes ami, This is always a difficult post, and I work on it for days to find the right words graced with tenderness. It’s time to say good-bye to Paris, to you who have faithfully read the blog, to you who kindly made supportive comments (some almost every day), to our cherished local friends […]