Bonjour mes amis, Paris is my heart. I waited to see it for a long time, not coming for my first visit until I was 56! Having traveled a great deal even in France, I had surprisingly never been to Paris. Fate…Karma…God, (call it what you wish,) saved Paris for me to experience with Bernie. […]
Bonjour, Yesterday, despite a few raindrops and a monster of a bad cold for me, we said farewell to my favorite place in Paris…Montmartre. We chose to avoid the weekend because of the crowds. Nostalgic, sad, but full of memories and joy all at the same time. On the way home, we once again enjoyed […]
Bonjour This is our final week in Paris and I will be blogging on some different topics which I hope you will enjoy. Sometimes, the photos will be scarce but you can’t say I haven’t given you lots of eye candy since we arrived on May 23. Today, I want to talk about what lies […]
Bonjour, Today is a very special day for the French, celebrating what is equivalent in some ways to America’s Fourth of July. It goes by many names, simply Quatorze (14) or La Fete Nationale or Bastille Day. Our usual process of celebration begins with a trip to Pont d’Ecole by l’Hotel de Ville because it’s […]
Bonjour, One of our favorite museums that you’ve probably never heard of is Jacque-Mart André on Boulevard Haussmann in the 8th. Inside the museum is a gorgeous tearoom famous for its pastry display. We dedicate this post to our dear friends from London, Malcolm and Antonia, whom we didn’t get to connect with this trip. […]
Bonjour, If you’re coming to Paris this summer, the crowds might overwhelm you. So this is a lunch recommendation in a lovely, secluded area of La Place des Vosges. Victor Hugo’s home and museum is the entry point and his garden is the restaurant/cafe. Just wonderful. Thanks to Richard Nahem of EyePreferParis for taking us […]
Bonjour, We have only 11 days remaining in Paris. Time flies by so quickly. The weather continues to be absolutely beautiful with slightly cooler temps though they are slowly moving upward. Yesterday, we explored a new area near Montparnasse and the Eiffel Tower. The location was Avenue de Saxe or as this photo playfully says, […]
Bonjour mes amis, We have the sense that Paris is less crowded, more calm and certainly much cooler than a week ago! June must be the busiest month! It was cool enough to wear a sweater most of the day and certainly cool enough last night to get up and close the window and turn […]
Bonjour, So sorry about the past couple of days. We’ve had glorious rain off and on which makes getting around much less enjoyable. No circulation, no photos. My vertigo seems to be getting worse so that also hampers my state of mind and desire to push forward. Hopefully, today will be better. We will return […]
Bonjour, We waked this morning to glorious rain coming down steadily which is SO needed. The city is dirty and dusty! The temp is 59 degrees and feels like 52 according to my weather app. Wonderfully cool but ironic given that it’s only the second day of the beach! Weather is definitely a trickster. Yesterday, […]
Bonjour, I failed to say Happy Fourth of July in yesterday’s post! So hope you had a great day of rest, food, fireworks and fun. It’s easy to lose touch with reality over here. Today, July 5 is the start of Le Tour de France and Paris Plage or the Paris beach. I just read […]
Bonjour, Yesterday’s weather was spectacular with temps in the low 70’s with a constant breeze. (Absolutely, no rain in sight. It has rained only twice since we’ve been here). Definitely, not a day to sit inside our tiny apartment. It started with laundry and changing our bed which is still one of the hardest things […]
Bonjour, I haven’t made many award-winning posts in the last few days because of the heat. There has been nowhere much to hide except in the meat market at the Monoprix! Yesterday was another miserably hot day until about 6pm when the temperature suddenly without a storm or any rain dropped 20 degrees in an […]
Bonjour mes amis, The days have been hot and tough! But I guess you could say we are tougher or dumber, whatever the case may be. We seem to have made it through the worst (I hope). Sleep is the hardest. Many have suggested an air-conditioned hotel room and one friend even found a close […]
Bonjour I must apologize that there is not much to post about from yesterday. We were almost too hot to move, much less to get any sleep. It is predicted to be 100 degrees today in Paris, the hottest ever for us after 22 years. Folks who say the climate isn’t warming should come over […]
Bonjour, Saturdays are incredibly busy in Paris especially in our area of the Marais. It’s a working class neighborhood which means that shopping and other chores are done on that day. The streets are already flooded with residents and then you add tourists on top of that and you’ve got pretty much a madhouse. We […]
Bonjour mes amis, Twenty-two years ago, I was retired and struggling with loneliness, wondering where my life was headed. I was 56 years old. The golf course was my respite along with some of you who are close friends. Then a lady named Jan Smith introduced me to Bernie (his former boss) and a whole […]
Bonjour, Our day began early with an outing to a lesser known museum in Paris, the Guimet. We have been here before, but today was a special exhibit on bronze statutes from Cambodia. Bernie served in that area years ago and this was especially of interest to him. Though he never saw Angkor Watt because […]
Bonjour, We welcomed Bernie’s cousins yesterday, Pierre & Laurie, who arrived by train at Gare de Lyon. What began as a nice cool day ended up very hot in the upper 80’s. I had a great shot of them coming down the voie or track. A man jumped right in front of my camera at […]
Bonjour, Let’s all laugh together, shall we? It was 60 degrees this morning when we walked into the kitchen. Bernie immediately closed the big window to our courtyard and switched off the oscillating fan! What a wonderful, cool, breezy day we had yesterday. So pleasant to be out walking around. We even went for a […]
Bonjour, Yesterday was a great reset! Overall, it was about ten degrees cooler with a high of 85 which was still hot but nothing like the day before. The city was recuperating after a wild and crazy night with the Fete. The streets were still a bit littered but the heaps of garbage had been […]
Bon Weekend, I think the thermometer hit 97 yesterday so we did not venture out until about 4:30 and even then only in the shade. The sun was absolutely brutal. It was La Fete de la Musique in Paris, always on June 21 or the summer solstice. Couple that with the fact that it was […]
Bonjour mes amis, The highlight of our day yesterday was a manicure and pedicure for me which is always interesting. Two hours and 99 euros for both which is about what I would pay in the States. The gals did a good job but none spoke much English and all were from Viet Nam. The […]
Bonjour, Well, shall we say we’re either brave or crazy for doing what we did yesterday! The Huntsville/Madison County delegation was here for the Paris Air Show and we arranged to play tour guide for Pat Sims who is on the Chamber Board. Pat is the President of Drake State Technical College and is absolutely […]
Bonjour, Friends in Paris are treasures and yesterday, we spent all day with Hannah, our friend of many years. She lives partly here and partly in the US. We are rushed for time this morning to play tour guide today to Pat Sims from Huntsville so no commentary…just photos and captions. Hope you enjoy as […]
A friend sent me this from home regarding the Louvre. It’s a must read. https://www.yahoo.com/news/lines-stretch-outside-louvre-paris-104546436.html
Bonjour, For mid-June, it’s very hot in Paris and very dry which adds to the pollution and dusty aura around Paris. Also the dog poop on the sidewalks! Yes, you have to trod carefully. Yesterday, we did laundry, of course, because it was Monday! Our washing machine is unusual by Paris standards. Typically, a load […]
Bonjour mes amis, Yesterday was Jamie and Andrew’s last day with us after a very good visit. Less frenetic, less touristy and more informative for them. They plan to return sometime in the fall to do more research in regard to living here permanently. They honored Bernie yesterday with cards and gifts for Father’s Day […]
Bonjour, Welcome to a much cooler Paris. It’s almost 8am and it’s 62 degrees and cloudy. After two days of near 90 degrees, this will feel wonderful. We’ve managed through as we always do, but it’s pretty tough on these old bodies! James and Andrew’s trip is winding down. They leave tomorrow after twelve, fast-paced […]
Bonjour, One has to be tough to take the heat in Paris without any air-conditioning. We’ve done it for so many years that it doesn’t bother us like it would other casual visitors. We’ve discovered that keeping our windows closed to the heat and allowing our fans to circulate the cooler air inside is the […]
Bonjour mes amis, I have trained myself over the years to be hypersensitive about what’s around me in Paris because it helps with pickpockets (ha!) and with catching unexpected and delightful photographs. Yesterday was such a day. Having a theme for the year helps but also just the spontaneity of what pops up. After a […]
Bonjour, This is how we love Paris: warm, breezy and daylight until almost 11pm. Just doesn’t get much better than that! We are enjoying our tiny apartment with the great view of our courtyard and the “lift” which is so much easier (at this age) than the 34 steps we used to have plus 16 […]
Bonjour, Mondays are slower days in Paris after busy weekends as many shops and restaurants are closed. There seems to be a bit of a lull in the city to me. Schools are still in session and will not close until the last week of June. Our morning was spent washing sheets in our apartment […]
Bonjour mes amis, Years ago in what now seems a land far, far away, Paris was totally quiet on Sundays. It was a day for families to visit local parks, fill up the iconic green chairs, walk their dogs, take a pique-nique to the river, stroll and rest. There were no shops open, not even […]
Bonjour, Planning a wardrobe for two months in Paris is always a guessing game. We’ve been here in June when it was in the upper 90’s with no A/C and in July when it was freezing. So I bring a little of this and a little of that and hope for the best. Mostly this […]
Bonjour, After days of absolutely perfect weather, finally a bit of slow rain yesterday to cleanse the city. My eyes burn and itch from all the pollution. We love having company but it does drain our energy. A few days of catch-up is welcome. Bernie’s son and his partner arrive on Saturday for 12 days […]
Bonjour mes amis, We had just a regular day yesterday filled with washing and then drying down the street and a lovely dinner at what I call the happiest street in Paris, rue Montorgueil. If you’ve been to Paris and haven’t been here, you’ve missed a treat! We’ve often thought of getting an apartment there […]
Bonjour, Today brought an end to a fabulous visit with Natalie, Steve, Carson and James. Though it was not perfect, it was pretty darn close and left us all with some fantastic memories. Carson, 16, and James, 11, did amazingly well. I’m so proud of them. There is never enough time and Natalie truly believes […]
Bonjour mes amis, Yes, we are all alive and well in Paris though a bit stunned by the events of two nights ago. I am pretty horrified that my kids got caught in what went from a soccer victory celebration to a night of terror. My little James saw much too much for an 11-year […]
Bonjour, Yesterday was another 12,000 step day which started with one of our favorite spots, Miss Manon’s boulangerie. As usual, we were running late so grabbed a bite of breakfast for Natalie’s family on the run. We barely made our reserved time at the Musée D’Orsay. Steve is an art major so he was in […]
Bonjour mes amis, Wow, busy times here in very hot weather. Not much time for blogging but the pictures are too much fun to pass up. After an exhausting and somewhat disappointing day at Disney on Thursday, Natalie and crew were exhausted. They didn’t get back until 1:30 in the morning. Needless to say, we […]
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 […]
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 […]