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 […]
Bonjour, It’s hard to believe that we are starting our final week in Paris for 2023. It’s flown by filled with many memories, lots of company, some challenges, a new apartment, and a bittersweet taste of Parisian life that ebbs and flows as the years pass. We will say good-bye to Pierre and Laurie this […]
Bonjour, This is a catch-up post from the past few days. We’ve been busy, and I have struggled with some health challenges, but better now. Monday was laundry day, and our Laverie where we dry our clothes is directly across from what has become one of our favorite local restaurants, Le Temps des Cerises. We […]
Bonjour, After a busy day of laundry and cleaning yesterday, we are in full prep-mode for our visitors, Pierre and Laurie Verdier. They live in Soultz Haute Rhin, France near the German border. Laurie is a retired anesthesiologist, and Pierre holds a doctorate in geology and worked for Elf Oil. It’s a great family story […]
Bonjour mes amis, Last days are emotional…sad that our time together is ending but oh, so glad for the memories. Yesterday was a slower day which started with an early-morning jog to the Trocadero for Bill. (Most of today’s photographs are his! Merci beaucoup. It doesn’t hurt to have a former news guy on your […]
Happy Sunday, Happy Father’s Day to all in America on this cool Sunday morning in Paris. It stormed through the night with thunder and lightening and much needed rain. It actually roused me from sleep about 2:30. Yesterday was a hit and miss day. We took the Shorys to the Marché des Puces (Fleas) at […]
Bonjour, The Shorys began their Friday with a morning tour of Le Palais Garnier and then joined us for lunch at Musée d’Orsay on the river. As most of you know, the museum was originally a train station and was magnificently repurposed by the French into a Parisian treasure in December, 1986 by President François […]
Bonjour, Thursday was a marathon day in the midst of a hot Paris. We all wore comfortable clothes and shoes in anticipation of the temps, the cobblestones, and lots of steps to climb. It was not the Shorys first time to Montmartre so we tried to do some different things. We started at a different […]
Bonjour, I will confess from the top that most of today’s photos were not taken by me. The Shorys had a marvelous day trip to Giverny, the home of Claude Monet and the water lilies. We went with other friends in 2022 so decided to sit this one out. It’s truly an exquisite place to […]
Bonjour mes amis, Knowing my own pockets of deficiency, I had several basic rules of leadership: always hire people smarter than I was. Such was the case with Bill Shory who served as our New Director for WHNT-TV for several years. Ethics in journalism was his hallmark. He was also my friend. And I remember […]
Bonjour, I’m constantly reading about what’s available to see and do in Paris. Occasionally, something pops up that we haven’t seen or is limited to a certain window of availability. After our lunch with Richard Nahem, his partner Vincent, and the patron of the restaurant, we took the Metro over to an area where I […]
Bonjour, Saturdays are extremely busy in the Marais because locals use this as their shopping day for goods, food and other services. Add to that the swirl and glut of tourists and the streets are almost impassable. I was just reading an article on CNN’s web site about how tourism is up dramatically all over […]
Bon Weekend, Weather here in Paris continues to amaze us but it did get quite warm yesterday, signs of hotter days to come into the summer. Still no rain after three weeks so the city is dusty and dirty. Shop owners work so hard to keep things clean…washing windows, sweeping and hosing down entrances, etc. […]
Bonjour, What glorious weather we are enjoying!! Day after day of cloudless skies, nice breezes and temps hovering at or just under 80 degrees. It is exactly as we had hoped for compared to last year’s July/August scorcher. Yesterday required changing bed sheets again which is a project. I caved and Bernie took them to […]
Today is D-Day and at the American cemetery in Normandy, French caretakers will have collected sand from Omaha Beach and rubbed it into the gravestones to highlight the names of the departed. They do this for all 9,388 soldiers who lay there.#DDay79 pic.twitter.com/dRrjG9MWQK — Michael Warburton (@MichaelWarbur17) June 6, 2023 Bonjour mes amis, My son […]
Bonjour mes amis, After 19 years of coming to Paris, it’s always a pleasure to discover some new places, and that’s what we did yesterday along Boulevard Montmartre. (It is not in Montmartre) It is often referred to as one of the Grand Boulevards created by Haussmann at the direction of Napoleon III. This effort […]
Bonjour, After running wide open for days, we finally crashed and have done little but sleep! Ten and eleven hours at a clip. We did not realize how tired we were and still like to pretend that we’re fifteen years younger than we are. Alas, it did catch up with us. I am still plagued […]
Bonjour mes amis, We are almost to the end of a fantastic visit with Carson and Natalie. They brought perfect weather after our unseasonably cool, rainy May. Actually, not a cloud in the sky while they have been here. For this Alabama gal, weather like this brings out the best of Paris. Yesterday was a […]
Bonjour, I’m an early riser so getting up at 9am tells you a lot! We had another marathon day yesterday and fell into bed after 11pm. (Natalie and Carson were out still prowling the Champs and Arc de Triomphe.) Between vertigo, snoring, late-night texts and too much caffeine, sleeping is at a premium. I always […]
Bonjour, I’m off to a late start today! We are running wide open and it’s hard to find the time to get the blog out. Here’s our delightful day yesterday on the Left Bank or Rive Gauche. We had a very late lunch or breakfast about 2:30 as we all slept in from the marathon […]
Bonjour mes amis, Alors…as the French would say…so, our eighth Normandy trip was anything but typical! I’m a big believer in signs and omens. This may not be the post you were expecting, but it was our day from start to finish. I’m guessing it will make you chuckle. We had mapped out the perfect […]
Bonjour, Just a quick blog today as we’re ready to depart to Normandy. First the train, then a rental car with Natalie as our chauffeur. Happy Memorial Day to everyone. Ours will be special and the weather looks very good—windy and a bit cool but better than stifling hot. Yesterday, the two “young people” slept […]
Bonjour, What better day could one have than to share a place you love with people you love! Yesterday was part of a holiday weekend in Paris. Pentecost Sunday is today in celebration of Christ’s ascension. And on Monday (our Memorial Day), we will be honored to celebrate by spending a day on the Normandy […]
Bonjour, Thanks to so many of you for the kind support in regard to this damnable case of vertigo I have managed to get. About ten years ago, I had this for one solid year and truly thought I was going to lose my mind. I tried every remedy I could find but nothing helped […]
Bonjour, Glorious weather graced our day with hardly a cloud in the sky and 70 degrees as the high. I’d call that about perfect unless you have vertigo and then, darn, it’s not as much fun. Bless Bernie for always holding my hand and telling me that everything will get better. Maybe home is where […]
Bonjour mes amis, Our day was built around some preparation for my daughter’s visit. We thought it a good idea to get laundry out of the way for a while which meant a trip to the Laverie to dry our clothes and another lunch at Le Temps des Cerises across the street. Our plat du […]
Bonjour, You may have noticed that I didn’t blog yesterday… quite under the weather with horrible vertigo and nausea when I got up. It slowly went away throughout the day, and we were able to walk around a bit in an area around the BHV (the large department store in the Marais) referred to as […]
Bonjour, The weather gods continue to shine down upon us! And I might say that it’s well deserved! Our day was beautiful, nicely cool and sunny. We thought it would be a calm, easy catch-up day, but there were surprises afoot. The visiting couple (Valerie and Derrick from Nashville) with their 4-year old called about […]
Happy Sunday to all, What a difference weather makes for all of us! It was a glorious day yesterday in Paris with temps pushing 70. No rain, very little wind, a great day for walking and spending hours at street-side cafés. Our Metro Line 1 has been closed so we have to maneuver a new […]
Bon Week-end to all! Yesterday was a blissfully wonderful weather day. Here’s a chuckle to start the blog. I had to slip into a “toilette” and disrobe a bit ending up with a sweater turtleneck tied around my waste, my jacket on my arm, and my scarf flapping in the breeze. I know the weather […]
Bonjour, It doesn’t seem possible that we’ve been here for 17 days already! And we’re still waiting on Spring, at least by our Alabama definition! It was a national holiday yesterday, Ascension Day, or as some referred to it, the bank holiday. The first part of our day was changing our bed, washing and then […]
Bonjour mes amis, Some days capture the joie de vivre completely, and today was such a day. Our friend Hannah will be leaving Paris soon for a return visit to the USA so we are savoring every bit of time we have remaining. She had never been to the tearoom at Jacquemart-André Museum or to […]
Bonjour, COLD is the only word to describe yesterday. Though sunny, we had a 12 mile-per-hour wind blowing all day. We gave consideration to a stroll through Parc Monceau, one of our favorites, but after a brief few minutes outside, we changed course, put on extra clothing, and just went to a local restaurant, Les […]
Bonjour, It was 43 degrees in Paris this morning after a cold, rainy day yesterday. Not much chance for interesting photos for which I apologize. Hopefully, “spring” will arrive soon! It is actually much, much cooler in mid-May than it was in February for my birthday. Hard to believe. At the suggestion of my friend […]
Bonjour, A belated Happy Mother’s Day to all who are following the blog. It was a glorious warm Sunday in Paris, but started out quite cool at 52 degrees as we walked up to the Bastille market. It was not Mother’s Day here in Paris which isn’t celebrated until Sunday, June 4, my daughter’s birthday. […]
Salut! Wow, all of Paris was out and about yesterday in celebration of du Soliel (some sun!) We were among the warmth worshipers. After a cool start, the temp rose to 70 degrees, then ended in the early evening with some raindrops. We were grateful for the respite and the sun on our faces. Remind […]
Bonjour mes amis, Paris always surprises us and this year, it’s just downright cold! We met our friend Richard Nahem for a late-afternoon aperitif, and he came in wearing his winter ski cap with the salutation of, “This is ridiculous! I’m going home and turn on the heat.” We quite agree with him. The temps […]
Bonjour mes amis, So…we have now tried out all of our appliances with success but not without some challenges. Our refrigerator is GREAT, almost like at home. The dishwasher is pretty easy and works like a charm…the washing machine, not so much. I set a dial which I thought was a time indicator, but was […]
Bonjour, We are in a very nice apartment building right next to the river which has been undergoing some exterior renovation. It’s sometimes loud as they work and the scaffolding is all around. Hopefully, they will be finished soon! It’s a lovely place, and we hear not a peep from anyone or anything at night […]
Bonjour, Living in Paris is like living anywhere. Some days are better than others given really horrible weather. It was very cool yesterday and rained almost all day. Certainly not my favorite! We emailed our friend Hannah mid-morning and asked her to join us for a day out at La Defense at the massive shopping […]
Bonjour, We’ve been to Paris over the years three times in May and this is the coolest. Yesterday’s morning temp was 54 degrees. Today is supposed to be even cooler with rain all day… ugh! Wardrobe is a challenge! I prepared for cool, but then I had to prepare for extremely hot days in June. […]
Bonjour, Sundays are so special in Paris when church bells rule the day, traffic is almost non-existent, and families crowd the streets but not until lunchtime. Though the rain quelled some of the enthusiasm, it was still a wonderfully fun day. The weather went from fine mist to pouring rain and finally to a touch […]
Bonjour mes amis, Much of yesterday was spent on the BBC watching the coronation of King Charles. Bernie worked a great deal with the British during his 22-year military career. To use his line…”No one does pomp and pageantry as good as the British.” I was totally enamored with the ceremony; Bernie, not so much. […]
Bonjour, Perhaps it’s my foot, perhaps it’s familiarity with the area, perhaps it’s loving our little space…whatever it is, we are finding our early days in Paris to be soothing, a little slower, and peaceful. The weather continues to be almost perfect. Literally, it rained a few drops while we were at dinner but shortly […]
Bonjour, How can we be so lucky with the weather? Yesterday was just barely cool with sunshine and blue skies, though a little rain is predicted today. We are finding our apartment more and more comfortable even with the small space. It was well-designed and no spot is left unorganized. We have a great refrigerator […]
Bonjour, It’s amazing what nine hours of sleep can do for your body and mind. With a comfortable bed, total peace and quiet, a good coffee pot, and we are happy campers this morning. We have absolutely no street noise since our apartment faces the courtyard, but I can thankfully still faintly hear the church […]
Bonjour mes amis, If you followed us last year, you know what a horrible entry day we had and how frustrated we were with our location. This year has brought the opposite situation. We are back on rue St. Paul in the Marais at the very end on the Quai Celestin near the river. It’s […]
Bonjour mes amis, This will be my final blog from Paris for 2022, a year we will always remember for many reasons— some very good, some not so good! What started out as a disaster evolved into resignation, then acceptance, and eventually pleasure because we were just glad to be in the city we love. […]
Bonjour, It’s time to announce the winners of this year’s photo themes. Thanks to the almost 60 of you who voted! Café chairs: First Place: # 1 with an overwhelming 28 votes. This is a photo which Peggy Bilbro took here in Paris and sent to me. I posted it in late August. Second Place: […]
Bonjour! First off, don’t forget to vote for your favorite café chairs and favorite doggie. Lots of votes coming in and I will post the winners on Thursday morning. I will send out my farewell post for 2022 on Friday as we pull our apartment door closed for the last time. Our final Sunday in […]