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 […]
Good Sunday morning! It’s been so much fun for us again this year to focus on a photography theme. We’ve done this for five years now including the original cafe chair contest, as well as doors, lovers, light, and most unusual shot of the day. It’s time to select your favorite cafe chairs (vote for […]
Bonjour mes amis, Well, it’s time to break out the jackets and scarves in Paris! Can you believe it after the summer heat that we’ve had? Last night went down into the upper 40’s and yesterday’s temps barely cracked 60. It’s a wardrobe struggle trying to transition; layering is the only answer, By the time […]
Bonjour, Thanks for all of your lovely comments. I read each one because I have to approve them before they post. They are like the best of French desserts after long, tiring days out and about. Yesterday was a gorgeous weather day and perfect for our final trip to Montmartre. It was in the high […]
Bonjour, Before I begin today’s post, let me clarify about an ER visit in Paris. Since I have no doctor here, going to the ER is the only option for any kind of medical care. I had a mild infection which would have continued to worsen without an antibiotic. The issue was not something I […]
I AM RESENDING THIS POST BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE DID NOT RECEIVE IT. Bonjour mes amis, Our last few days have been a bit weird and my blog-writing and photography have suffered. For that, I offer regrets but it certainly hasn’t been intentional. I’ve been a bit under the weather, but after a trip to the […]
Bonjour, Like many of you, we have been glued to the television watching either BBC or CNN International for the information on Queen Elizabeth’s death. What an amazing legacy and historic icon she was. When I was 22 years old, I remember teaching a unit on Shakespeare to my Juniors at Southwest High School in […]
Bonjour, Well, a day of rain turned into mostly a cool day of sunshine which was great. We did go out to La Defense and found the massive shopping center called 4 Temps, the Four Seasons, to be very much alive and with only a few changes since the pandemic. It has 230 boutiques and […]
Bonjour mes amis, Finally…a day of rain in Paris. Typically, I would whine about it, but not this year. The high yesterday was 73, today only 71. So bring on fall! We actually stayed in the apartment all day until about 4:30. We went over to the St. Paul area thinking that our beloved Bouquet […]
Bonjour mes amis, Tuesday was a day of revisiting places we haven’t been to in many years: Place d’Aligre with the vibrant Marche Beauvau and the Le Viaduct des Arts on top of a beautiful train trestle near Le Bastille. The weather was perfect, a touch cloudy, in the 70’s, with a slight breeze. We […]
Bonjour mes amis, Happy Labor Day in America! It’s just a regular Monday here in Paris but the big news is some precious rain that came overnight along with loud thunderstorms and plenty of lightning. Temps, however, today will climb to 87 degrees…ugh. Still waiting and waiting for cooler weather. Half of my wardrobe has […]
Bonjour mes amis, With so little time and so much to see, our final day with the Branhams was overwhelming and exhausting but loads of fun. All the rain we were supposed to have never materialized, and my raincoat still hangs on its peg, unused and gathering dust! When you plan a trip to Paris, […]
Bonjour, It’s always such fun to welcome folks who have never seen Paris before. It’s a combination of sensory overload, exhaustion, amazement, cultural confusion, and pure enjoyment. Such has been the case with Cindi and Dave Branham. They had been on a Seine River cruise and then took the Paris extension to spend some time […]
Bonjour, The weather continues to be so pleasant, just barely tipping 80 degrees yesterday. It calls for being outside as much as possible! And yesterday we had two new outdoor dining experiences at lunch and dinner. A favorite spot for us has always been at the end of Ile de la Cité in a secluded […]
Bonjour mes amis, We gave considerable thought to going up to Montmartre yesterday, but we decided to wait until later in September in hopes of seeing a little color appear in the beautiful vines which drape some of the houses. With so little rain, who knows what kind of fall will develop. I look at […]
Bonjour, Yesterday was busy doing what we eventually all have to do…laundry and housecleaning. We started early on the laundry since it included bed linen for both beds and used our washing machine/dryer here in the apartment (takes 4 hours!) as well as a lavomatique down the street for the large duvées. It all sounds a […]
Bonjour, We are just ten minutes from the Bastille market and it’s such a fun Sunday morning excursion. During July, it was slightly off and then in August, it’s been almost not worth spending the time to visit. BUT yesterday! Wow, oh, wow, it was absolutely packed. Our theory was that French folks are all […]
Bonjour, Admittedly, there are moments in Paris where I want to pinch myself to make sure everything is truly happening. Almost too pleasant to be real, yesterday was such a day…a leisurely Saturday, perfect weather (in the 70’s), no deadlines or appointments other than to link up with the Bilbro’s for separate lunches, one for […]
Bonjour mes amis, First of all, merci beaucoup for the positive feedback on my blogging. Many of you commented and that was so rewarding. It does take quite a bit of my time but has become a part of my daily Paris experience. If it brings a little joy to your day, how wonderful is […]
Bonjour, What a glorious morning outside as I look out our window onto the peaceful courtyard. Cooler temps today with a high of only 80; however, the rain did not show up last evening which is so desperately needed in this dry, dry city. Yesterday was a day of foiled expectations which can happen even […]
Bonjour, It’s Thursday, August 25. High yesterday was almost 90 and today will be 87 in the late afternoon. I’d love to believe this is the end of a hot summer, but we’ll have to wait to see. The last couple of days, we’ve been spending our time on the Left Bank and learning new […]
Bonjour, Yesterday, the dogs seemed to be everywhere we went both outside and inside cafés. It was truly amazing, and I was able to snap some great photos. Some of you have commented that you’ve already picked your favorite doggie, but you better hold off on that! Just saying… And since we’re on animals, we […]