Paris Rain, Cooler Temps, New Friends and La Defense
Bon Dimanche,
Happy Sunday to you all from a much cooler Paris. The temp this morning is 67! We can now breath some fresher air. Friday evening brought a heavy rain storm with hail; however, it only lasted about 30 minutes. Though predictions said it would rain all night, it did not so the relief was not sufficient, but appreciated none the less. Hope you can see the white dots in these photos as I shot out our apartment window trying to capture the hail.
Saturday morning, we decided to make our way to the modern section of Paris called La Defense. I call it their Manhattan with skyscrapers and a huge shopping mall called Le Quatre Temps or 4 Seasons. It’s usually one of our rainy day activities but since we’ve had no rain and none now in the forecast, we decided a cool day would be better than a hot one. We have a funky little restaurant called Le Hippo which we’ve always eaten in, but found it closed due to renovation. So we tried an Italian spot. Sadly, American logos were all around us including Starbuck’s, KFC, and Toys R Us. The French must fight hard to preserve their “Frenchness,” at least according to us!
We didn’t go with the intent of purchasing anything but certainly noticed the clothing theme of the year is palm trees and fronds, even on the men’s clothing. 
Outside is La Grande Arche in perfect alignment with L’Arc de Triomphe. The sights are many, and we captured these with both of our cameras. 
In many spots, it looked like fall of the year because of the dryness. 
Last evening, we had a special treat meeting a lady from California who follows our blog, Hannah Schwartz. We had dinner together and talked for 3 hours about our backgrounds and love of Paris. Truly delightful. 
And we have two street scenes photos of the day: one of this little doggie sitting near us last night and some bows on the subway.
Later this morning, I will slip over to the church service at St. Paul/St. Louis by entering through the hidden side passage off rue St. Paul which is probably 500 years old. It’s amazing and sets the tone for just who and where we are in the grand scheme of God’s world. Nothing quite like it! Then this afternoon, we’ll take in the sights and sounds of Le Tour de France.
À bientôt,
L & B
P. S. Welcome to Debbie Jones and her gang from Huntsville who arrived yesterday in Paris.
July 29, 2018 @ 9:27 am
Bon dimanche L&B!
I always enjoy your enjoyment of La Défense. I spent some time trekking to and from my company’s offices there in my working days but appreciate seeing it via your lovely photos (and Peggy Bilbro’s which you alerted me to last year — merci all of you!).
Wonderful that you have a side passage entry to that beautiful church. Love those little Paris finds.
Cheers and have a great afternoon on the Champs!
July 29, 2018 @ 10:01 am
Merci, Carolyn!
July 29, 2018 @ 12:33 pm
My favorite photo of the day is the lounging white chairs in the grass. Hope cooler weather prevails today.
July 29, 2018 @ 12:52 pm
Unfortunately, the temps will creep back up all week.
July 29, 2018 @ 1:50 pm
Love the bows on shoes. Will this be coming soon?
Hope cooler weather arrives soon. I’m a big fan of air conditioning. That would be top of my list for next apartment.
July 29, 2018 @ 1:50 pm
Thank you for your Saturday jaunt. I miss our strolls through La Defense! It will just have to wait till next year!
July 29, 2018 @ 2:50 pm
After many trips to Paris, we headed out to La Defense for the first time earlier this month. Since it was our first visit, we headed to the top. We had the whole viewing platform to ourselves, I think because of the heat. It was about 33 that day. I guess we were the only ones foolish enough to head up. Needless to say we didn’t stay long and headed over to Le Quatre Temps hoping for some air-conditioning. It was not as robust as we hoped but managed to do some shopping anyway. LOL.
July 29, 2018 @ 4:07 pm
We went to the top last year for the first time. Quite a nice view.
July 29, 2018 @ 8:28 pm
The white lounge chairs also caught my eye until I pictured myself trying to get onto and off of them. You might get your wish with Toys r Us. I believe its out of business and closed in the U.S. Are there zoning ordinances that you are aware of that keep the old Paris separate from the new Paris?
July 30, 2018 @ 3:29 am
Pat, I don’t know about city ordinances, but I do know that the present mayor, Hidalgo, is unpopular. She is changing many things which would appear to do little to preserve old Paris. Our new friend Hannah Schwartz was telling us that she did away with the Christmas markets along the Champs Elysees last year, a very popular Christmas tradition of many years.
July 29, 2018 @ 10:32 pm
“Waiting for a lick” does it for me! A nice chuckle out of that.