Surprise, Serendipity and Strolling in Paris

Dear Friends,

Today has been such fun, the kind of day we truly love.  First of all, the weather is glorious: clear, crisp, cool and made for outdoor adventure.

Before we left the apartment, I was making us a ham and cheese omelet for lunch when Bernie burst into the apartment just as the omelet was almost ready asking me how I would like to have company?  That was a surprise!  As it turns out, he met a couple standing outside our apartment on rue St. Paul who were looking to rent this space next fall.  Their names are Katie and Rick McCool from Colorado.  They were right behind him and into the apartment before I could turn around.  We gave them the quick nickel tour and assured them that they would love the apartment and the location.  We plan to have dinner with them tomorrow night.  How fun is that?

We were off after lunch to the Tuilleries Garden to see what we could see regarding the start of Fashion week, and we saw nothing but a lot of well-dressed men in black suits running around.  I have googled and searched for more information and it appears to be a mystery as to the where, what and when.  We’ll keep observing and see if we can catch some good photos.

Then we started one of our “adventures” which turned into a delightful stroll through the 16th arrondissment near Le Bois de Boulogne, the massive green space in Paris akin to New York’s Central Park.  We were in search of an interesting relic from a bygone era called “La Petite Ceinture” or the little belt.  This was a railway line built in 1862 which encircled Paris, now abandoned and covering almost 20 miles.  It closed in 1934 when it was transplanted by the automobile and the Metro.  According to Slate.com, the space where the railroad used to be is home to 200 species of plants and 70 different species of animals.  Much of it is inaccessible.  Finding it was like finding a needle in a haystack but WE DID IT!   We got thrown off one street which was private and redirected a few blocks up.  Bernie’s instincts are always so good in this situation and we finally found the section that runs between Porte d’Auteuil and Gare de Passy-la-Muette.

We followed the path (no track remains) for probably a mile and a half and took a few pictures for you.  The really good remaining sections are extremely hard to find but we have shared the photos off the slate.com web site.  Kind of fascinating to us.

Here’s the real serendipity!  When we came to what seemed an impasse, I said to Bernie, “Look, this is a restaurant made right in the path of the railway.”  When we walked around to the front, we discovered that it was “La Gare” where we had eaten about four years ago.  Isn’t that amazing?  We had no idea at the time, where we were or the significance of the setting.

These are the best Paris days, filled with surprise, serendipity and strolling.  We hope your day has been equally good.

Au revoir,

L&B