In 1993 Bill & I plus our best friends, Fred & Debra, cycled France together for 3 weeks. We avoided major cities since it is not fun to cycle in busy traffic. Debra & I are now both widows & she lives in Vancouver. Her friend owns an apartment in the 12th Arrondissement in Paris & rents it out. She has it for 3 months & invited me to come & spend a week with her – what a gift! She is bilingual, having grown up in Montreal! So on April 5th (arriving April 6th, a 9 hour flight). I flew to Paris (business class – in a “pod”) to spend time with her.
What a beautiful, spacious apartment on the 5th floor – with 1 bedroom (for Debra) & I took the living room which had a pull-out bed. The kitchen was modern & spacious with a table & chairs plus all the modern amenities.
The big front door at 112:
The view from her balcony window:
Looking down the street:
I had a magnificent tapestry hanging in my “bedroom” with a wonderful chandelier!
We went for a walk in the woods, although it was a Sunday & as busy as can be with loads of people. This is one of the aspects I enjoyed most – people watching. Every race, creed, color, style, all happily accepted wherever we went. It was lovely.
I had downloaded western Europe onto my Merlin app on my phone to help identify birds while there. The 1st bird I identified was a Common Chaffinch – very exciting. No photo but a beautiful song.
Debra is vegetarian so I certainly was happy to do that while we were there. She made a magnificent veg soup for dinner with a beautiful salad & of course a glass of wine!
I didn’t have much jetlag thanks to my brother Brian’s suggestion of staying up later & getting up earlier the week before I left.
For breakfast, Debra had bought some strawberries – the emphasis being on SOME! Inside as red as the outside! Maybe the sweetest & best I’ve ever had!
Debra is quite an athlete. She went for an hour & 10 minute run in the morning.
Before I arrived she had won 2nd place in a 10 km run in her age group (she’s 68 but looks 48!). Here she is after her run with her medal!
Monday, April 7th: We headed for the Tour Eiffel! What surprised me was that it was brown & I’d always though it to be black!
A nice young man took a photo of us in front of it before we waited in line (for an hour) to go to the 2nd level (I was too afraid of heights to go to the top).
Here are a few photos taken as we walked the perimeter.
What a gorgeous sunny day (& every day that whole week). The Seine was so blue & beautiful. I was thrilled to be there & felt a bit like I was in a French movie! We didn’t get home until 5:30, then Debra went shopping for a few things. She made us an amazing rissoto with lemon, peas & mint (delicious) plus roasted veggies & a lovely salad. She’s a great cook!
Tuesday, April 8th: We took a boat ride up & down the Seine, enjoying the very French architecture & all the beautiful statues & carvings. Here are a few photos.
Some of the trees were beginning to flower: spring has sprung.
Musee D’Orsay (our plan for tomorrow).
Debra contemplating the Seine.
Catching the Metro is very interesting – not only the people watching but I notice about 98% of all the people spend their whole trip looking at their phones!
We did a little grocery shopping on the way home & I bought some pink peonies for the house. I assumed they were the very fluffy kind, but there were not! Still very pretty.
We had some of the beautiful risotto left over for supper.
Wednesday, April 9th: Musee D’Orsay did not disappoint.
The contemporary sculpture exhibit seemed to glow from within. Light from the overhead glass ceiling of this old railway station fills the space. It made me wish to run my hands over the marble figures – so tactile. Also exhibited were many old masters’ paintings (like Degas, Chagall, etc). Imagine getting to see original works from these amazing artists – I felt elated. The last time I went to a museum may have been the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam in the 90’s.
We also visited the Musee de l’Orangerie where Monet’s Water Lilies was displayed. Occupying a large oval room & painted in many panels, it was breathtaking – almost spiritual & brought a tear to my eyes. This is a stock photo (too many people in the room to try to photograph).
Over a dozen Piccasos were displayed in another exhibit. Just wow. I wish I had photographed a few of the other works which were accompanied by very interesting writeups, as if the subject of the painting was speaking to you. Like: “how do you like my wonderful dress? Don’t you think the artist caught me in a naughty pose?” Made me smile at every one.
We came out to a stunning day & stopped for a lunch snack. There was a vendor selling chestnuts roasting on an open fire!
I had Quiche Lorraine (because…). No veggie options were available for Debra, so we went home (with a bottle of wine). She fixed her own lunch. We had to stay there since the handyman came to fix the bathroom door. Later, Debra went for a walk while I wrote in my diary.
Thursday, April 10th: Debra did her hard-work run (including speed drills!) & got back about 9:20. We both had a bite to eat then set off to Sainte-Chapelle, a gothic cathedral which was home to many Kings of France until the 1300’s. Another hour in a lineup (but such a beautiful day).
It is most famous for its stained glass windows which soar to the high ceiling.
The beautiful rose of the apocalypse.
The lower chapel.
The exit doors.
We left to find a bite to eat & came across a lovely bakery which had fabulous looking croissants – so this is for you Mom:
The crunshiest, flakiest, soft & fluffy in the middle – best I’ve ever had! Debra found a veggie sandwich so we sat outside to enjoy.
Sorry about the terrible selfie (too busy with my croissant!)
We returned home & had snack for supper then got ready to attend a concert at Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre – Chopin played by Kim Bernard on a grand piano – such acoustics, such an inspirational setting!
Apparently Kim is not only admired for his talent on the piano, but for his good looks by young women (maybe men too?).
It was incredibly moving to me. He played for an hour then came back for 2 encores. The last was “Oh Danny Boy” done in a rather classical form. So beautiful. I’m so glad Debra organized this.
It was still light when we got out & Notre Dame glowed pink with the full moon beside her.
Just wow.
Friday, April 11th
I’m fighting a cold but Debra gave me some of her oregano oil to help my immunity & it seemed to help a lot. I definitely felt better this morning than last night. So we went shopping. Imagine such a friend who will take a very body self-conscious person shopping. What a treasure she is. We went to the largest department store I’ve ever seen – the Galleria – which houses most of the major brand names (Tiffany, Dior, etc).
We found 2 pairs of pants (the hardest thing for me to find) in black & navy. All they need is a hem which I’ll get done at home.
Had lunch in a little bistro with the windows open to the outside. Smoking isn’t allowed inside, though it does drift in. I was going to have escargots but somehow the waiter missed this. Oh well. We drank wine & champagne & had a fabulous lunch. Here we are.
Home on the metro, to our stop “Michel Bizot”
I admit to flaking out on the bed for an hour! Debra said we could just have a snack for dinner (still full from lunch). Well, when she makes a snack…
Note re the Metro: you know you’re old when young people ask you if you’d like a seat. 😩
Saturday, April 12: My last day. Debra ran 20 km this morning – what a champ. After b’fast we set out to see Notre Dame, which does not charge admittance (still a working church) & the line moves faster than any we’ve ever been in!
As you may imagine it was quite a religious experience, even with all the crowds. What an entrance!
Inside:
They raised over 80 million Euros to resore “Our Lady” after the terrible fire. They cleaned the outside as well as the inside which was quite black from pollution as well as the fire, so now the stone glows pale gray. We even saw 2 priests coming out of the confessional & many prayed silently in the apse.
We stopped at a Lebanese bistro for lunch afterward & I have to say I just loved it. My experience is limited in that cuisine (to kibbeh, fatoush salad, babaganoush, humous) & the sample plate was delicious. I want it again! Debra also had the sample plate but vegetarian. I wonder if I can find a good Lebanese restaurant in Medicine Hat?
We got home & flaked out for an hour. But we had a glass of wine (no food, since we were still full) & toasted our time together.
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Some of the highlights from this trip:
The people watching – so much fun & really amazing. The reason is it helped me feel less self-consciousness.
French architecture. I felt as if I was always in a French movie. I mostly stared around in awe!
My bird list (though it was a very peripheral activity)
- Gray Heron
- Common Chaffinch
- European Blackbird
- Great Tit
- Marsh Tit
- European Robin (man, so cute!)
- Rose-ringed Parakeet (they’ve established a population, much like in Florida)
- House Sparrow
The beautiful, quiet apartment I got to stay in.
I have to say, what a friend dear Debra, who happily adapted to anything I wanted to do. Thank you so very, very much for your friendship & the gift you gave me here in Paris.
thebirderspost 