A Rainy day in Paris Town

 The agenda for this morning was to eat that quiche and a cup of coffee and some juice and get going and get my box.  I was a little on the fence about it but I don’t really know that I want to deal with baggage overage so I went ahead and went and got it they didn’t have any baguette stamps but show me where I can get some so I’m pretty excited because that’s on my agenda for tomorrow. The quiche was delicious is that sweet young man said.  

I had a little bit of a baguette with some jam and my coffee is just awesome here. I came back put some stuff in the box I still have room,  then headed over towards Pere LaChaise to meet Dr. Todd and Jennifer.   On the way I was sitting at the bus stop knitting and this lady came over sat down beside me and started talking to me. It was clear she was deaf so it was very interesting with my limited French,  try to have a lip reading conversation with her but we managed between lipreading and using our hands to communicate:  that we both like to knit, crochet, and embroider. But that she has trouble doing it because of arthritis in her hand. I had to laugh it’s I’ve always wondered if I have “talk to me” tattooed on my forehead.  I got there pretty early so I had a cup of coffee while I sat and waited.  We were going to meet there go through the cemetery some and have lunch.   

I haven’t been to the cemetery in a while and I was really a fish out of water. But we finally found Jim Morrison‘s grave which Dr. Todd wanted to see and we found Heloise and Abelards grave,  

there were some others that I know I’ve seen in there ( Chopin, Lalique, Noir and Piaf,  to name a few) and I sure couldn’t find them. We went back place I had coffee and had lunch.  I had a croque monsieur and it was certainly an interesting twist

 it had pickled onion on it which we had had in Qurrante and I loved it, it was delicious. And they had Sancerre so I broke my rule by drinking midday and had a glass of wine too.

I came back to the house rested for just a little bit and got on my way to try to go to G Detou to buy some vanilla beans and a couple other things I wanted. I did get there but I took the circuitous route.  It was raining, and I went to Chatelet, which I hate, and wandered around a bit in what is a big shopping mall of sorts where the food market of Paris used to be.  I got out of there and was totally disoriented and wandered in the wrong direction and ended up by the Pompidou center.  

(I did not, I repeat, I did not buy one)

Can you say 16000 steps today? I walked by this place, to find out later it is called Place Saint Opportune.   

I finally found shelter, got out my phone and took a but to where I needed to go and got the goods. Vanilla beans and some honey mustard (Martine gave me some last year and I loved it.) and a surprise for Jodi.  I wandered to Sanmartine, 

it is just not what it used to be.  It is another version of the Grand Magazines (big stores like Galeries Lafayette or Printemps)  without the spirit it used to have.  I walked cross Pont Neuf  admiring my GF from afar, by the Tour Des Nesle, up Rue Dauphine and the across Rue de Buci to the restaurant’s, my last night for old Henris.  I stopped at Citypharma, what a gig they have going on, it is always packed.  But found what I was looking for and then went to dinner.  At Bistrot d’Henri, I could not resist Duck with honey sauce and au gratin potatoes one last time.  I took the bus home as my feet were hot happy, it had quit raining and was pleasant. 

You still can’’t find what you dont look for.

 When I stepped on the floor in the emergency department I used to laughingly say you can’t find what you don’t look for so for example if you don’t take a temperature you don’t know the person’s got a fever, one less thing to treat. I haven’t really thought about that in a long time until today.

So back to that Kougan Aman, I had to laugh when I opened it this morning it was hard as a brick bat and I thought ‘oh my Lord I will never be able to eat this”. All two weeks long I have eyed prepared food in the market thinking: “I wish she had a microwave, I sure wish she had a microwave, it would be nice if she had a microwave because I could buy this take it home and eat it and it would be lovely”. So this morning I got out the flashlight and had a better look at the oven, and guess what it’s just like my oven at home it is a convection oven/microwave. So I stuck that Kougan Aman in the microwave heated it for 15 seconds and it was amazing. Mom always says “‘everything‘s better with butter” and well I’m sure this was floating in butter  to begin with but,  some of the butter we made in class the other day made it even more scrumptious!!

There was a couple things I wanted to pick up at the marche Bastilleso off I went only to find the one thing I was looking for wasn’t there. Or, maybe I should say the one guy.  I also been eyeing some jackets but they did not have my size and color either so it was kind of a fruitless trip, however I did buy a lovely spinach and goat cheese quiche. The lovely young man who was purchasing a slice also told me was the best. 

I just couldn’t resist having a cup of coffee at this place because it’s so beautiful on the outside with all the flowers and the awning and even the graffiti in the background kind of matches the color palette. Notice the dude in the blue shirt, he matched too! 

There were these two old fellows in front of me it was all locals not really any tourist for the most part at this little place.

From there I waited and waited and waited for the bus.  Being able to speak a couple of other languages can be very helpful as the Spanish family walked up and couldn’t figure out the bus system and I was able to tell them exactly what they needed to do and where they needed to go. I wanted to go to Monoprix & pick up some more make-up however it looked like they didn’t have enough help the self check out line snaked all the way to the back of the store (there were no manned lines)  and the alcohol and make up section were completely closed off. So that job didn’t get done but I did wait in line for some coffee & milk which I needed. I sat at the bus stop again,  wondering what it would be like to live in that apartment at the top of that building. 

I noticed on the way back that the little café on the corner had duck breast and fig sauce and I thought hey maybe I need to try a different version of duck breast (Margaret du Canard) so I went home change clothes mosey back and had Margaret du Canard and a fig sauce 

(What’s wrong with this picture?)

and a pear Charlotte with chocolate, really fudge, at the bottom it was delicious, 

and that was kind of the end of my day I was tired from the day before and one of the ladies at dinner had suggested a new movie on Netflix called Jeanne du Barry, (It is about Louis XV mistress - sad story really) it was raining and I stayed home and watched a movie. Just like the real Parisian  that I am this week.   :)

Right up my alley and I didn’t even know it

I got up, had a cup of coffee, went to the market picked up a few things, 

(look at those lovely potatoes)

(If Martine only had a microwave…)

(I had both kinds of this Fish at Lacy the other night)

(Those lovely mushrooms)

(They certainly don’t let anything go to waste.)

came back and had brunch. Then I headed towards my girlfriend, but apparently there was some sort of an uprising at the Bastille so I sat in traffic in a bus for quite a while ( never fear I had my knitting! That is an interesting thing. A little girl was fascinated by what I was doing and another lady wanted to know what I was making. It’s always a conversation starter.) and they made us all get off few stops down the line got on another bus and they made everybody get off of THAT bus a few stops later. I was sitting by an elderly lady who said it was probably the Arabs, who were causing the trouble. I wasn’t sure. I just knew I couldn’t get where I wanted to go.  But, I finally made my way to see my girlfriend  via the metro.

(Look at that girls butt, I don’t think it’s the one God gave her. It was even more alarming straight on. But I couldn’t get a good picture of her.)
It is all crapped up like I expected, but hoped for better. It is actually worse frapped up then I expected, very restricted which made the crowds thick.

Regardless, I found a nice quiet little spot to sit and paint while away my afternoon pleasantly. I did have a 12 ft wooden fence in front of me.  Wonder what they are going to do with that wood to repurpose it? 

Getting back was easy but the grave/manifestation was going doing place du la  Nation and the police were out in full force!

By the time I rested a bit and went back to the metro it had broken up though there were a couple of people wandering around trying to stir up trouble.  (I found out this morning it was over the rape trial going on here.)

The buses however were still not running so back to the Metro.  I was early for my dinner reservation (I had left

Early because of the transport issues) so went back to place Eatrapade to entertain myself with the EIP people. Yep I’ve given it an acronym! Emily in Paris = EIP

(this joker was trying to impress the woman on the bench behind him, I thought he was gonna fall in the fountain.)

(this girl must’ve made her mother, the woman in the green sari, take her picture at least 10 times, when they finally walked off, she was still apparently pouty about how her picture looked to her.)

When I got to the restaurant all the tables out front appeared to be full

(Thanks to EIP there’s lots of pedestrian traffic to watch when sitting out front of this restaurant now because it’s pretty close to the place/square.)

 

and the server had me sitting in the back corner of the restaurant, I think maybe so we could chat, but I really wanted to be outside because today was the last projected ( per the weather chanel) beautiful day before I leave. She found me a spot, moved some people around a little bit,  (I get tickled at how they can fit you into a place, where as an American, you think you could never get to, but they just pull out the table so you can get back in between the others and sit down. It was lovely I sat between two ladies with a sweet little poodle who minded her own business the entire meal (and incidentally, once upon a time had her own passport!)  on the ladies lap nonetheless! And there were two other couples on my right. My meal was delicious the pear gratin was everything I had remembered and it was lovely to have again.  

I’m going to have to try to make it when I get home if I can find a willing guinea pig. My main was a pork (it has the feel of a cutlet), it was very tender with a mustard sauce and vegetables. 

I could not eat it all after eating that whole pear. And I was not going to leave any of that. Pear!

Getting home was easy easy, the bus was running again!  There were tents out hawking things, pretzels, and Kougan Aman. One of which had to come home with me for breakfast.

Wandering with a Purpose

This morning I decided to try something different, Claire and I made these in our croissant classes last year but they didn’t have pistachio on them although the sign said almond it was definitely pistachio.

It was yummy, coffee,  some yogurt a great way to start the morning.  This is a horrible selfie of me but this is my house on the very end ( at least until Friday at which time I turn back into a pumpkin) of the block it’s hard to see from here but I’m just not much of a selfie taker. AND I was not feeling grumpy!

  I went to the Place Monge market, walked around there. I bought some lavender oil and some grapes.  I the walked along Rue Mouffetard to ( I had a lovely conversation with a lady in souvenir store as I bought a little goodie for my classmates) 

This on the side of a school

Place Contrescarpe and had lunch at a little outdoor café. It was probably horribly touristy food but it was a beautiful day and fun to sit there and people watch. 

Look at that perfect fry! Sort of hollowed for prefect crunch!

 I visited with a couple from Ireland sitting beside me.  She’s actually originally from Venezuela so they were very interesting couple and it was an enjoyable long lunch. From there I went to a place Estrapade  on the way I walked by one of my favorite restaurants and they have my pear appetizer!!!!!!  I am so psyched so I made reservations for dinner tomorrow night. Anyway Place. Estrapade was hysterical, I sat and painted, knitted and just people watched.  This is where “Emily in Paris” has an apartment  and I am totally tickled ( perhaps appalled would be a better word?) over the amount of attention people give a random address out of a TV show over some of the more interesting things in Paris.

Check out this girls shirt!

 But I guess I’m a hypocrite because I did spend a couple hours there and watching everybody create their social media photos.  Wandering home I passed the Pantheon

And turned and there SHE was!

I walked up Boulevard St Michael , along the Siene, to Le Flore en Ille for some hot chocolate  ( better than Angelina in my opinion) and Pain Perdue. 

It was sort of like having breakfast  for supper..