Memories of Paris, part 2

To continue...

Day 5, Thursday - Today dawned as the coldest so far, I was thrilled to have my new scarf when I headed out for croissants that morning. We decided to bite the bullet and hit the museums. Fortunately the group was only terrible excited about the Musee d'Orsay and the l'Orangerie so off we went to find a way back to the Seine. We got lucky and caught a train without too long of a wait. We wandered back through the Louvre courtyard, funny how we keep ending up here, and then across the river. Though it was a cold day, the sun was shining and central Paris looked amazing, I could just stand on the bridge across the Seine for hours. However, if I had I would have been an icicle. CF and I dropped off the rest of the crew at the d'Orsay, he was tired of staring at art, and we headed off to check out a different museum. I know that sounds wrong but we were off to check out the outside of the new quai Branley museum. It is the new home of the Africa/Orient collection but I heard the architecture was pretty amazing. I have to agree, it has great gardens and some crazy reflections of my favorite tower. After two coffees at my favorite 7th arr. cafe we hoofed it back to meet the crew, on the way we were passed by 7 police crowd control vans. Hmm...wonder what they were doing. We then headed off to lunch at a cafe named for MW's favorite Art Deco artist. After a nice lunch, of course, we headed back to try the l'Orangerie again and were rewarded with a great experience. In this perfect setting, the paintings were really amazing. The rooms are oval with a large bench in the center to sit on and just contemplate the art. After our time with Monet, the others took off so they could head out to peripherique to catch a concert, without much help from public transportation. Mom and I headed back too and got very lucky catching a train that delivered us to the Place de Republic, which wasn't far from the apartment. Mom and I decided to stop for some cafe time, we had some of the newly released Beaujolais Nouveau and watched the world pass by. Side note about European fashion at the moment...skinny pants, tall, low heeled boots, long tunics, black or herringbone coat and the requisite scarf, for the women at least. After the cafe we walked back to the apartment. The others were still planning their route to the concert but we just relaxed until dinner time. Mom and I went to a nearby cafe, also recommended by the apartment owners, Chez Justine. It was another great, dark place with excellent food. Though the portions were so big, I wasn't about to finish mine, so I embarrassed myself by asking the waiter for a to go box. So shameful. Oh well, it provided us with part of dinner come Saturday night. Favorite experience of the day - having too many great options for dinner within walking distance.

Day 6, Friday - Today was the Z's last day in town so our big finale with them would be the Eiffel Tower at night. However, for the majority of the day we split up. I intended to start the day with the W's and then go my own way. Our first stop was the Google office with the ridiculous view of the Opera House. Of course we walked there and along the way we stopped at a beautiful cafe to use the bathroom, the odd part was...it was Starbuck's. It really was a neat place inside, why can't they do that here? We found the office after our short stop and had no trouble getting in, the receptionist's only concern was whether we were intending to have lunch or not. Just crazy. From there we back tracked through the Palais Royal, past the Louvre and onto l'isle St. Louis. We found a great, tiny place for lunch and just kicked back for an hour. I had a great smoked salmon pasta and split a caprese salad with MW. We then wandered done the street that runs the long way of the island. I have found some great little shops here in the past. We had success yet again, I found some purple earrings and MW found 2 scarves. After that we wandered down a bit further and found the Berthillon cafe. We split a couple of scoops of ice cream, but wished that we had each had a tub of the caramel au beurre salé glace. Once again salted butter caramel flavor wins hands down. I want to find it here. Any suggestions? After our short encounter with nirvana we turn toward the Latin Quarter for some random wandering. We wandered our way past the Pantheon and into the Luxemburg Gardens. Though the temperature was in the mid 40's there were many people sitting around the gardens enjoying the late fall sun. They had filled the huge stone vases with masses of autumn color flowers giving the garden a brightness that it would have lacked. We wandered through taking photos and then headed out on our way to the Eiffel Tower. We were fortunate enough to come across Pierre Herme again and since CF had promised us all the cafe and macaroons we could want, we headed in to replenish our supply. From there we were on a mission to be at the Eiffel Tower by 5pm. Even in the chilly weather the line of the elevators to the top was quite long so we prepared to wait. By the time we got to the first floor it was dark and the city looked beautiful, practically glittering in the frigid air. We spent about an hour on the tower, unfortunately most of the time was waiting in line for the elevators. However, I still believe that the ET at night is one of the greatest visual experiences I have had. From there we ventured out for dinner after determined that a Seine boat trip would have entailed more waiting around. So I lead my trusting crew back into the 7th arr. to try one of my reliable locations. The first, Chez Agnes, was booked but the second, La Bosquet, was a success. We had a delicious dinner, they make the best onion soup, besides my own, and creme brulee that I have found. We got lucky with the Metro again and got a ride baby to the Place de Republic and we home in no time. Now was the sad part of the evening, we had to say good by to the Z's. They were off early in the morning, headed for home. Favorite experience of the day - cliché but being on the tower when it sparkles for ten minutes.

Day 7, Saturday - Saturday dawned lazy, yet clear again. We all took our time getting ready, we didn't have much energy for a big breakfast following the departure of the Z's. First thing on the agenda was a ride to the airport, without the Metro, the taxi's were impossible get so we decided, like the Z's, to reserve a shuttle. Then on with our day. Mom and my plan for the day was to take the Metro to the Rue Cler area to wonder around and shop and the W's were planning to do as much as possible with their last day. Mom and I got down to the Metro and caught the first train without too much wait. We then proceeded to wait for the next train. As we waited for the next train some announcements were being made and from my understanding they were saying that our line was stopped completely. However, not everyone was leaving the station so I decided to wait for a bit. More people filed in but once they heard the repeated announcement they departed, so my translations were confirmed. So I had to revise our plans for the day and keep the walking to a minimum. Looking at the map I realized we were near the Canal de Midi, so we headed of in that direction. The canal was quite and warm in the sun so we walked almost the entire length and back. We found a great little place to enjoy our last, long lunch in Paris and then wandered our way home. We relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and then just had leftovers for dinner, then packed our luggage and cleaned up the apartment. We were done with our week's stay in Paris. Favorite experience of the day - duh, I was in Paris, what wasn't amazing.

Thanks for reading.

Memories of Paris, part 1

13 days later, 10 days of metro strikes, 3 flights and 1 more world class city later, I realize something, nothing can ruin Paris for me. I know I seem to obsess about this fact quite often, don't worry, in a month or so it will pass. We had a great time in Paris which included food, wine, pastries, lights, smoky cafes, caramel au beurre salé glace and long, long walks.

Day 1, Sunday - We settled into our fantastic apartment. It had 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, dining room, living room & kitchen. It was on the 5th floor but had a typical elevator which fortunately worked during our entire stay. We then took a walk around the neighborhood to get an idea where all the necessities were. After we got settled we walked to the Belleville area for a very good, though a bit expensive Thai dinner. Favorite experience of the day - pulling into Gare de Nord on the train from Brussels.

Day 2, Monday - After a great breakfast, (boys made omelets, I went to the patisserie) we took the metro to the Palais Chaillot so we could enjoy the iconic view of the Eiffel Tower. After pictures, we wandered over to and under the tower, just looking, photographing and enjoying the tower in such beautiful sunshine. We wandered toward Les Invalides and finally into the 6th arrondisement where we stumbled upon a great little cafe for lunch. We were squeezed into the back room and served kir's before we ordered. The menu had a great prix fixe menu with tons of options. I had my first onion soup of the trip and a great salad Niçoise. We then wandered down Blvd. St. Germain and around the neighborhood near St. Sulpice. I knew we were in the area of Pierre Herme, one of the well-known macaroon producers but I didn't know the address. MW is a huge fan of the macaroon and they are one of the desserts my mom could enjoy so I was determined to find it. Then I saw someone eating a macaroon with a PH box. So, in the interest of doing anything to make friends happy, I walked up and asked them where they bought the gems. It turned out it was just behind us. We bought quite a few and shared them, the hands down winner was caramel au beurre salé or salted butter caramel. They were amazing. From there we continued toward Notre Dame and on to the Right Bank were we parted ways. The W's and I wandered into a Scottish bar for a token Guinness and then wandered our way back to our little corner of Paris. After resting up a bit we wandered downstairs to a smoky, dark cafe that served great food accompanied by ambiance. Favorite experience of the day - Standing underneath the tower and looking up the heart of it.

Day 3, Tuesday - Knowing that the transportation strike was beginning tomorrow we decided that the best option was to do the far reaching parts of our itinerary, so off to the Arc de Triomphe we went. The day was overcast but the view from the top is always fantastic. To see the 12 avenues radiating out from the etoile and the cars navigating the circle is a site that you can't see in the U.S. From there we walked the famous Avenue to the Place de la Concorde. After contemplating why the would erect a ferris wheel there during the winter, we dove back down into the metro and took it up to Montmartre. We wandered for a while together then went our separate ways for an hour or so. I went down some of the lesser known side streets so I could just be there. I found a corner cafe and grabbed a coffee and met everyone on the steps of Sacre Coeur. The Z's and CF wanted to go to the Catacombs but MW and I just wanted to wander. So we separated for the rest of the afternoon. MW and I took that metro down to Les Halles and ended up shopping for a while. MW had some success but nothing for me. Then we made our way outside to take some photos in the waning light then wandered toward the Louvre. I love the courtyard of the Louvre in the evening, it is quiet and the color from the setting sun plays off the stone of the museum in a glorious way and even the pyramid softens in the light. From there we caught the metro home. Since mom had stayed in all day, she offered to fix dinner and had done most of the shopping. When we arrived, the boys were headed out for few more things and then the struggle was on to figure out the stove. The meal was quite good considering some of the creative solutions it entailed. Favorite experience of the day - a 5 minute stop for coffee in a corner cafe.

Day 4, Wednesday - The strike was on. Paris is incredibly walkable, however, we were a bit too far from the center to enjoy this feature. It took about 45 minutes just to get to the river from the apartment and off course the weather was cooling. In the hopes that the strike would be short lived we decided to go to the Marais. This area is traditionally the Jewish area, now it is a great place for small, local artisans and some of the best falafels around. We wandered down, split up for some shopping (mom and I found the great dresses that the girls are wearing in the previous post) then met up again for a trip through the Carnavalet Museum. After that stop to see the history of Paris, we picked up some falafels and wandered to the Place des Vosges for a chilly but sunny picnic. The rest of the afternoon took us near the Hotel de Ville for some quality gelato (though the language barrier prevented me from having an afogato) then onto the Louvre courtyard, the Tuilieries garden and finally the l'Orangerie museum. I have been waiting for this museum for 6 years, it is the home to giant waterlily paintings by Monet. However, because of the strikes, they were closing early. Now we had to get home, unfortunately it was exactly 5 pm. We decided to try the Metro, since we knew that line 1 was running 1 out of 2 trains. However, this line which is crowded during rush hour on a normal day, was ridiculous on this day. The W's took off to walk but the Z's, mom and I decided to try a different line but that one looked to not be running at all. So we took off on foot, it was about an hour hike. It ended up being a fascinating walk home, watching the insane traffic trying to get home and the mopeds and bicyclists weaving in and out of the gridlocked traffic. Mom was tired so she decided to stay in and eat leftovers while the 5 of us headed out for dinner. The apartment owners provided some neighborhood places so we tried one. We had a nice French meal and MW & I split a good, inexpensive bottle of wine. Ahhhh, France. Favorite experience of the day - watching the bicyclists take control of the Parisien avenues.

Stay tuned for the rest of the week.

Thanks for reading.

Real life returns

Sorry to leave everyone hanging. I will go back and talk more about the trip but I am going to talk about the recent past first. We all made it back to California safe and on time Saturday. We got up at 5 am Barcelona time, though I hadn't slept since about 2:30 am, finished packing and eating what was left then easily caught a cab at 7 am to the airport. All of our flights were smooth and on time. We did have to go through security a million times it seemed. In Amsterdam, you go through serious security and then are held in a waiting room attached to the gate. Of course they confiscated the water we had just bought and then once on the other side there is nothing to replace it with. The least they could do is have a vending machine. Once in Minneapolis, you have to go through customs and security again. We had good hamburgers near our gate and waited for the lasts flight. It was nice to have some red meat, I didn't have much of that in Europe, mostly fish and lots of jamon. Mom and I got back late that night, unfortunately the sleep that I wanted to engulf me was non existent. The next day we caught up on GA and had Dos Coyotes for lunch, 2 of my favorite things. Sunday afternoon we headed to Foresthill to visit the Armstrong's. Claire was very happy to see me after the initial shyness that she always has and Catherine is as pretty as ever. We spent the evening playing with the kids and had a nice home cooked meal. Monday, after not sleeping again, I was up at 5:30 am and hung out with my sister, then the kids and mom woke up and we had a relaxing morning. I gave Claire a bath then we dressed them in the beautiful Parisian dresses that we found in the Marais. We took some photos, I got to eat some leftover turkey and play with the munchkins a while more. Then my sister and I left Claire with grandma and we took Catherine to Costco. I spent more then I intended but then who doesn't at Costco, then came on home. I will actually be at home for about a week and a half before I am on the road again. At least that is the plan as of now. I promise to do some wrap up of the big Europe adventure and will continue to bore you all on the rest of my life.

Thanks for reading.

Why Do I Love Paris?

That is one of those questions that is impossible to answer simply. I believe that certain things or places can strike a deep chord with people, sometimes it has to do with a memory, your heritage or some unknown. My love is an unknown. It started long ago, watching Greg LeMond ride Le Tour de France, at least that is how I remember it. For an hour every Saturday during July they would show a cut down version of the previous weeks events on the Wide World of Sports on ABC, or something like that. The riders would be whizzing past these amazing old castles, mountains, vineyards, fields and monuments and I was enchanted. Not terribly surprising to note that my other passion is biking now. Then the history of France became a focus for me and the more I traveled here, the more enrapt I became. Today everyone knows my fixation, some say obsession for this country and especially Paris. So as I spend a week here now, I have tried to take some time to note what it is I love so much. Here you go:

• Standing in the middle of a bridge over the Seine and looking east to Notre Dame, the Hotel de Ville and the Louvre and west to La Tour Eiffel, the Grand Palais and the Place de la Concorde.
• Buying croissants in the morning for breakfast.
• The meat shop, next to the patisserie, next to the wine shop, next to the fruit stand, next to the cheese shop, next to the "supermarket" the size of a postage stamp. Interspursed with an eyeglass store, a phone store, a shoe store and a house needs shop.
  
• A fabulous Metro system, even when on strike.
• The sound of the sirens.
• Knowing that behind every huge door with a key pad lies a whole world, that I am just now getting to see.
• The light on the river on a sunny day.
• Seeing La Eiffel Tour peek around so many corners.
• Cafes with tiny tables and the seats all facing the street.
• Knowing that people watching is expected.
• The sound of the French language and wishing that I understood more then every 3rd word.
• Knowing that when I leave for this ninth time, I will be ready to come back for my tenth.

Merci pour lire.

Another day, another strike.

Today was day one of a French transportation strike. Yes, we hit it at the perfect time no metro or buses running and no taxis to be found. Since we knew of the impending strike we planned our dayaccordingly, a trip to the Marais. We awoke a bit late due to a few to many drinks last night bysome and had our breakfast. Side note about breakfast, it has been quite the affair. I make cafetea and run to the pâtisserie for croissants (have I mentioned how much I love doingthat?), the boys make omelettes, we slice up some tomatoes, cheese and fruit, throw downsome Nutella and jam then proceed to have quite a feast. The only drawback is that we neverget out of the apartment before 10:30 - 11:00. However, they are lovely meals but back to the story. So we finally get going and wander down to the Marais. This area is traditionally the Jewish quarter, has many small shops and some great falafels. We hit the shops for about an hour, I found a new scarf (my goal is two) then regrouped at the Musee Carnevalet. We took a look at the history of Paris, with a special stop at the Mucha room for MW. From there we got some falafels to go and wandered to the Place de Vosges to sit. From there we went towards the Louvre to find a gelato shop that MW had read about. They had fantastic gelato then we had some cafe to warm up. From there we continued to the Louve and a stroll through the Tuilleries garden. Our goal was to get to the Musee L'Orangerie where, after 6 years, they finally have the huge Monet lily pad paintings on display in their new building. Here was our first big strike interference, they were closing the museum at 5pm instead of 7pm. It was 4:50, so we couldn't go in. We shall try again tomorrow. Anyway we decided to try to get on the Metro. About half of the trains on the main line were running and when one pulled in it was jam packed. Sardines were more comfortable. So we decided to try a different line, after hiking through the station we got to the platform and the sign said 81 minutes to the next train. We believed that must be a mistake so we waited about ten minutes. Meanwhile, they were making some announcements that I couldn't quite catch, finally I asked someone that was leaving the platform after hearing it. She said that it would be an hour for the next train. Wow. We decided to walk. We zigzagged across town towards the apartment. We tried another metro line and it was just as bad. So back to the street. It was actually quite entertaining. The traffic was barely moving except for the mopeds and bicycles snaking their way through the lines of cars. We saw many near accidents but nothing serious. Finally, an hour plus later we got back to the apartment. Mom did a great job, she was with us the entire day and was still upright. After a few aperatifs and a well earned rest, we ventured out for dinner. It wasn't too far from us and was recommended by the owners of our apartment. The food was good and the atmosphere tres Parisien. A great end to another adventure in Paris.

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I Am So Happy.

We arrived yesterday via the Thalys from Brussels and I could almost feel the moment we crossed the border to France. The day was a bit overcast and raining from time to time but I certainly didn't mind. I am in Paris. We arrived at our apartment on the Avenue de Republic out in the 11th Arr. It is on the 4th floor, traditionally Haussmanian and the perfect place to spend a week. The view out the front window is mundane, but fabulous to me at the same time. We can see into our neighbors apartments to observe their everyday life and it doesn't feel like spying. On the opposite corner is a cafe and next door a pharmacy with the ubiquitous glowing green cross. I watched the "little green men," my name for the ever present sanitation crew, clean the sidewalks. Yesterday we got acquainted with our neighborhood by wondering about looking for places to shop for the necessities; cheese, wine, breakfast makings and coffee. This morning, I got to do something that I had always wanted to do, run to the corner patisserie to pick up croissants for breakfast. The building has a tiny 2 person elevator that may or may not be working all the time, we will see. The living room and dining room open on to each other via "French" doors and a parkay floor runs throughout the house. The kitchen is tiny but complete but I believe they have splurged on the refrigerator, it holds much more then the traditional days worth of food. Everyone loves the apartment, it suits us well.

Our first day out was so close to perfect. The sun was shining brightly with little wind. I took the crew to the Trocadero stop for their (well the W's) first sighting of my favorite view. It does seem a bit cheesy for me to love the Eiffel Tower so much but I unabashadly do. We took lots of photos and then crossed the river to take some more. We then wondered somewhat aimlessly through the 7th, 6th and 5th Arrondisments. Hunger caught up with us around 1:30 and we lucked upon a small restaurant the perfect menu for us. I was able to get Onion soup, though not the greatest, and a large salad. Most followed suit. We then shopped a bit and ventured across to Notre Dame and into the Right Bank. The group split up for a few hours and then regrouped back at the apartment. CF and I ran to the market to refresh our breakfast makings and then we headed down to the cafe next door for a nice dinner.

I believe the W's are falling for my city and that makes me happy. I know the others were already fans but I love to get the new recruits.

I know I haven't put any pictures yet but be sure to check MW's photos, they are so much better then mine.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/simplywithstyle/collections/72157602883992864/

Thanks for reading.

Eating & Drinking Our Way Through Belgium

When I say Belgium, what do you think of? No, not surrendering to the German's after a few days, not being the EU capital and not Hercule Poirot. Though those are all valid, we are not celebrating those, we are celebrating the beer and the multitude carb-loaded foods.

Way back in the planning stage of this trip, I asked the W's where they would like to go, other then Paris. Without too much thought DW, better known as CF around here, quickly said Belgium. I thought that was a great idea and only latter did I realized that his mind was already scheming. He had heard a lot about the beer culture here and following our pilgrimage to stout beers holy land last year, knew that this would be the place for us. CF studied long and hard on the topic and came up with his manifesto. He went even further and found the best bars for us to go to enjoy this multitude of brewed goodness. We started off with a bang at a bar, Delirium, in Brussels that carries near 2000 beers. We tried our small share. We also toured the only brewery still brewing in Brussels. This remarkable little brewery, Cantillon, does things the old fashioned way and makes a great beer called gueuze, that is quite sour and much to KZ's liking. In Gent we found the Waterhuis aan de Bierkant, a quaint, cozy place on the river through town with a nice selection of beers. Next door, was Dreupelkot, a genever (gin) cafe, yes this place was all gin. Genever is made from grain and they love to add flavors to it. The grumpy gentlemen running the bar had been there for 35 years and made his own mixes. We tried tiramisu, vanilla, pepper and anise. Here in Bruges, we didn't have quite the number of bars to go to that DW researched but we did go on another brewery tour. The De Halve Mann brewery, or Half Moon, is the last one in Bruges. There just isn't room in these old city centers to have a huge brewery and the trucks for delivery can't maneuver. We dropped in for drinks at a bar/hotel/restaurant called Erasmus, which actually had a bunch of beers on tap. It is unusual to see beers on tap here since bottle conditioning is a how most of these beers get their distinct flavors. Not only do they mostly come in bottles but every beer has its own glass, the style determined by the type of beer. Erasmus was such a great stop that we made reservations for dinner the next night. The last great beer spot we went to was t'Beertje Brugge. It was off one of the main streets and had 200+ beers to drink. When we arrived the place was packed and we had to split up to a couple of tables. We think we were in the touristy room but it was a pretty cool place anyway. Well those were the highlights, drinking your way through Belgium is definitely a good idea during the fall, so you have an excuse to get out of the rain.

As far as food, it is very simple...fries, waffles and chocolate. We had quite a bit of it too. The fries come with everything or can be bought at street vendors, which usually are the best. Waffles are sold as street food with chocolate, whipped cream or plain and not as breakfast food. Chocolate shops are everywhere and in all kinds of flavors. They are so much better then what you find in the US. Of course, it is hard to find a chocolate shop in the US. We actually had some very good real food too. Moules Frites was a big hit.

We enjoyed Belgium but I am so excited to be moving on to Paris.

Thanks for reading.

We're Here!!!

We all made it. We are currently packing up for our departure to Brugge. We spent two days each in Brussels and Ghent, both are great cities. Brussels is definitely a big city with a very international feel, while Ghent is much smaller with a high university student population and small winding streets. Our two b & b's have been perfect, well located and with great proprietors. We have been getting up and having breakfast between 8 & 9 am then head out to explore the town, after a late or small lunch we walk a bit more then find a pub for good quality Belgium beer, CF really did his homework. Then some down time in the early evening then off for dinner. Mom is doing very well, we usually give here the afternoon off to rest while we find some beers but I believe she is enjoying herself. My other traveling companions are great as expected, we had plenty of practice in Ireland. I am really enjoying Belgium but can't wait to get to Paris.

If you want to see pictures check out MW's blog, listed on the left side and check out her flickr photos. I will upload photos in Brugge.

Thanks for reading.