A Fond Bon Jour From Paris!
There’s not much of a holiday season feeling in gay Paris, but the first day of our 15-day “Paris Trip” was a huge success. Remember, the scouting report was that in Paris we’d only see about 10% of the Christmas trimmings we normally see in the United States. That was a good report. Back in Aix, very few residences had any lights. Here in Paris, again with most folks living in apartment buildings, there are essentially no visible holiday trimmings (I assume there are some lights and a Christmas tree inside some residences). Some businesses have decorations, but only some. We saw maybe two spots where they were selling Christmas trees in Aix-en Provence, and Christmas three lots aren’t on every corner here in Paris (have not see one).
Our TGV train (high-speed) left Aix en-Provence four minutes late Sunday afternoon (see the family photo – less photographer – at the Aix-en Provence gare) and arrived in Paris two minutes early. The trip was a snappy 2:56. It takes 6-1/2 to 7 hours in a car on the auto-route. We settled into our top level seats (four around a table). I had a nice cold bottle of Orangina, which I’m now addicted to, and ate potato chips and M&Ms, snuck in a short nap and saw some great country side. Oh baby!!! Just a little bit better than flying! I love trains and there can’t be a better train than the French high speed lines.
We arrived at Gare de Lyon (or Gah-da-la as it was announced in French on the train). What a busy place. Snagged a cab and made our way through the streets of Paris in the early evening. We arrived at our apartment, in the Rue Cler area, about a ten minute walk from the Eiffel Tower. A “cosmetic sculpture” in San Francisco owns the place. The good doctor has roots in Italy, vacations frequently in Sardinia and drops by his place in Paris from time to time. Nice digs. The building was built in the 1830s and the neighborhood is upscale and adjacent to a neighborhood that is a favorite of Americans (a bit closer to the Eiffel Tower).
The battle between parents and kids began shortly after arrival. Their interest in France, and at this point Paris, is almost non-existent. That means they don’t want to go anywhere. Marlene and I walked the three short blocks to Rue Cler (a closed off street – you can look it up) and did some quick shopping to get some food in the apartment. We went back out to a corner restaurant (a real restaurant and bar --- no tables out in front – more like a U.S. restaurant). Marlene again broke the rule – NO BEEF – and ordered a hamburger. It looked fabulous. She could only struggle through a portion of it, saying over and over again “it tastes so different”. Say it again – NO BEEF! I ordered onion soup – I don’t care, I call it French onion soup – and it was wonderful. I believe only the second time I’ve seen onion soup on a menu during our French visit. Then I ordered a pork chop with mashed potatoes (terre pomme puree). The pork chop was top-notch, with a great sauce, and the potatoes were sensational. The potatoes were in a league with the mashed potatoes I had in Paris some years back, that were so good I ordered a side order for dessert. And, two ice cold Coronas just topped it off. The meal moved into my top four meals in France – three have been pork (with one lamb dish) and all have been somewhere other than Aix-en Provence.
A train ride, a bottle of Orangina, potato chips, M&Ms, a great pork chop, even better mashed potatoes, two cold beers and I fell asleep in a rich guys apartment in Paris. That was a day to remember.
Keaka’s taking his medicine and feeling better, while Marlene now has a severe head cold and bad cough. I figure it’s just a matter of time until I have a sore throat.
We have no chance of making much of a dent here in Paris. We’re limited by Tuesday being Christmas Eve and Wednesday Christmas, with almost everything closed. And a storm is coming with a 100% chance of rain on Tuesday and high winds. Not a good day for street wandering. We are going to Moulin Rouge on Christmas night for the big show and have Thursday dinner reservations at a Left Bank restaurant I ate in quite a few decades ago.
Our list of day activities (we’re going to make an attempt) include a public bus tour (Bus #69), the Louvre, Musee Orsay, Notre Dame, Pompidou Center, a walk through the Marais area and another walk through the Left Bank. Marlene wants to hit some antique shops and she wants to go to Tiffanys to get her recently broken watch repaired. The hoped for evening activities include the Eiffel Tower, a Seine River boat ride, a walk along the Champs-Elysees, a visit to the Arc de Triomphe, and Marlene wants to go to a movie (and, she says, let’s not try to do too much each day).
Got a few photos – a look at Rue Cler, Marz with a glass of wine trying to wash down her hamburger, our apartment building at 1 Square de la Tour-Maubourg, and Marlene in the building assensor (elevator).
More coming in rapid order. Hope you’re all enjoying your Holiday Season.
The Wilsons
