We are now in Paris

Here's the picture of the free wheeling lawn mower, previous post, liked the gate also or wouldn't have bothered showing it.

I wondered why my hair stylist in Rieselfeld looked familiar, her name is Angelika, went to her again and realized she looks like Pauline Collins, who played Shirley Valentine! Quite a resemblance really. She also has a great sense of humour.

Dawna and Erwin were in town getting ready to move into the flat. We had lunch with them and then went to the flat for the usual champers and chat. They’ve been to the South of France and had driven over 5000 kilometres visiting their favourite cities and towns. They both really love the countryside in that area and so get around as much as possible to see it. 

We’re now in Paris, left Freiburg 06:52, early! Taxi came, we got escorted to the fast train and 3.5 hours later we’re in Paris. It worked out fine, almost easier really. Countryside is rolling hills, pastures, saw fields of canola, yellow, and a field of sunflowers, both are grown to be pressed into oil. I saw Charolais, read white cattle herds, and it’s still really green, especially pretty between Dijon (yes the mustard city) and Paris.

Second Taxi driver was nice too, traffic terrible, he said by this time of year when Parisians go on holiday it’s usually lighter, but not yet. We went past Museo D’orsey, Notre Dame Cathedral, a building that has a gold coloured dome housing many things but what I remember is the Military Museum. I told him we were on the Right Bank last year, he said there is always a question of which Bank is better. Air conditioning to Bruce worked well, many of these roller taxis are only air-conditioned in the front and being vans, windows don’t open often. 

Neil, the fellow who cleans for Joan our host, was here to greet us and show me household things. He calls me mam Beverley so I’ll have to ask what country he comes from, maybe born Parisian but he calls Joan Mam Mrs Kroenig, I’ll ask. So we basically dropped our bags, did a shop close by and then found a cafe to have a bite of lunch at Le General Beuret. Food and drink are more expensive here, hadn’t remembered that.

Look closely, this is a vegetable duck! Well done I think, posted outside a grocery store, natch.

Now the elevator is broken, one of two so we’re not stuck, but what is it with us and faulty elevators? Anyway the flat is fine, smallish but fine. She has a complete garden on the patio that stretches from the dining room to the bedroom. Really done a nice job on it for a small space.

Went out again for a bite of dinner, I had contacted Joan about the elevator and she recommended cafe Les Ecrivains (means the Writers) so we went and it was great! 

We’re both feeling a bit train lagged, is there such a thing? Not likely due to the journey, just the ungodly hour it left with us on it, early night for us both.

Mini-rant to hosts of Airbnb - things that are rarely provided so I’m not targeting any one host here and some may be due to cultural differences.

Clean cloths for both bathroom and kitchen

Paper towel

Hangers for clothing

Garbage bags

Ice cube trays

Not, everyone who’s stayed there before's, left over shampoo/conditioner

Give us a drawer, preferably two for things like pants and underwear that don’t hang

Give us a proper drying rack when you have a clothes washing machine and at least a couple of soaps to start, so one can get the brand name preferred for the washer.

That’s about it and pretty minor in life but niggling anyway. We shop for the above things and I had a brilliant idea (I know bragging but I’m going with it.) There are no drawers for clothing here, and that’s common with these apartments see above, so I bought a large hard plastic grocery bag, put all our underwear in it and hung it in the closet. This apartment is fine, but when we moved in yesterday we were both quite frustrated I think. Mini-rant over. 

Joan loves woven baskets, they are everywhere, really nice ones, different sizes for different things. It is quite similar to Linda’s apartment in Brussels in that she as an eclectic mix of decor from all over Europe including some antiques. 

On the dining table, the tandoori oven cover holds napkins, great use!

Wall decoration is just as eclectic, large posters of bull fight advertisements from Sevilla and Bilboa, family photos, advertisements several years old, lots of mirrors, it really is a mix but also works here. 

Poster from the 1959 movie Some Like it Hot with Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemon

It is small but comfortable. The difference is this place has everything crammed into a space that is less than half Linda’s is. Joan teaches music to children. 

Bowsprit (had to ask Bruce what it is called)

Titanic - really?

Received an email from Augustina asking how the journey was, she’s so thoughtful and sends God’ blessings to us. If you know us at all you know we are not religious people but somehow when she says that it is very comforting somehow to me anyway. 

Second full day here, there is a wet/dry clothes cleaner right across the street so we took some shirts to him. Expensive though, so I did buy a clothes dryer rack.

We wander further to find indoor markets! They are chock-o-block full of fresh everything, cheese, meat, fish, vegetable, fruit, Lebanese food, Japanese food, florists, bakeries (of course) there is even a Monoprix grocery store. I’ve been buying packaged salads from the Carrefour, no more! Although they are better than others I’ve had. There is so much selection available so close and fresher. 

Had lunch at Cafe Chastel, a local’s wine and coffee bar, had the best omelette ever! Passed one of the few cheese shops and Bruce wanted Stilton so we got him some at Androuet. Passed by Laurent Vincent Boucherie Lecourbe, a butchery on Rue Lecourbe and got three slices of cooked beef that looks wonderful but was really pricey, we’d better enjoy that as a treat and it is. This section of town in the 15th district we discovered is like going to Granville Island in Vancouver. It will be difficult to choose what to buy and of course greedy me wants a bit of everything! As you’ve heard many times before, we were in foodie heaven today, even if mostly by eye rather than stomach.

Went back down to the shops again, wandered in a few, stopped at the Monoprix, large grocery chain. “Ate” at Au Roi Du Cafe, The King of the Cafe, nothing kingly about it really. My onion soup was cool, and when it was returned it, it had turned to mush under either the broiler or heaven forbid a microwave. Oh, and the waiter asked Bruce if he wanted the bill, that has never happened before in Europe, they wait until you ask for it letting you sit there as long as you want. I picked up some Lebanese food for take out.

That's our first few days in Paris, look for sequels. 

Cheers, Bx2 and Lexi Cat