We're back in Freiburg!

Windy day in Freiburg and children fly kites of course.

A bit sadly, we leave Paris for Karlsruhe, uneventful and comfortable train voyage (which we will appreciate, read on). We stayed overnight there next to the City’s garden and zoo. 

Like the white faced ducks

Lovely spot to relax with the water park and it was a cool spot on a hot day. 

Admittedly not the best picture, tried, but they are wonderful to see - REAL pink flamingos on a lawn!

Offenburg to Freiburg not so comfortable. It’s a two hour train trip normally and it took us about five hours. We got to Offenburg to find out we were stuck there indefinitely due to a blockage on the track between there and Freiburg. It took an attempt at three trains, the fourth to got us to Freiburg, the short story. We didn't find out the cause of the blockage.

More detail, we were ordered off the original train, onto another, which was hot and extremely crowded. Then told to get off again and directed to another! We missed, now the third train, because there was no ramp, then onto another, fourth, and success! we’re headed to Freiburg. The process of changing trains meant lugging suitcases along the long lines of trains, seeking shade on the platforms, in and out of numerous elevators and waiting in the hot sun for our turn to board. We travelled with another person in a wheelchair and her companion, who were clearly as uncomfortable as we were. 

Train personnel were shaking their heads at the snafu and did their very best to help us make smooth transitions.

I don’t know the numbers of how many passengers can fit on the train, these were ICE, Inter City Express, but when you get the large number of people crossing platforms with baby carriages, wheelchairs, and large pieces of luggage it’s a melee!

Upshot three failed attempts and one successful one to get to Freiburg. Ouch, we made it, tired but happy.

Karen McCann, www.enjoylivingabroad.com says the measure of a true traveller is how you handle interruptions and snags in your journey, we did well today, just shrugging and smiling to the helpers indicating to them “sh*t happens”. Travel is not always smooth and one has to “roll with the punches”.

In Freiburg, I get a very grumpy taxi driver from the station to the hotel, almost left without loading my suitcase, then deposited them on the road to the entrance of the hotel, not even the curb, no tip for him! Get into the hotel we stay at about twice a year. She is alone on the desk so no help to get our heavy bags to the room which I had to handle since Bruce was driving from the train station to the hotel. At this point Lexi who has endured all this with us is getting very unhappy, she knows we are close to the room and yowling to be let out of this damn box immediately! Stat! Mom!

The Central as we have known it has changed some. Slightly grumpy receptionist although she is efficient, just doesn’t have the sunny disposition the others have. The next morning the owner/manager gave us a very warm greeting, as did a waiter and the food manager, so we felt back at “home” again, maybe not changed so much. The breakfast buffet is more than what one usually gets in Germany, this one includes  a cooker for fresh eggs to be done as you like them and a hot tray with scrambled eggs, green onion topped, bacon and sausage. Most breakfasts are cold cuts of meat and cheese without the warm options. In fact when the guest breakfast is finished, they feed their staff.

Our flat partners Dawna and Erwin next day picked us up and took us back to our flat for our ritual glass of champagne or sekt as it is called here. We talked at length and then went for lunch in Bahlingen, next to a place we have frequented before, just next door, this is called Zum Hecht. Food and service very good  on an outdoor patio, very pleasant. It’s mushroom or pfifferling season so they had a special menu, of course. Back to the flat for more conversation and drinks, always good to catch up with them, as you’ve read many times before. 

The bad news is we’ve lost our house cleaner without another in clear sight, not withstanding the efforts of D & E to find one. Need to import Rocio from Sevilla! Not practical of course, but I don’t think house cleaners value their work as much as I do on the receiving end. They think of it as a boring, dirty job when I appreciate it so much and we’re not really dirty people! We don’t host wild parties, just live in a place and need a freshening up of the floors, dusting to keep the place in good condition. We pay for cleaning in places we rent as well to make sure to keep it in condition for the owners. It’s an extremely valuable service for us, mostly me really!

Thursday, D & E have left and we move into our flat. I have to say we are getting very proficient at the arrival and leaving process, (pats on the back). We have unpacked and done a shop, ready to relax in about two hours time. Lexi does her prowl around, almost visibly pleased she knows where she is and sits in her favourite spots, one of which is on top of the fridge.

All for now, Cheers, Bx2 and Lexi Cat

Place de Vosges and wandering

Walked/rolled to Place de Vosges and it is a beautiful square surrounded by buildings, first place in Europe that all the house fronts were built in the same design in 1605. 

The arches under all the buildings either hold restaurants or art galleries. Art galleries were full of what looked like very expensive art, large sculptures and paintings that would cost the bomb I’m sure! Large statue in the middle of the park with fountains on the four corners, fountains were built in 1825. 

The park is gated, linden trees line the park and gate. Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables, Hunchback of Notre Dame lived there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_des_Vosges

Bruce learned something new about Paris today, he had never been to this square. There are passageways between major streets, while we haven’t walked down many, that’s another venture.

Getting there we got slightly lost, and walked further than needed, a lot further really, read that on this blog before? Walked through what looked like a club district, cobblestoned streets which we haven’t seen to much of here. We lunched at Royal Turenne, Marais District. I went to the toilet which was an adventure in itself, not usually, but here, access to it is through the narrow space where the food comes out of the kitchen. Wait staff were coming and going with large trays and yelling at each other orders, while us women were just trying to get to or back from the can, it was a melee.

Lebanese Restaurant, great food, great service!

Technology beats me again, darn it! Well not quite. Needed to add money to my cell, it’s a German SIM card, although should have brought my Spanish one since Ivan talked me through making it a European one, didn’t, left it in Sevilla. Part one - I used to update it at a phone store; Part two - found I could do it at a bank ATM, easier; Part three - that doesn’t seem to happen here in Paris, tried about six different ATM’s; Part four - and final, remembered I could do it through online banking. Whew, done.

Liked the clematis, not quite the ghost.

Met our host Sophie today and she helped us get a taxi to our tour that you've read about. What surprised us is that it took a conversation of about ten minutes to do so. Very glad she was available to help, we’d have been unable I think. Services like this seem to be available for everyone, no matter what language, but truthfully they are not. Sophie said she found it difficult as well so I guess it's not all about my inabilities. 

Window display in shoe store

The following week they displayed ballet shoes of famous dancers, some looked very well worn. This is the store http://www.repetto.com/en/ I certainly have never had the lithe figure to do ballet but I do appreciate this store's marketing.

Peering down an alley to find this building, did they run out of bricks?

Cousins like Pigs, advert for a vaudeville show

Couldn't resist taking a picture of this poster, so bizarre, the show has good reviews though.

Those are some of our wanderings in Paris, thoroughly enjoyed. 

Cheers, Bx2 and Lexi Cat

Boat or Bateaux Tour on the Seine

Pictures on this blog post are cloudy and rainy because it was, but I'm including them anyway, there were fifty one of them, serious editing done, almost half of the Eiffel Tower and you'll see what remains, not much!

Tour day is Monday September 5th and the taxi for Bruce’s chair comes, takes half an hour to get to the dock through downtown, the heart of Paris. Raining so wasn’t shown at it’s best, but passed Notre-Dame, L’Assemblée Nationale and Musée D’Orsay and probably others I didn’t recognize. Get out of the cab and know we are close to the Eiffel Tower, turn around and there she is! Wow! What a feat of architecture! It’s looks lacy and beautiful! 

I'm just calling this romantic, no other word...

Aside, we were in Sydney, and I was there to see the Opera House, turned the corner and unexpectedly there it was! Same feeling I had today to see the Eiffel Tower, surprise, wonder and complete stomach dropping awe!

On the boat, lunch was four course, starter, main, cheese, dessert with white and red wine, water and coffee, I’m so full! Delicious every bit of it, all cooked on board they say, and service was exceptional. This is Bateaux Parisians www.bateauxparisiens.com and we highly recommend this tour. It is two hours, non-stop, others are like a hop-on-off which would be good as well but with Bruce’s chair the only ramp available is at the Eiffel Tower stop, so no hopping for him, (not much of a rabbit this gent) This option fit the best. Did I say I’m so full! Know I did, for me to eat dessert is almost unheard of but I did and enjoyed it.

See link below for a write up of many of the bridges.

We paid for a window seat on the side of the boat, going under all the bridges (there are thirty seven) was very interesting to see the many different styles, built in different ages. http://frenchmoments.eu/top-10-most-beautiful-bridges-of-paris/ One was built using the bricks from the Bastille, that’s recycling! 

Many boats docked along the piers from sleek to almost sinking, even a lighthouse boat!

There was a singer aboard who serenaded us throughout lunch. She sang Ava Maria so beautifully it brought tears to my eyes, my mother’s favourite. 

She sang New York, New York next to the Statue of Liberty, okay a bit corny, but really well done. I'd guess you didn’t know there was one (smaller mind) on the Seine, certainly I didn’t.

She sang Édith Piaf’s, La Vie En Rose, which we both cringed at, hearing it so often badly mangled by accordion players in Sevilla, a treat to hear it done well and in Paris.

Dome of Les Invalides, military hospital, tomb of Napoleon, built 1671

It drizzled the whole day so actually it was a good day to be dry on the boat instead of dodging the rain while walking around, just not the best for pictures. 

See what I mean, cool effect though

Well, I’ve seen the monuments I wanted to in Paris and can now leave satisfied. Yes, just a peek, nothing extensive, but enough for me. 

We've got a week left here and more to do before going to Freiburg. "Chat" soon.

Cheers, Bx2 & Lexi Cat

Visit to the Pere Lachaise Cemetery

We walked into the 20th arrondissement or district to visit the famous Pere Lachaise Cemetery. You might ask why? And probably are, because it is a beautiful park and full of history. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A8re_Lachaise_Cemetery

http://www.unjourdeplusaparis.com/en/paris-essentiel/plan-du-cimetiere-du-pere-lachaise

The Pere Lachaise Cemetery is a fascinating place to visit, beautiful, tree lined cobbled lanes move you from one alley to the next. 

Paul-Jacques-Aime Baudry

There are many famous people buried here, like the fellow above who was a French painter in the 1800's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul-Jacques-Aim%C3%A9_Baudry

Chopin, Oscar Wilde, musicians, composers, writers, famous French families, you name it and right up to this century, such as musician Jim Morrison.

I don't know the significance of the concrete ball but liked it.

It is on a hilltop and spreads downward with many steps in the parts we saw, Bruce in his chair prevented him from seeing it all, but we saw enough. 

Fairly typical of them

Rows upon rows of these structures

Read more about it in the above links. We packed a picnic and sitting on a stone bench to have our lunch, alternative bench was wooden and lichen covered, I thought if I sat on it would collapse, read instead of green butt, cold butt. 

Ceramic pillow, pretty!

There are no more "phone-booth" like houses anymore, it is all granite slab and we wonder (a bit ghoulishly) how they are opened to admit a new member. Did see one with handles on top, but only one, my friend Jay probably knows. Some of the sites are meticulously taken care of, some are almost falling down. 

She looks like she has a bit of attitude I think.

Around the cemetery are all businesses associated with the "business", undertakers, florists, ceramic artists, etc. 

So that was our enjoyable visit. The day was perfect weather wise and walking along the tree lined paths, seeing the flowers, it was a true walk in a park.

Some things I've noticed that are different here from other European cities we’ve been in. Most, almost all, apartment complexes have a number/letter pad for a coded entry, then regular key to get into the flat. This flat has a tricky key and if you can’t get it done there are outside shutters that you can operate also with a key to seal the place up. Like in Sevilla many have courtyards but they aren’t as elaborate, no water features but many have gardens. Streets are tree lined and even in mid-August there are lots of brown leaves on the ground. They run water though the drains in the streets in the mornings, perhaps to clear the drains of the leaves, not bachles but just running water, helps to cool the city down too. 

It seems like people here, at least in the neighbourhoods we’ve visited have taken a “happy pill” or “happiness lessons”. With what Paris has been through and it’s "reputation" I expected something a little less in that department, not so. People will even say Bon Appetit while walking by your table, they smile at strangers, waiters and store people are polite. This is our experience so far. 

I went into another boulangerie for a baguette for our lunch and found a different system of handling cash payment. There are two slots to put coins and bills into and return change. It is used to sanitize the shop keeper from money, I assume, since they don’t wear gloves when handing you your fresh bit of bread, good system really. Carrying the baguette back, I felt "French", sometimes just it's just wrapped in a napkin. It seems every second person has one in hand or bag.

There is a large company here called Deliveroo, logo is a kangaroo, they do home or office delivery of food on motor or push bikes. https://deliveroo.fr/en/faq The writer of FAQ has a sense of humour, read "Why they don't accept cash". I had to look it up because riders go by the cafes we've been in very frequently.

While we haven't seen the big sights, we're booked on a river cruise next week so we'll see the most famous from the water. Looking forward to that.

Cheers, Bx2 and Lexi Cat, who is not wearing a beret.

Paris - Part One and it's mostly about food...

Bruce was in Paris for about a month in his early twenties, he’s enjoying seeing the changes in the City after forty years and since he knows her pretty well, he is my tour guide. Last time we were here, we didn't see anything due to this...

http://bevbrucelexi.blogspot.fr/2014/01/paris-unexpected-delay-and-first-of.html

Looking SOOO innocent now... maybe not, plotting the next adventure, read on, never boring this one!

Skip this if you are not into aerobatic cats, or have read enough about a cat in Paris. There is an entire wall of books in this flat in the living room which has a ladder across a rail which I’ve only seen in movies, but here it is. So Lexi, being the curious cat she is, started climbing the ladder, she went up high, stretched one leg, seriously out, three legs on the shelf, then decided it was safer to withdraw, pulled herself back and climbed down the ladder. She’s never been on a ladder before, but to her it’s just another exploration point. Incredible for me watching her! Enough about her...

Second day in Paris and we lunch at a charming bistro called La Belle Equipe, where we asked about grocery stores. There is a Monpoprix down the road, quite far down, but what a store! It’s a large chain in France and while shopping at the smaller mom and pop stores are nicer, sometimes you just have to stock up. Thinking we’d either missed it or got lost I stopped in at a cafe to ask. Here, as everywhere, if you want English spoken you must ask politely first, not assume. I was yelled at by a German bloke for doing just that and justly so. I’m finding many people here speak English, at least in this neighbourhood. I’m still a bit confused as to what it is called, know it’s in the eleventh. It’s called Roquette.

More walking the neighbourhoods and many places are closed until earliest August 23, some August 31st. I would say if you come in September you would have more choice in just about everything, August not so much, many leave the city for vacation. We’ve known that, Vienna and Brussels were the same, but not to the extent it is here. Well there are still enough shops and restaurants open we won’t starve, just less choice.

A small note about recycling, it doesn’t seem to exist here! What? In Freiburg we have the recycle Police! They are that serious about it and have shown positive results, although I can’t name them at the moment, but here in Paris there doesn’t seem to be anything. Strange for me, in Belgium everything but glass and kitchen waste went into separate bags. After Germany where they are so picky this is new to me. I don’t understand why a city as large as Paris would not recycle. Maybe I just haven’t read the memo. Read the net and it does happen, just no obvious way to do it in this flat. Update, found the bins, still not as rigorous as in Freiburg but they are there, yeah! Felt bad, it’s become such a habit, one of my few good ones.

Another large shop since tomorrow is Sunday and Monday is Assumption of Mary Day, or Feast of Assumption, also a holiday. We’ve learned our lessons on holidays but still get caught occasionally. We haven’t even been out of the neighbourhood yet and the City from our perspective is beautiful. People say it is the City of Light and I would agree. I also read that people dress nicely here. Well some do and some do not but I am enjoying the fashion parade that does go by when sitting in a cafe. I think only very young women and tourists wear shorts, most women wear dresses and some are really pretty. Guess I’m touted as a tourist for wearing shorts at my age, but hey, they are comfortable and since I don’t enjoy shopping where to find a nice dress? or two… perhaps one pretty dress wouldn’t do me any harm, flip, flop… 

There are many black people here, I only mention them because of their dress, men wear tunics to their ankles, women wear brightly coloured and patterned dresses, many are very beautiful! The designs are created in a method of batik, which I’ve done a bit of, means using wax and dyes. I don’t know where they are from or any history but am enjoying seeing them or their garments rather. They are from North and West Africa, here is a clothing designer doing a modern twist with the fabric, skip if not interested. http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-08-15/designer-combines-african-fabrics-paris-couture Bruce tells me the people are from Ghana, traditional dress there.

Went to the Sunday Market at the Bastille Plaza. The market was a “scream” according to Bruce, the vendors yelled out their wares and a woman sat in the middle playing an instrument that screamed as well, dreadful sound and made on purpose, and for money! I was not paying her I can tell you! Maybe to stop playing, now that would be worth it. The market is quite large with it’s share of junk, decent clothing seemed mostly from Italy, handbags and food, the wasps loved the fish, didn’t go near that one. It was crowded, very crowded, but a fun to see everything. Almost bought a pink Eiffel Tower for friends in Burnaby, you know who you are, but it was worse that ketch, guys truly! (Didn’t see any snow globes either although I’m sure they have them.)

That tower, there, it's a church! Not too ordinary in shape but boring inside, from what I saw.

The Plaza used to hold a fortress/gaol used for years by French kings but has been torn down after the French Revolution. You and certainly Bruce know more about the history, look it up if interested, I’m not a historian, can’t you tell? There is a gold coloured winged man on top of a statue in the middle. The statue is under construction, although the top can be seen. Here's a link with better pictures than I could take.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_Column

It’s a lively, touristy neighbourhood fraught with pickpockets, tourists and locals. Many restaurants abound from all nationalities and we did dine on the main square, just to get a feel for it.

I’ve enjoyed fresh pressed lemon drinks, they come with a bottle of water and the sugar container, in our neighbourhood they are about five Euro, here they were seven! We also split a Croque-Monsieur which is a common dish here of bread, ham and cheese, broiled to crispness. I’ve only had one before, Bruce said it was one of the best he’d eaten. It is considered a snack, relatively cheap, a staple for young tourists, as Bruce was. 

We stopped at a bagel shop - yes! a bagel shop, can’t get those in Germany or Spain unless they are packaged and old, so we bought two but while deciding I looked down to find a tiny mouse, or mole/vole on the ledge, wasn’t quick enough with the camera again but it was really cute. Of course then it gets you wondering… Where there is one there are likely many.

The walk there and back was along a very interesting street full of cafes and shops and we found out that there are fresh food markets along the way on a Sunday, aside from the large one at the Bastille. 

It has warmed up here over the last few days, high 20’s now but still not oppressive and the flat we are in is naturally cool, on the ground floor with the garden (which has a really good collection of spiders!).

We walked several, several blocks to a restaurant Bruce had found for onion soup, they leave out the word French here, obviously. But they were out of it! Darn, restaurant was nice though. (Cafe d’Albert) Stopped off at Rue Voltaire, another large square we hadn’t been to and had a drink before heading home (L’ingenu). 

More traditional church, didn't go in, but liked the exterior

There are so many grocery shops here, mostly parts of larger chains but handy to have, and so many bakeries! It’s a good thing I don’t have a sweet tooth but they are lovely to see, so pretty in design. 

Went to another Monoprix, same chain I mentioned before but different site. Downstairs is nice with clothing etc, food is next floor up and what a dump! Holes in the ceiling, patched floors, just yuck, felt like I needed to wash after being there. 

Then we’ve been staying out to enjoy the ambiance of Paris and have a drink at a cafe. Bruce ordered a Margherita, came faux strawberry flavoured bleck, should stick with beer or wine or lemon presses. 

A postal truck went by and Bruce said posted on it was a saying it “Smile there may be a love letter for you on this truck” Good one!

Restaurants here mostly serve, without asking, a cold bottle of tap water, one even put cucumber and mint in theirs. It’s been a long time since I’ve been served water unasked, as just a formality, that practise stopped in Canada - when?

We both had haircuts, pretty good ones too. I am picky, you’ve heard it before and look into a studio to decide if it is the right place. Something I can’t really finger, certainly cleanliness, but it’s more than that. Anyway always a bit scary to go to a new stylist but at least hair grows out. Next up a pedicure, there I have to be even more careful. Here and in Brussels they have what is called pedicure/podiatrist practices and that seems the safest route. 

Found a meat and cheese shop with bakery next door, and a few fresh veggies to help make your sandwich. Lots of those around but this one has a selection of wines, syrups and exotic spices, no website but it’s called E & A, Epicurie & Associes, Charcuterie - Epicure - Fromagerie. Basically an upscale deli.

Sunday and I had vague plans to take a bus somewhere, but we walked more streets in, a new to us, area. Found a cafe called “Beans on Fire” because they roast their coffee on site, good name. It rained and got windy so we hurried home.

Bye for now, we're still here for a few weeks so more news to come.

Cheers, Bx2 and climbing Lexi Cat

Back to Brussels for a moment

Hello all,

Disclosure, this is not my photograph, it is from the website listed below.

I wanted just to send you a quick note to show you an event that happens in Brussels that we missed, because it's on this weekend. It happens every two years, probably to give the begonias time to grow. We, and you, probably get a better view over the net anyway, rather than us beating back crowds of people. An organization turns the entire Grand Palace plaza into a flower carpet depicting different countries designs depending on the year. Take a look!

http://www.flowercarpet.be/en

Looks fabulous! Takes four hours to construct by a team of many. 

Friends of ours have been to see it, here is her blog post. http://www.aliadventures.com/2012/08/weekly-photos-brussels-flower-carpet/

That's all for now folks!

Cheers, Bev, Bruce and Lexi Cat

Brussels - Part 2

Update on the coffee fiasco, they charged me for a kilo and gave me enough to make it up, odd they couldn't just give me the cash back, oh well.

“We don’t make fast food but we make good food as fast as we can!” is the saying on the menu at Le Schievelavabo (say that a few times fast!) a restaurant we like close by. The name means wonky sink, huh? Belgian slang for a person who has a face not symmetrical and who thinks they are more handsome/pretty than what they are. Anyway wonky or not the food is worth waiting for, one waiter in particular is friendly, others not so much. 

We took Linda there for lunch, had to sit inside since it was raining and windy. This time we tried their ribs, shared, huge plate including baked potato. Ribs were good but truly it is hard to beat the ones we make at home thanks to our friend Lorene, a high standard to beat for sure. Then we walked a bit to find some unique homes along the park. 

Dramatic!

I’ve been trying to get my head around the styles of architecture here, between Art Nouveaux and Art Deco and Arts and Crafts. 

Tile work and windows

Since Victor Horta was here in Brussels and did much of his work here it is mostly Nouveaux. 

Almost looks like a ship, but many buildings have rounded edges to them.

Look it up if you are interested, won’t bore you with it but all the styles are favourites of mine. In amongst the beautiful buildings are ones not so pretty, slabs of concrete that have nothing but function about them, same in every city.

We walked past trees that had huge, read massive nests in them, Linda said they were built by the green parakeets we see here and in Sevilla although we’ve never seen the nests in Spain. These nests are extremely large and one wonders what affect they have on the trees. Must be multi-generations in them, too big for just a mom and dad and kids. They squeak and fly over the apartments here and it was good to see where they roost. Tried for a picture but it wouldn’t have shown them properly.

There is a bulldog in the neighbourhood we see strutting along, he is remarkable because he carries with him a very mushy soccer ball and every day we see him that poor ball looks worse. The owner kicks at it while walking and it’s still in his mouth and he loves that. 

One evening/morning we locked ourselves in the apartment and it took some time and a flashlight to figure out how to get out. Good thing we had time and it wasn’t an emergency. The flashlight illuminated the door crack to find the locks. There is a panel with a key in it where we would normally put a key hole for seeing who is on the other side. Here it is an extra lock from the inside. Another new thing learned with no dire consequences. The elevator works, although it is a wooden box with no interior door and holds max three people. We are liking the uniqueness of this flat, it’s spaciousness, good natural light and Linda’s furnishings. 

To those in Madeira Park, I was sad to read of Penny Lang’s passing away, for many people in her music community as well of course. It was nice to read that she had a family celebration of her 74th birthday a couple of weeks before and died peacefully at home. She was a lovely and interesting lady, full of curiosity and joie de vivre. I am glad to have known her and Nancy for the short while I did, very much enjoyed the conversations at the Copper Sky or in the village. 

A treat day, the rain stopped so we planned to head downtown to see some famous sites and then I thought, what do we really like to do? You know it, outdoor food markets! So Bruce sourced a huge one for Sunday. That’s the thing about food markets, sometimes they have special hours and days. 

Instead of going downtown we stayed in the, oh, so, too comfortable neighbourhood and had lunch at an Italian restaurant. Now this place advertises itself as a pizzeria and it does pizzas but the Italian food we’ve had (been twice) is exceptional! Now why wouldn’t they market themselves that way? Perhaps to capture the more casual crowd, bigger market. Anyway, the fellow who has been our waiter, suspect is the owner, of the restaurant looks Fierce! Until he smiles and then all fears go away and we enjoy ourselves and the food. Not quite ready to go home yet and we stop off at the other favourite restaurant which advertises special coffees. Well it has been many, many moons that we’ve both had one so decided to order, Irish for me and Normandy for Bruce, yummy! The Normandy has Calvados in it, what is that anyway? Here you go https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvados well I guess we could call that dessert.

Saturday, last before we leave Brussels for Paris and we go for Greek food this time at Les Enfants du Piree, down the hill several blocks. We are located pretty much on top of a hill here but the slope is gentle so it’s okay, walking slowly we get to glance at all the architecture and doors. 

And this pretty alley

Now that may not sound too exciting to some of you but for me it’s a wonder, the ironwork and stained glass is beautiful. 

People feed the pigeons here with their sugar packets from their coffee! No wonder they seem more hyperactive than in other cities. Leftover bread which will be thrown out anyway is more common, probably not good for them either.

Linda took us by bus to the flea market called or at Place du jeu de balle, Marolles District. I was thinking we are more interested in food markets, was I wrong to "dis" or pre-conceive about this market! Yes, there was the usual junk but there were some very fine pieces of china, jewelry, and many other things. It was a wonder to behold really! After we went for a light lunch at a restaurant that bordered the market, pumpkin soup, sounds not so appetizing but it was good.

 

Flowers are pretty but not real

Linda then said we HAVE to see the Grand Palace, well so she walked us there, another long walk but, the stores on the streets were interesting to peer into, many antique shops and furniture stores. 

Town Hall 

The Grand Palace is actually a Grand square full of centuries old buildings, ornately trimmed in gold leaf with many statues and spires. Look it up if you are interested. Well, we’ve seen it anyway… 

The buses here have automatic ramps! Driver hits a button and the ramp eases it’s way out to the curb. You’ll think I’m “loco” finding the bus ramps more exciting than the Grand Palace but there you go.

Famous Painter, can't remember who, but liked the monkey!

August 9th and we’re on the road or rather rails again. Get on the train and we are fed! Airline type meal but it was good and much appreciated. We’ve found that the spots for wheelchairs are usually in first class which means better or at least some air conditioning but we’ve never been fed before complete with linen napkins. Arrive in Paris and a fellow has a signboard with Beverley written on it. Find the flat and Anne Marie welcomes us in. There is a courtyard garden that all the flats look down to. Flat itself is smaller than expected mainly because we won’t use the loft bedroom which is a child’s room. It has large wood beams framing the kitchen and two whole walls covered in books. Anyway Anne Marie showed me the closest local market, we settled in a bit and then went for a walk, found a restaurant for dinner and that was the day.

Paris, I've only been here overnight, remember the Lexi incident going into the bathroom plumbing? So now we've got a month to explore the city properly. 

Cheers, Bx2 and Lexi Cat