Paris Journal 2008

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Yesterday afternoon, we walked around and around in the Luxemburg Gardens, then around the Gardens of the Observatory. After a brief rest, we took off on foot for the 15^th arrondissement to meet Barbara C. for a drink at the apartment where we stay earlier in the summer. Then the three of us walked up to the rue de Laos for dinner at Restaurant Marie-Edith. There we met a friend of Barbara C.’s, Lise, an American who had been married to a French man in the past and who has grandchildren living in France. We’re all four Democrats so we had a great time talking about politics. The food was only mediocre, but the company was fun. For the first time in weeks, we took the metro home. Barbara C. did have her International Herald Tribune delivered yesterday whereas we did not. We also could not find it at any newsstands, so I guess if this really is a strike, her delivery person is breaking the strike. My paper did arrive this morning, but I fully expect them to keep up the every-other-day strike, so we probably won’t receive the big Saturday-Sunday issue tomorrow. It is a shame. I like that newspaper very much. Tom has gone out now to buy the French newspaper, Le Parisien, because it should contain the schedule and listings for this weekend’s Patrimony Days, something we look forward to every September. During Patrimony Days, all over France various historic and cultural places that are not normally open to the public offer tours to everyone. All you have to do is show up, and sometimes wait in line. In the past, we’ve seen places like the Senat in the Luxemburg Palace, the French Academy/Institute de France, and the Ecole Superieure de la Cuisine Française during Patrimony Days. When Tom gets back, I’ll make an omelette for us and we’ll plan the weekend’s activities around these events. We were walking a few days ago, next door to the big plumbing/hardware store, was an aesthetician’s shop where they also, evidently, practice sticking pins in the bottom of your foot to treat various ailments throughout your body. Tom had been complaining about a pain in his heel, and I pointed out that this area is for the genital organs, according to this chart. I had a pain in my middle toe, which means something is wrong with my sinuses or ears, if you believe in this stuff. Sign my guestbook. View my guestbook. ←Previous Next →

Friday, September 19, 2008 Flowers in the Luxemburg Gardens. We passed this big hardware and plumbing supply store on the avenue Denfert Rochereau the other day. So now we know where to go for those hard-to-locate parts when the next plumbing crisis occurs. This is in a very old building that was probably once part of a village outside of Paris. It is very near the large St. Vincent de Paul public hospital. A public telephone is an increasingly rare sight in Paris. This one is on the avenue de Sibelle, in a densely populated area just north of the Parc Montsouris.