Paris Blog and Lots of Tips for Visitors

We didn't fly directly from home on this trip. Our oldest granddaughter was graduating from high school and was one of the graduation speakers so we couldn't miss that. Fortunately her school timed it well for our anniversary. I'm not sure that was their primary consideration but it worked for us. We flew to Michigan for the graduation and a fun visit with our son and his family. After the festivities, we drove to Detroit and caught a direct flight to Paris. That worked well also. I'll start the blog with our trip from Detroit to Paris so we've been traveling nearly a week by this point.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Fly to Paris day. We got everything packed and checked out of the Wyngate and drove over to Charles & Angie’s. Hunter & Piper were in school but Scout was home so we chatted for a while. Finally had to leave and our GPS took the scenic route to the Detroit airport but we did miss the construction traffic near Ann Arbor. No problems turning in the car and getting the shuttle to the terminal. Checked in and got through Security. I got a pat down and Ed didn’t even have to take off his shoes. I must look very dangerous . . .

We had lunch at a Coney Island except we had a fish sandwich not a hot dog. At the boarding area we sat at a power station and I charged my Kindle. A French exchange student sat beside Ed and the Claytons, a fun couple from Wisconsin (Oshkosh) sat across from us. We started noticing people taking pictures and then talking to older travelers and then spotted D-Day 70th Anniversary patches on hats and jackets. An Honor Guard showed up and we all stood for the National Anthem, and the veterans were escorted onto the plane. It was very exciting, We all boarded and are now on our way. We got “bon voyage” texts from Jean and Peg, Fun!

We had forgotten that we were married on the 20th anniversary of D-Day and now it was the 70th Anniversary and there were lots of celebrations. It is amazing how quickly fifty years can fly past.

Long, noisy trip. The airplane food can’t be described in polite language. It was beyond horrible. But . . . we did arrive safely and slightly early. We met the Claytons, whom we had met in the Detroit airport waiting room, at baggage, got all our bags and we left them waiting for their friends. The France Telcom phone we were supposed to use didn’t work so I used my own cell phone and got the shuttle people easily, They picked us up at door 6 and drove us into town through a massive traffic jam . . . portent of things to come but we didn’t know that then. There were police lined up at the Assemblée Nationale but we don’t know why. By eleven o’clock we were at the AirBnB apartment and Aiko, the manager, showed up shortly and let us in. The apartment is not nearly as nice as the photos but it will do. The location is perfect. We're five minutes from the Tuileries Gardens and a few blocks from the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay. Life doesn't get any better!

Aiko showed us a few things but speaking English and giving directions are not her strong points. We’ll figure it out. We walked around checking restaurants and ended up at the neighborhood bistro a block away, It was excellent . . . great ambience, excellent confit de canard and very low prices. [Café L’Empire, 17 rue de Bac, 75007 Paris; +33 (0)1 4015 9118] We’ll be back!

We stopped at the neighborhood pharmacy for a couple things and Claire, the pharmacist, welcomed us to the neighborhood. Shopped for groceries, met our local wine merchant and checked the Eric Kayser Boulangerie. It is a very friendly neighborhood. [Eric Kayser, 18 Rue du Bac, 75007 Paris; Eric Kayser web site]

Walked over to the Tuileries, my favorite place in Paris, and explored the north side where we discovered several great playgrounds and a carousel and bouncy playground. It’s very kid-oriented. We were delighted to follow our ears to a band concert by the Triumphal Arch near the Pei Pyramid at the Louvre. It was the Prefecture of Police Band and they were not only good; they were fun. Ed did his service in the USCG Band so we love military bands and to find one to greet us in Paris was icing on the cake.

Got home early, put photos on the computer and tried to clean the mold from around the bathtub. I had to wash the wine glasses before we could use them. Pealing paint on all windows. Electrical outlets are all in hard-to-reach places except the kitchen but we’re managing. I'm a little annoyed that all the beautiful paintings in the AirBnB photos of the place have been removed and cheesy prints have been put up where anything is up. The photos must have been taken ten years ago because the paint was not pealing in the photos. The television is not working and there is no breadboard . . . in a French apartment! Still, the location is absolutely perfect. Don't think we'll use AirBnB again though.

Dinner was Eric Kayser bread, a fresh apple and a lovely Cantal cheese with our Bordeaux. Perfect! I think it’s early to bed tonight!

This morning I texted Anne, the actual apartment owner, about the missing breadboard and nonworking television to see if we could get it taken care of . . . and not expecting much. Ed brought a box of cards with different walks in Paris so we showered, ate breakfast, grabbed our umbrellas and headed out for a “Paris Walk #21" centered on rue du Bac. We had no trouble finding it and found most of the things listed. We visited the Grand Epicerie of Paris (in Bon Marché), a marvelous supermarket where we forced ourselves to not buy anything . . . even Valrhona chocolate!
The Grand Epicerie web site (the Sevres-Babylon Metro exit and walk back one block to La Grande Epicerie in the second Bon Marché building.)

Following the Paris Walk card, we searched out the Ste. Catherine Labouré Shrine of the Miraculous Medal and entered. It is small but very intense. There is a chapel and a tiny garden with a gift store. When we left, we continued to the end of our scripted walk. Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal web site

The walk ended near St. Sulpice so we decided to go over. We discovered the scaffolding is down and it is beautiful. There is a book fair in front, but in the rain it was not enticing so we went to our favorite restaurant, La Bastide d’Opio for lunch. I got the beef brochettes and they were tender and delicious. Peg had them the last time so it seemed like a good idea. It was! Ed got the magret de canard and it was equally good. We both got the moelleaux de chocolat for dessert . . . fabulous! While I was visiting the facilities, Ed met the very attractive blonde sitting next to us and she was fascinating . . . M.A. in French architecture, studied French at the Sorbonne and was an antiques dealer. We chatted for nearly an hour and then parted to face the drizzle outside. La Bastide d'Opio, 9 rue Guisarde, 75006 Paris; tel: +33 (0)1 4329-0184; [The restaurant is now closed. The owner retired and sold it. The chef moved to another place across from the Saint-Germain Market. The food is fine but the ambience isn't there.]

We wanted to find Ste. Clotilde and decided to walk down blvd. St. Germain so naturally came immediately to Eglise St. Germain and couldn’t resist a short visit. It’s a lovely old church facing the Zadkine statue and Les Deux Magots brasserie across the square. I took a lot of pictures and we left, passing the three famous cafés, Les Deux Magots, Café de Flore and Brasserie Lipp. It was a lovely walk down blvd. St. Germain except the rain started getting worse. By rue de Bac it was pouring so we stopped at a café for coffee and tea to wait out the rain. We had a lot of company! Everyone was escaping the deluge.

When the rain let up, we continued along the boulevard. We found Ste. Clotilde at the end of a small park, took park and church photos and entered. It is beautiful. We couldn’t believe we hadn’t heard of it. The organist was practicing so we had a concert as we toured the basilica. He had a Kindle-like tablet for his music. Ed said he was staying as long as the music continued so we finally sat down and enjoyed the private recital.

Walked back to our apartment and stopped at Eric Kayser for our nightly demi-baguette. The girl remembered Ed and proceeded to tease and flirt with him. We seem to be part of the neighborhood at this point. We ate our dinner, put photos on the computer and changed for the concert. The sun finally came out as we ate!

Walked back to Ste. Clotilde, about a fifteen-minute walk, and got in the line for tickets to the Fauré "Requiem" when an older man walked over and offered us two tickets for 20 euros (they cost 30 euros). He had the tickets and his wife was ill so they couldn’t go. Whee . . . Fauré at a discount. We paid him and entered, getting seats near the front.

The concert was magic in the beautiful old church. I was entranced by the soprano section who managed to sound like a boy choir. The group was called back for three encores! Great evening.

Sleeping ‘til 7:30 is wonderful and jet lag seems to be waning. After breakfast we walked over rue de Bac to blvd. St. Germain and found our Metro station. We rode to Place de la Concorde and changed to the #1 line and got off at Gare de Lyon, a small city unto itself. It took some exploring but we found where to get our tickets and it wasn’t open yet so we were glad we hadn’t gotten up earlier. Despite what Ina Caro and Annabel Simms said in their otherwise wonderful books, the Forfait Loisirs hasn’t been sold for three years so we each got a zone 5 Mobilis pass to get us to Fontainebleau and back. It included the train, the bus to the Château de Fontainebleau, back to the train, back to Paris and any other trips on the Metro we wanted to take for the rest of the day. The only extra to pay was entrance to the Château.

We found our train and boarded, sitting on the top level for better views. It’s about an hour to Fontainebleau through some gritty Paris suburbs and then lovely countryside. In Fontainebleau, we took the bus to the Château with a lot of Oriental tourists. The buses now have numbers instead of the letters mentioned in the two books we had so that was a little different too. It's pretty easy to just follow everyone else and the famous Château is about the only place in town to visit so that narrows your choices. The last time we were here we had a car and parking was a nightmare. On the train it was no problem.

We bought our tickets at the Château and started through a palace built by kings but seemingly dedicated to Napoleon and the Empire. Like Versailles, it is over-the-top glitz and glam, room after room of decorating excess, We both decided we were glad we’d seen it but would probably never return. It was busy but not the masses of people you see at Versailles and would be a good substitute if you don't like crowds. Château de Fontainebleau web site

We found their tea room and ordered confit de canard and a Bordeaux at a table overlooking a lake. It was delicious. At one point early on, I saw a fly dive into my wine glass so Ed returned it and they cheerfully gave me a fresh glass of wine. We were in the sun so there were flies. We carefully covered our wine glasses with napkins after that! I didn't blame the fly; it was a very nice wine.

After our late lunch, we wandered to the gardens that are pretty and extensive but not too exciting . . . no flowers. I got swan and fountain pictures and a horse and carriage stopped to pose. We stumbled back across the cobblestones to the entrance and left in search of a bus stop. It seems all buses return to the gare (station) so we took the first one. There was a short wait for the train and soon we were back in Paris.

We reversed our morning trip and found an escalator up out of the rue de Bac station. Hooray! We spent the evening looking for a restaurant for our anniversary tomorrow. Still no decision . . . too many good choices in Paris. This is a difficulty we don't mind having . . .

Well, today is our 50th wedding anniversary and also the 70th anniversary of D-Day. There are activities planned in Normandy but we haven’t heard of any here in Paris.

We took the RER to the Muette stop and found a café for breakfast nearby. It’s a lovely neighborhood. A kindly lady directed us to the Marmottan-Monet Museum where we wanted to see the visiting Impressionists exhibit, “Les Impressionnistes en Privé.” Thanks to a most pleasant ticket agent, we also found their newest acquisition, a very nice Chagall. It was a marvelous exhibit including many paintings from private collections that you would never, otherwise, have a chance to see. Of course, no photos were allowed since it was a special exhibit. The Marmottan doesn’t allow photos anyway and it was crowded enough that we understood why. We were beginning to get an idea of the crowds to come.

Afterwards we started walking, originally just looking around but finally aimed at the Eiffel Tower. We slowly wandered the lovely 16th arrondissement and stopped at the Café Trocadero for a kir to celebrate our anniversary. A man at the next table jumped up in horror as he watched his car being towed away . . . he was parked illegally. Cars are a nuisance in a city!

We continued on past the Eiffel Tower to Invalides and then found rue de l’Université to continue our walk home. We passed the Erik Satie Conservatory of Music and on past the Musée d’Orsay. We stopped in what we thought was Cinq Mars Restaurant and made a reservation for seven o’clock this evening.

At seven we returned to the restaurant and were seated. The waitress took a couple photos for our anniversary and we each got another kir. We decided to ask the waitress about the restaurant name, Cinq Mars, and quickly discovered we were actually in a completely different restaurant, La Bonne Excuse, across the street from Cinq Mars and both had the same front. We hadn’t looked at the name, only checked the menu which we found greatly to our liking. Serendipity . . .

I ordered the saddle of lamb but asked for the vegetables that came with the pork Ed had ordered. I saw her discussing it with the chef and she finally came back and offered me a different vegetable selection that the chef felt appropriate for the lamb. I said that was fine since my objection had been to the original vegetable. When my dinner arrived, it was brought out by the chef personally to be sure the vegetable selection was suitable. Not only was it suitable, it was beautiful. The plate held perfectly done, fork-tender lamb with an arrangement of vegetables covered with edible flower petals as accompaniment. It tasted even better than it looked. They use only fresh produce and all meat and produce are organic. Both my lamb and Ed’s pork were excellent. We were so glad we found the place. When they brought our desserts, they had lit sparklers in it to celebrate our anniversary so eventually everyone else congratulated us. It was a spectacular end to a perfect day. [La Bonne Excuse, 48 rue de Verneuil 75005 Paris, France; tel: +33 (0)1 4261-5021; La Bonne Excuse web site]

As a post script, we returned to La Bonne Excuse 18 months later when we happened to be in Paris for a few days and when we walked in, they immediately recognized us and started to reminisce about our anniversary. We were so surprised they remembered us. Ed thought it must have been the sparklers . . .

Woke to sun; turned to rain then clouds so we took our umbrellas but not our hats or sunglasses which turned out to be a mistake. We walked to the nearby Sennelier art store where I got tubes of green and burnt umber to add to my palette. Then we crossed the street and walked along the Seine to the Pont des Arts which is completely covered with all the stupid “love locks" and all the vendors are hawking them. It should be illegal. They’ve ruined the bridge and the keys are polluting the river below. Shameful . . . (In fact, on June 8 a section of the Pont des Arts collapsed from the weight of the locks. The bridge was closed while being repaired and they have now put in plexiglass panels instead of grills.)

We headed for Notre Dame and noticed an incredibly heavy police presence and caravans of police going hither and yon. We stopped near Notre Dame for a limonade and watched all the tourists. Checked at the church and the Sunday afternoon free organ recitals are gone. There’s something on Tuesdays that we’ll check but we were disappointed. We always look forward to the recitals in Notre Dame. St. Eustache still has them and so does St. Sulpice. We walked on to Square du Vert-Galant subject of a favorite Picasso painting, then the peaceful Place Dauphine. Crossed the Seine and made sure the Pei Pyramid was still standing. Brief visit to Saint Germain l'Auxerrois and fought our way down rue de Rivoli to meet Pedro. I've never seen so many tourists, I guess for the D-Day memorials.

We were supposed to meet Pedro and his son for lunch so we walked back and along the Seine noting more police. We got to Café L’Impérial at the corner of rue de Rivoli and rue Roget de L’Isle before Pedro arrived so told the waiter we were expecting two more for lunch. He seated us at a table for four. When Pedro walked in with all three of his sons, we were quickly moved to a larger table. His oldest Noël is 22 and the twins, Remi and Xavier, are 19. They were all very nice. Noël is most like Pedro and Remi is the talker who reminded us of a very nice horn student of Ed’s many years ago at California State University. Of course Pedro is a non-stop talker so we had a fun and very interesting lunch. Ed and I both got the filet de cabillaud rôti à la provençale, écrasé de pommes de terre à l'huile d'olive (cod) and all the others got various kinds of steak. It was all good and service attentive but not intrusive. It was a fun lunch and we enjoyed it. [Café L’Impérial-Rivoli, 240 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris; tel: +33 (0)1 4260 7327; Café L’Impérial-Rivoli web site]

Pedro and sons left for their home in Brittany and we walked back to Ile St. Louis to find my favorite scarf shop, Diwali’s. I try to get a scarf on each trip for my souvenir. The sun had come out and it was hot and humid so it was a hot, sweaty walk and Diwali’s is at the end of the Ile St. Louis. We had to fight our way through tourist mania including a very long line at Berthillon’s Ice Cream. In fact, this was the perfect day for ice cream if we hadn't been so full from lunch.

Found Diwali’s and got a lovely grey, blue and white scarf and a scarf tying lesson. Fun! Then we started back to the Hotel de Ville Metro station fighting our way through tourists. I’ve never seen so many here. We found the Metro and made our way home to clean up a little for church and walked over to Ste. Clotilde for Mass.

Later I discovered the heavy police presence in the morning was for a visit by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip somehow related to all the D-Day observances this weekend.

Had a nice relaxed breakfast at Eric Kayser a block away. We had some thunder and lightning last night and a bit of rain this morning but the sun came out and it turned hot and humid again. Wish I had brought more tee shirts!

Walking to the Petit Palais we passed the Berges of the Seine that I had wanted to see. It was early on a Sunday so there were not many people about, a few joggers and exercisers, but that's all. We did see the famous Birthday Tipis that can be rented for children's parties. There was an exhibit of Frank Sinatra memorabilia and lots of peace and quiet. Later in the day there are bicycles, skateboarders, walkers, flaneurs and lots of folks simply sitting and enjoying the floating gardens. It's a huge improvement over the highway that used to be here.

We continued on through the Tuileries and Place de la Concorde where there was little enough traffic that it was easy to cross the street. We continued to the Petit Palais for a Carl Larsson exhibit. He is a much-loved Swedish painter and it's the last day of the exhibit. We loved all his watercolors. It was a real treat, but of course I couldn’t take any photos because it was a special exhibit. Sigh . . . We also saw much of the “Paris 1900" exhibit before we museumed out.

When we arrived, there was a very long line at the main entrance and we dutifully lined up with everyone else. For some reason a uniformed woman came down and asked us what we wanted to see and we told her the Carl Larsson exhibit so she pulled us out of line and took us to a small door beside the main staircase but at ground level. We immediately went through security and into the museum where we bought our tickets. I suppose if we’d said the other exhibit, we would have stood there forever. (We returned a few weeks later to look at the permanent collection and used the same little door because the line at front was even longer than before. It worked and when we left, all those people were still standing in line in the rain and under umbrellas.)

Walked back to blvd. St. Germain looking for fizzy water and found a pleasant café. I managed to drink two entire bottles of Perrier by myself. We walked back to the apartment where I took off shoes and sweaty socks and put on a new dry tee shirt.

We rested me before walking a block to our little neighborhood brasserie, Café l'Empire, for another great dinner. Ed got the confit de canard again and I tried the poulet roti which was fabulous. Their chef is incredible and the wait staff are so nice. This is a real find. For dessert Ed got a crème brulée and I got a melted chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream that was to die for. They could easily charge twice as much but we’re glad they don’t.

We wandered down blvd. St. Germain as far as Eglise St. Germain des Pres and started home up rue Jacob. We found a shortcut home and a really nice little grocery with roasted chickens and cornish hens. Another find! Great neighborhood. (post script: The “love locks” pulled down a side section of the Pont des Arts today at 5:50 PM. We didn’t hear about it until we got back home.)

There was a tempest last night at 1:14 AM and then again at 7:30 when our alarm went off. By the time we ate breakfast and got ready, the sun was peeking through. If there must be a tempest, it is best at night . . .

We walked around the corner, crossed the Pont Royal and went in the Lion’s Gate at the Louvre. Other people are using it now but there was no real line. We sight-saw our way through to the “Treasures of the Abbaye de St. Maurice d'Agaune” exhibit and entered. The pieces are on loan because they are currently renovating the abbey. It was a wonderful exhibit and we’ve decided we want to visit the abbey when the renovations are done. No photos are allowed for a special exhibit so I only have a picture of the poster.

I took photos of the da Rimini paintings in 1996 on film and when I compared them with the ones I took on my digital camera today, they are reversed. The people who developed the film must have flipped the negatives.

We fought our way through tourist central at the Napoleon apartments to get to Café Richelieu for lunch and were immediately seated. Big change . . . Angelina’s now has the concession and prices have doubled. Counting on the name Angelina’s, we decided to try it and ordered the chicken supreme. The chicken portion was huge but tasteless. It was served with mashed potatoes and gravy that were all right and roasted artichokes that were very dry. I didn’t know artichokes could be dry! We got a bottle of Perrier each and I had an espresso and the cost was 90 USD, very overpriced especially considering the quality. That will be our last lunch there and we’ll never visit Angelina’s. You can’t eat a reputation. Any local bar would have better food at much less cost.

After our expensive lunch, we found the Flemish painters Ed so enjoys and wandered through rooms of paintings. Then we wandered until we found my favorite Houdon sculptures of Franklin and Washington. George has his back turned to Ben as though they’d had an irreconcilable argument but were stuck in the same display case. Surely the Louvre can do a better job of displaying our forefathers?! All they need to do is switch the sculptures and they would look quite friendly.

We saw it was pouring out so decided to hike back through the crowds to the Lion’s Gate to minimize time in the rain. It might have been easier to walk in the rain, but we made it . . . and the sun had come out again by the time we got out. Crazy weather!

We walked home and rested a bit, then went to our corner Proxi market for dinner and breakfast supplies. Got some beautiful tiny strawberries, Rocamadour and Compte cheeses along with a half baguette and a nice Bordeaux. Now for a nice quiet evening!

Woke to rain again. In hopes it would stop we decided to go to Versailles as planned. Walked up to the Musée d’Orsay RER stop and got our tickets. Had a twenty-minute wait and then about forty minutes to Versailles. We left the station and followed the crowd to the château where we let them get in line while we walked along rue des Reservoirs to the last left before blvd. de la Reine which is rue de la Paroisse. We turned left and walked to the Dragon’s Gate entry to Versailles. When the gardens are free, you can walk right in. This was one of the days for the Fountains show so it cost 9 euros. The guard sent us back to a Tabac on the corner of rue de la Paroisse and rue des Reservoirs. It is actually a little bar-restaurant called La Civette du Parc. We went in the door marked Tabac on rue de la Paroisse and the gentleman there knew exactly what we wanted, tickets to the Fountain Show at Versailles. We were soon back at the Dragon’s Gate to Versailles with our Fountain tickets in hand. We entered . . . no line; no people . . . just zipped in. Château de Versailles web site Postscript: The Dragon's Gate seems to be closed but the Neptune Gate is not much farther. You continue along rue des Reservoirs and turn left on Blvd. de la Reine. Go through the Queen's Gate and turn left immediately. It is a short walk to Neptune's Gate from there.

The fountains had already started so we wandered from one to the other in the rain dodging school groups and tour groups. We walked from fountain to fountain until they stopped at noon. Decided to return to our entry point and go outside for lunch. A block away on rue des Reservoirs we found the Bassin de Neptune and got their 13 euro menu. Ed got the chicken and I got pork and both were excellent, fork tender and well seasoned. We chose the lemon tart for dessert and it was delicious. Washed it down with a Côtes du Rhône and paid less than half what we paid for a dismal meal at the Louvre’s Café Richelieu (Angelina’s) yesterday. [Brasserie Au Bassin de Neptune, 30 Rue des Réservoirs, 78000, Versailles; tel: +33 (0)1 3021 7645; no web site]

Walked back to the château gardens for the afternoon show and were better oriented this time. Dodging puddles and running water was a problem and we ended up pretty wet and muddy but the show was lovely, especially the Mirror Fountain that dances to the music something like the fountains at the Rothschild Villa in St.-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.

Found our way back to the train station and to Paris to discover ludicrous written directions for our still-not-working television. I called Agathe again and after a shouting match (her kids were yelling in the background so shouting became necessary), I finally got the missing piece of information we needed. Besides turning on the decoder and the tv, you need to push the AV (Source) button and choose HDMI. Why they didn’t put that little detail in the directions is beyond me. The tv won’t work until you do it and you do it every time you turn it on. Why is it so hard for people to give directions? The mystery is solved and now we can get weather reports!

The alarm didn’t go off so we slept ‘til 8:00. In an email, Edie mentioned a train strike and I got an RATP notice that Metro line 12 was out. After about five or six notices from RATP, it was up and running by the time we had finished breakfast and draped wet laundry all over the apartment. (The washer-dryer is a washer and definitely not a dryer, despite claims by Airbnb.)

We took Metro #12 all the way to Pigalle and walked down to the Musée de la Vie Romantique (George Sand Museum) and spent the rest of the morning there. The permanent collections are free but special exhibits charge a fee. There was an interesting special exhibit on Chopin so we decided to pay and visit that too. The main house has several things including art exhibits and various memorabilia including that of George Sand and was most interesting since we had fairly recently visited the George Sand House in Nohant, France. As lunch approached, we noted the pretty tea garden was overpriced so we set off down rue Notre Dame de Lorette toward Pl. St. George and found Le Bo Man where we got an adequate lunch for 10.90 euros each. Oddly, the printed menu was the same as L’Empire on rue de Bac where we love to eat, but the food wasn’t nearly as good. [Musée de la Vie Romantique, 16 rue Chaptal, Paris; tel: +33 (0)1 5531-9567; Museum of Romantic Life web site]

Using one of the Paris Walks cards, we continued down rue Notre Dame de Lorette to the church of the same name and entered. The front almost looks like a Greek or Roman temple. It was built between 1823 and 1836 and reflects the neoclassical architecture popular at that time. Inside there are lovely murals and a rather new sculpture of Ste. Thérèse de l'Enfant Jésus by Anne-Marie Roux. George Bizet and Claude Monet were both baptized here, a point of interest to two retired musicians turned painters.

Moving west on rue St. Lazare, we made a slight detour up rue Taitbout to Square d’Orleans where Chopin once lived. It’s very private and peaceful and to get there you walk through an archway at 80 rue Taitbout and feel like you’re walking into someone’s private courtyard but there is a plaque saying Chopin once lived there. Back on rue St. Lazare, we walked to Ste. Trinité at Pl. d’Estienne d’Orves past all the street people on the church steps and into a side entrance to the large, dark church. The organist was rehearsing and we listened for a few minutes but it was not inspiring so we left. There was an open box for offerings on the steps just yards from where all the street people congregate but no one seemed to bother it. Interesting.

We continued to Gare St. Lazare and then south to the Madeleine where, hot and tired, we stopped at a café for Badoit. Great people watching here! We went around and into the Madeleine since we’ve never seen it inside. The outside is much more impressive than the inside. I prefer gothic because I like light . . . The flowers on the front steps were a nice touch.

We wound our way back and through the Tuileries trying to stay in the shade and avoid puddles from yesterday. We found a bench near the Louvre so relaxed a bit before walking home. Crossing the Pont Royal we noticed eight emergency vehicles in front of the Musée d'Orsay. We never did find out why. We stopped for a demi-baguette and groceries and are in for the night.