A Day in Provence

If I haven't said it before, I want to say again that the village where we're staying in Provence is a very different kind of France. First of all there is no congestion in this little town. The streets are extremely narrow. Cars can barely pass down them and many residents must make sure not to walk out the front door without looking in the street first. These drivers must be incredible marksmen; the margin of error that determines whether or not you hit a wall or another car is quite slim. The town is quiet, people walk slowly. There are no neon signs and no nightlife. This town has two places, or town squares, and they are both empty.








We visited two towns about fifteen minutes away. Both were perched on hills with steep narrow streets leading up to churches. In the first town the church had been transformed into an art gallery. In the second, the church and its courtyard were closed. This area is very artistic. We saw some lovely oil, ceramic and watercolor works. In earlier times these towns had been fortified by walls (remparts).











We ate lunch on the patio at 3:00 in the afternoon. Sylvie has a talent for making delicious food without slaving over the stove. We had leftovers for dinner along with the wine and cheese we've been working on since we arrived.




Sylvie is a good driver on these shoulderless roads. She is careful and doesn't speed. Her car, a little red Citroen, is cute and Beth sits in the front seat while I sit behind Sylvie. We both worry a little about motion sickness but so far we're doing well. The terrain reminds us of our summer vacations in the hills above St. Helena but the houses are unquestionably French. They are hundreds of years old and made of fieldstones and wood beams. There are also wood beams above every window. Many houses are former barns or stables.
Later in the afternoon we met a friend of Sylvie's named Simone. In the evening Simone took us on a walk outside the village to the community garden, then past the cemetery to the house of a beekeeper who makes and sells honey and lavender soaps. This area is famous for lavender but it is not yet in bloom this year. The flowers will come up in about two weeks and then the fields will all be a fabulous purple.
Afterwards Simone invited us to her home. She has a huge place with a yard where she keeps 14 rabbits. People donate food for her rabbits by leaving it in big bags on her doorstep. Her patio has a panoramic view of the farms to the southeast. We sat there and enjoyed beverages and some homemade pizza, then went down to see the rabbits.
Sylvia's patience with our French has increased our fluency already. I understand more and Beth and I both speak more. Beth's French has come blasting back. In one day she has really begun conversing and carrying on long, long conversations.
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Location:St. Michel l'Observatoire

Le Provence et Le Pastis

This is another kind of France we're in now. Sylvie, Julien's mother, picked us up at the bus station in Manosque. She drove us to her village of St. Michel l'Oberservatoire. It is more than charming. I don't know where to begin describing this little town that looks like it has come right out of a French movie. Sylvie is a gracious and generous hostess. Her stone house sits on a hillside with gardens climbing up the hill behind. The pictures tell this story far better than I can. She took us on a walk through the village and to the top of the hill.


































As common as orange poppies are in California, red poppies grow wild all over this countryside.




As amazing as it may seem, there is a church at the top of this hill, and it is not used.
We returned from our walk and Sylvie introduced us to Pastis, a liqueur made from anise.




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Location:St. Michel L'Observatoire, Provence

Le TGV

We woke early and cleared out of the flat by 7:30, caught a cab down on the Boulevard and were at the Gare du Lyon by 8:00. The high-speed TGV left right after 9:00. We flew across the French countryside at 130 miles per hour passing fields of what looked like mustard and alfalfa, a few vineyards, farmhouses and rivers. It was beautiful and peaceful, vistas romanticized in many of our favorite paintings.



After a couple of hours we noticed some hills and then some mountains arose on our left. I was reminded of how my teacher had described many French country towns: built on hills and fortified by large encircling walls during the Middle Ages. These charming remains are things you'd never see in the United States.



I took photos and movies as we went along.


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Location:Paris to Aix-en-Provence

Gi'Raf

Dominique's boyfriend, Julien, has a friend who owns a restaurant `] near the Moulin Rouge called Gi'Raf. They told us to go there for dinner and we chose it for our final meal. On the Metro we got on t he wrong connection and ended up taking a beautiful city tour on an elevated train. We were thrilled with our 'mistake'.Since dinner is eaten late in Paris, it didn't matter, and we had no reservations anyway. We saw a lot of the city including a close-up of the Eiffel Tower.

Once at Gi'Raf we were greeted and Beth was recognized by the waiter, Kevin, who was more than accommodating. Kevin was taking care of the whole place that evening. We ordered veal. We got a beautifully-prepared calf's liver in a fabulous sauce with a generous portion of freshly mashed potatoes. Kevin said he had been advised r to give us champagne on the house, which he did. We topped off the meal with chocolate mousse, complete with chocolate chunks and a meringue garnish. We were more than full. We took the Metro back to our flat, this time without making any mistakes, packed up and got ready to leave for Provence in the morning.



Cindy and the free champagne



Cindy and Bethie at the resto, Gi'Raf


Kevin and Cindy

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Final Day in Paris

We took the Metro. It made our travel so easy. We saw the Boulevard Haussman and did a very little bit of shopping for KJ. I liked the shop 'Pylones' the best; it wasn't on Haussman. It was clever and unique and, although it is a chain, I was really taken by what it had to offer. The ceiling and open floor plan of Galeries Lafayette were easy to remember.



Then later we went to Sacre Coeur. We took the funicular to the church and as we were going down it started to sprinkle. We found a cafe and had a delicious French onion soup while it started pouring, really pouring.



This was on the way to Sacre Coeur where wildflowers were planted on a wire frame over an old brick well.




The funicular




French onion soup




Can you believe it? I paid $2 to use the restroom at Au Printemps and even though they had all this beautiful paper at the desk, I only got white in the WC.

The following photo is from a fabulous dinner we had in our neighborhood last night at Chex Janou. We were quite pleased and, as occasionally happens when you order in another language, we both didn't realize what we had really ordered. Fortunately we were both quite pleased. I had risotto with scallops and Beth had liver----which was outstanding.


The next picture I post will be entitled 'Holy Cow: She's Eating AGAIN!'

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Location:Paris

Pere Lachaise

Today, Monday, we decided we would go see Jim Morrison's grave at Pere Lachaise Cemetiere. Why did we want to go there? I guess there was so much talk about going to see where Jim Morrison was buried. in time we found it. We decided to take the Metro home but didn't have the right change and the clerk didn't have any. A sweet, well-intentioned older woman insisted that the bus was a faster and better route and sent us off for a long walk to the bus stop. When we got there, we saw a notice that that particular bus would not be running this week (due to the construction we saw later). We walked a long way back home. With slightly more than one day left in Paris, we will now take the Metro and taxis. We've had enough exercise.




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Location:Paris

Les Petits Voitures

This city, especially the Marais, is not conducive to driving large cars. We have had fun 'discovering' models and types of cars we've never seen before. Automakers familiar to us sell models here that they don't sell in the States. We see lots of Renaults, Peugeots and Citroens.



Old mini.




new Mini model we've never seen before.



A Hyundai!






Renault Megane



Citroen



And, of course, the ubiquitous Smart Car.
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Location:All Over Paris

On the River

Today we went on the Bateau Mouche on the Seine. The idea was to see the city from the river. Two things happened: one unusual and the other extraordinary. First, the water level on the river was much higher than normal and they announced the boat would not be able to go under the bridge at Notre Dame. For that same reason, I think, the upper deck of the boat was closed and everybody had to sit in the enclosed lower deck. The second thing, the extraordinary one, was that there was an enormous police presence there. As we had walked to the quai, countless police vans, motorcycles, and cars went by, sirens blaring. The boat went down the river and turned around right before the Pont Notre Dame. As it headed back upstream we saw the reason for the police. Thousands and thousands of people were marching along the river with bullhorns, flags and banners. The news reported that there were a million people. They were protesting gay marriage. Apparently there were two other marches in other parts of the city; one in favor of gay marriage and another for a 6th French regime. We hear that marches and demonstrations are common in Paris. The 'family' marches were specifically planned for today because it is Mothers Day in France.












I stopped taking pictures of these marchers after a while. They were separated into large groups, each behind a large banner. It seemed like an endless mass of people.

Afterwards we went walking on the Champs Elysses.
Then we took the Metro back to our neighborhood where Beth enjoyed the modern-day street toilette and we went in search of our first crepes.






My crepe was made with creme de marrons (chestnuts).

There is a definite need for tiny cars here in Paris, especially here in the Marais. I am taking photos of these cute little vehicles. This one is a truck.


More on these later.

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Location:the Seine

Nous Aimons Dr. Scholl's

I bought a pair of flats by Dr. Scholl's in preparation for this trip. I also bought Reeboks, New Balances and others. I kept the Reeboks. The only shoes that don't make my feet hurt after miles of walking are the Dr. Scholl's. I also have his gel insoles and ball-of-the-foot gel inserts. This morning Beth woke up with a blister on her heel. I gave her moleskin by, guess who? That's right! Dr. Scholl's!

The Musee and a French Gospel Concert

It's easy to lose track of the days. Saturday is now gone. We decided to visit our second and final 'attraction' today: The Musee D'Orsay. We are both big fans of Impressionism, and we were not disappointed. We walked there. (We walk everywhere. Almost every place is interesting, so why not walk?) At certain places in the museum you can take photos, like behind the giant clocks.




We both got very hungry and stopped for lunch in the fifth floor restaurant. The food was delicious. Beth had penne with shrimp and my croq monsieur was tres francais. With an arugula salad the sandwich had gruyere inside and a dollop of brie on top.




The waiter, from Corsica, took a shot of the two of us.




There is a bridge called the Pont d'Arts that is covered in shiny brass padlocks. On our tour we learned that lovers come to the bridge and put the padlocks on in the hope that nothing will ever break their love. My picture didn't turn out, and I will have to retake it.
Here I am looking dorky in front of the corner resto. The exterior is done all in blue mosaic tiles.




In the evening we went to a gospel concert whose flyers we had seen around the city. We layered up in our warm clothing and walked a half hour to the church. Arriving there we were told the tickets cost 25 or 30 euros. We were a bit surprised. We have both sung in concerts like this and were used to just passing the plate or charging a nominal admission. At the end we asked where the singers came from and were told they all live in Paris. Some were from Africa, some from the Caribbean and some from the Americas. Interesting. A French gospel concert. A Parisian French gospel concert. I had thought they were a traveling choir from maybe Benin, Haiti or the Ivory Coast. It was very engaging and the church was gorgeous. I hear only a small percentage of Parisians attend church regularly and wonder how these buildings are kept up so beautifully.

Tomorrow: a ride on the Seine in the Bateaux Mouches, BUT it is Mother's Day in France AND there is a big demonstration in support of gay marriage in the Place de la Revolution. These two events may cause us to seriously alter our plans.
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Location:Paris

Friday and Saturday

On Friday we decided to take the city tour by bus. It rained on and off during the day and we weren't able to sit up top. It was, however, a good way to spend the day. We were glad we did.








It's interesting that next to the famous Maxim's there is a place called Minim's.




(More Eiffel Tower)




An Indian restaurant with beautiful chairs.




There was a little walking street near Notre Dame with the most interesting restaurants and shops.




Afterwards, we relaxed with some red wine and cheese. This is a Mouton-Cadet Bordeaux at a very reasonable price. I am not a red wine afficionado but this wine I liked.
One of my passions here is the cheese. If you haven't been to a Parisian fromagerie, you must, absolutely MUST see one! They are like boutiques. Here is a shot of our neighborhood chocolatier and two of the little fromagerie where I bought a fabulous cheese. I went in and asked for a butterlike cheese, and the fromager gave me a perfect match.










More from our bus trip:















Lots of cool pictures from the bus tour. The last one is the sports center. Notice the grass.








We had lunch near the Notre Dame. The ambiance was good, the service was efficient and friendly, and the prices were decent.




Our view from the resto.




A seafood resto.












The Sorbonne, pronounced (Sore Bun).




The flower district was beautiful.




But the Seine was flooding.




We really enjoyed the day.




A quintessential Parisian street.