really truly paris

I especially liked looking at were the doorknobs in the area of the Pantheon.


Strolled down Rue Clovis to Rue Soufflot toward the Luxemburgh Gardens, Eiffel Tower looming up ahead. Looked in shop windows. Books about Obama were very evident as were books about MLK. I felt right at home.



An art supply store had these wonderful miniature staircases, reminding me of the tour Ed and I took 24 years ago in Tours, France of the secret staircases, one of our favorite memories of that trip.




Along the street next to the Pantheon there were signs of a happy celebration with colorful confetti lining the curbs. Wonder what that was about?



I saw a stand of the bicycles I’d heard about that people can rent, much like the Zip Cars we have at home.



Eventually I found my way back to La Contrescarpe and settled in to do some work on my computer over a cup of coffee. I noticed, to my disappointment, that my battery power was low and that I had come off without a plug to convert to the French electrical outlet. Dang. My waiter was so kind and offered a few suggestions (all this in French, mind you!) and said he’d have my coffee waiting when I got back. Off I went -- first up Rue Blainville to a copy shop. No luck there, but they made further suggestions, including an Apple Store (!!) nearby. That lead took me down Rue Mouffetard (SO narrow) and through a tangle of side streets til I saw the beloved Apple sign. They had what I needed but at too dear a price. Back up the street where the waiter was looking out for me I told him that the fellows in the copy shop had mentioned some big Pakistani stores at Place Monge that might have what I needed. There were nods of accord, a promise of coffee and off again I went. Just at the next corner was, lo and behold, a shop for electrical things. Just electrical things. They had just the piece I needed and a very reasonable price. I never knew I could be so overjoyed at the discovery of an electrical plug! Back at the cafe, I was able to settle in, get some work done, Skype with Ed, stay as long as I pleased.



Jed eventually met me there and we then ventured out on Mouffetard where we found a lovely little tea and pie shop called Mouff’Tartes. The proprietor was a woman about my age who reminded us both of Ginger Birdsey, the Paideia art teacher. She couldn’t have been friendlier. “Oh, Mon Dieu!” she said when I told her I was visiting my son in Paris where he is studying. Parisians, I'm noticing, aren't very friendly as a rule. People don't smile and make eye contact with strangers. But walk into a restaurant, say Bonjour Madame or Monsieur, and it's a whole other story. I'm noticing too that people are more involved with each other, one on one, than I'm used to. Lots of PDA going on -- people float in their own little bubble worlds. It's actually quite nice and seems somehow more authentic than being a friend to everyone on the street as we tend to do at home. Not that I'll ever give that up.

Les Tartes Sucré: One with blueberries, the other with figs & almond paste. Thumbs up!

Aubergine & Boeuf Tarte

It’s 10pm. The Eiffel Tower is sparkling! I love that!! It sparkles every hour on the hour after dark. Last time I was here, there was a distinct absence of sparkling.

Here's a link to an amateur video of the tower from some distance. It looks much like this from Jed's window at Cité Universitaire
Here's another one from a different vantage point.
And I like this one for the color of the evening sky . . . and the sparkling of course!