Reunion with Veronique

We haven't seen each other except 2 short times -- once in Brooklyn and once in Atlanta -- in something like 25 years, but we just picked up where we left off. She is now 66; I remember well when she turned 40. One of the first things I did upon arriving was to put on some of her lipstick. Of course. After a tour of the lovely apartment (oh the moldings!! oh the light!!) we stepped out on the street to run some errands and have some lunch. We went to the other side of ave. de l'Opera to a tiny little locksmith shop on the rue des Moulins. There was room for exactly 3 customers at a time. And that was a squeeze. The proprietor was delightful. In fact, I happened to walk past there yesterday and we waved hello. Veronique has taught me that one must always, when entering a shop, say, Bonjour monsieur or Bonjour madame and make eye contact. And when leaving one must always say Au Revoir monsieur or Au Revoir Madame. It makes all the difference.

There is this lovely display of various keys and locks in the tiny shop

We had lunch in a perfect little very Parisian bistro where no tourist would ever go (except me, that is!) A bit of wine, a lot of lentils, some sausages. C'est tout. Tiny tables, a waitress who yelled up the stairs to let the chefs know the orders. It was like a dream.

After lunch we walked to Rue de Choiseul by way of a covered arcade lined with small shops (Veronique knows all the short cuts, of course). I was looking for some knitting needles, so we went to a shop called Mercerie where there were thousands of buttons and ribbons and tassels. And yes they had some knitting needles too. Speaking of knitting, I didn't make it to the Wednesday night knitting group at L'OuisiveThé. The owner didn't email me until it was too late to make the plan. C'est la vie! I did discover that it's a tea shop, not a knitting shop. Seems knitting shops are not so prevelant here -- moreso in Britain. (Kim?? Knitch Paris???)

One of the ribbon displays at Mercerie

Right next door is an adorable little shop called Tabernula that specializes in things made in Alsace, the Basque area and other French provinces. The proprietor was charming, probably because I said Bonjour Madame and made eye contact. The shop is so tiny, I felt like the proverbial bull with my bulging backpack. I can't imagine American's ever thinking they could make a go of a retail business in such a small space. But they are ubiquitous here.

After our excursion, Veronique came back to work and I set out to walk over to the Left Bank to meet Jed. What a walk! Down the rue St. Roch: there's a little antique shop founded in 1638.


And the, just a little further on, the Eglise St. Roch took me completely by surprise.

A huge church just squeezed in there.

Then there's the Rue Rivoli with its beautiful arcades. I'm just agog at everything, looking mostly as I remember, being so old and venerable, much the same for centuries. It's mindboggling. I walk into the Tuileries and then straight ahead to the Louvre where I see, for the first time, the pyramid designed by I.M. Pei. Had Veronique not told me, I wouldn't have known I could just keep walking straight ahead and through the arch into another beautiful courtyard and turn right from there to walk across the Seine on the Pont des Arts which is a foot bridge. The weather was spectacular and the view to Ile to la Cité and the Pont Neuf was so beautiful it just made me laugh.

In the area in front of the Louvre. Arches along rue Rivoli are in the background.

The view to the Ile de la Cité and the Pont Neuf