Tuesday, 10/26/21

Today started a bit slowly. That big piece of duck that I ate last night did not sit that well, and charcoal capsules etc ensued. Still managed to go rent an electric bike and follow some or most of the tourist green line route around the city. The highlight being arriving during the mechanical elephant walking around. Seems like someone with great engineering skills and too much time put this together, But now, apparently Nantes supplies various types of these things around the world. Every year, the most popular festival in Nantes is when then bring them all back to show. It was really chilly this morning, but I picked up an electric bike and it was very easy to ride. Started by visiting the covered market, Tuesday really not being their top day. Then went to find the elephant and then through the old town. Even though I had the bike for the whole day, I’d had enough by late lunch time and turned it back, only 35 euros for the whole time. Had a low key afternoon and then met up with Etienne, who is a Nantes Greeter. He turns out to be a serious history buff and took me all over with excellent explanations. Very interesting. We stopped for some wine and tapas before calling it a day.

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Monday, 10/25/21

Today started quite early at 6:20am as I got up and out of my hotel to get to Gare Montparnasse for my early morning train to Nantes. After getting through the scrum, got on the train which left exactly on time. Quick, smooth, comfortable and efficient, and 25euros to get across the country! A few hours later I arrived in Nantes and headed to the local visitors bureau to pick up a map and information. Good news was one of the first things they gave me was a book on the tables of Nantes. Off to a good start, I went and found where my AirBnB was and then looked for somewhere for lunch. Since I hadn’t had any breakfast, lunch ended up being substantial, the special was a bowl of mushroom soup and chicken in mustard sauce. That and glass of wine came in under 20 euros. After lunch was able to check into my airbnb, a decently large apartment, the owner is a retired surgeon and his wife. So far Nantes is looking good, arranged to rent an electric bike for the day tomorrow, and I plan to go to the main market in the morning. There is a green line all through town that is a curated walking trail, I’ll do parts of it on the bike. Then I put in a request to meet a Nantes greeter, so we will get together around 5:00pm for a brief tour and a glass. Feeling the effects of a long day, so will sign off now.

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Sunday 10/24/21

I started the day by finding “Le Pont Traverse” a GF cafe run by the same people who do No Glu. It was a lovely sunny, cold morning and this place turned out to be on the corner of Rue Madame not far from the Luxembourg gardens. After a smoke salmon bagel type thing, it was off for a walk through Jardin du Luxembourg, and to Rue Mouffetard. I particularly like the Jardin because I used to walk through it on my way to school everyday. The tradition of sailing boats in the fountain continues. Then to Rue Mouffetard for some oysters, a new tradition but one that the Hemingway who lived nearby would appreciate. After that exploration it was time to head for Cafe Charlot for a burger for lunch. Then to the Atelier des Lumieres where I met John, Atsu, Tom and Leslie. The current show is Dali and Gaudi, not as as good as previous exhibitions, but still interesting. Dinner at John and Atsu’s lovely apartment on Ile St. Louis. Got to be up early tomorrow for train to Nantes, so will cut this short.

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Saturday, 10/23/21

Started today with the goal of being able to eat something for breakfast. This is harder than it sounds when you don’t eat Wheat, eggs or corn. Luckily I had done some research and hopped a bus over to a gluten free bakery, called of all things, No Glu! They had a delicious Chorizo and cheese roll. Fortified with that and a cup of coffee, I was just leaving when a batch of GF croissants came out of the over, needless to say one came into my possession immediately. From there I headed over to a bicycle store to see what they had in folding bikes, Cyclable, on the Canal St. Martin. They had 2 possibilities for me a Tern D8 and a Tern BRB. Both would be decent to ride and easy to carry on the train. From there, a nice stroll along the Canal St. Martin brough me to 10 Belles, one of the better coffee places in Paris. (Coffee in Paris is at great odds with the terrific terraces, have yet to find a place with both excellent coffee and a good terrace.). After that a bus took me to the favorite Marche D’Aligre, one of the more vibrant open markets in Paris. A brief look around the market and it was time for some oysters and a glass, Le Baron Rouge did the trick and was doing a brisk business. From there some more buses and metros back to the hotel for a brief break and then to Oliver and Lina’s book signing at WH Smith. This is an extremely large English language bookstore not far from the Louvre. The place was nuts, but various fans did show up. Ended up strolling back toward rue de Montorgueil and picking up a few appetizers at an Italian restaurant, some grilled veggies and some risotto balls. I’ll put a plug in here: If you’ve been to Paris enough to be familiar with the Metro, it’s really worth learning how to use the buses, you can see a lot more while you’re traveling. Do yourself a favor and buy the weekly Navigo Decouverte pass and then it’s all you can eat. I buy this even when there are only a few days left in the week, because it is so convenient, and, at 5-6 rides/day I still save money even with only a few days use.

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Friday 10/22/21

Finally back in Paris, and it was straight forward to get here. So, I’d like to divide this post in two areas, the practicalities of getting here during Covid and the more qualitative aspects of being here. So, first the factual stuff: Delta reinstated their non-stop from SEA-CDG, and highly recommend any non stop from wherever you are flying I rescheduled the trip because I had to change planes in London. Check in was longer because it couldn’t be done on line and you had to show a VAX card, but other than that everything was pretty smooth. I snagged a row of 4 empty seats for myself and was able to fully lie down for the whole flight. Before you to to France, be sure to apply online for the Pass Sanitaire, you will need it. This is turning your VAX card into a QR code that will be read everywhere you go in Paris. Mine came through in about a week, but others have not been so lucky. Also since I already have a French Orange Holiday SIM, I charged that up before leaving Seattle: 30 days/ 70GB was 32 Euros on special! I also have the Navigo Decouverte pass, and was able to charge this up for the week on the Bonjour RATP app. This means you can grab the RER without waiting in a ticket line. Since the weekly charge is 23e80 and the airport fare is almost 12 euros alone, this is well worth it even if you aren’t here for the whole week. So, that’s the basics. Landed at about 7:45am and was through immigration and on the train pretty quickly. Hotel room not ready, so dropped bags and went for some breakfast and coffee, first at Maison Sauvage and then at Deux Magots. Walked by Cafe Flore and there was Peter Turnley, fellow RC UM graduate and famous photographer. Then after a walk, some lunch crepes at Breizh, followed by meeting the illustrious Oliver Gee of Earful tower fame at Treize Au Jardin. Today was one of those terrific sunny fall days that is very crisp, weather report said 39F on the way in from the airport. After a shower and some clean clothes, I took the bus over to have a look at the exterior of the Fractional apartment that I bought sight unseen. It does look like they have started the remodel. Then off to Rue de Bretagne in the 3rd for stroll the Rue de Montorgueil. Finally a bite of dinner at L’Avant Comptoir du Mer, one of the great tapas seafood places for solo dining. Now sitting at the corner of Rue de Buci and Rue de Mazarine enjoying a Croze Hermitage while a street band play jazz classics. The number of people our is totally nuts!

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Tuesday 10/01/19

It was one of those days after 2 straight weeks of heavy duty touristing that I didn’t feel like doing a lot of heavy lifting. Especially as it was off and on raining. So, a walk down the street to Breakfast in America, an American diner that the owner wrote a book about, I happened to read. After a side of bacon and some bad American coffee I headed towards the 5th and found the Arena de Lutece, the still existent Roman arena that was preserved from the efforts of Victor Hugo. It apparently dates to the 1st century and at that time seated 17,000 people! I got this from listening to a tour guide do her spiel. Then walked to rue Mouffetard, or Hemingway Moveable Feast fame. Tucked into a seafood place for a half dozen oysters before continuing my stroll. Les Papilles ended up being the lunch destination, with a wonderful Lambert shoulder of top of stewed potatoes, carrots and other veggies, very satisfying on a rainy day. Then through the lovely Jardin du Luxembourg on the way home to regroup.

Monday 09/30/19

Started the day by heading over to Pl. St. Sulpice, where it turned out that the funeral service for President Chirac were going on. After getting through 4 layers of barricades and security, it turned out the service wasn’t going to start for at least another hour. No sense waiting around for that. Later I was to find out that Bill Clinton and Putin were in attendance. Many streams of black cars with motorcycle escorts, lights and sirens around all day. Headed over to Bon Marche where I was able to get a haircut and peruse the grand epicerie, every foodies idea of heaven. Then off to a restaurant near the Champs de Mars for lunch. This one called Les Fables de Fontaine. Excellent prix fixe lunch, with a celery soup, salmon and a dessert. Then walked around the Eiffel Tower and over to Trocadero before heading down Ave Montaigne. That’s the street that sells nothing you need at fabulous prices, Chanel, Gucci, Feragamo etc… Some interesting outfits wandering around and of course the “influencers” with their camera crews for that spontaneous shot. Then headed to the Opera Garnier, which is closed on Monday and “Exceptionally” closed on Tuesday as well, oh well. Then after regrouping at home, it was off to meet M.C. At Bistrot de Perigord, for some foie gras and some duck, it’s a low key place but it didn’t disappoint.

Sunday 09/29/19

Went to find a well rated Aussie coffee shop near Montmartre called KB Cafe. Turned out to be good and they had one GF item. Then checked out the Musee de la Vie Romantique, a town house that was converted into a small museum. It has a lovely courtyard and a small cafe. Would be very nice on a non rainy day. After climbing up to the Pl. de Terte, walking by Sacre Couer, it was down the Abesses area for some Poulet Roti for lunch. Then walked down Rue des Martyrs for the length of it and caught a bus back to the 6th. Dinner was low key at nearby St. Michel area but had a view of Norte Dame, although a very heavy rain shower hit in the midst of things, luckily I was already ensconced in the restaurant before it hit. By the time dinner was done, the skies had cleared. Ah, Grey Paris!

KB Cafe, top of Rue des Martyrs.Musee de la Vie Romantique.

Place du Tertre, Montmartre.

Got a picture of this same guy from about 10 years ago, with same painting too.Looking towards the city from the steps of Sacre Couer.Sacre Couer.

Saturday 09/28/19

One of the things about having been to Paris quite frequently is that I can give myself a pass on waiting in line to go to museums. Now, I’m trying to explore areas where tourists are much less common. So with that in mind, I headed out to do a ramble around 20th Arrondissement. This area, known as Belleville, is famous for Pere LaChaise cemetery and where Edith Piaf started. I did some googling, and decided to head to the Village of Charonne, but first made a stop at Peleton coffee, one of the coffee shops favored by podcaster Oliver Gee. They did make a good coffee, then it was on the bus to the back part of the 20th. Charonne village was a few cobbled streets but not much, so on to the main thoroughfares of Menilmontant and Bagnolet. Lots of the usual business, many people bustling around. Some very atmospheric bars and restaurants. I chose a recommendation form Hip Paris called Le Comptoir hidden up a side street. Had a nice piece of skate wing, although overall things were unexceptional, cute place though. Did make a stop at Belleville Brulerie outpost, another of Paris’ high end coffee places. They also were doing a good job of making fine coffee. After a quick walk down Rue de Montorgueil, it was home for a regroup and then off to Le Baron Rouge to meet up with Join Us in France members. That ended up being a lot of fun. Then off to the 9th for dinner at Le Mieux with friends John and Atsu and guest. Skate wing at Le Comptoir.Join Us in France Group meet up at Le Baron Rouge.Dinner at Le Mieux.

Part of Le Petite Ceinture, the train track around Paris that is being turned into a park.

Friday 09/27/19

I got up early, finished packing and cleaning up my AirBnB in Colmar. Was able to go out for a little walk and coffee before Andre, the host, came and drove me to the station. What a nice couple and great hosts. Train ride from Colmar goes through Strasbourg and then straight to Paris, Gare de l’Est. Once there, I transferred to metro line 4 to get to Odeon. As I tried to board the first train, which was crowded, various people attempted to “help” me with my luggage, something that is common pickpocket behavior, immediately bailed off that train and waited for then next one. On the next one, I got on and a large male was blocking my entrance to some degree and when I tried to get around him, he was dodging the same way I was. I always try to get to the back of a car and against a wall as this makes it much harder to steal thing from you. While this was going on it was apparent that his left hand was trying to get at my right front pocket. Fortunately, I was wearing my Clothing Arts Pickpocket proof pants, which have zippers on all of the pockets. He didn’t get anything and at this point others saw what he was doing and he bailed off the car. Welcome to Paris! Got the apartment, just down the hall a few doors from my last rental in April. 6th floor, elevator and in a great location, Couer St. Andre des Arts. This apartment is a duplex with a really neat, no railing spiral staircase going upstairs to a low ceiling bedroom with a big sky light. I was able to prop the skylight open just the right amount with a spoon for good ventilation. I’m finding all kinds of head and shoulder places to bump, but adapting fast. It’s nicely finished, quiet at night, washing machine and otherwise very nice, no view though, inner courtyard. After the obligatory supply shopping, went out for a walk and since it was off and on raining, took the Batobus, a hop on hop off boat on the Seine. I had intended to go to Trocadero and get a good Eiffel Tower picture, but when I got there it was pouring, so just stayed on the boat. For the evening, I headed over to the 5th, not an area I’ve spent any time in at night. A little research produced 3 possible wine bars that looked worth a try. BonVivant was great, friendly and busy. 5e Cru was more personal, a wine shop that serves some food and wine. Le Doux Raisin was more of a funk restaurant, so I had a few snails and a salad. Then it was off to Deux Magots for a digestif before calling it a night.5e Cru wine bar , duck rilletesDigestif at Les Deux Magots.Church of St. GermaineBatobus.