Au bientot Paris

Our cat minding is coming to an end, but there's still a few things on the 'Paris to do' list and the lovely weather continues. Friday took us back to the 13th arrondisement, as there was a large marche down the main boulevard. It was fairly typical fruit and veg with several empty stalls as many of the Parisian locals have already left for their holidays. We heading to the park at the bottom of the hill, another stunning green space with a large children's playground and cafe. The adjacent street was also home to Paris' first residential skyscraper, built in 1960 with 23 floors, an impressive building in its own right, but even more interesting was our opportunity to meet one of the residents who was leaving the building just as I was taking the photograph. An absolutely charming lady who announced she was 85 years old, came to Paris from Russia, 30 years ago, and worked as a technical physicist. She spoke 5 languages, Russian, Ukrainian, French, English and a little Italian! She had a large apartment in the highrise and was a bit unhappy about paying €4000 a month for the 'body corporate' fees. Her daughter also had a small studio apartment in the same block. Just another spontaneous snapshot of Paris, a meeting we won't forget in a hurry.

We meandered up to the main street for lunch, and had to settle for a Parsian hamburger as our preferred bistro was closed for the summer holidays. It was delicious according to Roger, the French know how to cook meat well - perfectly medium rare. A quick metro ride took us back to quayside on La Seine, where we picked up an icecream and wandered along the river which was not particularly busy for a sunny Friday afternoon, apart from the swimmers at Piscine Josephine Baker and another gathering, on the opposite side, actually swimming in La Seine under the watchful eye of the surf lifeguards. It was also refreshing to observe that public displays of affection, for which the French are so well known were still around, although perhaps not quite as frequent as before. With another 18,000 steps under our belt, it was time to return to Chevilly Larue. This time we sat in the very front carriage of the driverless train, chanelling Albert and his love of trains, it was amazing whizzing through the metro at 80kmh! Coming up from the metro, we smelt a BBQ cooking, and discovered an enterprising local with a shopping trolley half full of corn cobs. Tucked at one end was an old tin converted to a home made brazier. The coals were red hot and the corn was roasting under his watchful eye. It smelt delicious.

On Saturday I left Roger in charge and headed back into the city, for some retail therapy - cheap summer dresses are not as prevalent as they were in previous years, so further research was required. I eventually picked one up at an op shop equivalent for €10. I also caught up with Karin, my favourite epilage (waxing) lady near Gare de Lyon to prepare for a return to poolside at Les Petites Rivieres and then had an adventure on my way home as line 14 had an electrical failure. As holidays were beginning for many Parisians the metro was packed - line 14 is the Orly airport line so not only were there people, but suitcases too, jammed in like sardines on line 7 the alternative route to the airport. Cest la vie. A refreshing GnT in the garden was most welcome on my return, and on Sunday we packed up in preparation for our departure the next day.Read more