Joy left us today after a three day visit.  We didn’t do too much, just enjoyed her company, went to the movies on Saturday (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), relaxing days and good food.  We are so lucky to have such great friends.  We leave on Thursday for Nantucket, and are looking forward to a little diversion from the day to day here in Vermont.  We also looked at a house that we found intriguing in Bennington.  It was very nice, and a beautiful historic building, but at the end of the day, Scotsmere has more benefits than this house does.  I am always looking at places that have the potential to be easier for us to get around, and this house had space to spare, but higher ceilings, which means more steps to the second floor.  It did have a great open concept design for the living areas.  The other drawback was the access to the outdoor space was really limited to the front door, unless we were to build a deck off the back.  Who needs more projects, right?

We returned the rental car on Thursday and are now borrowing my Dad’s car, which is a great savings for us.  I also wasn’t really fond of the car we had – there wasn’t much space for the wheelchair, which made getting it in and out a little more difficult.  My Dad’s car is much more spacious.

We had some great weather while Joy was here, but it was muggy this morning and then started raining in the afternoon.  This will give us time to do some more quilting.  David has started sewing with the machine.  It is difficult with one hand, but he seems to be doing well.  Good therapy too!

You know how memories sometimes come streaming back to you?  Well, today, as we drove up to the house, I remembered Fred whenever we arrived in Vermont.  He would jump out of the car and dash up the driveway and around the corner only to come careening back around the corner bounding up to the front door.  I always worried, for just a moment, that he wouldn’t come back around that corner and would be gone forever, but that never happened, and why would it?  We were a happy trio.

Well, now it is just a duo, but happy we are.  Tonight we went out to dinner with Hatam and his family and were joined by my Dad and Judy.  Dinner was great, as was the company.  After dinner we headed back to the house for dessert.  David was in very good spirits and was able to contribute more to the conversation than he has in the past.  It was great to see, and I think he felt very good about it as well.
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We checked a few things off “The List” today, which always makes me feel better.  Unfortunately, or possibly fortunately, we are having to get a new stove for Vermont.  Now that we have a new propane tank, I was looking forward to getting rid of this electric stove that we have in the kitchen, but thought we could hold off for a bit.  The other night though, the stove started acting up and rather than call in a repairman, we are thinking we will just replace it.  I will be happier cooking on the gas.

Well, that was supposed to be the title for Independence Day, but I guess I missed that!  I have missed a lot.  We did get our hair cuts.  Both of us. Donovan’s visit was very nice, and we did a bunch sightseeing, but also some relaxing.  Hatam and his family are here now, and they are out for most of the day enjoying all that Vermont has to offer.  Continue to get the house in order, but also have to relax with the fact that there will always be work to be done.

So, the other bit of news that has something to do with the title is, that an old friend, who had a run in with the law is now free.  It is a long story and some of you may know it, and the rest will just have to use your imaginations.  I just got an email from her, and with visions of Orange is the New Black in my head, I was happy to hear that she was out.  Am looking forward with catching up with her, and finding out what her next steps are.  All in all, a very sad case, and completely unwarranted, as far as I am concerned.  Hoping she survived emotionally.

Today we also went to see the lovely and talented Julie Halston in a play at Powerhouse Theatre at Vassar in Poughkeepsie.  A lovely drive, and well worth the trip.  The play was The Babylon Line by Richard Greenberg, and we both really enjoyed it.  Great play and terrific performances all around.  I will add, as an aside, I had to get up and find the tickets to get the title of the play – I was thinking, Jericho Line? Bethlehem Line? Sodom Line?  It is terrible getting old, right?  So wonderful to see Julie and Ralph too.  She begins rehearsals in a few weeks for You Can’t Take it With You on Broadway, which opens in September.

I am now going to go back in time a bit.  On one of our evenings in London, we had a UNIS reunion of sorts.  Alexandra arranged for a group to meet at a great spot on the Thames near the Tate Modern.  It was a wonderful evening with a great group of folks.  As always, I end up being envious of what a great time these folks had in their High School years.  Mine were so awful, except for the year I escaped NJ, that whenever I hear what great learning environments other folks enjoyed, I get a bit angry, but mostly jealous.  I could go on, but, it would bore you.  I Was going to go on a rant, but will spare you all.

I touched on this a little, but I am finding it very difficult to get my routine going here in Vermont.  In Palm Springs, and even to a certain extent in Paris, I was able to find time to write and do everything that I wanted to do, but here, it is much more difficult.  It may be that I feel less comfortable with leaving David alone here.  Add to that the fact that to get anywhere takes 15 minutes, minimum.  Also, David has wanted to go with me almost everywhere, which makes shopping take about twice the time and effort.  Have you ever tried to push a shopping cart and a wheelchair at the same time?  Fortunately, Aldi’s has a wheelchair with a cart attached, so that makes that store a little easier.  I am hoping that before too long I get my groove back, and begin writing every night.  Every other night?  Once a week at this point would be an improvement!!

There have been all these random things running through my head, but I can never remember them with I sit down to write, and I am sure in the middle of the night something will jolt me awake.  Maybe I will write it tomorrow.

We both need haircuts.  We arrived in Vermont, and since opening the door to the house, I have been doing laundry, cleaning, and generally getting things straightened out, but the house still looks like some giant picked it up and rattled it around a bit.  I see a light, but it seems rather distant. Yesterday, Kathleen helped David plant the window boxes and I planted some herbs and flowers in the yard.  The outside of the house is looking pretty great.  Thanks Kathleen!

The last days of our European jaunt were very nice.  It was a whirlwind for Joy and Michael, but I think they saw a lot in a few days.  In Paris, spent the first day with Joy going to Jardin du Luxembourg, Notre Dame and the Marais.  Lots of walking, but a nice day.  Then we did some shopping on the Champs Elysées and lunch in the Tuileries on Wednesday.  We took the Eurostar to London on Thursday, and I thought we had given ourselves plenty of time, but between the train strike, a broken escalator and a security problem because of a suspicious package, the elevator was mobbed and it took forever to get to the train.  Once we were seated on the train, it was nice and easy.  It amazes me that you can get from Paris to London in a little over two hours!

Once in London, we headed to the flat, but it took a while to find where we needed to go to get a cab.  Everything was listed – buses, tube – but no sign for taxis.  Once we were settled, Joy, David and I took a stroll to Covent Garden and a bit around the West End.  Took a tour of London and also a cruise on the Thames.  David and I had lunch with John, who I worked with many years ago in NY.  He is looking great and it was great to catch up with him.  We also went to the theatre to see The 39 Steps, which we have seen before, but thought it would be nice for Joy and Michael.  We also walked down and saw the beginning of the changing of the guard, but decided move away from the mob that was following and seeing the entire changing.  I don’t remember London being as crowded as it was this visit.  Of course, I said the same thing about New York last year.  I just don’t know where all the people are coming from!

Our last night in London, we were meeting Debbie for dinner, and I looked up some restaurants, and we headed out.  One of the restaurants was closed, so we decided to go to an eastern European place that was nearby.  Well, it was probably the weirdest place I have ever been to, and believe me, I have been to some strange places.  There were huge silver (painted, of course) chairs that were supposed to be throne-like.  And booths around the room, each having its own special decor.  One was gold records (Elvis, Sinatra, etc), another had thimbles and my personal favorite had carved plaques with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, but also included a plaque with a naked lady wearing a red hat.  Very bizarre.  The waiter warned us when we sat that if David needed to use the restroom, he would have to go downstairs to the nightclub.  That probably should have been our cue to flee, but we stayed.  Apparently, there is a Russian youth hostel upstairs.  Very odd.  The food was OK, but very odd.

Anyway, it is nice to be settling back into a routine, of sorts.  As I mentioned, Kathleen visited for a few days from DC, and it is a welcome break for me.  Tomorrow Donovan arrives, and then later this week, we have a visit from Hatam and his family from UNIS.

Well, sorry it has been such a lapse, but our last week in Paris was a whirlwind, and we are now safe and happy and exhausted in London.  I will back up and tell a bit about our days in Paris before Joy and Michael arrived and then the trip to London and our first day in London.

Last Friday we went to see Le Roi et Moi, which was sadly in English.  If you haven’t caught it, this was R&H’s The King and I.  To begin our trip to the theatre, we headed out the door and were surprised to not see a single cab, Autolib’ or Uber to be had.  Quite unusual and shocking, so after seeing that if we waited in the line for a cab at the cabstand we would miss the first act, we started walking.  As we headed down the Champs Elysées I checked on my phone for Autolib’ and a car was available by the Petit Palais, so I reserved it and we headed that way.  As you might guess, the traffic was horrendous and I thought we would still miss the beginning of the show as we were crawling by the Louvre.  I had noticed earlier and then as we headed along, that there were lots of firemen out in both dress and normal uniforms, which seemed odd, but I thought there must be a firemen’s ball or something.  Once we passed the Louvre, the traffic began to move a bit more, and we made it to the theatre just in time.  At the theatre, there were firemen opening doors for people and helping us into the lobby.  My best guess was that it was the firemen’s community service night.  I still don’t know exactly what was happening, but, always nice to see the firemen out.

The show started, and our seats were not great, but for €10 each, I couldn’t complain, and at the end of the show, I was glad that we hadn’t paid for better seats.  When we bought them the box office agents said we could get better seats for more money, but I opted for the handicapped seats.  The show was disappointing in general, but I have to say that it is wonderful to hear a show like that with a full orchestra, and I mean a full orchestra.  Not just a pit band.  I blame the director for the poor quality of the show.  That and they seemed not so well rehearsed.  Anyway, at the end of the day, we were glad we went, but it wasn’t fabulous.

On Saturday, we went out with Alex and Claire to The Bristol for drinks, which was lovely, and something nice to do, but, expensive.  €26 for a cocktail, but, they do give you a free pre-cocktail drink and kept filling up our snacks.  Also, the mirror over the bar that turned into a huge TV screen was pretty cool.  Watched a bit of the World Cup and then we headed off for dinner.  A local restaurant that looked very nice, but, honestly and sorry to say, it was the first bad restaurant experience we have had in Paris.  Inattentive staff, eurotrash fellow customers and the food wasn’t so good.  Needless to say, all this came at quite a price.  Have crossed this one off the list.  Le Boeuf Sur Toit.  Not worth the time or the money, and it was recommended.  Maybe it was a bad night, but life is too short.

Sunday we had Alex, Claire, Theo, Ed and Alexis over for dinner.  I was planning on making chicken and had done some preliminary shopping on Saturday, but was looking forward to going to a local street market to pick up some last minute things.  On the morning, I checked online to see what types of merchants would be at this market, and I had made what I like to refer to as a Scott mistake.  The market was open on Saturday, not Sunday.  I immediately checked to see what time the Franprix was open until, and they were closing in an hour.  Claire was on her way to help me out, so I ran to the store to get chicken and the few remaining items.  They didn’t have butchered chickens, so I had to buy whole and wasn’t looking forward to the job of cutting them up.  I got home, and Claire arrived, and I explained that we weren’t going to the market as planned.  Butchered the chicken and began cooking.  Made chicken with a white wine and mustard sauce with roasted broccoli and mushrooms and onions.  A wonderful evening!  Or at least I thought so.
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Then, on Monday, Joy and Michael arrived.  Their flight was delayed by about two hours, but they arrived safe and sound.  So great to see them.  Michael went to sleep immediately, and Joy, David and I headed out for a walk.  Not too long, but nice, and a good introduction to Paris.

Then a nap, and off to our dinner cruise.  It was very nice, and glad that we did it.  The dinner was nice, but the views along the Seine were great.  The one glitch was that at about 10pm the captain had slowed down near the Eiffel Tower so we could have a good view of the light show.  At 10:10pm, I asked the waiter if he knew why the tower didn’t do its thing, and he said that tonight was the first night that they didn’t light the tower until 11pm.  Otherwise a great night.

I am going to end this post now, and publish, because otherwise, I won’t get it done until mid-July!  We are beginning our last day in London today, and having a great time.  We all fly out tomorrow morning and David and I will be in Vermont tomorrow night.

 

Well, time has certainly flown by.  We have a week left in Paris, and I am feeling a little blue about that.  We have done a lot during our time here.  Blade and Ralph visited, my pal Anthony was here over the weekend and we have Joy and Michael to look forward to.  We also have a few days in London before we head back across the pond.

We have been reading How Paris Became Paris: The Invention of the Modern City which is very interesting, and a perfect companion to the book we read before, Paris Reborn: Napoléon III, Baron Haussmann, and the Quest to Build a Modern City.  In the current book, it becomes clear that Napoléon III and Haussmann were really only carrying out existing ideas.  Neither book is to heavy with history, but rather, talks about the character of the city, and its push to be modern and always looking to the future.  All this is very true.  I have also always found Paris a very walkable city, and it is reassuring that that is indeed what the idea was as early as the sixteenth century.  Also the relationship between walking and fashion.  I love this stuff.

In the past few days, while I have been MIA, we went to the Shoah Memorial to see an exhibit of photos from the ghettos of Europe during WWII.  Such depressing stuff.  Even more depressing is the need for such intense security at the memorial.  It is painful to think that anti-semitism is still such a force in otherwise enlightened parts of the world.  Granted, it goes way beyond just anti-semitism, and really can be chalked up to anti-otherism.  It also isn’t restricted to any country or continent.  While going through the exhibit, the French weren’t coming out looking so great with the Vichy government gladly handing over Jews to the Nazis, and I could only feel sad at the thought that given the chance, Americans would have done the same at the time.  Thank God for FDR.  Yes, he could have done more, and maybe I should really be grateful for Eleanor! Sometimes history is so depressing.

We had two great days, one with Alex and Theo and yesterday with Claire.  With Claire we went to the Musée Nissim de Comondo, which was a beautiful house on Parc Monceau.  The house was pretty spectacular and backed up to the park.  I found the kitchen and servants dining and working quarters the most interesting.  I kept expecting Daisy or Mr. Bates to appear at any moment.  With Alex and Theo, we just stayed at home because it rained in the morning.  Today we are planning on going to the D’Orsay to see an exhibit on Van Gogh based on a book Van Gogh, the Man Suicided by Society by Artaud.  Won’t be too depressing, right??!!

We set out today on the first day we have had in Paris with not a chance of rain and over 80°.  Not that we haven’t had some pretty nice days, and always a good time, but today was spectacular.  I suggested that we take a walk through the Tuileries, and we headed off.  I had forgotten that this weekend is the Jardins Jardin show at the Tuileries.  A nice garden show in the park.  We paid our 11 euros and walked though the show.  As we walked through, one of the reps of the show stopped to let us know that when we wanted to go up to the upper area, we should speak to one of the security folks, and they would show us the way.  After looking around, we wanted to go up to the upper level, and asked the guard at the front, who didn’t speak English, and didn’t really get what I was asking.  Fortunately, another guard came by, and he didn’t speak English either, but understood what I was asking, and told us he would meet us on the other side of the Orangerie and unlock the gate.  We walked up the ramp to the Orangerie, and met the guy, and he let us in.  When we were ready to leave, I walked down to the lower level to find the guy to let us out, and asked the same guy at the front who didn’t know what I was asking the first time, but now he understood, and told me to wait on the upper level.  We were soon on our way.  Pictures of our day are below!

We stopped for lunch at the same place we did a few weeks ago in the garden, which was again, very good.  It was at this point that I should have left perfect alone.  I decided that we should to and investigate the dinner cruise that I was thinking of booking for us to take when Joy and Michael get here.  It was on the left bank, near St Germain, and I was worried about the access with the wheelchair.  We made it down, but the cobblestones where just like Versailles.  The boat looked good and it will be OK for us to get on and off, which was good.  I then thought that we should take the BateauBus back to the Eiffel Tower, because I knew from my run, that the embankment there was paved and easier for us to walk on.  We got on the boat with no problem, but David began to get anxious and maybe a little hot, which was unusual, because he has been cold most of the time.  He wanted to get off the boat at the stop by the Louvre, and I said that the guy who sold me the tickets said that that stop and the Eiffel Tower were the only other stops that were accessible, so we got off.  Unfortunately, it was quite a rutted hike to the access to the street, and David was not happy about it.  He actually got out of the wheelchair for a while so he wouldn’t be bumped around any more.  Once up on the main streets, we made out way back to the apartment.

David blames me for the bumpy ride, but I claim that if we had followed my original plan, we wouldn’t have had to deal with the bumpy ride.  We agreed to disagree.  As we were walking through the park across the street, the police told us that the park was closed, which lets me know that the dignitaries are still around.  And I thought that they had all left Paris to go to Normandy, but I guess they came back this evening.

We started reading another book about Paris and its design.  Some great insights into the development and the character of the city.  It is also giving us more history that leads up to the redesign of Paris in the 19th Century.  Work that started with the building of the Pont Neuf long before Napoleon III.

Over the past week, we have noticed that all these British and French flags have been going up all over Paris.  First it started on the Champs Elysées and last night on our way to Alex and Claire’s they were erecting flag poles on the way to Les Invalides.  Now, the cab driver who took us to Versailles said that David Cameron was coming to town, but I was beginning to think that it seemed like a lot of work for a Prime Minister.  I then thought, well, it is the anniversary of D-Day, but it seemed odd that there were just British and French flags.  I started thinking that the queen must be coming to town, and tried to look that up online, but nothing. So, I forgot about it.

Today was a beautiful day, and after taking a nice long walk along the Seine with David, we wandered through town, and headed back home, had a great lunch, and then I headed off to the gym for a little while.  I was walking back, and suddenly found it very difficult to find my way home.  I wasn’t lost, but just came across a lot of closed streets as I came closer to the apartment.  Most of the activity was centered around the British Embassy, which is next door to the Palais Elysées (the home of the French President).  We are a block away in the other direction.  When I reached a point where I could no longer walk any further, I made a loop around and thought I might be able to circle around.  Certainly I would be able to cross the street at Ave. Matignon, I thought.  As I approached Rue du Faubourg St Honoré, I found myself walking in step with a gentleman who was walking with the same determination that I was, and as we both approached the corner, I though we would not be able to cross here either, but there it was.  The motorcycles escorting a large limousine carrying the Queen of England!  Yes, Elizabeth II in all her pink splendor – hat and all.  Didn’t see the purse, but I am sure there was one.  I didn’t see Phillip, but understand that he was with her.  It was at this point that my French friend turned to me and just said “Incroyable!” and I just said “oui!”  He said a lot more, and I caught “Elizabeth” and “rose” but nothing else.

Fortunately, the road opened after the car passed, and we were able to cross.  As I looked head towards the Champs Elysées, I saw that the barricades were up and the roads crossing were all closed, so I figured that the royal procession would be heading back soon.  I got back and David wanted to take a walk, so we headed out, but no sight of the Queen, just the crowds, so we headed home.  I was making dinner and needed to head to the store to shop, so I grabbed my cart and went.  Here is what I encountered on my way:

Anyway, the whole evening has been pretty busy outside the apartment.  Sirens and police.  Poor President Hollande!  It must be a diplomatic nightmare.  The Queen of England, Obama and Putin!  And Obama and Putin won’t have dinner together, so it is dinner with Obama and “supper” with Putin.  I think the commotion I just heard was Putin leaving supper a the Palais.

Things have been crazy for us too.  Not The Queen, but with two of our favorite queens, we have been quite busy.  Yesterday, we slept most of the day away.  It was rainy, so that was not a bad thing.  On Sunday, I forgot to mention that we had a visit from Mitty and her grand-daughter who is about the same age as Theo, and we all had a great afternoon in the park.  So great to see her and reconnect.  She is impressed by David’s progress as well.

The other bit of catching up, and the main reason we were both exhausted yesterday was our full day of Versailles and Roland Garros.  We got up early and headed out to Versailles and after doing some research, we decided to take a cab out, because I was worried about the wheelchair and the train.  I walked to the station the day before, and while there was an elevator, you had to have someone come and open it, and I always hate having to rely on the kindness of strangers.  Particularly when my French is so bad.  It took a while to find a cab, but we did, and he was great.  Mostly because I could sort of understand him.  I was sitting up in front and we actually had, sort of a conversation.  I told him that I drove a Smartcar in Santorini, or that is what I think I told him.  Who really knows.

We got out to Versailles in time, and joined our group.  Rolling over the cobblestones was not easy on me, and even worse on David.  I said that I felt like I had been using a jackhammer and that David must have felt like he was inside.  The short garden tour was nice, but once inside the palace, the crowds were so overwhelming and navigating with the wheelchair was a challenge.  There were a few moments that I thought I would like to ram the chair into a few folks shins.  Ralph and Blade actually bailed on the tour about half way through, and I didn’t blame them.  If I could have found my way out, I might have done the same.  The guide was great, with lots of information, but in the end, it just wasn’t pleasant with all the people.  We got out, and I made David suffer some more jackhammering as we made out way to a cafe for lunch.  Then we walk to the train to head to Roland Garros.  It wasn’t the Metro, but and RER train, and from my research, they were supposed to be accessible.  We were OK, but they were not what we would call accessible.  A few steps up to the train and then a few more to seats.  Then when we got to the station, there was a full flight of stairs to get out of the station.  David handled them nicely and he was pretty proud of himself.

He said he had to use a bathroom and we were a bit worried because we often found that bathrooms in cafes were down stairs or difficult to use for people with limited mobility.  Blade checked out a cafe on the corner, and they actually had a handicapped bathroom.  Then, we took a car to the tennis center, and went in.  Blade and I went into the stadium to check out the seats and figure out what our approach would be to get David in.  Sadly, there was no way he was going to get into the stadium.  The seats were up three flights of stairs and there was no elevator.  We asked, and nobody seemed to have any idea where the elevator was, but they thought that there was one.  There wasn’t.

David and I watched on the big screen, and then went to have a glass of champagne.  I knew there was an elevator to the lounge, but when we got there, there was a plastic chain blocking the way with a sign that the best I could figure out said that you needed to call a number they listed to get help with the elevator.  I called, and they were confused and gave me another number to call, which I did.  They were also confused, but called someone who was less confused, and said that the elevator worked, and I should just remove the chain and use it.  I did.  It just seemed very odd and unhelpful to put a useless obstacle in the way of people who were already dealing with so many other obstacles.  Weird.  I do have to say, I miss the US and the ADA requirements.  Paris is so great in so many other ways, but in this particular way, they are way behind the times.  There is an elevator in the stadium, by the way, but the best I could make out was that it was either for the press boxes or some VIP boxes.

Well, that was a lot, wasn’t it??

Well, it was quite a day.  Blade and Ralph went off for a half day tour with a cruise and lunch at the Eiffel Tower, and I got a message that Blade had procured two ground passes to Roland Garros, so we headed off to meet them after lunch and go to see some tennis.  Blade had also gotten word that he had two tickets to tennis for Tuesday, and he and David were going to take those, Ralph and I went into the tennis center and look around.  It was very nice, but also very crowded, so we only stayed for a bit, had a beer, bought some shirts (a tee for David and a polo for me) and then met up with Blade and David and headed home.  Blade and Ralph took a walk and David watched some tennis and I took a nap.

I thought it would be nice to see another part of Paris, so we headed to the area where we would go out when we stayed in the 10th arrondissement – on Ave Trudaine.  We ate dinner at Auberge du Clou and it was very nice.  When we left, we needed to find a place to print the tickets that were emailed to Blade.  The adventure actually began with the cab ride up to the restaurant with a surly driver who made it clear that he was not happy about driving us for some reason.  Not sure if it was the wheelchair, or because there were four of us, but he wasn’t happy, and neither was Blade.  He had a few words for the driver when he paid the fare.  After dinner, the adventure continued when we asked for an internet cafe where we could get something printed.  We were sent down Rue des Martyrs, but didn’t see anything.  Asked a woman, who tried to help, but sent us where she thought there was something, but there wasn’t.  I thought we should head for Gare St Lazare, because there are always internet cafes near train stations, right?  Stopped at a hotel to see if they could confirm that there was something at the station, and he said it was our best bet and confirmed we were heading in the right direction.

We got to the station, and asked around there, but they were pretty much closed for the night.  It was late, and we were all tired at this point, so finally found a cab.  As a last ditch, we asked the cab driver if he knew of a place, and yes, he did.  Across from the opera, and he would take us there an wait while we printed the tickets.  This cab and its driver made up for the earlier “incident”.  He was great, and the tickets were printed and we were on our way home.

Blade was a still a bit on edge about the earlier cab drive, and while the last cab was great, he did get his head slammed with the automatic sliding door of the van.  I am sure the driver didn’t mean it.  Once home, Blade took a Xanax (or two) and is now drifting off to sleep.  Well, to be honest, he was drifting off to sleep a half an hour ago on the sofa, but now he is safe and happy in bed.
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We have been doing a lot of walking since the boys arrived – last night we had dinner at the far end of the Louvre at a restaurant that Luba recommended called Le Fumoir, which was very nice (see pictures), and we sat in the library in the back.  Had a nice view of two very handsome men on what looked like their first date, but who knows, it is Paris after all.  Maybe they have been together for 20 years!  You can see them over Blade’s shoulder in the picture. Afterwards we walked back along the Seine, through the Tuileries and got to the Place de la Concorde just in time to see the Eiffel Tower do its light show.  All in all, a couple of terrific days.  Tomorrow, we go to Versailles in the morning and then, back to tennis at Roland Garros – Blade, as I said, got tickets for David and himself and he also somehow wrangled passes for me and Ralph again.  We will sleep very well tomorrow night!

Today was a glorious day. Sunny and warm, without being hot. We started the day slowly, and when Alex, Claire and Theo arrived, Alex had to go to work, so we headed up to Parc Monceau and were going to meet Alex later at the restaurant we liked outside the park. A very nice walk up and the park was alive with activity. Theo enjoyed the day, I think as did we. Sat in the sun for a while, then went to look at the art and antiques a bit. Afterwards we headed to La Valois and sat outside for lunch. Alex arrived in time to eat with us, and I had a little too much to eat, I think, but it was very good. Then back and we watched a bit of tennis while Theo napped. I went to pick up a yoga mat and some wine and cheese.

Alex and Claire were heading home when I got back and we waited for Blade and Ralph to arrive. They did, just on schedule and we relaxed and had some wine and cheese then headed out for a short walk. I say short, but we probably made quite a circle. I thought that giving them a good lay of the land in our immediate neighborhood would be a start. All the important sights – Grand and Petit Palais, Champs Élysées, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, Invalides. As I said, a good start! Most were just distant views, but now they know where we are in relation to everything.
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I posted a bunch of pictures at the top of this posting, if you are reading this in an email, you will need to go to the website to see the pictures. Yesterday we went to see the Joséphine exhibit, which was fun, and we walked to the Luxembourg. After that, we went to the Bastille to get tickets for the ballet, but all the performances are sold out. I will make some other attempts, but go to the Garnier, because it is closer. The woman at the box office said that they get cancellations pretty regularly. Then to Théâtre du Châtelet to get tickets to Le Roi et Moi. I was a little disappointed that we will be seeing The King and I, not Le Roi et Moi. It will be performed in English with French subtitles. Oh, well, it should be fun in any case. In all we walked about 5+ miles yesterday, which was very good. I was surprised that I still had trouble falling asleep.

Time is flying quickly, and we will have been here for two weeks on Monday.  Crazy!

We are going tonight to a little surprise party for Alexis and will go on a search for a nice bottle of whiskey for his birthday gift. Both Ed and Alexis were impressed with David’s progress since we saw them last November. David is, as always, dubious.  Maybe tonight he will be convinced.

Well, OK, now we went to the party for Alexis, and it was very nice.  The group included us, plus three other friends.  I felt bad, because even though it was a struggle for them, much of the conversation was in English for our benefit.  There was some French and even a smattering of Spanish.  We were lucky enough to stumble on a shop that specialized in whiskey, so that is what we brought as a gift for the birthday boy.  He loves whiskey.  Dinner was great with an asian theme – curries and rice.

Today was Claire’s day off, so she came to visit, and we went to see an exhibit at the Petit Palais about the Paris World Exposition of 1900.  Beautiful stuff, and it must have been quite a spectacle in it’s time.  I think that the Alphonse Mucha stuff was my favorite.  Predictable, I know, but there is just something about him that I love.  We followed this all up with a nice lunch in the cafe overlooking the garden in the Petit Palais.  Very nice.  We dropped Claire off at the Metro while the sky started looking threatening, but no rain, yet.

It waited to rain when I went out to do some shopping.  We were having drinks with the sister of the owner of the apartment we are renting, and the owner was there as well.  She lives in Berkeley and we got a bit of the background on the building.  It seems that the building where the apartment is was a family building, and the sisters retained two of the units.  Marine’s apartment is on the top floor and the views are spectacular.  Her English is not great, but we were able to manage.  Between my bad French and Lorraine’s very good English, we had a great drink and visit.  Marine has promised some fabulous cheese from Normandy where she has a little house.  She also suggested we go to the Rodin Museum to see the bust of her Grand Mother, who was a patron of Rodin.  Oh La La!

They also gave us some recommendations on restaurants in the area, and even with the tips, we decided to stay in and I made some omelets with zucchini and cheese. We will save the restaurants for some other time.  I think I have mentioned this, but it does bear repeating – I am loving being here in Paris.  The weather, while David is finding it very cold (and Lorraine concurred with him), I find bracing.  I know, that is an awful word to use, but it is.  Cool and a little damp.  I have been running in the morning, and it is perfect for that.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I like the sun and warmth of Southern California too, but this feels really healthy.  Add to that the fact that it says light until almost 10pm and the sun comes up (when there is a sun) before 6am, and it makes for a great time!  The wine ain’t bad either!

 

We had such a great day. The weather cooperated, and we took a walk to Parc Monceau and bought a new pin for David and looked at the antiques and art on sale at the market along the edge of the park. Such a great day, and so many people out on this lovely Fêtes des Mères. In the antiques market we saw some paintings that both of us found pretty intriguing, but not sure if we will be compelled to do anything about them. They are a bit odd, and many of you may know about out obsession with cows (it’s a Vermont thing, I think), and these paintings were pretty cool. Comical cows in a bucolic setting that was also urban at the same time. I will have to get some samples, as they are pretty hard to describe, but, they are colorful, modern and cool. I think.
After wandering a bit, we sat and had some lunch at a terrific little café, you know, the kind you read about in travel books. Just outside the park. We sat and watched the world wander by looking at the gates to the park, and had a great lunch. We both had reuben sandwiches. Now, I know you are saying, “Well, you didn’t have to travel to Paris to have a reuben” but, these were sublime, and I just saw them on the menu and couldn’t resist. The one thing that was missing were the frits. But, don’t despair, they were substituted with some pretty outstanding onion rings. The one great thing was that they weren’t catering to a NYC or american crowd, they just made a very mean reuben. In case you are planning a trip, the place is called Le Valois.  Highly recommended and I am sure we will be going back.

On our way back down to the apartment, we saw a painting in a gallery that may give the cows a run for their money.  It was something along the lines of a John Singer-Sargent portrait of two your girls that was pretty stunning.  We may wander back to see about that one, but I asked David where he thought it might work, but he seemed to think he had jus the spot for it.  We’ll see.

Once home, I took a nap, and then we got up and headed off to Alex and Claire’s for dinner.  Ed and Alexis were joining us and it was a great evening.  I decided that we should walk to their place because it was such a nice afternoon – no rain in sight.  I was actually getting a bit hot as we approached their place.  Lots of folks out enjoying the day, and I was glad we decided to walk.  The best part was that the further we got away from the Champs Élysées, the fewer foreign accents we would hear.  Theo was delightful, as always, and the rest of the company was entertaining as well. I may meet Ed for yoga in the morning, if I can get it all together!  Claire prepared a great mean with noodles and peanut sauce with a cucumber and pepper side and it was all great.  Just hit the mark.

Then home and watched the end of a James Bond movie.  Not sure which one it was, but it was with the ever bizarre Grace Jones and the ever weird Christopher Walken.  I like them both, so don’t take that as a putdown, I respect weird and love bizarre.  Maybe even prefer them.

I forgot to disclose one little tiny detail about the caught in the rain story the other night.  Not only did I not have an umbrella, which, as I said, would have only helped slightly, but I also forgot to bring any Euros with me, which made getting a cab difficult, if not impossible.  How do you say I need to stop at an ATM in French?  On top of that, I didn’t see any available cabs, but that doesn’t matter.  David wanted me to add this little detail that I omitted.

Yesterday we took a nice long walk through the Tuileries to the Carousel du Louvre.  The walk was great, and we stopped for lunch at one of the restaurants in the park.  I thought it would be convenient, but expected high prices and low quality and was surprised at both.  It was the cheapest lunch we have had in Paris so far, and the food was pretty good.  The Carousel du Louvre was a mall that could have been anywhere in the world. OK, it was under the Louvre, which certainly makes in unique, with an inverted glass pyramid in the middle of it, but, otherwise, I thought we were in Palm Desert.  There were an array of souvenir shops, but also an Apple store and even a McDonalds.  Also stopped at the shop at the Musée des arts Décoratifs which we liked when we were here in November.  Still very nice, but didn’t have a scarf or umbrella.  These were the reasons for our trek to the Carousel in the first place, but we didn’t find anything.  David has been chilly since we got here, and it has been a bit cool, but I love that.  Fortunately, Alex had a coat that David could borrow, and we picked that up last night.
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We went to Alex and Claire’s for dinner last night and had Indian food, which was great.  Another relaxing evening.  Watched an episode of The Graham Norton Show.  Not the best, but fun.  Made it home in a cab and dry, so that was a good end to the evening!

I have continued my running and exercise regime, which makes me feel better.  One of the delightful things about running in Paris, and there are so many delightful things about Paris in general, is that you are always being visually reminded where you are.  I don’t think that there is another city like, or certainly not as dramatic as Paris.  Every corner you turn, you catch a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower peaking over the trees (or even sometimes in its full glory), or Notre Dame, or The Musée D’Orsay, or the Place de la Concorde.  This afternoon, when I was jogging back to the apartment through the Tuileries, I had a view of the gold top of the obelisk with the Arch de Triumph in the distance.  It really is breathtaking.

We had a very nice day.  A slow start, because it was raining a bit this morning, and after last night (I will get to that story later), we weren’t going to head out until we were sure that the rain had stopped and wasn’t going to start back up.  When it was safe, we went to get some lunch, and ended up at a nice Italian place near the Rue du Faubourg St. Honoré.  Not far from where we are staying.  We were looking for a place to get haircuts, but that was eluding us, so lunch was what we did first.  We did finally get our haircuts at a place just up the street.  After being turned away at the first place – I didn’t quite understand what she was saying, but I think she was saying that she was closing for lunch and we could come back later in the afternoon.  Fortunately, there was another shop across the way, and they were happy to take us.  We both look beautiful, and you will just have to take my word for it.  Pictures maybe tomorrow.

So, the story last night was about the rain.  We had a great day with Claire, and made plans to join them at their place for dinner and to visit with Theo.  He is great, and lots of jumping around and fun was had by all.  I decided, because the rain had subsided, that we would take one of the autolib’ cars, as there are a few parked around the corner, and I checked and there were some open parking spots near Alex and Claires.  Autolib’ is the Parisian auto sharing service.  Just as we were getting to the car, it began to rain again.  Fortunately, we were safe and dry in the car when it started to pour!  We go across town, and parked the car, and the deluge had stopped, so, while we got a bit drizzled on, it wasn’t terrible.  We had a great visit, and when it was time to go, I decided to use Uber to get home.  There were cars close, so I waited until we got downstairs before calling for the car.  It was only going to be five minutes, and by the time we walked to the curb, it should only be a few minutes wait.  Some of you may have used Uber, and one of the things that this geek likes to do, is track the driver’s progress.  Well, he didn’t move from where he started for about five minutes, and then began moving very slowly toward us.  He was just around the corner, and it was starting to drizzle again, so I called to make sure he was on his way.  He only spoke very little English and said five minutes, and I said that we had already been waiting for five minutes and then I notice on the phone, he was actually driving away from us, so we decided to head for another autolib’, and I cancelled the Uber and booked a car on auto lib’ a few blocks away.  As we crossed the street heading away from Alex and Claire’s and about halfway to the car, it began to rain buckets, and we were both soaked.  Now, many of you may be saying, “why didn’t you have an umbrella?”, and yes, that might have been a smart thing to have had, but we didn’t, and honestly, with David in the wheelchair, I couldn’t hold it, and it wouldn’t have helped much anyway.  Well, maybe David might have stayed slightly dryer.  We ducked under the awning of a really great bakery and waited for it to let up a little before proceeding.  It did, and we did, and got home and dried off, and went to bed.

We did, however, have a lovely view of the Eiffel Tower as we rushed to the car.

We had a very nice day today. Slept a little late and then I went out to the boulangerie for some croissant and brioche. All very nice. Alex met us around noon, and we went out for lunch to a Chinese restaurant that David and I went to in November. It rained a bit in the afternoon but we avoided it.  Have to go out and get an umbrella tomorrow.  Did some laundry today, which is very nice to be able to do leisurely and on my own.

As you can see from the picture, we took a nice walk this morning in the park across the street.  It is a sweet park on the Champs Èlysées with a restaurant, theatre and puppet theatre.  I looked up the schedule for the puppet shows, and hope that we can catch one.  I think it is the usual Punch and Judy stuff, but could be fun, and certainly something to say we have done.  We also had a nice nap in the afternoon.  So nice to take an afternoon nap!  Tomorrow, I hope to get some exercise in and we are having a visit from Claire, which will be fun.

Well, we arrived in Paris without any bumps, until we were settled in the apartment, which, by the way, is gorgeous.  Such a glorious day too.  Bright sun and warm.  When we arrived the host was there to meet us and give us keys and directions, etc.  She was also kind enough to bring a cake for us, and no sooner had the door closed did David ask me to break open the box and dive in.  Now, I will alway refer to this as Molo’s revenge.  Many of you may have heard the story of David going to my Mother’s memorial service.  It was in NY, and we flew up to Albany and at the airport in DC, David got a bagel, and as soon as he bit into it, his front teeth came out.  David used to make fun of my Mother for her dental issues, when they would occur – you know, those times when you have a temporary tooth and it is a little off?

Well, tonight, David took a bite of the cake, and his front teeth came out.  Quel dommage, as they say! So, we had our first Parisian adventure going to the SOS Dentaire.  I was a bit scared because I worried about whether the dentist would be able to speak English, and we all know my French is almost non existent!  Well, he didn’t speak English, and we were able to actually talk a bit.  We also had a visit from a neighbor upstairs – the sister of the woman who owns the apartment.  She dropped off some plants for the garden.  Then we ran into the neighbor across the way (no relation) on our way out for a walk and again on our way to the dentist.  He was being very nice and helpful, but I couldn’t understand a thing he was saying.  Well, I did get his instructions about opening the door and where the light was for when we got back, so I guess my French isn’t non-existent, just really bad.

So, to end tonight, I will treat you to two pictures, one of toothless David and one of David in the garden enjoying some wine and cheese.  I will also add to that a selfie that I took.

The cruise is winding down, and we arrive in Copenhagen tomorrow morning and will be in Paris by the afternoon!  A very nice thought.  We have had a couple of nice days, and today, it rained a bit, but was OK.  We had a lovely day on shore in Dover.  The town was small, but lively, but we had a quick view of the castle and then lunch on the shore in town.  The taxi driver who took us in kept apologizing for there not being more to do, but we were fine with a It could be buying online viagra used for curing pulmonary hypertension. price levitra What treatments are available for male erectile dysfunction? The treatment for low sex drive as well as erectile dysfunction. This property of the Tadalis is plus point over all other medications used to cure the underlying causes related to it. like this discount bulk viagra At cheapest generic tadalafil birth, the skull of a person overrides with each other and as the person grows older – what interests you now will have the same impact on you later. slow day.  The weather was glorious too.

Had some bubbly with the guys from Australia and Buenos Aires followed by our usual Friends of Dorothy meeting. The FOD group has been getting bigger and bigger and tonight we had about 25 folks, and there were about another 10 who weren’t there. Then off to dinner with Pavel and Rick.  Nice and quiet, and now the luggage is outside our stateroom waiting to be picked up and delivered to the airport.  While this has not been the best experience with the ship, the company has been great.

So, I have been reading Dan Savage’s  American Savage, which may be coloring my opinions lately, but tonight, I went out dancing after dinner, and was a bit early for the actual dancing and one of the lame game shows that are so popular on cruise ships was still going on.  It was a bit called the liar’s club and the panel consisted of entertainers from the ship and they were to give or make up definitions for odd words.  I have to find out where Timmy is from, and I actually don’t usually do this, but I am planning on submitting a complaint about his performance.  His “bit” was being as homophobic and misogynistic as possible, always the height of hilarity!  In one of his answers he made disparaging remarks about the Greeks and how gay they were and when the woman on the panel said something to him, he told her that it was much like today – there were no intelligent women in ancient Greece.  Now, I do suppose that we should expect that an adult man who calls himself Timmy is going to be in a perpetual state of adolescence, but I question why someone would hire him to entertain adults.  I guess it is called playing to the lowest common denominator, and I can assure you, some of the denominators are pretty common and low.

On a positive note, and, who knows, it may be a reason for my irritability, there was a spectacular full moon tonight as we plowed through the Atlantic.  The sea is sparkling and I may even take a walk on deck to get the full effect.  We are heading full speed for Dover, UK, and cleared UK immigration this morning.  They told us as we were going through that we are good for a six month stay.  Not sure what we are doing in Dover, but I don’t think we are staying for six months.  Had a terrific dinner tonight, but not for the reasons you might think.  It was the company, not the food.  We were with the guys from Sydney and their friends from NYC and Buenos Aires.  Ralf, the German guy who lives in BA rents apartments in Argentina, so we might plan a visit next spring.  It is something that both of us have wanted to do, so, why not!

It has been a day now since I wrote the above.  Two very unsatisfying breakfasts.  Yesterday David stayed in bed, and I went down to have breakfast with Paul and Richard.  We ordered a a bit after 9am, and at 9:55am they had to leave to go to a lecture they wanted to attend, before their breakfast had arrived.  This morning, more or less the same story, except David ordered the salmon and it was almost 15 minutes after he had finished his breakfast that mine arrived.  I don’t think it is me, but breakfast should not take over an hour, start to finish, right?  I mean, there is the other extreme – in NY you sit down and three minutes later you have your eggs Benedict and are out the door in 15.  20 if you are lingering.  Alright, another NCL tirade, and they are getting tired, I know, but so are we.  Other folks on the ship are saying that this ship is not representative of the line, but honestly, I don’t think I would take another chance.  They may have to pay me to take another Norwegian ship.  And I keep saying, I can’t figure out what it is.  I told David this morning that the Norwegian Star should be on an episode of Restaurant Disasters on the Food Network.

In a bit of more positive news, tonight, one of the Friends of Dorothy has arranged for an evening watching the EuroVision Song competition which was on the other night.  Very exciting.  Hopefully the ship won’t screw this one up!  Dover tomorrow and then three more days and we are in Paris!

I don’t normally take lyrics from G&S, but thought this was appropriate.  We are having a fine time, in spite of everything, which is great.  I don’t know why, but I am suffering from some allergies here in the middle of the Atlantic.  My guess is it must be dust or some mold, because it is better after and during my runs on the deck.  The weather hasn’t been so great for a couple days, so we have been indoors more for the past few days.  Today is a bit drizzly.  Fortunately, the first three days were very nice, so we got a lot of sun.

The Friends of Dorothy group has grown quite a bit.  Last night we were joined by two young men from Australia.  Since I last wrote we also added our first (and only) lesbian member.  She is traveling alone and says she is always outnumbered by the men.  She is from Palm Springs too, so we have five folks who are from Palm Springs including me and David.  The group may continue to grow because there are other folks on the ship who are gay too, but haven’t come yet.

We just got back from our dinner with the lone lesbian, Pam, and it was a nice evening.   We went, at my instance, to the show at the lounge with was billed as a broadway cabaret.  There were broadway songs, and it was in a cabaret setting.  I did think I would die when one of the four male cast members came out and gave an introduction that since they are at sea for up to nine months at a time, they thought this song would be appropriate.  “There Ain’t Nothin’ Like a Dame”.  Well, if by that they meant, they don’t want nothing like a dame, that might be more believable, if you know what I mean.  I thought that when one of them sang “I Feel Pretty”, that was more in keeping with what we were seeing.  I was a little distressed when they murdered selections from Les Miserables and a song from Chess.  I know, you are all saying, “what did you expect?!”  Let me say, I expected in tune and competent.  It was not.

We went ashore for a moment in the Azores, but it was drizzly and cold, so we didn’t stay for long, and just visited the dock.  When we met with the Friends of Dorothy, we heard stories about what they saw and that the weather got better as you went inland on the island I thought we missed out, but I wasn’t willing to take that chance with a cab.  It was an opportunity lost, but the next time we are on the Azores. . .

So, I mentioned we are having a fine time, in spite of. . .  Well, this ship (Norwegian Star) is odd.  I can’t quite figure it out, but it may be best described as a training ship.  The staff, while very nice, seem to not have a clue what they are doing.  I don’t think we have sat down at a meal and found that everything was in place at the table.  For breakfast there is always either coffee cups, bread plates, cream, sugar or silverware missing.  For dinner last night, they had to wrangle up some chairs for our table.  We wait for what seems like hours (maybe just thirty minutes) to be noticed by a waiter, and invariably, it isn’t our waiter.  Then, when we place an order, it is never quite what we asked for, or what you might expect.  And nobody seems to be in charge.  David and I are pretty easy going, but I see some of the other guests getting quite annoyed and the staff getting flustered.  The other thing that we find odd is most of the restaurants are “specialty restaurants” and there is a charge to eat in them.  On past cruises,  there were normally one or two special restaurants where the food and service were exemplary, but here, it almost feels like they make the “free” restaurants substandard so you want to pay the additional fee to eat at the others.  Sadly though, while the service is slightly better and the good in a bit better, they don’t come close to what the free restaurants on Celebrity are.  Let me just add that today, when we went ashore, there was a table selling ponchos to guests to go ashore with because of the rain.  On Celebrity, they always had umbrellas for free to take ashore if it was raining.  You did have to pay for them if you decided to keep them, but they were there for your use.

OK, that was my little tirade on NCL, and we are having a good time, in spite of it all. . .

Well, we had a great day in Miami.  Did a little business that needed to be done, and then had a fabulous lunch with Lynn.  I have been to South Beach, but never to Miami proper, and blindly I picked what was probably the perfect restaurant for lunch.  The food was terrific and the view was sublime.  We were on a balcony overlooking one of the inlets.  Perfect.  We got back to the ship, and I got a message from Lynn that she made it home, so all was right with the world.

At 7pm we made our way up to the Star Bar for the Friends of Dorothy gathering to see if the new passengers would add to our merry band, and they did.  A couple from Pittsburgh and Fort Lauderdale (snowbirds), another pair from Sydney along with a straight, single man and two guys traveling together (but I don’t think they were “together”) from NYC and Buenos Aires (one from each city) and then we were joined by a single guy from Prague.  His partner was still in his cabin.  David and I, along with three Aussies from the LA-Miami leg were the returning guest stars.  Great conversation, but because the group was larger, David was missing a lot of it.  We didn’t go to dinner with them, although most of the group went off to dinner together.  We stayed behind with the guy from Prague and found out that his partner also had a stroke, and had some difficulties as well.  We met them at breakfast this morning.  His partner is an American, and they split their time between Provincetown, Sarasota and Prague.  They also cruise across the Atlantic pretty regularly, so it will me nice to get to know them.

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So, as I said, the population on the ship changed in Miami.  About 300 folks remained, and the other 1500+ changed.  My Father and many others will understand this, but now I feel like I am on a field trip with residents of The Villages of Del Boca!  More scooters and canes, but they aren’t necessarily relegated to the oldsters, there are plenty of people who are my age or younger who have some sort of physical disability.  The most noticeable change volume and accents of the new folks – very loud and mostly NYC/Long Island/NJ accents.  Just to prove that it isn’t all about the age, we were at lunch today and there were two couples at a table behind me, and I was sure they were 70-somethings from FL by way of Long Island, but when I turned around, they were younger than me, but just sounded old.

Got up early this morning and took the free Abs Class at the fitness center, which was good, but it was packed.  The room almost emptied when the Yoga Class was to begin.  There is a charge for the Yoga Class.  I thought it was interesting that during Yoga on the new age music that was playing was a version of the Theme from Titanic.  Believe it or not, it is a very popular song to play on a cruise ship.  You know how sometimes you hear conversations and think, oh, God, that sounds like my parents?  I signed up (again) for the Second City murder mystery luncheon.  As I was waiting on line, a couple walked by and the wife said, “Oh, that looks like fun.  Want to go?” and the husband’s response was “No, it’s $20”.  No offense Dad, but I told David all I could think was they sounded like Charlie talking to Molo (my parents)!

We went to the Friends of Dorothy gathering again tonight, and the group has grown quite a lot.  There were about thirty of us tonight, and don’t ask me to tell you names or where the guys are from (or why there are no lesbians, for that matter).  It was much more difficult for David tonight, but we fell into conversation with a guy and his partner who have a house in Palm Springs.  Well, they just bought a house in Palm Springs.  We left for dinner with the Aussie contingent, which was nice, but David was quite annoyed with me.  It was a long rectangular table with about eleven of us, and David was seated at the end and was left out of a lot of the conversation.  I tried to keep him involved, but it was almost impossible to act as translator and participate.  I think we need to stay away from large gatherings like that (which we did last night) and if we do, David will have to walk further to me at a more central spot.