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!