Yesterday we went on a quest with Claire and Theo. First, the trip to meet Claire was exciting. After a few obstacles, we used Autolib‘ for the first time! I reserved the car on my phone, and we went to pick it up, and it was there. I had some trouble finding the release for the trunk, so the wheelchair went into the back seat and then when I tried to start the car, it wasn’t working. I was determined to make this work, so I called, and got to someone who could speak English. It seems that if you take too long getting into the car, it won’t start for you, and with trying to figure out the trunk release and all, I had exceeded that limit. So, after locking and unlocking the car, it started just fine. Then I put the address in the GPS. It started giving me directions that I thought seemed odd, but began to follow them. It took about 20 minutes just to get by the Arab Market that is near our apartment, and then we were on our way. Past the Moulin Rouge and then I made a wrong turn and we took a short tour or detour of Montmartre, but then back heading the the right direction. Driving around the Place Concorde was an interesting experience. Sort of like a large parking lot with an obelisk in the middle and cars just sort of going where they wanted to. I was grateful that I just wanted to go straight ahead, because if I had to go in any other direction, I might not have made it. It took way too long to get to Claire, but we made it, safe and sound.
First, we headed off to get a taste of the best baguette in Paris for 2013 at Au Paradis du Gourmand. It is kind of close to Alex and Claire, and the folks there were really nice. The shop has a few steps up to the entrance, and even with the lunch rush starting (when we left, the line was quite long) they stopped to put out the ramp so I could wheel David up. We got the baguette, plus sandwiches for later. David was eyeing the croissants and sweets, but I told him that we were waiting on that.
Next, we headed to a bakery that was, sort of, not really, nearby to get croissants. Boulangerie Pichard was in the top five in the croissant contest for 2013. It was quite a walk, but Theo was napping, and it was good exercise for me and Claire. When we got there, we ordered croissants, pain du chocolate and a pistachio roll. And we got there just in time too, because as we left, they were rolling everything inside and closing for the day. And it was only a little after one. Then back to Claire and Alex’s and the sandwiches were great, as were the croissants.
After relaxing for a while with Claire, we got back into a car, and had a much easier trip back to the 10th arrondissement and home. David laid down for a few minutes, and I ran out first to get a chair for the shower. I wasn’t sure where I would be able to find one, and thought the Pharmacy would be a good place to start. I asked at the counter if she could speak English, and she said a little, but really, while better than my French, her English was not good, and I had to struggle with my French. She understood “Chaisse pour le douche”, and we were off to the races. They didn’t have one, but would have it “demain”, and I selected the one that I thought would work. When I picked the chair up, “aujourd’hui” the man behind the counter asked if I was American and shared that he loved Obama. I told him that I did too!
After the Pharmacy, I went to the market just down the street. It was very nice and I picked up some pates to go with the baguette we had, and thought that might be dinner. We had a pretty big lunch with the sandwiches. I had to mangle some more French to order, but got what I wanted, which was great. Lots of pointing and gesturing, obviously. Then home. We ate and then went to be relatively early, but not before I figured out how to change the language on the TV from French to English. We watched Friends, The Big Bang and La Petite Maison dans le Prairie. Not sure if it was really worth the trouble.
This morning, I slept later than normal, and we got a late start, but strolled around the Marais for a while. Took the bus down, and drove a car back. Both trips were very good. It rained a little and we stopped at a little bar for lunch, and felt like we were very typique. There wasn’t a tourist in sight, and the waiter spoke no English. Ordering food and wine (particularly wine) is pretty easy for me. Not really sure what we had but there were frites involved and that is OK with me!
Tonight we went to the ballet at the Palais Garnier, which was really spectacular. Our seats were perfect, and the only things that were missing were fans and opera gloves. There were three new ballets, and the first and third were good. The second, not so much. There was no music, and the dancers performed in front of four screens where photos were projected and changed during the dance. I found the pictures distracting and honestly, didn’t see much of the dancing. The first had smoke puffing form spots on the floor, and the dancing, at moments, reminded me of Elaine’s dancing in Seinfeld or Ed Grimley’s happy dance. I mean this in the best possible way. The last one though was really beautiful. First the set was very effective. There was a structure that hung over the stage that looked like a huge, floating, amorphous sheet that would move during the dance and three traps in the floor that would raise and lower the dancers and singers. The music was Monteverdi, and was performed A capella by a group of singers who were also involved in the performance. There were also a few moments in the dance when the dancers would disappear from the stage through the traps and they would be projected on the stage, live, and perform under the stage. Very interesting and clever.
Anyway, a great evening, and here are some pictures.
I am having such a god time in Franc, thanks to the blog, the pictures, the dance criticism … the whole thing. Thanks for bringing me along on this adventure!! Susan Willens