Paris - Day 7

08-29: Today we had the pleasure of meeting Don and Lisa for lunch at Café du Marche, located on Rue Cler. Their hotel is just steps from Rue Cler. We have a 10-minute walk, so not too bad! We had a lovely lunch. They fly home tomorrow after being in France for 2 weeks. From lunch we headed to some appointments we made yesterday. I got my nails done and Stuart had a Thai massage. We were going to walk back to Rue Cler to get our Mombrier friends some candy from a shop we saw, but we were tired and headed back to the apartment. We might do that tomorrow or Monday, if the store is open. We played cards, did laundry, and had our quiche for dinner.

Paris - Day 6

08-28: It is raining this morning, not as hard as it did last night waiting for the cabaret to open. We had tickets for two museums today; we only made it to one. I blame it on too much rich food and wine! Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed the L’Orangerie Museum. The ground floor is dedicated to Monet’s Water Lily collection. These are the huge painting he did while in Giverny. These are always enjoyable to see and experience. Downstairs they have a collection of Master Painters: Works by prominent artists including Paul Cézanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, and André Derain. We were undecided about what to do so we went for our usual choice of Rue Cler. When we arrived in our Uber, it still wasn’t raining so we had a nice walk around the area. We stopped at Maison Julien to get a couple quiche for tomorrow. We love this bustling street in the 7th arrondissement. It was and still is one of the best foodie streets in Paris. Celebrated cook and author Julia Child was a regular! She would come here to pick up her ingredients – and flirt with her favorite butcher. “Every woman must kiss her butcher,” she quipped. Of course, much has changed since Julia’s post-war Paris, but rue Cler has maintained its gourmet credentials. It is highlighted in Rick Steves books, which is when we heard about it back in 2009. We walked on and decided to stop for a beverage at Le Roussillon restaurant. It claims to be a stone’s throw away from the Eiffel Tower. I have never seen anyone throw a stone that far. But it is close by, just a 15-minute walk. The food smelled so good we got hungry and ended up eating an early dinner there. It was delicious! Stuart had the French Onion Soup and I had the Cheese Burger. France is one of the few places you can get a medium-rare burger! Another lovely day in Paris! Eiffel Tower view from L’Orangerie Museum.

Paris - Day 5

08-27: It is cooler today, thankful for that. I don’t think coming to Paris in June or July, maybe even August should be a future plan. We came here the last week of August and it isn’t bad. People are still talking about the weather 2-3-4 weeks ago and how unbearable it was.  We relaxed this morning, not much pain free energy for me. For lunch we stayed in lunch as we have some groceries to eat.

We left in an Uber with plenty of time to get to the cabaret. It said come early to get the best seats. At the moment of our arrival, it started pouring down rain and I mean pouring. The Cabaret is not open yet and we are sort of standing in on the sidewalk getting drenched. We popped into a nearby bar to await opening. La Novelle Eve is the name of the Cabaret and it is in the 9th arrondissement. There are a lot of sex shops in this area. However, the advertisement for the Cabaret said it was suitable for children 8 and above. However, I don’t think so, but we are in France. Service was impeccable and the food was delicious. Stuart had an appetizer of shrimp and I had a Caprese sort of tomato salad. For our main we both chose the steak and it did not disappoint. The sides with the steak were mashed potatoes and zucchini, with the ever-present Bearnaise sauce. We each had the dessert, his was orange and mine was chocolate. We both liked his orange one the best. I forgot to mention upon arrival we were served a glass of champagne and there were 2 bottles of wine on our table as well. It is time for the show to start so no further photos can be taken. It was a loud and lively show and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Between the dancing there were a couple of other acts. Of the extras was a juggler, an aerialist, and a sort of mime. All were entertaining. We really enjoyed the evening though it is geared toward the men in the audience with the topless dancing, etc. All the men wore shirts and trousers – not a speedo to be found! An Uber back to our apartment, a game of cards, and we called it a night.

Paris - Day 4

08-26: Today we have a food walking tour called NO DIET food tour. We got a deal on this tour from Airbnb. For booking our stay, they gave us $50 off of a selection of tours, we chose this. We took an Uber to the starting point in the 4^th Arrondissement getting there a little early. Introduction were made and we headed out. Our first stop was at Chez Haana where they made special falafels for us but more like little meatball combination so freshly made just for us very tasty. Next stop a French cream puff, Dunes Blanches, followed by a cheese tasting, next was ice cream followed by a burger portion with fries. I’ve tasted better burgers but it was fine. We ate the burger in a little secret garden called Anne Frank’s Garden. There is a tree growing there that was sprouted from the one Anne looked at outside her window in Amsterdam. We headed out for two more stops, but I was beat. It is muggy at 86˚F and about 2 miles, I was done. We are thankful it isn't any hotter than it is. We left the tour at this point. It was fun and tasty. Our guide Celia was knowledgeable and entertaining. I learned about the some of the buildings and how they were built with the wealthiest people living on the lower floors (fewer steps). Some of these built in the 17-1800’s must be replastered every 25 years to be sure they are safe. Old plaster is removed, boards are checked, and new plaster reapplied. We are tired. I am exhausted but we had a good day. 

This photo is an old wall of the City of Paris maybe from the 14-1600's. The walls changed as the city expanded of course, until no more walls.