Bourg - Day 2

09-02: We decided after doing laundry and settling in, we would like to eat lunch out before heading to the grocery store for supplies. We did quite a bit of research only to find out all restaurants but Bourg’Joie close about 1p and don’t open again until 6 or 7. We didn’t want to go shopping when we are hungry and we have no food (except crackers) so de l we started out for Bourg’Joie. To our surprise, just on the corner was a small café that was open. It is called Le Boudoir l’oeil ecoute. They have a small but tasty menu. It seems they specialize in sweets, pastry, ice cream, etc. However, they have a few salads and the standard croque monsieur, which is what we had. We couldn’t leave without trying the ice cream for me and a sweet crêpe for Stuart. Both delicious of course. Now we are off to Carrefour for our first supply of groceries. All the basics and a few other things. We are all set for at least a week. Tomorrow night we will go to the home of Fanny and Paul as we have been invited for dinner. That should be fun and at least we will see our little farm house then and what it looks like in September. I probably won’t post a blog daily as we don’t have many plans here. We do plan to relax. Stuart has things he needs to do on his laptop and I will spend my time working on albums. 

Paris to Bourg by TGV

09-01: Last night we got some disappointing news from our hosts Fanny and Paul. We will not be staying in the Mombrier cottage but in an apartment, they also host in Bourg. Now that might be good news to most people but we were so looking forward to the rustic countryside home. She booked us for the apartment and not the cottage, and now it cannot be changed. 

We bid farewell to Paris and boarded our train to Bordeaux. The trip was uneventful passing many fields of corn and other farming along the way. Small communities and even larger ones are seen from the track but further away. As usual we had a hard time finding the rental car area. Once we did, it took at least 30 minutes to secure the car, but I think a good portion of that was “chatting” about our destination in Bourg. Anyway, off to find the car and then the extended search on level 5 of that area. We finally secured the car and made our way to Bourg. Of course, that was after I navigated us back to the train station! Ugh. We drove into the heart of the small town and found the apartment immediately. Sadly, it is a narrow, winding stairway up to our 1^st floor apartment. Stuart hauled the suitcases up, what a blessing. It is a nice enough place, and we like this little town. We often drove the 10 minutes here from Mombrier to eat or for the Sunday market. There is a nice wine shop near us, but pricey. We will have plenty of opportunities to check out the restaurants here. Previously we only dined at Bourg’Joie, which was our favorite café-bar back in 2024. There were different servers last night for our dinner. We noticed the Italian restaurant, owned by a friend of Fanny’s was now a Kebab restaurant. That is disappointing as we enjoyed pizza there more than once! Anyway, we had each had a salad at Joie and enjoyed some wine. We took the very short walk back to the apartment, past the now-closed bakery, and began the unpacking process. After that, a bit of Rummikub and off to bed. Travel days can be exhausting. 

A bit blurry but a glimpse of the France along the way to Bordeaux.

Paris - Day 9

08-31: Today after some housekeeping at the apartment, we took our last stroll to Rue Cler we decided to have the hamburger at Roussillon. The one I had the other day was so good, we were not disappointed. Rue Cler is pretty quiet on Sunday and Monday but we still enjoyed it. We had a brief rain shower while eating lunch then we walked down to the famous historic candy and chocolate shop, Å la Mére de Famille, located at 35 rue Cler. Founded originally in 1761, it is known as the oldest sweet shop in Paris, bringing its traditional old-time charm and classic packaging to the Rue Cler neighborhood. It is a lovely shop! From there we walked, as planned, back to Café du Marche for dessert. We shared a Crème Brûlée and enjoyed a glass of Prosecco as a special treat on our last full day in Paris.

All of that was delightful but the reality of packing up and heading out tomorrow morning looms in our future! We played a few games of cards, packed, took a 30-minute nap, ate our leftovers for dinner and called it a night. 

Paris - Day 8

08-30: Today it was relaxing and working on photos for me. This evening is our Seine River Dinner Cruise. It was interesting that my FB post brought up the same exact cruise on the same exact day 4 years ago with June! Stuart planned to walk over to Rue Cler to get a gift for our hosts in Mombrier but he never got to it. We are looking forward to the month there. We will relax, visit wineries, put some plans in place for our Grand South America cruise, and I will hope to catch up on the album for this trip. We went to the dinner cruise early to see the Eiffel Tower area and walk around a little bit. We were shocked when we discovered it's all walled In now you have to go through security to even walk around or beneath it. Where there used to be grass, picnickers, and even lovers sharing a kiss it's now blacktop! It was sad for us to see. I guess they have to do that in our day of bomb threats, etc. It was so disappointing to see, some of the charm is certainly gone. I'm glad I saw it when it was grassy underneath and felt so much more welcoming and approachable. The dinner cruise was nice, but not like I remember it. Regardless, we enjoyed the food and sites. On the way back we already decided we wanted to take a pedicab back if possible. As we disembarked, we were quickly approached by all sorts of taxis and pedicab drivers. When it came to the pedicab the man offered a ride to “anywhere” for €5. We wondered why it was so cheap but said where we wanted to go and we would pay €10. He agreed and then we are in the pedicab starting and he says his supervisor needed to follow him. Another red flag, but we are already moving toward home. When we arrived, which was a 5-minute ride, the supervisor pulled up right beside him. It almost blocked my way off the vehicle but I did push my way through. Stuart said “go” and I headed to the door. They then told him they only take cards, and he had to hand over a card. NO. Stuart told them we agreed on €10 and here it is. He put down the €10 and walked away. We avoided that scam BUT we should have been wise enough not to consider such a cheap ride! Anyway, another lessoned learned. Both in London and here in Paris we have not seen pickpockets operating and we have felt safe at all times. Of course, we are not out on the streets late at night and extra watchful in more touristy areas.

I read later that in Paris pedicabs are regulated but that said, many also operate independently. I guess if you want to be certain of your ride you should contact a regulated company and set up a pick up place and time.