Paris in the Spring Time

The scaffolding and tarp over our apartment came down just in the nick of time. We had a week of absolutely beautiful weather!

Two Fridays ago, Melanie and I took advantage of a warm clear morning by getting up early and walking across the Seine to get a cup of coffee. As we passed through the the Jardin des Tuileries I snapped the picture below; you can see the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

The famous Tuileries Garden is located between the Louvre Museum and the Place de la Concorde

I took a picture of the Seine as we were crossing the bridge near the Louvre: 

Crossing the Seine early on a Friday morning

The little coffee shop we stopped at had one of the best croissants I've ever eaten. Of course, food always seems to taste better after a little exercise, early in the morning, when you're hanging out with your best friend.

The next day, following a suggestion from my new workmate Victor, Melanie and I took an Uber to the Canal Saint-Martin. This is a beautiful area which has apparently been a location used in many movies, including one of my all-time favorites: "Amelie" (or as it's known here in France: "Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain").

The Canal Saint-Martin connects the Canal de l'Ourcq to the river Seine

It was around noon when we arrived, so we stopped at a little grocery store and picked up some supplies for a Parisian-style picnic:

Wine, a fresh baguette, cheese, and foie gras. Perfect!

The canal is about 4.5 km long and runs underground between Bastille and République

We sat by the canal for three or four hours, sipping our wine, nibbling our cheese, and watching the ducks and boats float past us. It was very relaxing.

Before heading home we stopped at a Spanish Tapas restaurant for drinks and a snack.

We had a small pitcher of Sangria and some garlic potatoes with a spicy sauce

Back at the apartment we rested for a few hours, then headed out for a late dinner at "Habemus", which is only about 40 feet from our apartment. It's a place we've been wanting to try for ages, but it's always too crowded during the week. Fortunately, they had a seat open outside and we enjoyed a delicious meal... at a very reasonable price!

Duroc pork with crispy vegetables and purple potatoes

Melanie's rib steak was one of the best she's had in France!

The following week I hurried downstairs after work so we could talk to Orange about Melanie's cell phone. We worked things out pretty quickly and as it was still light out we decided to stop by a restaurant called: "Le Grand Café Capucines". Interestingly, we realized this was the same place we had dinner on the last night of our first trip to Paris!

We were a bit more adventurous with our dining choices this time:

Melanie ordered steak tartare and frites, I had the lamb kidneys in a wine sauce

Both our dinners were delicious, though the texture of the raw steak was a little difficult for Melanie to stomach.

As I said, the weather has been amazing. One day last week it was so calm the jet trails didn't dissipate as fast as normal. I took this picture from our balcony:

There are so many planes flying over (or near) Paris every day!

To take advantage of the weather I ordered a wooden table that hangs on the balcony railing. It works great, and Melanie spent the next day sitting in the sun with a glass of wine, some cheese, and a good book. The next day I picked up some Hawaiian salads from the new "Poké Bar" near our apartment and we sat outside while we ate.

Next month we head back to the United States for our daughter Autumn's wedding. I have mixed emotions about this. It's going to be very difficult for me to "give her away".  :-(

Paris Mole People

Over six months ago we noticed a notification near the entrance to our apartment. It was in French, so naturally we had no idea what it said, <sigh>, but after a quick Google translation we learned that our building was due for a renovation.

We didn't really know what to expect but it didn't sound like a bad thing... right? RIGHT???

A few days later workmen appeared and that's when the fun began. Over the next several weeks they CLANGED and CLUNKED and HACKED together a six story high metal scaffolding, and covered it with an enormous dirty tarp. Our lovely, relatively quiet, bright and airy Parisian apartment suddenly became a den of darkness, strange smells, pervasive masonry dust, and cacophonous commotion.

This mysterious renovation project slowly transformed us from happy expats into something else... something else entirely...

Coming soon to a theater near you!

We really like our apartment, so it was a tough transition for us, especially for Melanie who is in the apartment all day while I'm at work.

It's a big building, but it took much longer to complete all the work than we expected. For several weeks in a row Melanie was assaulted by horrible grinding and crunching sounds that would emanate from all corners, and she could see, and hear, dozens of workmen hammering and shouting, and drilling and grinding and then... nothing. Everyone would be gone for a week or two. Then they would be back and the pandemonium would begin again.

Here's what it looked like from the outside

Our apartment is on the top floor... hidden behind the scaffolding and canvas

A few weeks ago, Melanie heard a knock on the window and after a few moments of confusion she peeked outside. They were painting and they needed to come inside the apartment to finish the job.

Melanie said the painter was very nice

After the work was finished the painter suddenly got a stricken look on his face as he realized he had painted himself into the apartment... he couldn't get back outside. Sheepishly, in broken English, he asked if he could go through the apartment to the elevator. Naturally, Melanie said: "Mais, oui!"

On the bright side, Melanie and I realized how fortunate we were that they did the work in the Winter months, and not during the nice weather and the heat of the summer. (Not being able to keep the balcony doors open on hot days would have been torturous.)

Earlier this week, after nearly seven months of cocoon-like isolation, we began to hear a new sound. What was this? Could it be? Could they finally be wrapping things up?

As I headed off to work I snapped this shot:

Are they taking down the scaffolding???

While I was at work Melanie sent me this picture. I nearly cried.

It's so exciting to have our balcony back; and the building looks great! We're talking about getting a hanging table to hook onto the railing, that way we can eat out on the balcony on warm evenings!

It's shaping up to be a great summer in Paris!