Today started out with a typical French breakfast, and mingling over a cup of coffee. Thomas was at work and Anne was going to take us to Versailles. When we left the weather was good. I even brought sunglasses and left the rain gear at the apartment. Bad idea. As soon as we got in the car, the rain started and progressively got worse. It was a short drive to Versailles, but once we got there, it was raining and we were in search of a parking spot for the car. There were people everywhere and we got a glimpse of the grounds. It is beyond giant! The only problem is, there was not a giant parking lot to go along with the giant grounds. After driving around for a bit seeing the massive amount of tourists, we decided it was a bad idea to try and go. We turned the car around and agreed that we need to see this place on a better day and possibly by train. We got a little behind in the morning and got a later departure than we planned. Oh well. Versaille will have to wait until another day.
On the way back to Paris, we stopped by a small mall with a water park attached. It looked awesome and I was tempted to buy a skimpy bathing suit out of the vending machine and take a dip. However, we were in search of a new tire and tube for Anne's bike. Unlike stores in the States, this sporting goods store had stuff for equestrian, soccer, ballet, cycling, skiing, etc. all in one place. And, a huge selection for each sport. Our mission of finding the bicycle stuff was accomplished easily and we then drove back to the apartment.
I took a little nap. Thomas came home. Then, we went for a journey to the Sacre Coeur basilica and a stop at a camera shop. The camera shop turned out to be a wonderful stop. It was similar to a Best Buy in the USA. I grabbed a Nikon shockproof/waterproof camera. The optics are not as good as my Canon S100, but this camera will fill a different purpose. Sorry about the funny image quality on the pics to come, but its not that bad.
After the basilica we headed deeper into the Montmartre neighborhood. This is the bohemian artist colony of days past, and still looks like it did 100 years ago. Most of the famous Parisian artists lived here and kept their studios. Here you can still rent flats, but they are now trendy and expensive. Thomas took us on the Amelie Poulanc tour, as he called it, where the movie Amelie was filmed. It was interesting and totally different from the section of Paris where we are staying. We also walked past the Palais Garnier, the Royal Opera house. To our surprise, out front was a brass band playing some wild party music. How fitting? Inside is some of the most refined music, while outside was a mad musical frenzy. Continuing on the trip, we cruised in front of the Moulan Rouge and then right I front of Thomas and Anne's high school. They met there when they were only 12 years old. Funny though, it is just a few hundred meters from the Moulan Rouge and other adult entertainment clubs. Crazy! Thomas could not pass up the cheese cake display at one of his favorite places, so we got 4 pieces and headed home.
I have to say a little something else about the food here..... Food drives the French. Tonight's dinner I knew would be fish, and Anne had been planning it for a while. The fish was out to defrost for the day, and she has been talking about how she would prepare it. It is the first thing on her mind. Thomas and Anne almost always know what the next meal will be and how it will be prepared. It is the highlight of their day. When it is prepared, each time it is a work of art. Dinner tonight was phenomenal! I did not even know what I have been missing out on. Food will never be the same after visiting France.
Oh yeah, we also made our own homemade peanut butter that night.
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment