Sketch for the Day

An elderly couple walked down the cobbled street rugged up against the cold but as the sun peeped through the clouds, their bodies cast shadows behind them.

The Morning Walk

Tuesday saw me, at Sue's request to once again run down the street to purchase the baguette for brekkie. I refrained from the vegemite this time opting for jam.

The weather here is still, well spring coming out of winter with the day being unpredictable. Sunshine, rain, sometimes windy - much the same as Melbourne. If you don't like the weather, wait a moment and it will change.
We decided on a relaxing start to the day leaving at 9.30 am for our discovery walk of Paris. We had planned to discover one of the covered hallways at the end of our street. We have them in Melbourne and we call them arcades. This one had interesting little shops with some esoteric art being displayed.

Covered hallways of inner Paris "Passage du Grand Cerf"

Some of the most interesting sights are above eye level.

One door knob is just a door knob but a basket full, now there's a different concept.

It's always good practice to draw the shades before putting on your jewellery.

Fathers and sons - an exhibition in the underground of Les Halles

In the atrium of Les Halles this sculpture appeared - I stood studying it for a while and took a different view of it in this next pic.

I guess it is all about just how you view life generally, oui!!!

What is graffiti and what is street art?

This cat appeared in various locations on our walk - could it been the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. Johnny Depp seemed to be on posters allover Paris.

A couple of years ago I bought one of these guys in Rocamadour in the Dordogne. Now he has a new team member.

The Arvo (afternoon) Bike Ride

In the mid arvo, the weather was looking good so I chucked on the lycra for a ride around town. It's not too hard to ride around Paris, it's just that I get so bloody lost all the time. I have no idea where I went or how I got back home. You see, I have a southern hemisphere internal GPS. I have never been lost in Melbourne. Here in Paris, everything is upside down. Yes, I know, it's us who are from a land downunder. I did happen to stumble across a Fixie and Classic bike shop which we found last year. It serves hot chocolate.

When I first started racing a bike with Zeus equipment was common.

Shopping and the Evening Meal

After a big day, it was nice to relax in front of the tele with a few vins, a great meal finishing with a brewed coffee. Our apartment is very comfortable with a few DVDs and on this occasion we watched a French movie that we had seen at home. In English, it was called, "Welome to the Schticks", in French, "Bienvenue chev les CH'TIS" with an actor we enjoy, Dany Boon.

Last time we saw it was with sub-titles but not this time. Regardless, it was no less enjoyable and we found ourselves laughing.

Three wines from the regions of the Longuedoc Minervoir, Bordeaux and Cahor in the Dordogne. It's fun to taste the wines from the various regions of France.

Sue's new toy - a julienne cutter

Blood red oranges that Sue used for the sauce with the canard. These are not common back home, certainly not in the usual Marche.

What more can I say but, Magnificent - check out my plate below, and I ate Sue's left overs.

Sue has her say!!!

Things I have discovered or rediscovered about Paris

1. Bring a good hair conditioner - the water here is so hard it turns my hair to steel wool, and gets very big, as in 80's "big hair"

2. People are generally very helpful. If you stop on the street to look at a map, someone will offer you assistance.

3. It's just as easy to get lost here as it is at home - bugger! Still no sense of direction.

4. Although a big city with it's share of big city problems it is a very beautiful place to be.

Rue Montorgueil is an amazing foodie street. Several boucheries, boulangeries, wine shops, fromageries (you can smell them from a distance - in a nice way, kind of), as well as flower shops and a few smallish supermarkets. The fruit shops have amazing displays and the produce looks great.

It has been fun to decide what to buy.

Prices vary greatly, but to us Aussies, always on the side of expensive.

I looked to buy duck breasts yesterday. From  the butcher, they were over 22 euro per kg, and as they are large that was a bit ouch.  At the superU, they were on special in a pack of 3 for under 7 euro the lot, which is a huge price difference.  That meant one each for dinner, cooked with a blood orange sauce, yum, and one left to make into a warm salad another time. Can't argue with that price.

The weather here is unpredictable as Leon said, but unfailingly cold. We have been caught in the rain a couple of times, and this morning I got caught in a short but heavy hail squall. In between times the sun comes out and you can be fooled into thinking it's fined up. Wrong though. Very much like Melbourne in that respect.

Today is Leon's last day at 59! Poor old codger. Oh well, I'd better go and find his slippers and warm shawl. Take care.

Tomorrow:

Leon goes for a ride with his two Paris friends and then Sue takes Leon to Ile de la Cite and Ile Saint-Louis