life in the old lane

Desperate times call for extreme measures. I like espresso. Actually I love espresso. But this evening I NEEDED more.

Wracked up 7.25 miles today. Including my COFFEE run. I was just out wandering about. Looking in shop windows. Which I adore doing.  I pasted up buying a 500 sheet pack of origami paper because I don’t actually need more folding paper and I don’t want to lug it around for 2 more weeks.  

So, let’s window shop.

Colorful Cords sells fancy dress electrical cords for your pendant lights. No shit. That’s what the sell. 

This one is for you Sherry. They also sold practice skirts. Which the saleswoman allowed as how made up the most of their business since young women wear them like real skirts.

 I walked by a grocery store that had a bouncer. Now, I know that I am not going to get past the bouncer at Channel, but I decided that I might be able to bluff my way into a grocery store. I did. I bought a sandwich for lunch and some stunningly expensive cherries. 

Still wanted to stop by Notre Dame.

If anyone can put her back together it’s the French. Or the Japanese. We Americans would have just 3D printed a new one. 

The hospital across the street where I used to stay in Paris wouldn’t let me in. But the did offer me a free Covid test. 

To recap. Windows shopping in Paris is great.

This was a shop that only sold sleepwear. Exquisite sleepwear.  

 I was never exquisite and am way past my risqué days. But, it’s still fun to look and remember when. 

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This morning I headed out on a urban hike. The plan was to walk slightly up hill to Batignolles and then drift back down to Notre Dame. It didn’t happen like that. The old bat wore out. So, I came home. To the sans hot water hotel. The note (in French) said the city was shutting down the hot water for repairs to the system. That made no sense to me. Well, according to Google there are two large hot water aquifers under Paris and the city provides hot water, most of the time, to residents and businesses. Who knew? I sure didn’t.  

so, on to the urban hike.

The first  thing that amused me were the aforementioned shoes. But wait.

On the way up to Batignolles, I pass several blocks of dusty shops devoted to dusty old musical instruments.

And 

Heading down I pass a tiny urban grocery. Gotta go in for a sandwich.

Swinging into the very high rent district. I find,

You all know where this is headed.

Wandering down towards the river, I see a museum. 

Nicely dressed young women, some gay guys, and me. I really enjoyed it. 

Bet you know where I went to eat my ham and butter sandwich.

I ate my lunch surrounded by school kids. And headed out to pay respects to Our Lady. But, I only made it as far as the cool footbridge over the Seine that I knew would lead me to my lodgings on 15 minutes.

My cold is no worse so I count that as a win.

And the hike was 7.23 miles. Not too shabby for 78 going on dead.

 

The good news is I don’t have Covid.  The bad news is that I have a crappy cold/sinus infection.  And, I feel shitty. Hopefully, I will be lots better by Saturday when the barge trip starts.  

Felt cruddy this morning, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t Covid. So, I headed out.  Out to the Orangery Museum. The entire museum was built to house 8 HUGE water Lilly panels by Claude Monet.

 I am sorry, I didn’t feel the love. Fortunately, there were some lesser impressionists pieces in the basement that I was interested in. 

Decided that I would ride the Batobus up and down the Seine instead of walking it. This would be a concession to illness and age.

I got a two day Batobus ticket. I plan on being much healthier by Wednesday! The Batobus bus is just that. No tour guides,no food, no bathrooms. Just nine stops in a big circle.

I got off at the Zoo.

Three hours later, I came back and he was trimming the same bush!

I went to La Ménagerie, the zoo of the Jardin des Plantes. It isn’t the main zoo. But it is the oldest zoo and it has some awesome snow leopards.

It was a fine little zoo. And about all I was up for today.  

Had a fine sandwich at the zoo. Took the Batobus back to the general area of the hotel, had a nap, took my Covid test, did the blog. Don’t feel like going out for dinner. Don’t think I will waste away if I miss one meal. 

Fortunately, my travel mojo returned overnight. 11:30 I was at the station for my 13:30 train to Paris.  40,000 plus ticketless Liverpool fans apparently went to Paris for a match against Spain. Spain won but the returning fans appeared be happy or maybe still drunk.

The train to Paris was only a little over two hours.  I had a little lunch and bang we arrived.  

It was a nice afternoon, so I decided to walk to my hotel. It took about and hour. 

Along the way I was always happy to see an unmistakable landmark that confirmed that I was going the correct way.

 I was overjoyed to turn the corner and see the hotel.  It is a sweet little hotel. The front desk people speak excellent English. it is sort of in an alley, but the location is super.

I walked 5 miles today and ate a whole lot less. Something about being fed giant plates of food 3 times a day that makes eating less seem like a real treat.

well it is approaching 10pm. Going to inspect the map of Paris and think about what to do tomorrow. Then off to sleep. 

It is 10:37 pm. Just got back from dinner. Totally exhausted.  Leaving for Paris at 9:30 tomorrow morning.  I feel like I should be checking into a sanatorium for a cure.  Hoping for a good night’s sleep.  And a new perky self tomorrow morning.  

Today’s best dish was this very fine “starter”. With the bread, it was more than enough for the entire meal. But there were two more courses.

Sally and I ditched the group meal and opted for a private meal of booze and excellent hummus. I had had too much togetherness and Sally humored me.

Packing up and heading out to another hotel tomorrow. Then I go to Paris on Sunday. If I can figure out how to get to the correct train station. And if I make it through two more gardens.  

Amd finally, the day is a wrap with the best chocolate brownie ever, 

And the brownie was huge. I was doubting that the restaurant deserved it’s Michelin star.  Then the brownie arrived.  

Two more days of the tour. Then it is off on my own for a few days before the barge trip.

A very long day. And it ended in a new, elegant but less than efficient hotel. It took two and a half hours for a preordered dinner.  Well past my bedtime. 

Towards the end of the day, Sally and I find ourselves hiding in the bushes during a cloud burst. I was soaked. Thank goodness for heated towel racks. Dried my clothes in a jiffy.

It was crazy crowded.  Rather like a celebration in Tokyo.  

Dessert came with directions about how to eat it. Dessert was two scones and 4 little pastries each. Moderation only leads to long life.  

they had flowers. 

Tomorrow. It is on the tour bus to the Cotswolds. Whatever a Cotswold is.

First half of the day was pretour.

Second half of the day was tour time,  all things considered, I liked the first half of the better. But I would be hard pressed to find fault with the food,  or drink.

Breakfast at 6:30am tomorrow. Then off to spend all day at a flower show. With booze at 6:00pm.  A very long day.

There is not enough WiFi or Cellular to get today’s images out of the basement.  Which is unfortunate, because today was a great day to be a photographer in London.

 It was sunny and warm. Businesses were being wrapped in flowers.  Expensive automobiles prowled the streets. Young women in tiny summer frocks were all long legs and giggly bosoms.

It was a great day. For me the UK part of the trip is already a winner.

Also no nose bleed, passed Covid test,. Great dinner. And a pink gin. How much more British can I get?

Monday morning. Got signal. So pictures. 

 

We made appointments for Covid tests tomorrow. And found another person who is on our tour.

Bummer is when I returned to my basement room this evening I got one of my periodic nosebleeds.  It is more or less stopped if I don’t get a sneezing fit and stay out of the water.  But, I am concerned about the Covid test.  Flunking it or starting up the nosebleed.

wreckage of the future peg wreckage of the future.