May 10, 2009 —Sunday Afternoon

Getting back to my apartment after my run, it was time to learn some more french, or take a shower, or make breakfast. The shower took precedence but Katherine's moan for food reminded me that we had bought some of those really fresh baguettes from a boulangerie the day before but didn't eat. We split the baguette with a cup of hot Earl Grey tea. Tres bon. But what to do now?

We had been shopping at our local Monoprix [a large multi-story department store that sells fresh food and veg] but decided to find one of those discount stores either ALDI or LIDL. Neither had a store close to us but there was a LIDL about 2.8 km north of us near the Gare du Nord. So since Katherine hadn't exercised today, we decided to walk.

We took the direct path; north on rue St. Jacques which passes over the Petite Pont and is directly in front of Notre Dame. The street is straight but the name changes several times. We passed the George Pompidou Museum, the Saint Martin pedestrian shopping area, and ultimately found ourselves lost in front of La Gare de L'Est. We had come too far north and missed rue Sebastopol. A brief look at the map and two left turns and voila...back on track.

LIDL however was closed and we decided that it was too far away for any real shopping anyway. Walking back we decided to get a sandwich, but where? I was looking for a piscine to do my daily mile swim. I knew there was one in Les Halles so that's where we would find sandwiches. Within another mile we were there....a huge pedestrian area, hundreds of shops, restaurants and tourists. But first we had to find the swimming pool. Beautiful, 50m pool with 12 swimming lanes but alas, no 3 month membership; only a 10 pack for 28 euro....still not bad.

Then we started looking for sandwiches but decided to walk the rest of the way home instead. What a walk. We were only about a mile away, slightly lost, when Katherine said we should find the Louvre. Two quick blocks and two quick turns and there was the Louvre. Even better, the Louvre has a pedestrian walkway, right through its center. Passing through the Louvre arches we came out onto the Seine and the Francois Mitterand pedestrian bridge over the Seine. It was loaded with people of all ages; some sitting on the bridge's wooden planks, some on its benches, some eating food from their own houses, some eating those baguettes we didn't get, some smoking cigarettes, some drinking wine, some hugging, some kissing, everybody, however, soaking up the surroundings.

Getting to the other side, there was a photo shoot. A Japanese woman all decked out in a wild kimono-like dress. We're sure this picture will end up in some high end fashion mag. But hunger made us push on quickly. We passed several of the restaurants on our list of "must eat here". And they menu showed them not to be very expensive. We took a "short cut" which brought us around the back to rue St. Michel. We stopped into a Basque sausage shop, giving out samples of course. That decided it for us....Basque sausage, a baguette, and a beer. That would be our snack for today. And as I opened the beers in our apartment, cut the sausage and cheese, Katherine set the table with some bread and mustard. C'est magnifique.

But now, after relaxing for about 3 hours, it's time for me to make the dinner. Some fresh veggies we bought at the open market and some d'agneau that we got at our local boucherie. A bottle of the local chardonnay that we got for a pittance and can't get in the States for any price and that's our dinner.