PART TWO: PAM & JAMIE IN PARIS

A couple of weeks after our return to the City Of Light, my brother Jamie & his wife Pam arrived for a five-day visit.
No jet-lag naps for these two. Cameras & water bottles in hand, we hit the ground running.


Marti had taken the run of Jamie & Pam's stay as vacation days. The four of us walked down to the Suffren for a plateau de fruits de mer feast.


Then we took the tourists to the Tour Eiffel. (Get out your 3-D glasses.)


Marti & I hung out on a park bench as Pam & Jamie ascended the tower. Next item on the sightseeing agenda: a Seine cruise.


We took a taxi home & enjoyed a Greek dinner at our neigborhood deli, Les Byzantins. After Paris, Pam & Jamie were bound for a week on the Greek island of Spetses; this was their 30th Wedding Anniversary Tour.


Next morning we rode the Montmartre funicular up to Sacré-Coeur.


Paris from on high.


Abbesses Métro stop. A Montmartre landmark.


Time limitations forced us to postpone a visit to Claude Monet's gardens at Giverny. But we saw his panoramic water lilies at the Orangerie.


Notre Dame.


In the evening Marti & I hosted a party for Pam & Jamie at our neighborhood lounge, l'Angle.


Pam & Jamie got to meet a number of the Paris Krew, including Des & Mike, fellow Massachusetts natives who would soon be relocating to Los Angeles.


Our dear pal John Simms entertained us with soul & R&B classics.


Our neighbor from across the courtyard: Dominique.


Stéphane, Emily, Ileana. Mary has her back to the camera.


Marti & Jamila.


Jorge.


Mike & Desiree.


Marti with Dominique & Charo.


Marti with Stéphane.


Me with Philippe, proprietor of l'Angle, who helped us host a rockin' party.


Friday, May 23 -- Marti's & my wedding anniversary -- was a full-on sightseeing day.


On the Pont St-Michel: Another one bites the dust.


Browsing the bookinistes.


Looks like an album cover, doesn't it?


Twenty-seven years of wedded bliss & none the worse for wear.


Beneath the Pyramid.


With my sightseeing companions at the Louvre.


Lunch near the Orsay.


With my favorite Monet: his turkeys.


At the venerable Polidor restaurant.


Serving satisfied customers since 1845.


Rue de la Huchette. I call it Souvlaki Alley because of all the lowball Greek restaurants.


The fountain at Place St-Michel.


Tuckered tourists at two a.m. At last, an end to the forced march!


On the final day of Pam & Jamie's visit we went out to the Chateau de Chantilly.


The attraction here was the Chateau's Grand Stables, commissioned by Louis-Henri de Bourbon, 7th Prince of Condé. According to legend, this prime minister of Louis XV (from 1723-1726) thought he would be reincarnated as a horse. He had the architect Jean Aubert build stables consonant with the majesty of his rank.


In 1982 the stables were converted to the Living Horse Museum, of primary interest to animal-lover Pam.


A vintage Hèrmes scarf depicts horse racing at the Chateau.


We took in a demonstration of weird horse walking.


Finally the rains came. It was almost time for some folks to beat feet to a sunny Greek island. Pam & Jamie left early the next morning. We'd all enjoyed a memorable & happy Paris vacation together!

Go to PART THREE