This summer Marti and I have been going on frequent brief getaways to destinations like Normandy and Amsterdam rather than taking a single long vacation. That’s because we’ve booked a couple of extended trips for this coming November and January. In November Marti will visit Washington DC and Nashville. Then, after the holidays in Paris, we’re going to Greece for two weeks to celebrate my 70th birthday. Yesterday, however, we decided to don our tourist caps and enjoy our local vacation mecca: Paris!
We rode the #70 bus from our ‘hood to the end of the line, the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall). There the Big Bubble Guy was holding forth.
I had been trying to get Marti to Chez Julien for a long time. We finally made it to lunch.
Daurade with haricots verts. Simple, elegant summer meal.
After a leisurely lunch my bride and I walked off the cals by strolling through the Marais. These are allegedly the oldest houses in Paris.
No trip to this quartier is complete without a hang in the Place des Vosges, Marti’s favorite. The 17th century square was once home to Victor Hugo, who I’m told wrote a boffo Broadway musical.
I was on a mission. There were a few items I was looking for before the annual July Sales ended. We shopped briefly in the men’s stores in Rue de Turenne, but I was unsuccessful there. And I certainly wasn’t looking for a kitschy Eiffel Tower teapot. I did score a dress belt, socks and a bottle of YSL La Nuit de l’Homme cologne at BHV Homme.
I found a pair of summertime earrings for Ms. Marti in a nearby boutique.
Iced coffee break with Marti on the terrasse of a café in the heart of the Marais. It was taking a while to be served and I almost said out loud, "Who do you have to blow to get served up in here?" But I didn't want to see 17 hands go up.
One more impulse purchase. A cookbook entitled And If I Were Your Little Woman: Cooking In High Heels - 69 Easy Recipes To Give A Festive Taste To Your Daily Life. Talk about High Fucking Concept. Leafing through the display copy, however, I discovered recipe after recipe I’d like to try. What’s more, it was only ten euros.
Time for a visit to the temporary beach.
Paris Plages. Now in its 13th season.
Foosball under the bridge. I saw a photo of our mayor playing a game on opening day of the month-long artificial beach season.
The company jumps when he plays reveille/ He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B.
Cultcha at the beach. The Louvre gets in on the act.
All the reproductions were bathing scenes.
The creator of the Friends Of The Eiffel Tower Facebook group in her element. Apparently the iconic bistro chair, like the Tower, is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. Who knew? In any event, the company that manufactures them constructed this 43-foot-tall installation using 324 bistro chairs -- a figure that references the tower’s height of 324 meters.
How can you not love this town?
#ThePartyNeverEnds
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