Where it all began

Most architectural styles evolve, but the height, the light, and the extraordinary stained glass that we now call "Gothic" began with Abbot Suger and the church of St. Denis.  In a northern suburb of Paris, it is now surrounded by a working-class Muslim neighborhood.

Passages

Past the Pompidou, and between metro Les Halles and Etienne Marcel, is a historic market street with the unpronouncable name of  rue Montorgueil.  It's the street made famous in Monet's celebratory scene of a zillion waving red flags.  It rained buckets all afternoon and we took shelter in a restaurant called Marie Stuart.  We drank ice cold rosé by the bottle and then ordered singles.  Under the circumstances it seemed appropriate.   Best of all were the glass-topped passageways that led in and out of the neighborhood.

Chartres

Today I walked the labyrinth at Chartres.  It's good practice for life, just putting one foot in front of the other again and again.  After a while you let go, the breathing gets slow and deep. And the world steps back.

le rue Mouffetard

A long walk to le Mouffetard.  An even longer lunch.

Pilgrimage

Le Mont St-Michel.     Normandy Coast

Street Flowers

Comfort Food

If you know what's happening in the lives of my kids you'll understand that this has been a crazy, heartbreaking trip in every way.  But it was best for all that I didn't go home.  It rained all day, and tonight, some comfort food.

The Bird Market of Paris

Hunters and Gatherers

It's been said that women of a certain age,  in prehistoric societies, were invaluable because of their skill as hunter-gatherers.  Now we turn our talents toward flea market shopping.
The Paris Flea Market, Porte Dr Clignoncourt.

Count the Graces, Ira

You might possibly have missed one.

Venus Duh...and Other Delights

1.  We had to buy tickets and relearn the metro system today, which gave me opportunities to speak French all day.  My efforts were met with the same reaction each time.  First horror, then a slow acknowledgement and then..an answer to my question.  A form of success, oui??
   

Ira la Louvre...then Tuileries..then Arc Dr Triumph and finally a great cheap dinner prix fixe at la chat et la peche in the Latin Quarter.   Love those little winding streets.

69 rue de Perès

The first time I saw Paris I was dragging a red suitcase behind me.  It was bumping along the cobblestones and I was tense with fear and excitement, looking for Cornell University's offices where I would get my apartment assignment.  It would be the summer of the Gothic cathedral.  I didn't know on that day that I would never quite get over Paris.

Coming around again...

The apartment is good. The company is good. The food is good. The wine is good.  

And so on.