Ah, Paris!

We have traveled to and returned from from Paris! We left last Wednesday, 30 avril, and took the TGV fast-train to Paris. It takes about 5 ½ hours as it goes from Toulouse, non-stop, to Bordeaux and then directly to Gare de Montparnasse, Paris. We arrived mid-afternoon Wednesday, and the weather was cool. Sadly, we were leaving what looked to be a very nice day in Toulouse. However, the weather has certainly changed and spring/summer are on the way.

We took a cab to the Hotel de Blois in the Montparnasse area, just off the Avenue du Maine. This was a Jeff Gauthier recommendation and it was an area we had not stayed in before as we could not get into our regular place, L’Hotel des Allies. Paris was very busy and many hotels were full.

The Hotel de Blois is a small, family-owned, one-star hotel on the Rue de Plantes. It is run by very nice people, but our room was very small. The room had obviously just been redone and the bathroom had brand new sink, toilet and shower stuffed into a a former small closet (perhaps a reconditioned phone booth). I have never seen a smaller complete bath. When you sat on the toilet, you rested your chin on the sink. It was perfect for one who might be hung-over! I could only flush the toilet by reaching between my legs! Is this too much information? It seemed to me that the hotel must assign certain rooms based on the girth of their guests. Polley and I were just barely a suitable size. They were probably holding out until the last for midgets!

While we were in Paris, our having spent a month in Toulouse seemed to lessen the impact of our visit to the big city. On Thursday, the sun came out and we did venture over to the Les Halles area and wandered around St. Eustache, with the wonderful Giant Head sculpture.



We walked by the Pompidieu Centre, which seemed just a bit faded from our first visit to it in 1978 only a year after its opening. It no longer seems very outrageous. Then, we started down the Rue de Rivoli, passing by the famed L'Opera.


We had then planed to do some serious window shopping, which the French call léche-vitrines: window licking! However, we soon discovered that as it was the 1st of May, it was a holiday in France. And if there is anything the French are serious about beyond food, drink and conversation, it is taking their holidays. Nearly everything was closed. As the weather was not great, we wandered about some and then returned to our hotel and went out for some lunch, but did very little else beyond walking about the neighborhood.

The next day we would get in some window licking by visiting the famed LaFayette Galleries. This is a huge shopping mall for those with beaucoup bucks!



Based on the prices, I could see where one’s mouth would drop open as they looked at the price tags. There were some wild displays, not just there, but in a great many French stores. In Paris, store windows are a real art!




However, what I think was confirmed on this trip is what we have been coming to suspect during this winter and spring. We really travel for people. It is really about meeting new people and revisiting old friends. We enjoyed just sitting in a little café called Felice’s and watching life unfold in the neighborhood we were staying in. There were very few tourists, virtually no English spoken (except for our hotel) and just the stores and business necessary for day-to-day living. We got to be regulars in a very short time. Waiters knew what we ordered and began to more comfortably converse with us.

Mostly, however, this visit was about reuniting with our dear friend, Genevieve Galman. We met Genevieve and her husband, Jacques, at a restaurant in fall, 2001. We kept in contact via e-mail and revisited them in spring, 2002. They took us into their home for dinner and then took us out for a most memorable day at Monet’s home, Giverny. They gave us our beloved Pierrier Jouet champagne glasses; it became a very significant friendship. In 2005, Jacque passed away and we had not been back to Paris or to visit Genevieve since. This visit was not only to renew the friendship, but also to see how she was doing since losing a very important part of her life. The answer, all things considered, is very well. On Thursday evening, we met her at a famous Paris rendevous, Le Chartiers. This is a restaurant right on the edge of the Montmartre that has been in continuous operation since 1896. It has retained the menu and the style of the last 19th century. In the ambience of the Victorian period, male waiters in long aprons bustle about.




When we arrived there was a line out to the street waiting to get in (they take no reservations). In among all those people we found Genevieve. The line of people moved quickly and in a half hour we were seated, quickly renewing our connections to Genevieve.


While the restaurant is a bit touristy and the food is not anything special (I thought of it as the French version of the Spaghetti Factory). It was not the best place to try and carry on a conversation, especially since Genevieve has NO English. She, however, is very expressive and we managed to discuss family, and politics with seemly little difficulty.


Any evening with Genevieve has to include a drive around Paris at night.


Genevieve loves to drive fast with American music blaring out of all speakers. She could easily make a living as a cab driver it she choose! Eventually the tour came to an end and she poured us into our hotel. Actually, Polley and I had to go over to Felices’ for a last glass of wine as we unwound from an evening of working very hard to understand and speak à française!

The next day the weather was even more beautiful and we headed to back to the Rue de Rivoli. From there we went to an special exhibition of the Chinese “Eternal Soldiers (Les Soldats de l’Éternité). These are the life-size terre-cotta sculptures that were created to pay respect to the warriors of the 9th century. An exhibition of copies of these has traveled the world, but these were the actual originals. It was most impressive. Unfortunately no photographs were allowed. But we had a marvelous time at the exhibit. Beyond that, we mostly strolled about. Paris was very busy. It used to be that June 1 was a date that you counted on for the tourist crowd to arrive. Now, I think, the city is packed all the time. There were not many Americans, but there seems to be hundreds of couples, families, etc. from Eastern Europe. Sidewalks, cafes, crosswalks were almost impossible to navigate. We longed for our quiet neighborhood and made our way back, as were having dinner at Genevieve’s home that evening.

We, of course, needed to rest up for another evening of operating totally in French, but when we arrived at 8 p.m., we were delighted(and a little relieved) to find that Genevieve had invited a gentleman friend to join us. This is a man she has met since Jacques passed away. His name is Christian. He is a charming man, a former doctor, who not speaks English, but also has Italian, Spanish and a fair amount of Arabic. He is retired, but donates a great deal of his time to Mercy Corps; he is very active as one would have to be to keep up with Genevieve. And, of course, to the relief of everyone, there was an interpreter and we could all sit back and relax and enjoy a fabulous evening. And we did!



It was a French meal. We had to start with appetizers and champagne. Then, we sat down to an avocado mousse with salmon caviar on top. This was followed by hot foie gras on toast with warmed apples. Then it was a salad, then the cheese course and then dessert.



This, of course, was accompanied by the rest of the champagne and two delicious bottles of Bordeaux wine. Christian is a wine expert as well as a most delightful man. He seems a perfect partner for Genevieve and it is clear that she enjoys his company. Jacques would be a very tough act to follow, but she seems to have found a man up to the task!


As the evening was coming to an end, it is always mandatory to take your glass of brandy or pastis and walk over to Genevieve's window and enjoy the Paris skyline from the 32nd floor of her building.


Genevieve always insists on delivery guests home personally. She will not allow anyone to take the metro at night. So, after midnight, Christian delivered us back to our hotel. Again, keyed up by an unforgettable evening, Polley and I returned to Felices’ for wine (just what we needed) and conversation that allowed us to sort of debrief our sensual overload. It was a glorious Paris night and we sat outside at the café until after 1:30 in the morning, before staggering across the street to our hotel. As I say, it is the people that we love and our hosts by the time our heads had hit the pillow, had moved to the top of our list!

We had one more day in Paris, but that was an adventure on its own, so I will save it for the next entry: Lost in Luxembourg, for next time.!

Our Day in Montpellier

Yesterday was another “Field Trip” day. This time we were headed for the city of Montpellier, near the sea. This was a town that Polley and I had visited 20 years ago, but were not returning out of any pangs of nostalgia, but we going to visit Julie Ribault, the sister of Natacha Price, our good friend and owner of the Madrona Hill Bakery. Julie had been kind enough to encourage us to visit for a longer period, but we found the prospect of renting a car was a little beyond our budget. So, the old SNCF (the French train) was our option. While we were not riding the famous TGV, we were on a “fast train” to Montpellier, with only one stop, the city of Narbonne on the way there (we were non-stop coming home). This trip, as they always are, was uneventful and, of course (bien sûr!), was right on time, having taken just two hours to arrive in this very old city, built on the ruins of a Roman city.

While we had been promised a warm day, French weather prognosticators being every bit as accurate as those in Portland, it was blowing, cloudy and quite cold! Wandering from the train station up the hill, we came to a wonderful plaza, the Place de la Comedie.



It sits spread out in front of the magnificent opera house.


As we sat down at a little café on the Place, we suddenly remembered attending an opera there in 1986. We can’t recall the name, but it was something about Peas! Anyway, certain aspects of the city suddenly came back to us. Following a light refreshment, we sauntered (having already “wandered”) about the town. Montpellier has various streets angling off the Place, but then they are connected by numerous alleyways that give it a kind of mysterious and romantic feel (although not too romantic at 10:30 a.m. on a cold, cloudy, windy day).

Montpellier is now filled with high-end shops. Polley was in Heaven as we went from one shoe store to another. However, we were very safe in terms of purchasing anything. Even if the dollar was strong, there was no way we were taking any of these things home with us. There must be money in Montpellier!

At noon, by the old carousel in the Place de la Comedie, we found Julie Ribault, sister of Portland’s own Natacha Price. Julie told us she would be wearing an orange scarf, but with just one look, we knew whose sister she had to be! As you will see by the photos, Julie looks very much like Natacha. She told us wonderful stories of when people confused them and the fun they had with that.

Julie was joined by her daughter, Juliane, who was eager waiting to see real Americans. That thrill lasted, maybe, 2 ½ seconds. She was really more interested in the carousel!

We were taking Juliane to her great-grandmother’s house, so that Julie, Polley and I could have a leisurely French lunch. 5 minutes from the Place, we were greeted by Julie and Natacha’s grandmother. She was most gracious. We sat and drank Pastis, and Muscat. Grandma is a very lovely, sharp-witted 84 year-old and despite neither of us having a lot of the other’s language, we did manage to communicate. It was a truly lovely start of the afternoon.

Leaving Juliane with grandma, we headed off for lunch at a wonderful Salon de Thé call L’Heure Bleue. These Salon de Thés are something that seem to be much more prevalent in France then when we were here two years ago. They are a kind of sophisticated brasserie. L’Heure Bleue was a wonderful cross between a fancy antique shop and a sophisticated restaurant. You can see from this photo of a fanciful doorway in L’Heure Bleue.


It was wonderful. The plates contained a variety of offerings usually built around a theme. I had a Greek dish which had stuffed grape leaves, a Tzatziki-based cucumber salad, a small slice of quiche and a miniature spanikopita. Polley had a kind of breakfast dish of tomato tarte tartin, scrambled eggs with chives and a green salad with walnuts. Julie had yet another dish. With a bottle of wine, we experienced real French dining as we sat there for a couple of hours gabbing away as though we had known each other forever.




In some ways, we had. Natacha was the connection and from there the rest was easy.




Following a few photos in the restaurant, we stepped back outside to beautiful blue sky and a much lighter breeze. Julie then took us on a walking tour of old Montpellier. We went up toward the Place Royale du Peyrou, passing through their own Arc de Triumph,




through the gardens to the Peyrou




and beyond that to where a still functioning aqueduct stands.


From there you have a panoramic view of from the Mediterranean to the hills to the north. With Julie leading the way, we just drifted (having now wandered and sauntered) through the streets and alleyways, along another parkway, called the Esplanade Charles de Gaulle


until we made our way back to the Place de la Comedie where we sat at a café in the bright sunshine (with nearly every other person in Montpellier – Julie says that sitting at cafes in the major hobby of the people of the city) and enjoyed each others stories and company for another hour. As the clock moved toward 5 o’clock, Julie needed to rescue Grandma and Polley and I had a train to catch. Two hours later, we were catching the metro in Toulouse and heading for home. It was a wonderful day, a great chance to make new friends and to enjoy the extension of Natacha’s family. I have a feeling that we will make our way back to Montpellier in the future.

Checking In

One and all,

It has been a few days since the last blog. This is probably a sign that not very much is happening in our lives at the moment. We have two big trips planned and so we are laying low with our ever weakening dollar and trying to budget for our train trips. Next Tuesday we are going to Montpellier to visit a city that we so enjoyed many years ago (1986) when we spend nearly 3 weeks in France with our friends, the Bradens. This time we are going over the have lunch with Natcha Price’s sister. If you don’t know Natacha, she runs the Madrona Hill Bakery. Her sister lives outside of Montpellier and is coming into the city to meet with us. We are looking forward to meeting a part of Natacha’s family and to see the city again.

On 30 avril, we are traveling up to Paris for 4 days. We are planning to see Genevieve Galman, the very lively lady that we met (along with her husband, Jacques) several years ago and with whom we have remained in contact. We are planning dinner out with her and she has invited us to come to her home as well. More on those trips later.

As for our lives here, one thing that has limited us is the weather. They may sing of “April in Paris,” and “holiday tables under the trees,” but the reality is that your holiday table will consist of most “frozen food”! It is very cold and very windy. April has seemed to get progressively colder since we arrived. The first week we were sitting out in some café each night. That has not happened at all this week. Cafes are closing early because so few are sitting out doors. This also effects many of the smaller cafes because the have so little room indoors. They are turning people away because of no place to sit. We did have lunch out on Wednesday. We do our laundry right next to a nice little café, so we had lunch and every 15 minutes or so checked on the progress of our laundry. We did happen to use a larger machine for our load white clothes and a French woman was none to pleased. She explained that the machine was strictly to be used for coverlettes and comforters. However, she soon forgave me for my error and we talked about learning some English in England and we ended up :bon amis!

There are always those moments where because you are a stranger in a strange land, that you spend money needlessly. We were out of bread and happened to be a part of town we didn’t usually frequent. We saw a bakery (boulangerie) and went in. Picked out a large loaf of bread and set it on the counter. The woman weighed it and announced that it cost 6.44 euro – about $10.17! It turns out that this bakery charged bys the kilo and this was one dense loaf!


I will say that it lasted about 4 days, so, as Natacha’s huband , Will, taught us, we were able to depreciate the cost.

Tuesday evening Polley and I went to the ballet at the Théâtre du Capitole, right on the Place du Capitole. It was amazing. The program featured choreographed works by George Balanchine and a Czech dancer named Jiri Kylián. Kylián’s work was some of the most dramatic dance we have ever seen. I urge you to go to UTube and search Kylián and a piece called Petite Mort. There is a sample of what we saw and it is amazing. It is funny, but right from the opening moment of the evening, you knew that the dance you were seeing was a cut above Portland. My sense of that continued to grow as the evening went along. Toulouse has a very active arts community and we are hoping to get tickets the opera and one more dance program before our time is done.

Well, little more to report. We continue to watch the weather in Portland and then realize, perhaps we arre not soo bad off. However, we are hoping for better things to come. When sitting out and watching the people is your favorite thing to do, this weather is not helping us one bit. But when we have complained a bit, we then think, “Nous sommes en France” (we are in France) and that helps a good deal. À bientôt.

A Walk Around Toulouse

For me, an important tradition during the early part of each day is a good brisk walk around Toulouse. I love to do it about 8 in the morning when people are heading off for work and children are being escorted to school. It gives me a real sense of the particular rhythm of a place. Polley and I love that part of our travels. For an hour or more, I walk a variety of routes and as the town is blessed with wonderful wide sidewalks, parkways and promenades. There are many options (unlike Mexico). I thought it might be interesting for you to follow me on my favorite jaunts which is a kind of circle around the oldest part of the city.

I head out the door of our apartment and start west toward the Garonne River. Before arrfiving there, I cross the Canal de Brienne. A block of two beyond that is the Garonne and the Pont des Catalans, which crosses the Garonne. From the bridge I can see the Dome de la Grave.


I walk beyond the Dome and head south, usually crossing at the Pont Neuf and passing my a neatly manicured garden.


From the west side of the bridge, you can look north up the Garonne . .


or across the old town at the Elise de Notre Dame de la Daurade.


This morning, which as you can see from the photos, was a gloriously clear day, I chose to stay on the west side of the river and walk along the river in a green-space, called the Filtres des Prairie, toward the Pont Saint-Michel.


Pont Saint-Michel is the most southern bridge connecting to the old part of the city. From there you walk east down a long, tree-lined boulevard, the Allées Jules Guesde. As you head up the Allées, you pass this very dramatic spillway.


This street is lined with beautiful 18th and 19th century buildings, including the Théâtre Sorano.


At the end of this lovely street in the Grand Rond, a large and lush round-about that can send traffic out to the Peripherique and then on to cities South and West, or can propel people back into the city center.


On one side of the Grand Rond is another lovely park.


In fact, each side of the Grand Rond seems to have some sort of park, including the Jardin des Plantes to the south.

Then we head north on another beautiful, tree-line Allées, leading first to the Monument aux Morts (dead), and then on up, eventually coming full circle to our neighborhood.


However, before arriving home, I often take a left and pass the Place de Wilson.



From there I can work my way to the center of town, passing by this wonderful old building that now houses the office of tourism.


Usually, on a weekday, the Place de Capitole is very busy, but as this picture was taken on a Sunday morning, the Place is usually deserted except for a bread wagon that sells the most enormous variety of baked goods.


Another option is to just continue up the Allée Verdier and nd work my way through the open-air market (marché) which is there nearly everyday of the week (Pictures obviously taken on a less attractive day). It is filled with vendors with everything from fish and meat, to cheeses and fresh fruits and vegetables



Some days I go further east and walk along the Canal du Midi, the amazing canal through which barges pass. In fact you can go by barge from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic through a series of Canals in France, the du Midi being an important one.


This canal runs just a block from our place and I often start the walk by cutting through the park next to our apartment and then take the pedestrian overpass to the canal itself and start the walk.


There are a great many possibilities in this city and I am enjoying each one of them, sometimes to the point of getting dreadfully lost and then having the excitement of working my way home. More to come.