A Room with a View--Paris

Aw, springtime in Paris. It doesn't get much better than this. Our room overlooks the quaintest courtyard in all the city.

Take a good look at the topiary pianist! Sweet!

It seemed to take forever to get here. The flight was long and tight--I think the seats are getting smaller and smaller going overseas. It drives us batty! I know I'm not a small person, but the kid--who is small--even commented on how tight these seats were. Of course, I didn't sleep a wink. We both got giddy towards the end and probably woke a few people up with our outbursts of uncontrolled laugher. We finally arrived in Paris ll:30 a.m. (4:30 a.m. Nashville time) and boy did it take a long time to get around Charles Degaulle Airport. I'll take little old Nashville's airport any day! I have to admit that we weren't as loopy as we have been in past trips over here. Just tired. And we finally did make it out of there after holding our own with some pushy travelers!

We laid down and got a couple of hours' shut-eye and then hit the streets of gay Pari. We had to hit the local druggist as the kid forgot his shaving kit--including his tooth paste and brush, deodorant, etc. There I also found some of my favorite perfume Roger & Gallet's Jean Marie Farina. At 10 Euros, it was a bargain!

(Two of my French purchases today--perfume and mustard!)

After grabbing our necessities, we headed up towards the Opera House
which Raphael said was a must. No pictures of that, yet. It is absolutely breathtaking. Unfortunately, by the time we had our naps and did our drug store shopping, it had started to rain. Never puts a damper on us. We whipped out our umbrellas and made our way to the nearest little cafe where we sat under the awning, ordered two jambon et fromage on baguettes and watched the hustle and bustle of the Paris streets. Aw, it doesn't get much better than that.

After a wonderful amount of chatting, eating and people watching, we figured it was time to get up and move around. I was in search of the Old England shop which was in our vicinity to pick up some of my old standbys like my Penhaligons perfume and hopefully some Kenneth Turner Blue Tangerine candles and room spray which I cannot find in the States. Never did run into that shop but did make a beeline into the Galleries Lafayette conglomeration of stores. Oh my, Harrod's, watch out! I was hoping to find a pair of socks because the ones I had brought are ribbed and were giving me fits. Instead we found the food hall and walked around there for a couple of hours. There is just something about grocers in different parts of the world that whets the appetite. I can spend days exploring different spices and condiments--not to mention meats, fruits and veggies.

These are Sadahaur Aoki chocolates. They are are as good to the taste buds as they are pleasing to the eye. They are exactly the size of small pastels. How fun.

We also picked up a tiny bag of her bite-sized sweet breads to "test." (Ya wonder why I'm so heavy!)

We also put two pain au chocolat in our basket to have later. Yum.

Look at this open air spice collection. The smells were intoxicating! I almost want to go back and get some just to I can "play" in a pile of curry! This is probably a fifth of the entire display.

Is there anything better to give you a little kick when you're jet lagged and tired that a good old fashioned coca cola? Nope. Nothing quite fills the void no matter where you are in the world.

Room service brought this little information card up tonight along with a flashlight and a note explaining the electricity was going to be off between 3-4 a.m. How considerate is that? Hopefully I won't need the flashlight at that time.

The tub is calling my name but I think I will crawl into bed and wait for it to call me in the morning. Yawn. Bonne nuit.