Two years ago, for my birthday, Jerr gave me Pimsleur French lessons that I could put on my Ipod. I listened on a regular basis as I commuted to work for several months. I remember having to 'Listen and Repeat': "Ou e la Rue Saint Jacques?" All the while I thought, 'How can this be even remotely helpful?' Well... just in case I needed to find Saint Jacques street in Paris. And here it is. We stumbled upon it while out for a walk. I now realize I lost the opportunity to ask for Saint Jacques street. That's okay because if I did I would have been praying they would answer simply, "E la ba" or 'Cet ici" ('over there' or 'here'). I don't know 'left' or 'right' in French. I did use a small bit of my French, but Jerr did most of the communicating.
I could order my breakfast and coffee. Jerr did take the mick out of my pronunciation of 'a little milk'. He thought it sounded more like I was asking for a chicken in my coffee (un peu lait' vs 'un poulet'). The barista, however, did understand and topped up my americano with milk. I've been a little disappointed with just toast or cereal after French pastries in the morning.
Realizing I am in the right place at the right time.
Our last meal at Baci in the Marais neighborhood. We met up with Jerr's family, Steve and Dede in Paris for six days. It was great to see them and catch up on news from home. We had a great time taking in the sights of Paris together.
One highlight of our trip: a picnic next to the Eiffel Tower. Earlier in the morning we went to a farmer's market and bought fruit, olives, and almonds. To complete the meal we had a fresh baguette, le fromage, and white wine.
On our visit to the Louvre Museum we managed to make it through most of the Egyptian/Ancients section and the main corridor of Italian Renaissance (including the infamous Mona Lisa painting). It would take days to see the whole building and do it justice. I was a little surprised to find a Starbucks inside the Louvre. (Could you build one in Worcester?!) So that helped refresh us after a long day of looking. In the olden days it used to be the king's palace until Louis the 14th. He built....
... the palace at Versailles. One of the most spectacular buildings to see in real life. We talked about it afterwards sitting in a cafe having refreshments. King Louis had to have the vision to create something so large. Of course, if you give yourself the name 'Sun King' you might have a larger-than-life view of things. Again, we only made it through a portion of the palace and had to rent bikes to explore the grounds and other 'lesser' palaces. The bike ride through the gardens at Versailles was a another trip highlight. (Behind us and the giant man-made lake is the palace.)
Notre Dame Cathedral. (No hunchbacks sighted.)
But the walk was really pretty and the gardens behind the cathedral were lovely.
One of my favorite trips we've taken so far. The weather was beautiful, the company delightful, and the sights were once-in-a-lifetime (although I asked if it could be once-a-year and Jerr said 'no', but at least we stopped for one last pastry before our early morning flight.)
