Day 6 in Paris

Today Le Marais - which is an area in the 3rd and 4th arrondissments on the Rive Droite. I've long waited for a falafel at L'as Du Fallafel, which is considered to be one of the best ever! I was rather disappointed - it's Passover and they can't serve it on the traditional pita bread, substituting matzo. So my review is that it was just okay. I really like the soft pita bread against the crunchy, fried chickpea patties and creamy tahini and/or hummus and pickled turnips; therefore the crackerlike matzo seemed dry and unflavorful. Note: Maha's Falafel at the West Side Market here in Cleveland serves my absolute favorite - so there's one for Paris on the Cuyahoga!! Hit if if you are ever in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame City. Totally yummy and I've tried many a falafel.
After a long, wandering walk in this area - we are gluttons for the architecture, the layout of the streets, the people watching.... we return to our hotel. I have totally mixed up our final day(s) here, but with the help of Jake's travel journal I can tell you that today is the day (not yesterday) that we head for the airport only to find out about the air traffic controllers strike and move to a new hotel - the Hotel Latin - exhausted after going to the train station to find all trains to Rome are full - to crash. Dinner is an impromptu picnic in our room with wine,beer, cheeses and pates from the local Marks and Spencer. Al Jazerra tv gets us up to date on the news, Boston bomber found guilty (our son was in school in Boston when that horrible event occurred, his dorm 3 blocks away and .......my heart bleeds for those who actually endured a loss, my few minutes of terror are nothing in comparison).
Peace and love, La

Paris Day 5 - EIFFEL TOWER

Bonjour! Today we head for the metro stop Nation (I believe this is the route we took) to walk to the 7th arr and the most famous symbol of Paris - the Eiffel Tower. Walking the grounds on this gorgeous day we see families, groups of tourists and other couples enjoying the area below the tower and the adjacent Parc du Champ de Mars. In typical Paris fashion many locals are using the park area as extensions of their homes: setting up for a picnic, reading,children playing and solitary figures simply sitting and relaxing with their own thoughts. Since most Parisians don't have yards like we do they use the plentiful parks and they use them often. It seems to us that they are more likely to be outdoors than the typical American and they have the added benefit of actually enjoying these spaces not spending precious time weeding and mowing and watering etc!(Don't get me wrong, I love to garden). This is one way, among many, that the French embrace joie de vivre. We don't bother with going to the top of the tower, long lines and it just doesn't interest us. Instead we stroll back to Blvd Grenelle for lunch at a cafe, sitting outside in the sunshine, and enjoy a delicious asparagus soup and caesar salad while partaking in one of our favorite Parisian pastimes: people watching. Fabulous. Afterward we hop a double decker bus and meet a brother-sister combo who now reside in England but were raised in France. The bus is a great way to see the city. Heading back to the 5th and our hotel for a break and to regroup. We spend the rest of our day in the Latin Quarter: the Pantheon area in particular; we wander and take a few photos in "our" area of the city. Now begins the portion of our trip that requires the most patience - the air traffic controllers are on strike! We are scheduled to fly to Beziers in the south of France tomorrow morning but have received an email from Ryanair that the flight is cancelled. The email does not explain the reason for the cancellation and so we book another flight, this one to Rome - we'll simply arrive a few days early and surprise our daughter who is there on a school trip. Ehhhh, not so fast. The domino effect is that the next morning we are halfway to the airport when we realize the reason behind the cancellation and that we won't be flying anywhere!! Back to our hotel, now full, but the great staff gets us a room (the last one available) a few blocks away. Well, there are worse places to be stuck than in Paris - we will make the most of this no matter what! Tomorrow we'll go the the Marais. xo, La

TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN

I took a break from everything: singing/performing, appraising, blogging, cleaning, landlording and all the other things I normally do in a week and went on vacation. Europe in April for 3 weeks was a vacation BUT I did some work via the internet. For 5 days last week I did none, so I'm calling it a real vacation (but La shouldn't a "real vacation" be no work or nothing for, like, 2 weeks? Well, yes it should, but in my world that ain't gonna happen soon!!).So in that spirit here's a break from my current blog theme of Europe and a post on our week in MI. We are fortunate to have dear friends (like family) who live on Old Mission Peninsula in Traverse City. It's a bit like Diana Vreeland's famous quote "first you must arrange to be born in Paris" (paraphrased)- first you must arrange to know great people who live in this gorgeous setting, with the East and West Bays of Lake Michigan on either side, and have them invite you every summer to come and stay with them. It's even nicer if they love your children and have plenty of room for everyone; a bonus if they own 2 adorable dogs and a boat. And so we do and so we go.... It's an easy 6 hour drive thru a rather long state and the further north you get the more it looks like summer camp: blue skies, green pines and lots of shimmering lakes. Old Mission Peninsula juts into the lake and is simply super picturesque: vineyards and wineries, small old churches, a general store dating from the 1800's and lots of flowers in riotous color growing wild and in gardens. We saw a sweet set of scarecrows: a couple dressed in old fashioned dress clothes, each with a hat, he sporting a suit and she a lilac swing coat. We ate at Fleet Street which is a small bar that, in the front graveled ex-parking lot, has about 7 food trucks: sushi, pulled pork, salads and wraps etc. One sells margaritas - grapefruit, strawberry, lime - all made with freshly squeezed juice. Everyone chooses their current favorite and settles at the picnic tables to share and enjoy. We ate at J&S Hamburg - an old fashioned diner with excellent food. The owners are a couple, she runs the front of the house and he's the chef. Best: BLT; any breakfast - the pancakes are divine, the fruit stuffed french toast delectable; and don't miss the chili. We ate there 3 times in 5 days. We ate (see a pattern here?) at Patisserie Amie and it's also highly recommended. As the name implies it's a French bakery - didn't sample, but the display case looked as good as those we just saw in Paris! We did have an assortment of crepes: crab for my son, asparagus/ham/bechamel for me, foie gras for my husband,eggs benedict for one daughter and baguette with confiture for the other. Cafe au lait and fresh peach juice too. You will eat well in TC. The Cherry Festival was the week before we came, which is fine as the crowds are not to my liking AND the cherries were actually at their peak the week we were there. Stores such as Cherry Republic and American Spoon sell (and sample!) salsas, jellies, candies - and much more - that feature the wonderful produce that grows in this fertile area. We returned home with honey and assorted salsas and jams that will remind us of our trip for months to come. Another stop was Northern Latitudes Distillery a hand crafted small batch distillery with spirits created from Michigan's bounty! We sampled limoncello, horseradish vodka (Bloody Mary anyone?), Ginger liqueur and Jack Pine gin. Had a salad/sandwich lunch in the adjacent restaurant and then choose several bottles to bring home. Of course we spent time on the beach - Lake Michigan is crystal clear, a gorgeous blue of varying shades that is reminiscent of the Caribbean. We made s'mores over a fire. We simply talked and laughed and enjoyed one another's company. The only problem with a full on vacation is returning to the inevitable build up of work upon returning home - but I love my home and my life so all's well here in Paris on the Cuyahoga.

PARIS DAY 4

Today is the day to head to the northeast quadrant of the city, to the 18th arr and the 20th arr to see Sacre Coeur and Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise. The area of Montmartre was once the outskirts of town, scene of vineyards and farms, but now a charming, rather hilly area of the city of Paris. There is still a small area with a few vines and - being beautiful Paris - the bistros are often in reclaimed buildings looking much like they always have! Exiting the metro at the Anvers stop we are greeted with sunshiny blue skies, flowers, greenery and crowds of people. One can basically follow the flow of the crowd to the Sacre Coeur Basilica, a Roman Catholic church built on the summit of Montmartre and is therefore at the highest point in all of Paris. Lots of upward climbing steps later we enter the impressive, dark and cool church to walk the interior and light a candle for my father in law who regularly did just that for others in his lifetime. We tried not to be annoyed by the constant photo taking of some of the other tourists but this was difficult given the prominent signage asking that one not take photos in this religious spot. We encountered this bad behavior everywhere, tourists viewing life thru a camera completely oblivious to other patrons and the works of art that they are slowly destroying with their camera flashes. For lunch we stopped at La Cremaillere, which translates to "the rack"(at first I was excited that it was an old dairy or some such thing!) where we had a cocktail and a bowl of soup in the interior courtyard. The courtyard was charming featuring old looking signage, light green arches, hanging baskets of flowers and a large tree that was kept in place by the designer. La Cremaillere gets mixed reviews on the internet so I won't actually endorse eating there and, while the courtyard was pleasant and cool and a nice place to relax after a lot of walking, my favorite way to dine in Paris is at an outside table so I can people watch! Following our respite we metro'ed to the 20th arr and Pere Lachaise, which has it's own metro stop. This ancient cemetery is a fascinating place divided on the map (recommended, buy it upon entry if you plan to look for specific graves) into about 96 irregular areas. On a beautiful day its a pleasure to wander thru the park like atmosphere and wonder about the people who lay in rest there. Some of the graves are very simple, some are monumental. You can peek into small colored glass windows of mausoleums and see old dried flowers and photos placed there long ago. Marvel at the names etched on the stones - I spotted one for Le Duc which is the surname of Aimee, heroine of Cara Black's novels which I've mentioned before in this Paris series. We rambled over to see Jim Morrison and take a photo in our GBDB tee shirts for the band website; Jim's grave is fenced and guarded due to excessive fan behavior. My other 2 must sees: Oscar Wilde and Edith Piaf. After a long day of walking and sightseeing we headed back to the 5th arr and rested a bit in the hotel. For dinner we chose "our" local bistro Petit Pont, located,not surprisingly, on the left bank side of the Petit Pont bridge and Notre Dame Cathedral. At an outside table we had a leisurely meal of steak frites with a dessert of wonderful cheeses. Jake looked quite the Frenchman doing his best Yves Montand, or was it Jean-Paul Belmondo?, imitation. What a wonderful day.

Vacation

Taking a week off, heading to beautiful Traverse City, Michigan to hang out on the beach, hit some wineries, great restaurants and, most importantly, spend quality time (no distractions) with my husband and children and our great friends who live there. Grand Traverse Bay and the peninsula is one of the most beautiful places in the world: all blue sky and crystal clear water. xo, La

Day 3 in Paris: Easter Sunday

The bells of Notre Dame begin ringing at 8:15 am and continue for 10 minutes. We take a leisurely walk around the Cathedral and the Ile de la Cite and the Ile St Louis. So beautiful and I am jealous of the people who get to live here! If you like mysteries and Paris you might want check out Cara Black's novels, her heroine Aimee Leduc, lives in an apartment on the Ile St Louis she's inherited from her Grandfather. I have enjoyed this series very much. Anyway, after strolling the Iles we head east down Blvd St Germain to my favorite area (I'm so not alone in that!) of the city: the 6th arrondissement. Rue Jacob, which was home to many historical figures: Colette, George Sand, Baudeliere, Victor Hugo, Jane Birkin(!) and both Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin when in France, is a typical Parisian rue with a narrow street, ivory stone buildings and blue street name signs. We actually stayed on the Rue Jacob in 1989, but at the time didn't understand the significance of this beautiful quartier and how lucky we were to be invited to spend 2 nights in a private apartment. My sister in law's good friend was married at the time to one of the Clarins (yep-the skin care line) family. Didier and Jane took us to Les Halles and pointed us to an adorable little street Le Rue du Cherche Midi for dinner at a bistro there as well as inviting us to stay with them! One evening Didier whipped up dinner for us in their typical and tres petite kitchen and we'll never forget how delicious the bowtie pasta in tomato, ham and cream sauce was. I remember the large, old mirrors that lined the high ceilinged walls. I can't recall the street number or the large wooden entry doors to the courtyard which would have had the omnipresent entry keypad. Unfortunately that marriage has ended and we've lost touch with them both. During our walk we stopped at the bistro Tennessee for a cocktail and felt very at home taking our time and people watching. We strolled the 1st A. as well: the Louvre and Tuileries on our way home to the hotel. For our evening meal we went to Rue de la Huchette around the corner from our hotel for ham and cheese crepes. Huchette is very busy, touristy and, some say, to be avoided - but we had a great crepe and sort of enjoyed the madness of this little street - vendors, eateries, packs of tourists and packs of local kids out for the evening. Another book suggestion, highly recommended if you are interested in the 6th, is Into A Paris Quartier by Diane Johnson. She's also the author of several novels, Le Divorce being well known and also very good. Into A Paris Quartier delves into the history of this historic area which was also home to Reine Margot and the real Three Musketeers (and Henry Miller, Oscar Wilde (who died there) and....on and on). Diane is an excellent writer and you will be enthralled to learn the history of this area in such an engaging book. Again, very highly recommended. bisous, La

Really: Day 2 in Paris!

I spent quite a bit of time while we were in Europe trying to get a decent internet connection (with a 3 week itinerary I HAD to do some work!) and on day 2 we headed to the Apple store. I was able to get some satisfaction, but seriously when I needed a dependable source of internet I headed to the nearest Starbucks. Starbucks is plentiful in Paris, non existent in Rome. After the Apple store, which is near L'Opera we had lunch at L'Entreact, a very typical bistro. Two thirty five-ish Frenchmen sat next to us, they had the full on lunch ascribed to the French ending with small cups of espresso. Jake commented on the lack of: overweight people, tattoos and piercings, saggy pants! Not everyone looks like a fashion plate but they look quite presentable. In the evening we took a series of metro trains to the 19eme where an exhibition of David Bowie paintings was showing at the Philharmonie. The 19th is not what most people think of when envisioning Paris, very working class and immigrant heavy. Architecture not as stunning. We did a ton of walking as my husband was in charge of this particular outing and the long and short of it is: we never found the exact exhibition hall! But we did see a side of Paris we'd never seen before and we mastered the metro system. We met, once again, several very helpful Parisians. Giving up on the art we made our way back to the 5th and had a lovely dinner at the La Fountaine St Michel. Jake enjoyed a platter with salmon, ocean terrine, pate and I had quiche (I know!). Our waiter was the doppelganger of our friend Pete George who used to play guitar in our band and is now a successful comedian and actor living in L.A. xo La

Paris day 2

Or actually more of day 1! I think I'd better start abbreviating some of this or we'll never get thru our trip on this blog. On our way to the O'Kari we stopped at the newsstand to buy a Pariscope which is a weekly magazine that covers the current and forthcoming entertainment events in Paris over the coming week, including theatre, music and films. Again with the nice Parisians - we hadn't exchanged our money and had no Euros - the vendor said "allez" - he gave it to us!! We did return later to pay him. We stopped at Monoprix (an inexpensive chain store that sells a little bit of everything,the clothing and accessories looked very cheap to me) for bottled water for our room. You may know that the French love their mineral water and they have probably as many brands of bottled water as they have cheeses. We chose Volvic with lemon (citron) and both loved it. Not carbonated (or sans gas as they say). It became our 'go to' water while here but not everyplace carried it. We also hit the Pharma for some arnica gel.If you are not familiar with arnica look it up and get some, it's terrific for bruising and sore muscles. The pharmacies are marked with green neon crosses. The Tabac (busy as lots of people smoke in Europe) is marked with a red neon cross. The pharmacy is where you have to go for pain relievers, prescriptions etc. A parapharmacie more closely resembles a drugstore in the US with other products besides medicines available. The Parisians apparently have real problems with cellulite as the shelves are full of lotions for combating it! And scarves are for sale everywhere, along with mini Eiffel tower key rings. We passed. But we did end up with a selfie stick :)

Learning a language

I heard about a news feed on PBS yesterday and I thought it sounded really cool: newsinslowfrench.com and newsinslowspanish.com that's news in slow french or spanish in non url speak! what a great way to practice. I haven't had a chance to check it out. Please let me know if you do! Bon chance, La