Sunday, October 23, 2017:
The weather had finally changed to more Fall like conditions, colder, rainy and windy.
That would not stop us in the least, if anything it emboldened us to be even more adventurous.
My first task was to find Laurie her morning cafe au lait, no easy task on a Sunday when many of our local shops were closed.
It did afford me the opportunity to explore more of our 11th Arrondissement neighborhood.
The Kingsmen's greatest hit ca. 1963
Atop a school
Street lounging is always
a possibility in Paris
Our apartment's stairwell
NICE parking job!
France vs. Japan in Rugby
BE THERE!
The six of us (Susie, Mark, Sandy, Loren, Laurie and I) were finally all awake and properly fed and hydrated so we were off to Rue Monge for yet another flea market experience.
It would be a good one.
First, let's see what is going on at the Rue Monge newsstand.
Charlie Hebdo still doing their thing
Bonjour Mr. President
The fountain at the Place Rue Monge,
the site of our flea market
Time to check out the food and wares on sale today.
MEAT!
Paella
Shrimp
Salmon
The seafood on the right looks
like part of a "Cuisine on a Dare" challenge
Colorful grapes
A little of this,
a little of that
Colorful vegetable stalks
We were at Utah Beach just yesterday
Didn't see any of these oysters though.
Dazzling
Mixed produce
Yes, Laurie bought a new shawl
VIVE LA FRANCE indeed!
As if the Rue Monge flea market was not enough, we now meandered a few more blocks towards a nearby pedestrian shopping street.
Flowers on Sundays
are always a nice touch
This is the street we wanted
Need any chairs re-caned?
Lots of possibilities on
Rue Mouffetard
Is saying Mouffetard politically correct?
So many quaint eating
spots on one rue
Mushrooms galore
Desserts galore as well
GREAT culinary idea!
While the chickens roast, all of their juices drip down onto the potatoes on the bottom shelf of this rotisserie.
That just HAS to be good for you.
Getting hungry
Sandy eyeballing another
dessert shop
OH MY!
Be Strong!
Be Paris Strong!
And another corner eatery
STOP THE MADNESS!
They celebrate Halloween
in France too
This place broke me
Bonjour.
Six deep dark chocolate covered orange slices, s'il vous plait.
Merci.
Au revoir.
Closed on Sundays
No foie gras for me today.
BONJOUR MADEMOISELLE!
Chocolate mushroom baskets
Mark was getting hungry
So was Loren
Les Frenchy's?
You named your Parisian restaurant Frenchy's?
Really?
I like to bowl occasionally
The place to be at night
on Rue Mouffetard I bet
Loren and Sandy walking
the mean streets of Paris
Au Negre Joyeux
It translates to "The Happy Negro" but whoever splashed the purple paint on this painting was definitely not a happy person.
The fountain at Place de la Contrescarpe
It was the scene of our breakfast
at one of Mark and Susie's favorite
dining spots
We all liked our breakfasts!
GREAT call Mark and Susie!
"I think therefore I eat"
The potted plants added a nice touch
For Sale
One Parking Slot in Paris
only 17,000 Euros
I'll take the Metro, merci.
Susie was having a wonderful day
Suddenly I felt weak
Sandy, look there's a church!
Eglise Saint-Etienne to be exact
Wait, there on the far left,
is that a Center checking the sidelines
for an audible call?
Our next stop
UNHAND THOSE MEN!
Just a typical University of Paris
classroom building across from . . .
. . . The Pantheon . . .
. . . which has HUGE columns!
Several of France's most illustrious citizens are buried inside of the Pantheon including the likes of Rousseau, Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Louis Braille and Marie Curie.
At a whopping nine Euros a head to enter, we passed.
Instead we used our disposable income to buy . . .
. . . GELATO!
A big one for Mark and . . .
. . . a little one for Laurie
Now we were on to the
Luxembourg Garden
This 60 acre garden is just the spot to be on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Great spot to meditate . . .
. . . or to sit and read . . .
. . . or to dine al fresco
with good friends . . .
. . . or sit in peace by yourself
Queen Mathilde
An actor rehearsing his lines
Serene
We were all a bit cold at this point, so we ducked into a cafe for some respite from the weather.
A vin chad hit the spot
Vin chaud is a hot, spiced wine concoction that is perfect on a day like today.
Marking to the rescue
This random couple from Seattle, he a fireman and she a worker for Alaska Airlines, were in Paris for the first time to celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary.
Mark could not help but assist them to make wise sightseeing/dining choices.
At this point the group split up.
Mark, Susie and Laurie were headed tp Paris' largest flea market, the Puces St. Ouen on Paris' northern fringe.
Loren, Sandy and I opted to explore more of the Latin Quarter.
FRANCE!
One of the Latin Quarter's
wet streets
Eglise Saint-Sulpice
Cool fountain in front
of the massive
Eglise Saint-Sulpice
ROAR!
This church was free to enter.
So we did.
I liked the combination of
the gleaming white statue and the
colorful mural
The Main Altar at Saint-Sulpice
St. Joesph hold the Baby Jesus
I've always felt that St. Joseph has been far under appreciated by church goers.
The Adult Jesus
Saint-Denis holding his
severed head again
Watch out for the Angel of Death
to the left!
Death of d'Artagnan?
TO ARMS!
We noticed that a crowd was
gathering inside Saint-Sulpice
Why?
Oh, that's right!
Saint-Sulpice is considered to be one of Europe's great musical treats. If you like pipe organ music, this is the place to be!
We had stumbled into an incredible pipe organ concert featuring the talented Daniel Roth playing tunes from Johan Sebastian Bach.
Impressive don't you think?
My place
Great vines
Vampire chocolates
We have got to get out to see
Andy, Jenn and Kevin in Las Vegas
soon!
At the famed Shakespeare
and Company bookstore
From the bookstore's owner
Last Sunday we went to Mass on St. Peter's Square in Rome with Pope Francis presiding.
This Sunday we would attend
Mass in Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral
The Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, would lead the faithful at tonight's 6:30 p.m. Mass.
What is he looking at?
We got to the Cathedral a bit
early to hear the end of the
5:45 p.m. Vespers
This was part of the Vespers
The Mass in this venerable Cathedral was amazing.
Cardinal André Vingt-Trois
Though overjoyed, once again Sandy did not ascend into Heaven before our eyes during the ceremonies.
The Recessional march after
Mass with the Cardinal even
shaking hands with a young worshipper
After the Vespers/Mass
at Notre Dame Cathedral
Proud of their French Flag
Re-united with Laurie, Susie and Mark back at the apartment, there was only one thing left on the agenda . . .
. . . dinner!
Another new local bistro courtesy
of Susie's skills
And another good, two hour dining experience in Paris.
We were OK to eat anything that we wanted since . . .
. . . we got our exercise today!
So now we near the end of our two week holiday to Lyon, Mombarruzo, Rome and Paris as Monday will be our last full day to explore the French capital before flying home to California on Tuesday morning.
One more blogpost to write, stay tuned . . .
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