FALL, FAMILY AND FRIENDS - PART 3

After a little break, we were excited to welcome Erin and Faust Reynolds to Paris when they included us in their fall European vacation plans.  David and Erin worked together and we became friends that way.  They stayed in an apartment just around the corner so it was very easy for us to meet for outings.

Erin and David had created quite the itinerary for their visit,  and Faust and I happily went along.  I think I'm fair to say while Paris was an enjoyable spot for them to visit, they tend to prefer smaller towns and countrysides where they can go into a larger city if they choose but aren't right in the middle of it all the time.  I get that,  and we were happy to include some out-of-the-way places we've found to the traditional tourist spots.

Their first night here we invited them to our apartment for dinner, and that was a perfect way to begin their adventure here.  Not because of the cooking (!!!!!), but because they'd been driving most of the day from their previous stop so it was nice to have a quiet, relaxing in-house meal where we could visit and discuss the rest of their trip here.

Sorry, Erin, that you're blinking but it's a cute of the two of you!!

They weren't as interested in some of the "hot" tourist sights which was fine with us.  We did walk over by the Eiffel Tower one night just so they could see it up close.  That particular night it was pretty cold and windy so we didn't stay long....but it is a totally different experience to see the intricacies of the Tower close.

One day, "as we were walking"(!!!),  we came upon a tea shoppe and Erin wanted to stop.  The guys went and sat on a bench, and we went in and had the most fun I've had buying tea (and I didn't even buy any tea!!!).  She knew pretty much what she wanted; however, in addition to that, she bought a travel cup and a really nice canvas bag and I got a cute tea strainer.  The shop was empty while we were there,  and the sales associate was very helpful and English-speaking...always a plus!  It started our day off with a bang!

Lots of tea and other goodies!

David and I love the movie, "Something's  Got to Give", with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson.  In the movie she mentions her favorite restaurant in Paris is Le Grand Colbert.  On our strolling with Erin and Faust we found Le Grand Colbert!!!  It looks like a really nice restaurant, and we hope to go there before leaving Paris (whenever that is!).

It looks just like in the movie!!

You know we love going into churches and we walked into several we've not been in before.  One was Notre Dame des Victoires.  It wasn't as large or ornate as some we've walked into, but it was quiet and restful on a day that was busy and nonstop.

For lunch one day while we were out, Erin wanted to go to Le Procope where she'd gone once years ago when she was in college.  What a nice, French cafe it was!   It is said to be the oldest restaurant of Paris in continuous operation and is located in the 6th arrondissement.  The cafe started as a place where gentlemen of fashion might drink coffee, the exotic beverage that had previously been served in taverns, or eat a sorbet, served in porcelain cups served by waiters in exotic "Armenian" garb.  Throughout the 18th century, it was the meeting place of the intellectual establishment including Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.  We sat at a corner table facing a bookcase wall full of antique books.  It was a lovely place to get warm (the day was cold) and have a nice lunch with friends.

Le Precope

We didn't just eat (although it seemed that's all we were doing!!!).  Erin and I shopped stopping in several little out-of-the-way shops where she bought a sweater, a scarf...I'm not really sure what else.  I love helping her spend her money!!!!

I think part of what they wanted was to experience Paris life as we live it each day.  They went to the market with us on Saturday and experienced that with us, we walked through many side streets and saw an old man playing the game of Petanque-the game with steel balls.  Other than being cold, the weather stayed mostly dry and walking wasn't difficult.

I think I might like this game-I never see women playing!

The last two nights Erin and Faust were in Paris we had special dinners...not just cafe-style cuisine.  Erin's friend had recommended a small restaurant that was on a cobblestone side street in the 5th arrondissement.  Our reservation was at 8:00 so it was dark, cold and rainy as we made our way there on two different buses and walking (of course!).  It really was a tiny little place, but cozy and quaint with dark red walls with some concrete trim and antique chandeliers.  Candles and white tablecloths completed the scene and prepared us for a delicious meal.  Our waiter was English-speaking and completely delightful.  He was kind and helpful and also funny.  He put our experience there over the top.  It was a wonderful evening!

Le Reminet

Sunday morning we all got up and went to church.  Our afternoon was pretty quiet while they hit a couple of museums they wanted to see.  We had reservations on one of the Seine dinner cruises that evening so we all wanted to be rested.  David and I did one of these cruises on an earlier visit to Paris and,  though it's kind of expensive, it's a perfect way to end a trip to Paris.  

The Eiffel Tower from the boat

We appreciated so much Erin and Faust taking these days from their vacation time to come to Paris and visit us.  While David and Erin have been good friends, their visit cemented the friendship the four of us will share for years to come.  We shared lots of laughs, memories and dreams in the days we were together..... and a good time was had by all!!!!!

FALL, FAMILY AND FRIENDS -  PART 2

The next visit we had was from David's sister, Deb, in early October.  In fact, she arrived the week of Bloom so we had a busy week!!  She came in on Tuesday and was here until the following Friday.  It was a nice long visit giving us plenty of time to see the many things on her list.

On the Sunday following Bloom, the three of us went on a Jewish Historical Tour Deb set up through our friend, April of aprilinparistours.  Her friend, David, does this tour,  and he was wonderful.  The day was cool and rainy so we went prepared with good outerwear and umbrellas.  Fortunately, the rain stopped and we just had cooler temperatures.

One of the stops on the tour was The Great Synagogue also known as the Grande Synagogue de la Victorie.  It serves as the official seat of the chief rabbi of Paris.  It was finished in 1874,  and the inscription in Hebrew at the entrance is a scripture from Genesis 28:17, "This is none other than the house of God, the very gateway of heaven."  It so happened a bris was going on so we were able to see the family members celebrating this occasion with songs and chants.  David was able to take us into where the Torahs are kept that have been donated by different people and are used in the services.

This is the largest menorah I've seen

Outside the synagogue

The three of us

We also walked by the Allee des Justes, a wall that pays homage to non-Jews who, through their acts of heroism, saved Jews during the Nazi occupation of France.  It is next to The Memorial de la Shoah,  a holocaust museum in Paris.  Unfortunately, we were unable to go in as they were having some sort of event.

David was a great guide as he was a library of information and, at the same time, was warm and friendly.  We did a lot of walking (naturally!) and ended up in the Marais where our tour ended, he left us, and we went to Sacha Finkelsztajn's for lunch.  They have the best sandwiches!  We've been there before and, the last two times David and I have been there, he's been closed.  Boo!!!!  But today there was a crowd!!

This is from three years ago, but Sacha's still looks the same

It was a fun, full day even if it was cool.  It felt like fall, which was nice for all of us, I think.

Another day Deb was here we went to the Jewish Museum of Art and History.   David and I had been there last spring for Purim when they had a reenactment of the story of Esther.  Though it was in French, of course, because we know the story, we understood what was going on.  On the day we went with Deb, it was just a museum visit.  It's a beautiful museum with several floors of artifacts, pictures and history.

I loved these menorahs

These wedding rings were fabulous

This structure was symbolic of the "booths" God instructed the people of Israel to live in for seven days.  This became known as The Feast of Tabernacles and is recorded in Leviticus 23. 

I loved this wedding dress until I noticed the face of a  family member on the bodice and also along the train!  Kinda spooky!!!

This was a beautiful picture-It's called "Priere du soir" (Prayer of  Night)-I loved the man looking to God with the Word of God and his wife nearby

One Tuesday each month Adrian Leeds holds Apre-Midi, an afternoon event where she hosts different speakers.  It's held at a little cafe in the Marais, and David and I have been several different times.  We thought Deb would enjoy meeting Adrian and hearing this month's speaker, Cara Black, author of the Aimee Leduc Mystery series that takes place in Paris.

Had lunch here before Apre-Midi-good ol' burger and fries!

Here we are with Karina who found our apartment for us

All Adrian asks is you order a drink of some kind since the cafe gives her the space to use for this event.  This time we shared this chocolate cake too!!!!  That's a copy of Cara's newest book which I bought and she signed.

We had a great visit with Deb.  She was sick with some sort of seasonal cold while she was with us and even got to experience first hand having a French doctor come to the apartment!  Fortunately, this didn't prevent her (or us) from getting out and about.  Hopefully, she left us with memories of her time in this beautiful city we're calling home.

FALL, FAMILY AND FRIENDS - PART 1

After the warm days of summer, I believe fall is finally arriving.  Slowly the trees are changing from bright green to a subtle brown reminding me the cozy, cooler days are just around the corner.

I love walking through the crunch of fall leaves

Now, when I look down these beautiful Parisian streets, I am able to see windows through the partially empty trees where,  a month ago, the windows were protected by a screen of green leaves.  We haven't "fallen back" yet, but the I'm beginning to notice lights in apartment windows are on a little earlier than during those light, bright summer days.  I like the cozy feeling that gives.

Windows peeking out through the changing trees

In the midst of these cooler temps and changing trees, we've been having visits from family and friends.  Though we're feeling at home here now, it's so nice to see people we care about and be able to catch up face-to-face with them.

A while ago (I have no idea exactly the exact month) when Andy was in London for business, David and I took the Chunnel to London and had some time (an afternoon and evening) with him.  That was great!  Then earlier in September, he had to be in Geneva for business and he brought Catherine with him.  While we would love to see the "little boys" (who, by the way, are no longer little!!!), it was wonderful having the time without them to talk and catch up.  Again, the visit was short (one afternoon and they spent the night with us),  but I'm okay with any time we can have.  Andy and Catherine arrived at Gare de Lyon, we met them there and took a crowded bus back to the apartment.  We came to the apartment and I served a quiche for lunch--French-style.  David and I had been in a garden that's not too far and, knowing Catherine loves anything green/floral, we thought it would be a nice place to stroll through.  She preferred staying here and visiting, which, you know, is always okay with me!!!  We did, later, get out and stroll down the Champs-Elysees (it was a Sunday so pretty busy) and she could see the Arc de Triomphe.

Aren't they cute??

From the Arc de Triopmhe, we were going to take a bus to a restaurant at the Trocadero, but the bus stop was closed, so we had to go to plan B, and take a Metro.  David thought we'd be able to see the Eiffel Tower light up but, alas, still too many green trees!!!!After dinner we strolled to The Trocadero, an area across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower that has, perhaps, the best view of the Tower.  There are always tons of people there taking photos....people like us!!!!

Three of my "favorites"

Perhaps our 2018 Christmas card pic!!!!

It was a great visit!!  Oh, it seems anyone who comes to visit is bringing me things I've ordered and had shipped to them since not everyone will ship to Paris or it's outrageous to ship.  Andy and Catherine brought magazines (!!!!!) and fall pillow covers to put in the living room.  So, if you're coming to visit, beware I may email you asking you to bring something!!!!

After Andy and Catherine's visit, we welcomed Harold, Martha and Brooke Harkins.  They had been traveling prior to their Paris visit, and we were excited to see them.  They had rented an apartment not too far from us which was very convenient for getting together.

One day we all went to Notre Dame (but just walked around it) then went across the street to Shakespeare and Company Bookstore.  I'd been in there once, but briefly, so while David and Brooke stayed outside and then walked to Odette's to get us mini-cream puffs (they are delicious!!!), the other three of us spent time browsing the shelves of books.  It's a small, cozy little space that houses a  variety of books.  Upstairs there's a little sitting area for relaxing and reading and pictures of the store in an earlier time.  This was the place where Hemingway and his friends sat around talking over the issues of the day.  Pretty historic!!  Anyway, I walked out with a couple of books!!!

Martha, Brooke and I in front of Notre Dame

There's always fun when we're together

These minis are the best!!!

Their week here was a combination of activities-some with us and some without us.  Many times we met for a meal.  We went to Breakfast in America one morning (it was actually brunch time, I think) and I had one of their BIA Burgers-best burger I've had in ages!!!!  We strolled with them down Rue Cler, the well-known market street near us and all got a beautiful ice cream cone at Amorino (the shop who makes the tulip-shaped ice cream in the cone).  One night we all went to dinner and then to a club called Lido, similar to Moulin Rouge.  And one night they all came to our apartment and we fixed dinner.  In between these times, they were busy showing Brooke all the big sights and Brooke did some investigating on her own!

It's always a blast when we get together with Harold and Martha, and we miss having them close enough to get together more often.  I'm sorry we're not enjoying retirement together!  That might have given retirement a whole new face!!!!  But we sure enjoyed their visit to our Paris home!!!

AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL...

Well, it's over.  After four months of planning, meeting, emailing, calling, cursing (only from David!!),  and praying,  Bloom Where You're Planted arrived last Saturday (Oct. 6) and was a roaring success!

Set-up took place Friday night, and we had a good turn-out of people to help get everything ready for the next morning. David's sister, Deb, had come in on Tuesday for a visit,  and she joined hands to help fill gift bags and help with other miscellaneous jobs that needed to be done.  It takes a village......

You know we've had some glitches along the way.  I suppose this is normal in the planning of any event like this.   The glitches were taken care of,  and the event was wonderful!  We had 112 adult attendees (which included 30 walk-ins!!!!!) and 10 children!!  Two years ago (remember, they had to cancel last year) they had 75 adults.  We were thrilled!  There were pastries and coffee/tea/juice available after they registered,  and as they entered the sanctuary,  we played a "Midnight in Paris" soundtrack while a video of Paris scenes looped across a screen in the front.

It got busy at the Registration table

Coffee, tea and juice were appreciated in the morning

Our morning speakers were informative, friendly and humorous.  Two,  Peter Caine and Craig Carlson (he of "Pancakes in Paris" fame) had spoken at previous Blooms.   The third speaker, Dr. Linda Zonens, our pharmacist (Pharmacie de la tour Eiffel at 24 rue de Monttessuy 75007 Paris),  did an interview-conversation with me about the differences in pharmacy care in Paris.  It was really interesting,  and she had people asking her all kinds of questions afterwards.

Peter talked about the history of Paris

Craig was funny-we love his American diner, Breakfast in America

I told the audience to pretend they were all in my living room!!

After the morning sessions, the Red Wheelbarrow Bookshop, 9 Rue de Medicis, 75006 Paris, was open for participants to browse.  Penelope, the owner of the bookshop, had books available from several of our author-speakers that they were happy to sign.  Then it was time for lunch and visiting the exhibit hall.  While half went to lunch the other half could go to the exhibit hall or the bookshop.  It all ran pretty smoothly,  and it seemed there were people everywhere (a good thing, I thought).

There was a nice assortment of books for our participants

Lisa, Craig and Toni are ready to sign books!

The Bookshop kept busy.  Even I bought two books!!!

The Exhibit Hall was a pretty active place!

Volunteers are everything!  Kathryn (with me) had tireless enthusiasm as she publicized Bloom and Sue (with David) has been part of Bloom for many years and shared her experience and wisdom with us "newbies" who were learning as we went.

Craig had donated pancakes/bacon from his diner,  and we also offered salad, roasted chicken/vegetable sandwich on a baguette with brownies/pumpkin tarts that were catered by one of our afternoon speakers, Janine Springall, who has a catering business.  All the food was delicious and people seemed to enjoy everything.  I loved grabbing a little salad (and a brownie, of course!) and visiting with several people who were new to Paris.  That's the part I enjoy the most!!

Our friends, Alain and Therese, jumped in helping in the kitchen

These sandwiches were fabulous!

Looks like everyone is enjoying lunch and visiting with others

The first two sessions we offered were a panel discussion on Family Adjustments/Education and Adrian Leeds , our friend and realty consultant, speaking on buying and renting real estate in Paris.  David and I both sat in on Adrian,  and her session was full and then some.  She gave great information and had lots of questions from the audience.  It was entertaining and informative and made me want to buy property in Paris (if I had a rich, unknown relative die and leave me a lot of money!!!!).

Adrian Leeds

The second session we offered another panel discussion, this time on the French workplace and the differences between it and the American workplace.  I heard good things from this discussion later.  Opposite it was Lisa Anselmo, the author of my favorite Parisian memoir, "My Part-Time Paris Life".  I found her book to be sincere, funny, and touching,  and her presentation matched that.  She, too, had a large audience, and I think her words probably touched an encouraged others as much as they did me.

Lisa Anselmo

The last sessions of the day were Safety in Paris with representatives from the U.S. Embassy and Janine Springall, the woman who helped catered our lunch, talking about marketing and cooking in Paris.  She had a pretty full group as well and many questions about finding certain foods here, proper storage of food here etc.  She offered a great handout with tons of good information.  When she sent us the handout to copy for the event, I told David I wish I'd had it seven months ago as we were struggling to know the difference between detergent and dish soap!!!  And that's just a sample of what we had to figure out!!!!

Janine Springall

Our day ended with the Wine Down, a casual, relaxed time for all participants to sample wines from different regions of France, learn a little about those wines, have some cheese and baguette and mingle with each other and our volunteers about their experiences in moving to this beautiful city.

Our friends, Joerg and Tinu, stepped in and helped manage Wine Down

To Paris and all the things we all love about it!

As the last of the cheese and baguettes were eaten and the last glass of wine was finished, people began to step out into their Paris life armed with new information, new resources and, perhaps, a new friend.....