FALL, FAMILY AND FRIENDS - PART 4

As you can see, it's been a busy couple of months with visits from lots of people, much of it back to back.  But we have loved seeing everyone, catching up on life in the US and showing them this beautiful city.

As Erin and Faust were leaving, Nikki was arriving.  This was a visit we never expected...we hoped her family would make it here while we were here, but we never imagined she would come alone.  We would have loved seeing Scott and the boys, but it was nice having Nikki alone too.  She came with a tentative agenda of what she wanted to see and do (which she and David had previously worked out), but she was also open to just "flaneuring" (strolling) and taking in the city.

She arrived Monday,  and David met her at the airport.  Once she got here, we more or less hit the ground running!  She freshened up, we had some lunch and then we were out!!  We first visited the Delacroix Museum where David and I had been before.  Because it's where he lived and worked, it's small and not crowded so easy to walk through.  One of our favorite churches, St.Germain des Pres, was our next stop.  You know how David and I like the churches, and, of course, so does Nikki.  This was the first of many we visited during her time with us.  She wanted to go to a French bookstore for gifts for the boys, so we went to Galignani's because they carry both French and English language books.  I think by this time she had begun to fade so we grabbed a bus and came home where we had a quiet evening.  Not bad for a first day!!

Tuesday the big item on our itinerary was The Picasso Museum.  Sam is interested in him so we wanted to check it out to see if he would enjoy it should they get to come in January.  Most of time Nikki was here the weather was typical Paris in the fall...cloudy, colder and rainy.  However, the rain usually held off until the afternoon and early evening so on our morning outings we were okay...at least for a while!  This was a very nice museum and we thought well put together.  Instead of each area having the same type of art, each area had some different styles placed together which gave some variety as we were looking.  It made it more interesting as we entered each room. I think we would all recommend it to Paris visitors.

From here we took a little stroll through the Marais with one thing in mind...the Passage de Grand Cerf, a passageway Nikki had found online that had a yarn store she wanted to visit!  Off to the yarn store we went!!  Paris is full of these passageways where you can find hidden treasures, delightful little cafes and protection from the rain!  When we got to the right street, we noticed one side was full of sex stores and clubs!!  But it didn't seem to be a sleazy neighborhood (at least in the daytime!!), and we were excited to reach our destination.

Passage de Grand Cerf

We had lunch here at a little cafe on the corner because we were all hungry (we seemed to always be eating lunch late and our breakfast was always long gone) and then went down the passageway.

I love these passageways!

The name of the yarn store is Lil Weasel and they have two little shops, one on each side of the passageway.  The colored flags in the picture above go from one shop to the other.  They're very cute shops with all kinds of sewing, needlework supplies (as you can see from the thread stand on the right).  We left Nikki there and strolled down the passageway where there were all kinds of little shops...we went into an antique odds and ends shop but bought nothing😢.

I'm not much of a mall/department store shopper; in fact, since we've been here, I think we've only gone into one of the big stores and that was for home needs.  Nikki wanted to visit one of the large department stores, so we went to Galeries Lafayette and looked around.  The crowds were overwhelming (worst than Christmas, I thought) but we went to specific floors for Nikki to browse the things she was interested in.  I even got the chance to look at the shoe department, but, alas, the crowds zapped any interest I might have had in finding a new, cute pair of shoes!  However, Galeries Lafayette does have its Christmas tree up already (which is contrary to most of what I'd read about how early the French decorate!!) so we were able to see it (although I have a feeling it's better at night because we think it may light up).

I'm not overly impressed with it as it is so I certainly hope it does something like light up!!!!!  You can see just a small portion of the spectacular dome ceiling Galeries is known for.  It really is something.  I'm just hoping we won't have to deal with this kind of crowd the next time we're out...is that my Hallmark movie mindset kicking in???????? lol. But I'm sure you can find anything you would want or need if you just have enough $$$$$$$.  I'm still glad we went-it did kind of put me in the Christmas spirit (not hard to do!).

One of the things Nikki really wanted to do was a day trip.  She had several possible choices,  and we all finally decided to go to Giverny, the home of Monet.  We woke to pretty cool temps and a forecast of afternoon rain, but we dressed warm, comfortable and prepared for rain with an umbrella!  We took the train to Giverny which took about an hour once we got to the train then there was another bus to take us from the train station in Vernon to Giverny.

What a beautiful place!  The little town is charming, just like you would think (or perhaps see in a movie), and doesn't feel touristy (though it certainly has its share of tourists).  Wednesday was the last day of the season, however, so it won't be open to the public again till spring sometime.  Good to know if you're planning a trip here and want to visit.

No surprise-David was often ahead of us!

Once through the little town, we visited the gardens (created by Monet himself) then his house.  As pretty as the gardens were, we all wondered how they looked in the spring or summer.  I thought of my daughter-in-law, Catherine, and her love of all things garden and how this might have inspired her as she creates her own garden.

How quaint is this?

The Monet house was, as you would expect, quaint and cozy.  I told Nikki I really love English decorating..all the florals and prints.  But there are certain aspects of the French country I also love..chandeliers, mirrors, curvy legged tables.

Just a small little bungalow...!

I want a cozy sitting area like this...with a great view!

I loved this!!! Maybe not the teal, but blue.  I just may have to buy a copper pot at the shop where Julia Child shopped....

I know...none of these house pictures shows any of the things I just mentioned I like....what can I say??!!  I'm drawn to many things!!!!!

We had lunch at a little cafe in the town Nikki learned about from our favorite tour guide, Rick Steves!  It was called La Capucine and was decorated for Halloween (the day we were there) which was really fun.  It was a nice respite from all the walking.

If you look closely, you'll see the young woman helping at the register is wearing a witch's hat!  I love that!!!

After lunch we walked to the town's church, L'eglise Sainte-Radegonde.  On the way to the church, we spotted a couple of interesting things...

...flowers growing out of the stone wall.  I loved this!!  It wasn't just in this one spot.  There were many spots along this wall where flowers had been planted.  And then...

...goats on a hill!!!!  For this city girl (or suburban girl may be more accurate!!), this was quite the sight!!  Obviously, they're fenced in up there....it just caught my attention.  This is one reason I'm a great  "flaneurer"  (is that a real word???) - I go slow so I can look at these small things that I might miss if I were moving faster.

We reached the church, a quiet space on the edge of the town where there was a small cemetery with the tombs of Monet and others.  Nikki and I had to do some googling to figure out exactly who was who and who was related to who.  Those things matter!!!

We weren't sure if we could get in but, after walking around, we found the entrance.  Compared to the other churches we've visited, this was a small, intimate place of worship.  When we walked in, we were greeted with this sign..

..as you can see, it was also written in French.  I loved the sentiment of this and the intimacy it created in all of us who call ourselves believers.  Maybe this should be in all our churches.

I often take the opportunity in a church to pause and reflect....looks like I'm not the only one..Nikki does too.  On one side of the seating, I found this little cutie (perhaps not the most appropriate word for an angelic being!!) hanging around...

..it gave new meaning to "angels watching over me."  I liked it.

Coming out of the church, we noticed quickly the weather had changed and it was colder and beginning to sprinkle.  We walked to the bus pickup location, arriving earlier than our bus, and sat under umbrellas till it came.  Luckily, we had all dressed for inclement weather (that's being prepared in Paris and David and I have finally learned the lesson!!) so it wasn't too bad.  This bus took us to the train station, we headed back to Paris and arrived in cold, rainy weather where we had to wait quite a while (at least it seemed that way!) for the bus home.  We were ready to get back to our quiet corner of Paris and were welcomed with Zuppa Toscana soup (an Olive Garden copycat recipe) in the slow cooker which we ate with baguettes and cheese.

It was a wonderful day..better than I think any of us anticipated even with the weather, which didn't begin till we were ready to leave so...yea!!!!

This has been a longer than normal post...you can see we were busy while Nikki was here.  Tomorrow I'll finish up her visit with some other great things we did...some familiar to David and me but many new things!!!  Stay tuned.....