THIS AND THAT

The days have been busy with various friends and family visiting, some we spent more time with than others.  In between guests, there were Bloom meetings, housecleaning, marketing and general errand running.  Much of this in the rain!!!!😒.

A business associate of David's and a friend of hers were here visiting and we had them over for dinner early in their visit.  They did their own thing most of the time (they didn't stay with us) but we did all get together with Deb and Mark (David's sister and brother)  for one of the Seine dinner cruises.

Here's the whole gang!

Deb and Mark were here for a short week.  Mark stayed with us while Deb stayed in a small hotel around the corner.  Because Deb had been here in October and she and Mark had done some traveling prior to their visit in Paris, she was here only two nights.  David and I have done this little dinner cruise several times and said, after this one, we need to do it every couple of months..it's just so relaxing and the food is good.  Certainly, this will be one of those "we must do it before we go back" things!

After Deb left, David and Mark did the Normandy beaches tour.  I stayed home and did my thing .  David has done this several times now so could probably lead a tour himself!!!!  He stopped in a little antique store in Bayeux while there and texted me about these copper pots he saw.  Unfortunately, I didn't see the text until it was too late😢 so I didn't get the "present" I thought I might!  We'll probably take a little time some week and go back just for that.  I'd love to take a couple home!!

How pretty are these?  Hope they still have some when we go!

Cute place for the guys to have lunch

Pont du Hoc

Destroyed German defense positions at Pont du Hoc

The American Cemetery near Omaha Beach

As I write this, the skies are again cloudy but I do have windows open for some fresh air.  I love that here...no screens on the windows and large windows.  I think spring is coming...I think I was a little premature a month ago bragging about our wonderful weather!!!  #pridegoethbeforeafall!!!!  But my geraniums are flourishing and full and birds are singing.  As we were out the other day,  we came upon this:

You turn the corner and...voila!!!

...how fun is that???  Of course, maybe the purpose isn't as much for "pretty" as for "helping keep walkers dry"!!!!!  You never know in Paris what you'll see when you turn a corner.  I love that!

Yesterday we had a new experience.  We went to the dentist for cleanings.  Now, in the US we went for cleanings every six months.  We made sure we did it right before we left so we wouldn't have to rush around finding a good dentist here.  Well.....15 months later we found a great dentist who did his dental training in the US (gotta love that!!!).  Our caterer (who is American) recommended him saying he is French but speaks English and his wife is also a dentist but is American who speaks French.  Anyway, we went yesterday for the first time.  He's wonderful!  Evidently, she does pediatric dentistry so she wasn't there.

David getting his teeth checked by Dr. L

As it turned out, they only had us scheduled for x-rays and a first-time consultation.  Boo!!  However, they were able to get me in, after a short wait, for my cleaning and David went back at 5:00 for his cleaning.  Dr. LeClercq is very friendly and personable.  We liked him a lot.  His staff was also very kind and some are English speaking.  Dentistry isn't the same here as in the States...one of the big things is usually the dentist does the cleanings..no hygienist.  However, Dr. L is very American in his practice and has three hygienists.  Ramona was our English-speaking hygienist,  and she was delightful.  She lived for 20 years in Chicago and is Romanian married to a French man.

The office was very nice and modern.  The equipment looked new and current and everything was done very professionally.  I felt as though I was in the US...except when I was standing outside the office.....

Not a bad view if you can get it!  (I must learn what to do with my hands in photos!!!!)

And every good patient should get a special treat on the way home....is it possible this is the reason the scales aren't going down??????!!!!!!😉

Makes it worth going to the dentist!

Another day we stopped at a church we hadn't been in, L'Eglise de Madeleine.  I so love these magnificent churches and the peace and quiet and reverence you find in most of them.

A beautiful altar

A quiet moment

I have sometimes taken the opportunity to light a candle and pray for one thing or another that was on my heart.  While I know I don't need to do this for God to hear me, I like the ritual of it.

And I guess that's it for now from Paris.....we're still making memories we'll carry home with us and hold in our hearts the rest of our lives......

DEAUVILLE

While we haven't done any major traveling since living in Paris, we have been able to visit some of the smaller, countryside towns which has been wonderful.  It gives a whole new perspective to French living.

Last week we had the opportunity to visit Deauville, France, a city in the Normandy region of northern France.  We have friends from ACP who own a home there and they invited us to come up and let them show us around.

How quaint is this??

We stayed at a darling B&B owned by Carol, a friend of theirs, who also owns a small boutique in town which, of course, we checked out later in our visit!!

Villa Eugenie-our B&B

We'd already spent one night hence the rumpled bed!

Great bathroom and I loved the tub-I need a pillow like that!!

Most of our first day was spent getting settled into our room, strolling Deauville with Francoise and Kveta and their grandson, Martin, who was staying with them.  We ended our day at their home for dinner which was fabulous.

When Francoise needed to go into this shop for new pants, David went in and walked out with a new navy sport coat!  But it was on sale!!

These are the memories we will take back with us when we leave...

I'm bundled up and David is without coat!

Most of the time we were there it was cold (David says cool!!) and rainy.  But we're Parisians (!!!) and know how to be out in rain!!!!  Each day we had a French breakfast at our B&B.  This is a small place and they only have two rooms, and this visit we were her only visitors.  It felt strange, but she was so warm and friendly it almost felt as though we were spending time with a friend (who only spoke French!!!!  But she tried English and we tried our French!!!).

Deauville is known for its horse racing so we spent some of the morning walking around seeing where horses were stabled and where races were run.  It's the sister city of Lexington, Kentucky, because of its horse racing.    The neighborhoods were very quaint and beautiful-even in the rain!  Martin had tennis every day so we'd stroll with Francoise in the early morning (after breakfast) while Kveta took care of some of her household business then we'd get her and pick up Martin and have lunch.

We walked along the beach several times in several locations.  Of course, the weather wasn't what I want in a beach stroll, but the beaches were very nice.  One day we had lunch at a little lunch spot on the beach (inside, of course!) and it was so relaxing looking out onto the beach and the hear waves breaking.  What did I select for lunch??  A good old American cheeseburger and fries!!!!  Delish!!😋

I loved this-the changing rooms along the beachfront had these dividers between each room all with the names of various celebrities from various eras.

I do love walking on the beach!!!

This is the view from the back of their home-I would never tire of it...even  with clouds and rain!

As we drove through the countryside and small towns, we stopped at a British Cemetery from World War I.  It was in a remote little place and was lovely and quiet.  We also stopped at an apple farm where they grow apple trees and make Calvados, an apple liqueur, and other apple products.  We   bought some apple caramels, jam and an apple liqueur.

This is a beautiful-manicured little cemetery to honor those young men who gave so much

Trouville-sur-Mer (commonly known as Trouville) borders Deauville.  It is a village of fishermen and fishing boats, and we spent a rainy afternoon there strolling the streets, walking along the boardwalk and, of course having a treat!

Watching the waffle being made

We had a wonderful few days in the north of France.  It always makes us wonder how different life would be living outside Paris.  Certainly our French would have to be MUCH better...several nights we had aperitifs with Francoise and Kveta and friends of theirs.  Everyone spoke French (of course) but little, if any, English.  David found it challenging to try and understand while I found it frustrating and stressful!!!!  But we enjoyed these visits and appreciated their welcome to Francoise and Kveta's American friends.

There is no question in our minds we will leave this country different than we came........