Three days without a post, primarily because those three days were filled with goings-on. If I remember correctly …
On Tuesday morning, the weather had turned cold, but the rain stayed away. Suzie and I walked to the Palais de Justice, hoping to sit on on an argument at the Cour d’appel de Paris. Unfortunately, we never found a courtroom that had anything going on in it, even though there were notices saying that there should have been. Apparently either the arguments were finished before we got there (rather late, at about 11) or we never found the right salle d’audience. As magnificent as some of the hallways and spaces were, we accidentally stumbled into several dismal warrens, the bowels of the judicio-administrative bureaucracy, stuffy and cramped hallways, small offices furnished in 1990’s style. The message to all comers: Abandon hope all ye who enter here. Some things are the same everywhere.
After that failure, we took the Metro to meet my former (10+ years ago) conversation partner Valérie, whom I used to meet at the Quick in the Gare Montparnasse to exchange language assistance (my English for her French). I somehow got the exit Metro stop wrong, which resulted in a long (but pretty) walk to where were supposed to meet her. Being early, we walked around the area near the Metro Courcelles, which I thought was pretty nice but Suzie found a bit sterile (both, actually, are true). Valérie took us to a little patisserie with good salads and sandwiches, and an upstairs eating area that was quiet and pleasant, where we caught up on 10 years of happenings. To respect her privacy I will say only that I admire greatly her tenacity and good humor in the face of adversity. It was so good to see her again.
After lunch we make our every-time-in-Paris trek to the Galerie Ubu jewelry store near the Place de Vosges. Interestingly designed stuff, reasonably priced, and staffed by people who are friendly and helpful without being overly attentive. Suzie bought several pieces to replace what she lost in the fire. In a trip highlight, the saleswoman complemented us on our French and even asked Suzie if she were a French language teacher. So there.
On Wednesday we met Wilfred, a former conversation partner of Suzie, for coffee and then lunch. Wilfred is an interesting guy, a French-born successful manager at the large steel-producing firm Arcelor-Mittal, but also a son of Martinique, the French island in the Caribbean, where his parents live. We met him as he was returning from a trip there, and learned a ton about the history of Martinique and neighboring Guadeloupe. Perhaps our next trip will be there.
Afterwards we decided to go on a quick visit to the Picasso Museum. When we had visited before, they were renovating the main building, and so the museum and moved to a small, cramped, not-very-pleasing space. This time, though, it was back in its regular home, the Hôtel Salé in the Marais. A beautiful space. Because of the time or the day or the season, the museum was wonderfully uncrowded, and we were able to visit the special exhibition — featuring complementary works by Picasso and Alexander Calder — at a peaceful pace.
We ended the day, and our trip to Paris, by meeting Anne-marie again, this time at a bistro in the 14th near her home, where she reminded me that moving to France was indeed possible for me and Suzie notwithstanding my health, since the French healthcare system would keep me alive in the event of an emergency, and airplanes could return me to the U.S. for any follow-up treatment. Good to remember.
As previously noted, Thursday was stressful, but got to our destination early enough that we were able to briefly visit Amboise. Our lodgings in Chenonceau are very nice, spacious and quiet. Our host is friendly, informative, and has a wonderful Australian Shepard named Ness. We are right in the town of Chenonceau, within easy walking distance of the chateau.
Which we visited on Friday. For those not following on the evil Facebook, I put photos of the visit into an album on Flickr, which you can access by clicking below. While visiting the chateau is obviously a touristy thing to do, the owners/managers have done an outstanding job of including artifacts not only of the nobility, but also of the common folk, so that you get a real feel for what living in the place must have been like. They also inform visitors about this history of the place over time (it was, for example, a field hospital during the First World War. Well done.
After leaving the Chateau we had lunch, then spent the rest of the day resting up — the first real break we’d given ourselves on the trip. So we are raring to go today. Stay tuned.
Categories: Blogging