Lost in Paris

Monday held some promise for some sunshine. The Starlight mice had finally emerged from their box to check out the apartment and look out the window at all the people passing by in the morning on their way to somewhere.


By Monday we'd run out of clean clothes so we did a little washing. In this apartment we had the same cheese-grater type washer but it also had a drying cycle. We never did figure out how to get it to dry without adding hot water. Wolfgang said it was stewing his clothes, not drying them. But that's what European windows and balconies are for.

Dave and I headed off in our clean clothes to visit the Centre Pompidou. This was a Lost in Paris day. We got off the metro and walked long distances in the wrong directions trying to find our way to the street that would take us there. By the time we found it, we were too frustrated to take photos of the Pompidou building. You'll have to click on the link to see it. It's unusual.

Andrea had suggested we also visit the Place des Vosges since we were in the area. So we consulted our map and walked in the wrong direction. But we eventually figured it out, with the help of some street signs and our LARGE PRINT map. On the way we passed this pleasant little courtyard.

Those glass bubbles on the lawn are actually solar lights.

We found an empty bench at the park to sit and relax. Everyone was enjoying the sun. It was still cold enough for an overcoat, but at least the sun was out.

Place des Vosges is in the Marais district. The houses that surround the park were owned by aristocracy. Victor Hugo lived here.

Our next stop was my favorite cooking store (Mora) near the Les Halles metro stop. The market halls are gone, but this reflective building is right near the metro exit.

I found a few more chocolate molds to try to stuff into our suitcases. I know I'll be happy to have them when I get home, but getting our luggage to the airport will be challenging.

Afterwards we decided to go find the W.H. Smith bookstore where David Lebovitz, the American pastry chef in Paris blogger would be signing his new book on Wednesday evening.

I found the street on my map and we headed off to the 11th arrondissement. We found the street without too many wrong turns and followed it to the end without seeing anything that resembled a bookstore. The street numbers were completely wrong, so I must have written something down wrong. But there was a small well-stocked cheese shop nearby, so we stopped in to pick up some dinner cheese and sliced meat. They also had small madeleines made with butter from Brittany (the best).

Neither Dave nor I can remember what we did that night so maybe we rested up for the next day, which would be Wolfgang's last day in Paris. I know I made bread pudding that night with all the leftover bits of bread. We had it with authentic creme fraiche. It was delicious.