Recovering from Jet Lag

We slept until almost 10 am the following morning.  Today we are meeting Dick and Judy at the W.H.Smith Book store on rue de Rivoli, near the Embassy; then lunch.  We are supposed to meet them at 11:00am!
We opted to walk since it was only about a 10 minute walk, 3-4 blocks.

souvenir shops on rue de Rivoli

Rue de Rivoli is an arcade from rue du Louvre all the way to Place de la Concorde.  It is lined with souvenir shops, upscale clothing shops and luxury Hotels.  One these 5 star hotels is the Hotel Meurice.  The doormen can be easily spotted by their hats.  I couldn't help staring...and tried to take this picture discreetly.

We arrived before Dick and Judy at the bookstore.  W.H.Smith is an English-speaking bookstore~how nice that Judy has this so close by.  We all walked around the block to Le Souffle, a small, very nice little restaurant.  Everything on the menu is a souffle of some kind.  They are divided into souffle sucre (sweet) and souffle sel (meaning salt, but it really means not sweet).  I had the salmon souffle with asparagus; then for dessert, the chocolate and pear souffle.  I have made souffles maybe twice in my life and they did puff up; but they were nothing like these souffles.  They were so light and much puffier than mine.

When the dessert came, the waiter came with a small pitcher; he asked if I had the chocolat & poire.  I said yes and he proceeded to stab my souffle.  I watched it cave in a bit, then he poured this rich, thick chocolate sauce into the well.  What can I say?   Tres delicieux!

Dick got the Grand Marnier Souffle and the waiter did the same stabbing thing with his only his got a good dousing of Grand Marnier.

My only regret is that I did not take a photo of our lunches!

Before Dick and Judy returned to the Embassy, we made plans to have dinner at their apartment that evening.  They would pick us up at our apt at about 7pm.  Then we took off in opposite directions.

We decided to walk back to the apt. a different way, to see something new.  For the next two weeks that was "the plan"~to see something new each day.  We headed towards Place Vendome.  As the Michelin guide says, "Place Vendome epitomises the full majesty of 17th century French Design."

Place Vendome

The column was originally supposed to commemorate Louis XIV.  It has been destroyed and rebuilt a dozen times.  By the time we arrived at the square it had started to rain and the wind had taken control of the umbrellas.  We headed in the direction of our apt. hoping we would run into rue du Louvre sooner rather than later.

We made it back fine.  I rested, Woody watched TV.  This would be our pseudo-schedule for the duration;  out in the morning, back late afternoon for siesta, back out at 8pm for dinner.

the little park in Neuilly near their apartment

 


 Dick and Judy picked us up in front of the apt at 7pm, then we headed to Neuilly where they live~a suburb west of the city.

  The next half hour was the most harrowing experience~rush hour in Paris!

The masses moving up the Champs Elysees.

We competed with, not only cars, but buses, motorcycles and bicycles for our part of the road.  I can say that Monsieur Richard is an excellent driver and that we survived the Place de la Concorde, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe and Porte de Maillot.  When navigating these large roundabouts and boulevards, the rule is:  GO FOR IT.  There is alot of horn blowing.  To me, it was a free for all; everyone makes their own lane.  3/4 of the way there I finally shut my eyes.  We arrived safely but I was "fried" and had the worst tension headache.

Judy, Dick and Daisy

We met the notorious Gatsby and Daisy aka Daisy Do Good; their excitable standard French poodles.  They spent the evening snacking in the laundry room.

We had a lovely dinner.  Dick grilled steaks.  We talked and talked.  Dick drove us back to the apt.  Quite a different ride at 10pm.  

It was long and very memorable day!



When we got back to the apt., we noticed that the cable box had been replaced.  Woody checked the TV et voila!