France July 2010

France July 2010

Cynthia shows off her new necklace that she hand made today.

A cheese shop on Rue Cler

Per the advice of my friend Dick Gildersleeve, I purchased a cheese called Saint-Marcellin. It was FANTASTIC.

This is the interior of the cheese shop

After the cheese shopping, I rented a bike (rental stations are all over Paris -you rent ''one way''. The bike plugs into a computer and it knows that the bike has been returned)
I rode around the Left Bank.

I stopped at the Eiffel Tower to prove that, yes, we were really in Paris

Bridge Pont Alexandre III

Who is in charge of changing the light bulbs when they burn out?

NOT the New York City subway. In this Paris subway station they play music. And I do not mean ''Rap Music with Break Dancing" as you may find in NYC. This was strictly classical music.

Today we went on a boat cruise. To enter the Seine River, we first had to go through a lock that lowered the boat 12 feet.

The lock gate

Once on the Seine River we looked back at Notre Dame.

We entered another lock as we entered the Marne River.

On a Marne River we actually entered a tunnel as the river went under a street and park area

Boat traffic along the Marne River

People often ask us where to go for really fun restaurants that do not cost a fortune.
Our favorites are located on the map above.
Rue Grégoire de Tours which is off Saint Germain, the main street on the Left Bank
Around the corner on Rue de Buci is another group of outdoor restaurants.
In the map above please note Rue Dauphine. It leads right to the Pont Neuf Bridge that leads very close to the Louvre on the Right Bank (see the map at the top of the page). Pictured below are the two streets.

Restaurants on Rue Grégoire de Tours

The restaurant on Rue de Buci where we had dinner

The House Wine of the Month. It was very good
This photo is not as clear as it was taken with my cell phone because I left my camera in the apartment when we went to dinner.

This photo is not as clear as it was taken with my cell phone because I left my camera in the apartment when we went to dinner.

The container that I have outlined with a red circle contains crêpe batter. It is swung to the left on a wheeled track above the red mark I have made. Then a lever is pressed and the container releases a thin film of batter as it is pulled to the right. Cheese and small ham slices are then placed on the batter as it cooks for a few minutes. Then the operator uses a spatula as seem below to fold the crêpe.

NO, I did not buy it. This was an order for someone else. I am on a diet