Partager Un Verre!

The corner where Mr. T and I sit, usually on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, is a very special corner.  You can sit here for as long as you want ...  no one tries to shoo you away ... we have chosen our places carefully and they are ours until we are good and ready to go.  The bill  doesn't come our  way until we finally catch the server's eye and wave the universal sign for "l'addition, s'il vous plait."  

We have been sitting at this café for over 10 years now.  They know us;  we know them.    It has changed over the years, but so have we ....  (just a little). Although it did take us awhile to get used to the new chairs, hours of trying them out helped us to learn to love them, too.  The café faces one of the famous buildings in Paris, L'Ecole Militaire, where Napoleon received his military training.   The corner map for the quartier lives here too.  We have watched "the world"  come here to find La Tour Eiffel, only to walk in the wrong direction.  Remember when you are using these very helpful neighborhood maps, usually located right next to the metro stops, that they all face north, remember that and then you will easily find La Grande Dame!


Tomorrow I will be leaving for my bi-annual trip to the states, so my posts may be a bit par hasard but I will try to post from sunny Florida when I can.  Mr. T will have to visit the café alone (c'est dommage) ...  but I'll be back before he knows it! ... So, when you are near the corner café, take a look around for us.  We'll partager un verre!  And, in the meantime ... 
Bon Vacance!

Partager Ma Vue

This is my view from my fenetre.  Mr. T and I like to sit and stare out of this window.  There is always activity, even in the foulest of weather.  There are children with their nannies, always dogs and their masters (one woman usually has at least 3 tres mignon terriers), the tourists going to the restaurant next to us, the daily crossings of the habitues to Le Bosquet for their afternoon apero on the terrase,  the teenagers of the quartier coming home from school ...  and on and on ...  Sometimes, we think it is time to move on and get that place in the provinces,  but the discussion always ends with .."non, pas encore."  It is too good of a vue from ma fenetre. 

Partager Paris Friends

"I better write it down for you ... its a bit complicated to find the first time.  Be sure and come from the direction of rue St. Sulpice, because it is such a short street, you might miss it ...  and here are the porte codes.  The first porte code is easy to remember XXXX$$;   and then you will be in entry to the courtyard.  Then once you come thru the entry, you will see a wall sculpture, nice, n'est-ce pas?  You will know that you are in my courtyard, and not my neighbors ... then,  take the first right and look for the escalier A ...  if you go too far, you will be in the next courtyard and it is a private home, but REALLY pretty, so you might want to take a look before you come up.  Be sure and notice their rooftop garden.  They have lots of big parties there ... So, once you find the right staircase, here is the code for its door 5BB74bb9...not as easy to remember .. and , by the way, I did tell  you I was on the top floor with no elevator, didn't  I?" 

French Friends ... I'm so lucky to have such good friends in Paris.  They keep my life in a constant state of excitation and surprise.  When I first arrived in Paris, I was so excited about the city's gifts and its beauty that  I neglected to realize the wonderful friends the city could  share with me, too.

Partager French Countryside...sighhh...

Have you missed me?  the week off in the French countryside, or France Profond, was one of the best May Madness yet.  For the past 3 (or is it 4?) years, mon marie et moi, take a celebration trip...sometimes it is weaved into a bit of work...but this year, it was all on its own!
The French really believe in time off here, and our measly one week was scoffed at, but...we headed to the south for our week in the sun.  They were right...minimum of 2 weeks next year!


After spending weeks of internet surfing..looking for the perfect place...I did find a nice one.
Here is the view from our terrace.  If anyone wants some information on this find, please let me know....and 
I will be happy to Partager  this jewel of a mas (large communal farmhouse - complete with its own bread oven shared by all in days of old....)   located in a field of thyme and wild honeysuckle...every step of the way, I was surrounded by wonderful smells and vistas...


Certainly a "Corner of Paradise"