Paris & Grenoble (our first four days)

After a 10 hour flight and standing in line at Passport Control

1.5 hours, all we wanted to do was go to bed. But we took a 2

hour nap and then got out for a walk.

Claire and Thomas came over to our AirBnB for a cup of tea

after our nap.

As you can see from the following pictures, our apartment is

small but comfortable. The shower is adjacent to the sink and

refrigerator.

Previous trips archived at: http://rickstrips.blogspot.com

Paris—Day 1

Thomas Heusse (pictured below) picked us up at the airport.

Thomas is one of triplet brothers born in Seattle in 1973. Marie has known the family ever since. Thomas lives with his wife and two daughters two blocks from our apartment in the Courbevoire suburb of Paris.

The shower is just on the other side of the refrigerator.

The oven and stove are opposite the sink and refrigerator. The

kitchen and shower are in a hallway that leads to the bedroom

at the end of this picture. Ya, it's funky but functional.

Oh, and the toilet is in the hallway 

just outside the apartment main door.

The views of the neighborhood from the top floor are nice. As

you can see it's cloudy. We left a sunny Seattle and landed in

chilly Paris. Spring hasn't quite arrived yet.

Paris—Day 2

Couldn't pass up this shot, walking her dog in pajamas and
fur coat. Always stylin' & profilin'.

New boulangerie in Asnieres sur Seine, a great little neighbor-
hood a few minutes from the Courbevoire neighborhood where
we stayed. We were amazed that Thomas and Claire hadn't told
us about Asnieres five years ago, the last time we stayed, because
it's quaint AND a happenin' area.

Loved this door in Asnieres sur Seine. Lovely apartments look east to the morning sun.  

And two doors down from the red-door apartment building
is Princess Palatine Park. She was the sister-in-law to Louis
the XIV, or something like that. Like many neighborhood
parks, it is surrounded by apartment buildings.

Marie in Princess Palatine Park

Thomas recommends places to visit around Carcassonne.

He knows the area because he attended university in Toulouse.

We needed to just get out and do some walking so we took the Metro to Pere Llachaise Cemetery where people like Moliere, Proust, Oscar Wilde, Colette, and yes, Jim Morrison, are buried. The park is 110 acres and still in use. I took pictures I hope give some idea of its scale and beauty.

Dinner at Thomas and Claire's ends Day 2.

Adele, Thomas, and Delphine.

Claire and her daughters Adele and Delphine enjoyed 

looking at pictures of Thomas as a baby and teenager on 

Marie's phone.

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Day 3 and 4—Took the TGV from Gare de Lyon, Paris to Grenoble.

Grenoble train station and business district.

looking out our window and then check

out the next picture.

Checked into Hotel Suisse Bordeaux across from Grenoble
train station. We leave early April 6th for Carcassonne so all
we have to do is cross the street to the station.

Got out for a long walk in Grenoble's old town. Five

years ago we had an apartment here for three weeks, 

so it was fun walking familiar streets.

This says "Waiting for the revolution."
We saw quite a bit of this graffiti. The masses are getting restless.

Marie, Martin, Michelle, and Phillip. We enjoyed dinner and
conversations covering US politics and the Trump effect as
well as shared memories.

Grenoble's Jardin de Ville in the heart of

old town. Spring in France is lagging a

bit behind Seattle, but the tulips are in

bloom. Everything else is about to burst.