Asnieres—Saturday, Last Full Day

 A Quiet Morning—Day 3

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We headed over to Landemaine for our usual cafe au last and croissant at 8AM and the difference between a Saturday and a work day is stark; crowds are not hustling up the stairs to the commuter trains. And when we came to the rail passageway from our side we were surprised by a pop up fish market. We're talking fresh fish too, because all of it smelled like the sea as we walked past. Once through the passageway, the streets were empty and the only activity was a team of street cleaners.

We'll spend today in the Asnieres/Coubevoie area poking around the adjoining neighborhoods. We have several parks we can enjoy and lots of cafes in case we feel the need for a coffee or lunch or just a place to sit and watch people. It's supposed to be 78F (23C) today so we don't feel the need to go downtown. Tonight we'll join Thomas and Claire at a restaurant (https://la-guinguette-de-neuilly.com/) they like on on Ile de la Jatte, the island park in the Seine. The girls are still celebrating the end of the school year with friends so it's just us grown ups tonight.

And at 1PM tomorrow we head to Charles de Gualle Airport and fly home.

The railway passage entrance from our side.

The Saturday fish market.

You could shoot a cannon through the
passageway on a Saturday morning.

Looking back to the train station passageway
from Landemaine, our favorite cafe.

Believe it or not, this is the same shot I took
yesterday of Asnieres village center, the one
packed with people and cars on a weekday.

Walked up to Asnieres Town Hall and there was a 

festival. Lots of families making the most of Saturday.

Cool walkway connecting our street to
the Quai along the Seine.

Just loved this door just a few buildings from us.

This would be a nice second home in Asnieres.

We had a lovely dinner with good conversation as always. Thomas and Claire walked us home before saying goodnight. Our connection with all the Heusse brothers and their families means so much to us and we look forward to many more visits with them in France and (hopefully) on Bainbridge Island.

We were having such a good time at dinner that we
all forgot to take pictures so I'm adding this one of Claire, 
Adele, Delphine, Thomas, and Marie from a month ago.

Ansieres-sur-Seine & Paris— Day 2

 In the Groove—Day 2

We took the Levallois-Becon Metro downtown near the Pompidou Center and walked to the Marais and found the falafel place, visited Place de Vosges, and then made our way back to home base via four Metro connections. Nice easy 8.5 mile day. 

This is the passage way under the Ansnieres
rail lines. It connects our side of the neigh-
borhood with central Ansnieres.

Sitting outside at Maison Landemaine where we 
have our croissant and cafe au lait. Across the lane
is a butcher's shop.

And the Monoprix next to the butcher's doesn't look
like much from the street but it's a huge grocery store
much like Whole Foods.

Marie enjoying the morning.

These flower stands decorate the entrance
to the railway passage. They are about 6
feet high.

The line outside L'AS Falafel in the Marais.

They have a really efficient army of

falafel makers and a guy moves down

the line, takes orders, and gives you a 

ticket after scanning your credit card.

Lunch

A reader taking advantage of a shady
spot in Joseph Migneret pocket park.

Migneret started as a teacher at the
elementary school of Hospitalieres-
Saint Gervais in the heart of the Marais.
This Jewish school was founded in 1848
and Migneret became its director in 1937.

Migneret became active in the French Resistance,
hiding and helping Jews escape Nazi occupied Paris
after 165 of his students were arrested, deported,
and murdered in 1942. This park is a peaceful place
in the heart of the Marais.

Place des Vosges garden is the oldest planned square
in Paris and one of the finest in the city. It was a
fashionable and expensive square to live in during 
the 17th and 18th centuries and favored by nobility.

Today it's a public park enjoyed by regular folk.

We sat on a bench in the shade. Just taking

it easy on a sunny June afternoon.

The arched walkways of the former

residences are now high-end shops and

galleries surrounding the park square.

The walkways are spectacular. This
passage leads to a door that joins
Place des Vosges with Hotel de Sully.

Hotel de Sully was built with gardens and an orangery

between 1624 and 1630, for the wealthy financier

Mesme Gallet. Since 1967 it has been the home of the

Center for National Monuments. The mansion joins

Place des Vosges square through the doorway shown 

to the right.

Hotel de Sully's garden is completely
enclosed by the mansion, but this doorway
allowed access to Place des Vosges square
and the wealthy and noble of the 17th
and 18th century.

And then we took the Metro back to
home base. It took three line changes
to make it back to Levallois-Becon.
Saint-Paul to Bastille, Bastille to
Republique, and République to Pont
Levallois-Becon.

We had a pretty low key day. Took a nap after getting "home" and then walked to Monoprix to pick up a salad and a little more cheese to go with our baguette. Marie found a nature channel on TV and we watched a program about Alaskan wildlife. It was in French of course. An hour later we had a program about African elephants. This channel is a major find for us!

Ansieres-sur-Seine & Paris—Arrival & Day 1

Arriving at Asnieres

We have a fabulous AirBnB in our favorite Parisian neighborhood. It feels really good being in familiar surrounds. Took a short stroll under the railway and into the village and had lunch at Le Cercle Cafe. Afterward, we walked across the street to Monoprix (grocery store) and picked up Galettes Bretonnes butter cookies, Bonne Maiman lemon tartlets, and a wedge of Comte cheese, a sharp cheese we love with crackers or a baguette.

And then we took a rest at 5PM to wait for the cooler evening before taking a walk. It's 80F (24C) and sunny and the prediction is for more sun and similar temperatures until we leave Sunday. We'll have to pace ourselves during the "mad dogs and Englishmen" heat when we're downtown.

We shared a Ceasar salad.

Asnieres & Paris—First full Day

We slept well last night and still rose at 7AM. Washed our faces, brushed our hair and then walked over to Landemaine for petit dejeuner. We sat outside with our croissants and cafe au laits as we watched the folks scurrying to the train station on their way to work. This is when I really appreciate being retired. Nothing beats the everyday feeling that it's Saturday.

We weren't in any hurry today. After breakfast we took showers and caught the RER (commuter train) to Saint Lazare train station. The plan was to walk toward the Louvre, over to Il de la Cite and see how the reconstruction of Notre Dame was progressing. After that we thought we'd walk into the Marais for a falafel lunch at L'as du Fallafel, a cafe we enjoyed more than once before finding out it was the #1 falafel place in Paris. 

What actually happened was that we didn't make it to the Marais. Instead, after walking 5.5 miles to Notre Dame, we crossed over to the Left Bank and had lunch at Cafe 65. It was around 80F (24C) so we were eager to find a shady place to relax and refuel. This turned out to be the right decision, because our 1.5 hour lunch break was exquisite.

After lunch we strolled Il de Louis hoping to find gifts/souvenirs. Nothing caught our eye so we walked up to the Chatelet Metro station and rode up to the Opera station, planning to walk through Lafayette Galleries and Print Temps malls. We were pretty sure we could find something made in France at one of these two huge shopping meccas.

We're glad we caught the Metro to the Opera station, because it shaved off 3 miles and we'd already walked 9.5. After truly getting lost in both humongous malls, we did find something made in France in Print Temps. Caught our RER back to Asnieres and were back "home" by 5pM. We rested for an hour and then strolled over to our village center for a drink at Le Cercle and then walked across the street to the Monoprix for light supper fixings. 

It was a good day. Maybe tomorrow we'll have a falafel lunch in the Marais. 

The selection at Landemaine is extensive.

Landemaine serves a proper-sized 
cafe au lait. We were keeping Richard,
Marie's brother, in our thoughts
because he would be undergoing
his second brain surgery on this day.
And then, after sipping off the foam
from our coffee, we saw another
reminder. 

The crowds at the Louvre were crazy huge! We're
just passing through on our way to Notre Dame.

Rebuilding Notre Dame after the fire.
The crane stands in the place of the
spire—for now.

Notre Dame from behind. She looks
naked without the peaked roofs and
the spire. 

Grand stands have been erected facing the grand
old lady. They were filled with folks just sitting
and staring at the front facade.

The Seine isn't just for tour boats. We watched
several barges moving up and down the river.

After walking 5.5 miles we stopped for
a lunch break. We were enticed by this
restaurant, because it was in the shade
and there were light breezes along the
Left Bank. Basically, we were happy
to get out of the 80F (24C) heat. Is it
really June 1st?!

Looking into Cafe 65 from our table.

This cutie arrived shortly after we did.

Looking toward the Seine and a second

hand book seller. There are many of

these stalls along the Seine, a tradition

reaching as far back as 1650. Today

everything from vintage movie posters

and rock concert advertisements are for

sale. I'm not sure how authentic many

of them are. We even saw a poster

of Billie Eilish done in the style of the 

famous Obama poster during his first

run for president.

Our main lunch course was salmon on rice pilaf
seasoned with saffron, curry, and red peppers. The
salmon skin was crisp and delicious, but more
importantly, the salmon steak was perfectly cooked.

The chocolate mouse dessert was
pretty danged good too!

Metro platform.

This cafe does it all—breakfast, lunch, the cocktail

hour, and dinner. Clearly, the locals in this neighbor-

hood love Le Cercle; it's always crowded.