To Île Saint-Louis and Back
We have gone from summer to winter. When we arrived in Paris, the temperatures were in the 80s, and we were seeking shade. In the morning, there was lots of wind and darkening skies, and winter reappeared. The temperatures dropped into the 50s. We donned jackets and raincoats to keep both the wind and rain out.
But if one is traveling, particularly in Paris, one still gets out and walks … and walks … and walks. We regularly walk 5, 10, 15 kilometers a day. On hard pavement and uneven cobble stones.
Photographers zig and zag, and sometimes it can take a long time to get from Point A to Point Z.
After breakfast around the corner at our favorite breakfast café, we loosely headed over to Île Saint-Louis. I say loosely, because we rarely take the shortest, most direct route to anywhere in Paris. We savor the little streets and what they contain.
And in Paris, there are tons of cafés, restaurants, and bistrots (note the addition of the last “t”), their blackboards and menus outside enticing you to come in.
A text to our friend let him know where we were and would he like to meet us for lunch. The answer, of course, was “Yes,” so we wandered around a bit in a part of the city that Arnie had never visited and that I had last visited when I came here with my kids back in the 80s.
By now, you know my love for Deux Chevaux.
Our friend had arrived, sans family, as they were off visiting the huge market, something that did not interest Arnie and me. We prefer the smaller markets.
We went into a corner café for a bite to eat and a bit of wine. It was good to sit down. In the bar area, there was a huge machine to make coffees. Two men back against the wall looked out the window at the passersby.
We paid he bill and set off down the main streets. Chockerblock full of stores, there were many colorful things to photograph, including these stacks of shirts. Not Arnie’s style, but fun to photograph.
No, it had not started raining again. After La Fête de la Musique, the little green street-cleaning machines come buzzing out. Some vacuum up the debris, whilst others clean the sidewalks with power sprays. It’s best to stand out of the way!
The wet sidewalk provided some nice reflections of a fruit market and a man on his way to who-knows-where.
It was time to return to the hotel to meet the others who, by now, had climbed la Tour Eiffel. We were going to eat at a little pizza place we like, as it was easy food for everyone the night before they headed home. Most had packed, but there are always a few more things to cram into the bags.
On the way back, this beautiful dome glowed against the darkening skies.
We enjoyed a bottle of wine from Tuscany and some cheeses we bought near those reflections above, and sat in the courtyard of our hotel enjoying conversation and photography. The others returned, and we took off for dinner, the last night we would all spend together for awhile.
They were being picked up early the next morning to go to the airport, so we said our farewells. We will see them again on the other side of the pond. Two have become good friends and and had spent three weeks with us in Sicilia, Toscana, and finally Paris. We will see them very soon.
We had great workshops, and now Arnie and I have a couple of days to relax before heading home ourselves.
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