Day 2: Arondissement 3May 1, 2012
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| After a good night's sleep, helped by a Valium, I woke about 7am. Having checked my email, I then spoke separately by VOIP to John and Liz. Showered and arrayed in suitable May Day garb I took to the streets to explore what was open and who was about. In Rue Saint-Martin I found a cafe in which I had a fantastic pain au chocolat an a cafe espresso. When I returned to the apartment and rang Michael he was quite annoyed. He'd been ringing me and couldn't get an answer and had assumed I'd had an accident. I laughed and immediately thought about the days of unanswered emails that I'd sent to him. However then he walked around to my apartment and we decided to walk during the morning. Our walk took us through the local area, past many great mansions of earlier centuries, which the French called 'hotels', small parks and museums. The streets were virtually empty of cars and pedestrians, this being a public holiday. At one point we stopped and had morning tea at a very packed cafe. Coffee, juice and a croissant for 5 Euro. Generally, as in this case, and in contrast to two years ago, everything here seems very cheap. After a very meandering walk, we ended up for lunch at the Marche des Enfants Rouges which is the oldest food market in Paris. It was built in 1615 in the reign of Louis XIII. The name means Market of the Red Children. It was packed with locals and tourists. There were more people eating than stalls selling. We ate food served at the Lebanese stall. I had a selection of mezze with falafel. This was washed down with a small bottle of red from the Bekkah Valley. I plan to return to the market tomorrow morning to do some limited shopping. After returning to Michael's for a quick coffee, Nescafé this time, it was back 'home' to write this and to listen to Haydn's Opus 20 string quartets. I should add that time was also spent reading my 'fantasy' novel. Later, I headed off to Michael's for dinner. |
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