A leisurely morning. I've often heard the phrase, "the room is small but you won't spend much time there" said by other travelers. That is probably a truer statement when traveling in the summer than in winter. But when the weather is chilly and/or rainy in December, it is nice, I think, to have a comfortable place to spread out and/or cocoon. Today's agenda was rather loosely planned so that we could see some new things including the Chapel of St. Catherine Laboure who started the Sisters of Charity order back in the 19th C. She was a young woman when she persuaded her father to allow her to join the convent, and the site of this beautiful chapel is where she first began to minister to the less fortunate. Unexpectedly there was a mass in progress and we were able to be there for communion and the final few prayers.
We've walked through this neighborhood many times before, but we've never noticed another wonderful respite chapel tucked in a niche nearby. It is a chapel called "Eglise Etrangers". (I'm sorry I'm missing the accents by using this font.) In the courtyard of this lovely spot was this creche.
Believe it or not, all this ecumenical-ness was just a half block from le Bon Marche, the upscale department store that is always worth a visit--it never fails to delight the senses. We avoided the crowded main store and headed to the "epicerie", the gourmet "Costco" of Paris, so we could view what had been done to the store since our last visit. In September, many of the food sections had been closed for renovations, and there were still sections not yet open. But there were still plenty of choices including every kind of foodstuff imaginable: meats, fish, and cheeses; pastries, candies and Christmas treats; truffles, foie gras, caviar; wine, champagne, and liquor; etc., etc., etc.
This picture doesn't do it justice....it is actually an antique French Citroen chock-full of fresh vegetables.
Like Costco, there were fresh samples available everywhere! Except, instead of old, retired ladies and men in hairnets, there were beautiful young French women and men with very long legs in very tight black pants dishing out the samples. Sorry--no pictures available--please use your imagination!
A new feature in Paris is this mode of "transportation". At 10 euros (about $14) for 15 minutes, the pedalers are quite the entrepreneurs. But everybody's got to make a living.
After a lovely lunch of omelette and salad (no wine!) at Cafe Varenne, we decided we'd head over to Ile de La Cite and see the decorations around Notre Dame. On the way, we passed near the book stalls/picture vendors/souvenir-sellers-extraordinaire along the Seine. They were out in force even though there was rain on the way.
The book stall owners try to make a living when they can.
We crossed over to Ile de la Cite, the island in the middle of the Seine where Notre Dame is located.
After passing by Notre Dame (we plan a longer visit during Christmas eve service on Tuesday), we walked over to Hotel de Ville or Paris City Hall. The traditional ice skating rink was set up with a Disneyland-like line snaking into the skate rental office. We couldn't figure out the attraction--due to the temperatures, the "ice" surface was more similar to water-skiing than actual ice skating!
No matter where you turn, the city is decorated to the hilt. Here's another lovely entrance to a hotel:
And so it goes....this evening we will skip the restaurant scene and "dine in". To us, that's one of the delights of having a comfortable apartment that has a fully equipped kitchen. No, my "private chef" Lloyd won't be cooking tonight, because we stopped at Davoli, a very highly-regarded, gourmet prepared food store for a few dishes. What could be better than dining by the light of the sparkling Eiffel Tower! Salut!!
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