Weekend in Paris

Saturday morning and no 'agenda'. I decide to walk for about four hours and do some shopping. Don't buy anything but discover a tablecloth that Linda and I feel in love with at the Provence shop in the Hunter Valley. I decide to buy it but will wait till Danielle is here - also need my passport for tax refund. I find a good Japanese style quick food spot where I have a crab salad - back for another at the end of my walk.


I recall Danz saying how she expected that I would have goodies in the fridge but alas I only have cherries. So I spend an hour going around Galleries Lafayette Gourmet section picking bits and pieces to welcome Danielle from a world of backpacking and hostel cooked meals. Smoked Salmon, Bresciola, biscuits, cheese, and other bits and pirces. The French certainly do the gourmet food thingy really well not that it isn't all available in Sydney but they display it with such love.


Anyway very tired and back to the hotel where I take an executive decision to raid the newly stocked fridge for dinner and watch some movies I brought along.


Sunday morning and of course I slept most poorly with Danielle arriving the next morning. I leave the hotel at 09:30 to meet Danielle - I don't want to be late for the 500 metre walk down the road. A walk to the Hotel Scribe where I nick a copy of the Herald Tribune and sit down to a croque monsieur for breakfast. I move on to Starbucks for a coffee which is about as coffee good as it gets in Paris. I arrive at the bus station to find Danielle sitting there. A big hug and to the hotel. We walk down to the Marais for lunch to see people in queues of 50 or more waiting for Falafels etc. I don't know how we do it but we seem to jump a queue of around 15 people and get a table immediately - equally I think we waited for those same 15 people to get their lunch before we get ours. A plate of 6 choices - houmous, tzatziki, pastrami, "Greek" style mushrooms, tuna salad and fetta with a bagel and blinis. Quite acceptable but not my style of food.


We then walk down the road towards the Picasso Museum which was in a beautiful building. The exhibition was disjointed, in numerous salons but no signs in English and no concept of indicating an order or how the gallery is laid out. Many beautiful pieces and like the Dali museum in Figueras 50% to admire and 50% you wouldn't have in your home if they gave it to you.


Danz and I are both tired so back to the hotel for schloofy. At 20:00 we meet Belinda and go to dinner. We ask the receptionist to recommend a Japanese restaurant which he does some 100 metres from the hotel. It is a Teppan restaurant with Sashimi but not sushi but looks inviting so we give it a whirl. We were well rewarded with an excellent sashaimi platter, beautiful teppan scallops and superb beef teppanyaki. In addition we were around the Teppan with a French family and spoke with them for most of the meal.


Back to the hotel at the end of a long day.