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So. Paris. Finally. Short version? We came, we saw, we walked about 200km (at least), we dined out on luscious lunches and expanded our portfolio of lunch destinations substantially (Julien, Pharamond, Republique, Leon with more still to try). We got Covid booster shots, visited museums and indulged in Picard's best gourmet frozen food. We walked some more. We tried to go to a show, but were foiled by Covid. We enjoyed the Christmas decorations and lights and became aficionados of the Canal area and Merdeville. We used Uber more than usual and it worked so well! We barely used the metro compared to usual (entirely due to crowding and covid). We enjoyed ourselves immensely (as we knew we would). It was 23 days and for posterity, here are the gory details.
Day 1 (30 Nov, Tuesday) - The flight from Dublin went well last night, we departed and landed on time, we got off the plane and then the fun began - essentially 'Benny Hill did Charles de Gaulle'. We landed seemingly a million miles away from the real terminals, we walked, we took the little train, we walked more. We eventually reached Immigration, got through and then walked more. We (alright… I) looked at the screen and saw that bags for the Dublin flight could be retrieved from carousel 33. We walked more and arrived at 33. It had indeed had bags from a Dublin flight, just not our Dublin flight. Walked more. Backtracked to carousel 43. Which we passed a mile back. Finally got the bags which some helpful dude had taken off the carrousel as they were getting swamped by the next flight. Walked all the way back to 33…plus another 500 metres to finally reach the long suffering pre-booked car fellow - and to think we were one of the first off the plane. Ahh well... Finally arrived at our Airbnb, comfy, warm, friendly welcome by the parents of the host. Stuffed. Will need serious baguette assistance in the morning to recover.
Our first wonderful morning in Paris involved a street market just down the road. We stocked up on glorious fruit - ripe pineapple, raspberries, bananas and also baguette and pastry from the boulangerie. Home for breakfast - just so good to be here. The day continued and what a day to wear brand new boots (well I'd walked around the block in Sydney and they seemed fine). In fairness to the boots they are Birkenstocks and they were fine - but who walks 25,000 steps in one day? People who love Paris that's who! We had planned to head home, have a rest and change for dinner. Turns out distances are long when you're in the 19th arrondissement - AKA - 'Merdeville'.
One of the main downsides of being so far out is the distances. Which we expected, however we had expected to spend a bit more time pottering in our new neighbourhood - but having seen our new neighbourhood, decided against it. Suffice it to say… Merdeville. We experimented on Day 1 with how much clothing, layers and warmth we'd need for at least an hours walk each way plus sitting for lunch in the park and all the capering about in between. Turns out we didn't wear nearly enough. Annoying if you don't have warm clothes. Frustrating beyond belief when you have stacks of the damn things and they're sitting in your apartment an hour's walk away. So by mid-afternoon when we'd figured out that 2 degrees is definitely cold enough for merino thermal long underwear, shearling gloves and hats with flaps - and when our fingers were pink and painful - we headed to the most French of cafes for a warm up and a long and restful sit. Le Starbucks, bien sur! Right. Better luck tomorrow.
We staved off hypothermia then continued on our travels and enjoyed the Christmas lights in the 1st - particularly the Chanel store and then ended up having a look at the Samsonite shop near Opera which turned out to be a huge disappointment with a limited range and then, with a view to their Christmas decorations, we finally headed to the Galeries Lafayette. Surprisingly, they had a much better selection of Samsonites than the so called Flagship shop. But just too expensive and over engineered - no point paying for 20 extra pockets that we don't use and will eventually snip out and discard. It's not that we actually wanted to have to shop for new cabin bags, but mine had a serious handle incident in Doha (since repaired) but it was a temporary reprieve and it died on the very morning we left Ireland - zips failed and flat out refused to be mended. It was held together with a couple of bag straps for the trip to Paris - the indignity of it all. James's cabin bag started having issues at Paris airport on arrival - they are literally falling apart in synchronised fashion. So 'need to' shopping not 'nice to' shopping. We looked at a couple of other brands then settled on an Italian designed product. Oh the indecision! We were torn between the bigger cabin bag and the smaller - but had to go with the 27 litre in the end (the 42 litre was brilliant - massive, size-legal, gorgeous - but we'd just end up filling it up and being overweight). Sigh. We were grownups and bought two of the smaller bags then hoofed it out for dinner, very keen for a sit down by then.
We made the dinner reservation a couple of weeks back at one of our fave spots and one of the few bouillons that take reservations. We turned up for dinner at Bouillon Julien just 10 minutes early and three courses, wine and a cognac later, we finally rolled home. Anywhere else in the world, seeing a restaurant packed at 8 pm and with a queue when we left at 8.30 pm...you'd think it was Friday or Saturday... nope - here in Paris it happens on a Tuesday evening. It was a very long walk home but we stuck to the well lit main street instead of the quiet, station side street that Google Maps was determined to send us down - oh for an 'avoid the ghetto' box to tick in maps.
Day 2 (1 Dec, Wednesday) - Day 1's blisters had to be seen to be believed (though again… brand new boots and 25,000 steps - could have been seen from space.) I reupholstered my heels in fabric bandaid and off we went - that stuff is just so handy. We tried to take it slightly easier by using the metro to get from Merdeville to town - but it was super crowded, very unpleasant and seemed to take forever. We are huge fans of the Paris metro and seasoned users of this wonderful system. But the line serving this 'hood seems to be where the clunky old trains go to die so on this line and in pandemic conditions, we decided to give it a miss for the rest of the trip. It was back onto shanks's pony, blisters or no blisters.
Having held our breath for 30 minutes at least on the metro we eventually popped out at the Galeries Lafayette for some fabulous Christmas photos. We even picked up the tax refund documents from their tax office - doubt we'll be able to use them as there's a 3 month limit and we'll be in the EU for longer than that. But - you never know what's around the corner. We visited the beautiful rooftop terrace for the views and then, after a sunny morning, the weather turned on us and poured with rain. It wasn't a big leap after that to 'nope' - not sitting on a wet bench in a wet park, getting rained on whilst holding a wet baguette. There are limits to even our frugality. We decided to splurge on Bouillon Pharamond near Les Halles as it was next on our places to try list. We had a lovely hot lunch and a bottle of cider. Well rejuvenated we headed home a different way via Rue Rambuteau, Republic and along Canal St Martin to Canal de l'ourcq. It was actually a lovely walk - until it rained some more... and long, very long. This route did give us a chance to check out what will be our new neighbourhood when we move to our housesit on the 8th. Looks good - will have a super water view over the canal, close to our twice weekly fresh market, boulangerie etc. Still Merdeville strictly speaking, and no closer to 'town' but a much nicer stripe of merde, quite up-market in fact - albeit given we were coming off a very, very low base.
Day 3 (2 Dec, Thursday) - Thursday dawned with a blazing red sunrise which melded seamlessly into a blue sky day - freezing, but fine and freezing is fine and 1000% better than rain and wind. Especially now we're wearing (almost) every ounce of super warm kit that we own. We had a zig zag walk through the 10th and into the 3rd and visited our old stomping ground in the 2nd - Eat Street / AKA Rue Montorgueil. Our destination was the street market behind Eglise St Eustache in the vain hope that the African nonna who used to sell amazing food there would be there. Nope. Sad. It's only been 2 years but the plague may well have seen her off. We'd already sourced a very promising baguette tradition from a hole in the wall boulangerie and had our stash of ham and cheese handy in our bag. Felt a bit ripped off when we finally stopped for our lunch in the garden of the Palais Royale - for sure it was gray, freezing and a bit - you know - but hail? Really? Just as we sat down? Uncool. Ate our baguettes quickly under cover then repaired to Le Starbucks - compared to yesterday suddenly very conchie with the vax passes - good to see. Took a long, long while to warm up. Having fended off frostbite once more, the sun came out. We finished our outing with window shopping in Place Vendome (Graff diamonds… we're looking at you) and a walk home via Palais Garnier. We love having an apartment in Paris - it was Picard fish pie night. Yum.
Day 4 (3 Dec, Friday) - Another brilliant red sunrise was gorgeous but did not bode well for the weather. It was a very, very long walk for today's outing. Destination? St Germain des Pres, specifically the covered market and most importantly the attached Marks & Spencers. We were tight on luggage on the flight from Dublin to Paris and figured, no worries, will buy Christmas Cake at the M&S like last time. Between Covid, Brexit and general supply chain chaos, there was no Christmas Cake. Hot Cross Buns in December? yes. Cake, no. Once more we were caught out without our hats-with-flaps. After failure to launch on the cake we headed straight to Leon for mussels, chips and a beer for lunch. Not sure any of it touched the sides. Don't think we'd be any good climbing Everest - constantly freezing and no cheap and cheerful options for indoor hot lunches up that way. We know - we've seen the movies. Walked home via our Turkish baker and a favourite chicken joint in the 10th (two roast chickens for €10. They looked like small chickens but after 20,000 steps / 16 kms, they were very heavy indeed. Quiet night in and second half of the fish pie from Picard.
Day 5 (4 Dec, Saturday) - Our first Saturday in Paris for a long while. We had a rest day today with a view to heading out for drinks and dinner with our 'framily' from Normandy - wonderful old friends, in fact our French family, who drove down from Normandy for a visit. It was wonderful to see them and introduce them to our favourite joint - Bouillon Julien. Great night had by all and it barely rained for the longish walk home. It was a bit of a scheduling snafu really as it was also free night at the Louvre and the Pinault/Bourse. But the museums aren't going anywhere - fingers crossed for next time.
Day 6 (5 Dec, Sunday) - Free Sunday. Of course. We actually felt like going no where ourselves but Free Museum Day is the exception and going is compulsory. We schlepped out, slowly, via the 10th with a view to investigating the vaccination situation at the Mairie / Townhall of the 10th. Before we even got there we passed a pharmacy doing vaccinations, tests and a booming business as they were open on a Sunday morning. We asked/begged/wheedled and tortured them in bad French. We waited, they were busy. But eventually we got James a Moderna booster and had his all important Digital Covid Certificate updated to 3/3 instead of 2/2 - vital that its done ASAP as 1) Omicron and 2) By mid Feb no booster means no cert. So happy days. We meandered onwards and made it to our first museum by midday - the Arts & Metiers in the 3rd. Kept us well amused for 90 minutes at least and that was once over quickliy. To look after our vax-patient we decided on Pharamond for lunch - just us and 50 odd others milling around outside at 1.30 pm. There was a system though - a certain fellow had a list and was taking names and group numbers - as instructed we disappeared for a half hour, came back, tootled up the front and were seated immediately. The system worked! Stunning lunch - pear / poiré (pear cidre… though obviously it's not cidre as it's not apple… it's pear) - eggs mayonaise, beef bourguinon, chocolate/orange tartlette. Oh So Yummy. Was quite hard to get going again. We tried the Pompidou but the free-day-queues were ridiculous. We continued on to the Picasso which was interesting and had some stunning oils - but really… you'd have to be a huge Picasso fan to justify the usual price. Glad we did it though and don't need to do it again. We finished the evening with a Zoom meeting with our Amsterdam owners regarding the highly possible likelihood of one of the three travellers testing positive one day before departure to the USA. Given that we are getting there 2 days before they depart - all sorted with a suitable Plan B. Slept well. Uncle Joe Biden's new rule is likely to put kinks in a few plans, that's for sure.
Day 7 (6 Dec, Monday) I'm sure there have been days in Paris when we've woken up full of energy. Can't think of one off hand though. We went for a walk to the base of Montmartre/Sacre Coeur and couldn't believe how many tourists there were (not so many out in Merdeville… and we actually found a part of town even dodgier than ours! happy days…) We've always loved the stunning carousel at the base of Sacre Coeur. We had bought our lunch fixings on the way - ham, baguette and a couple of treats from another boulanger/patissier - spreading the love. We settled in on a bench next to the carousel and strangely, got very, very cold just after lunch - utterly frozen. We had to get moving again before we couldn't move at all, so immediately walked back through Pigalle and found a super groovy vintage/thrift store called 'Frishop'. The stock was excellent but the shop was generally grotty - perfect for great vintage finds. We found James an outstanding pure wool jacket made in Germany for only 3 euro. It will make a great replacement for his current dressy jacket which is huge on him now. An interesting walk back through a very gritty and 'authentic' area of Paris - stunning overpass/bridge photos to be had. Finally home, hot bath and a rest. Easy dinner - roast chook, instant spud, beans from the freezer. All good.
Day 8 (7 Dec, Tuesday) - We had no actual plans this morning, just a list of possibles so made a snap decision to book free online tix to Musee Carnavalet - the Museum of Paris History. It's only reopened again in the last year after a 5 year top-to-bottom renovation. Having booked the time stamped tickets, we hoofed it to the Marais - one of our favourite areas in Paris. We were in by 10.15 am - waving tickets, vax certs and masks. We had a good look around and were out by 11.30 am. Very confusing for people who knew it was a free museum - and didn't understand with covid they are trying to control the flow of queueing hordes. Easy arvo and the weather turned rainy after a fine morning. In the early evening we trundled down the road towards the canal and met with our new owner and her two gorgeous kitties - got the keys, got the brief, had a coffee then wandered back to finish packing and clean out the fridge (which with the addition of a cheeky bottle of plonk, turned into dinner). Next adventure begins tomorrow.
Day 9 (8 Dec, Wednesday) - It's been a nice stay in this Airbnb. It was, actually, pretty perfect. But the location lets it down so badly that we certainly wouldn't stay there again. So. Moving Day. We made the trip on foot, 2 legs - big bags on first and little bags on second. Turns out we have far too much luggage… who knew? We had quiche for lunch from our new local boulangerie. I'd been up all night with an upset stomach and was exhausted. A very 'feets up' day altogether and a quiet night at our new home.
Day 10 (9 Dec, Thursday) - A sunny and beautiful day dawned and the light on the canal was fabulous to wake up to - and the noise! The big trucks from (presumably) markets and farms started to arrive last night full of fruit and veges. The spruikers were yelling from stall to stall as we woke up and it was well under way by 7 am. It is held twice a week, Thursdays and Sundays down behind Place de b****e (apparently a town in the east of France - just sayin'). We bought a massive amount of exotic fruit including pomegranates and rasberries, then picked up fig jam and baguettes on the short walk home. We pottered over breakfast, which soon turned into lunch then walked from one end of the canal to the other - quite a long way. We visited Picard and stocked the pantry for the stay and found it entertaining to see the square, previously a bustling hub of market commerce, all broken down and washed, clean and empty and ready for… just being a square for the next next 2 days before coming to life again on Sunday (which will probably be huge!)
Day 11 (10 Dec, Friday… We know right… who cares? But every day we spend in Paris is so precious to us - one of the few places in the world we could have a base, live and never, ever get bored). Even days like today. 27 km / hour winds, howling down the canal. Rain. Cold. No excuse for leaving the house whatsoever - which is so rare here. It was such a crap day outdoors we even went back to bed for the morning, snuggled down in the warm. Can't remember the last time we spent half a day chilling, napping and being cosy.
Day 12 (11 Dec, Saturday) - Bless the owner who has a cleaner. Particularly one as good as Irena, the Cleaner. Her first action upon arrival was to grab a cat and the clippers and get started on trimming their nails - that is full-service. When we headed out for the day the apartment was just a bit grubby - when we returned, spotless. Dust was exiled, surfaces polished. Meanwhile we said hello/goodbye and headed out. Down the canal (honestly 30 minutes walk to Stalingrad, then the day officially begins). Via Republique where we found a Red Cross Shop where we resisted buying James another jacket. Despite planning on taking the trains for the next 4 months - and as such luggage weight is less of an issue - we are so limited on space and hate having to discard things when flight packing becomes an issue again.
We continued through Republique, into the Marais and over the river via Notre Dame - goodness they've made progress, on the outside at least. We ended up in a little square on the other side of Notre Dame for the artisanal Christmas Market. If one reads the news, one would think there was no one travelling anywhere in the world - but they were all in the city today. We picked up a baguette en route and ate in the park next to the market then motored over to Ile St Louis - home to one of my favourite jewellery stores - Bahktar. They did well out of us in Dec 2019, but this time, not so much. Nothing really jumped out - so a successful visit really. We were a bit exhausted after the massive hoof to get here - and were keen to go home - but not keen to interrupt the magic of a cleaner at work. We walked slowly and had a coffee and crossant at a bakery. We saved our empty coffee cups and stopped at the public bubbly water fountain on the way home. Wow! If I lived locally I'd be standing there with a flask of vodka for cocktail hour. We made it back, I refreshed the warpaint, we had a glass of bubbles and a sit and we headed out again. Can't let exhaustion get in the way of an outing. It was Sushi Night! All you can order sushi at Hitomi in the 10th is one thing we do on every single visit to Paris. We were stuffed by the walk and stuffed by the dinner - we nudged 30,000 steps for the day or 22.9 km. Thank heavens for Birkenstock footwear. Just the tiniest windfall and we'd be buying a joint in Malta, getting our European passport within 12 months, then buying a wee apartment in Paris.
Day 13 (12 Dec, Sunday) - An easy day with just a few thousand steps (easy is a relative term). We visited our local market today - quite crazy compared to the sedate Thursday version. It was hugely crowded and the chances of getting run over by a pensioner pushing (pulling… ramming?) their shopping trolley was quite high. Especially if we got caught between two of them. Rather sadly saw a very ill man on the ground, coughing and struggling to breathe but the market is right next door to the Pompiers so the paramedics were arriving just as we came across him.
Day 14 (13 Dec, Monday) - An easy day, 'only' 20,000 steps. We walked to the Tuileries and had a wander about, ate lunch then resupplied in the 10th with a big bag of Turkish bread (still warm from the oven) and fresh raspberries. We would say 'we could get used to this' but sadly, we already have.
Day 15 (14 Dec, Tuesday) - Today's expedition very moderate indeed - only 11,500 steps. We went to Place Republique and took James's Birkenstock shoes to a cobbler we spotted the other day - 30 euro to get them resoled and ready for Friday - brilliant! Not surprisingly, putting 15 km a day (average) onto a pair of shoes can wear them down. With the shoes delivered to their guardian angel we decided to try Bouillon Republique for lunch - we timed it perfectly, arriving at 12.40 pm and seated immediately. By 1 pm we could see the usual queue lined up outside. Really excellent comfort food - we tried the baked ravioli with leeks and a crumbed fish and mash extravaganza, shared a beer, tootled home and picked up an apple and almond tart we'd ordered from our local boulangerie. On the way home from lunch we dropped in to the Red Cross shop for a browse and found a small silver filigree brooch inset with coral. Funny - there was a bit apparently missing - it looked damaged, it was filthy and I couldn't see a silver mark, though it felt right. But still priced at €15 - so they didn't know what it was, but figured it had to be something reasonable. €15 is a bit much for my jewellery hunting budget, but it was intriguing and the workmanship was so detailed. We figure any jeweller with chronic OCD must be drawn to this art form. We saw a lot of filigree in Malta years ago and thought 'why not' - bound to clean up a bit. Once home I gave it a gentle clean and a polish, and more polish and found that the 'missing' blob of silver wasn't damage at all - under the grime was the silver mark for Egypt, likely Cairo. There were also marks on the brooch pin - but just too tiny to make out, even with a loupe - who stamps a pin? Anyway, the hunt is part of the adventure and I found a couple of similar pieces on Ebay. Didn't pay too much as it turns out and it was an adventure afterall.
Day 16 (15 Dec, Wednesday) - We are slowly but surely working our way through the free museums of the City of Paris. All dependent on where we're staying, who's getting renovated, who's open etc. Still a few to get to, but at the moment, just too far away for Shanks's Pony. Today's target was Musee Cernuschi and the Parc Monceau and, despite the exhaustion, a trip to the fromagerie in Rue Montorgueil for a tray of mixed cheese. Monsieur Cernuschi was a fascinating Italian guy with a load of dosh who went on an odyssey through Asia and bought everything that wasn't nailed down. He had it shipped home to Paris, bought a massive mansion, unpacked his holiday souvenirs and made it possible for people to visit and enjoy. Great bloke. And now Paris has the stunning Cernuschi Museum. We had our lunch in Parc Monceau just next door. Quite a lovely spot for a stroll and features (in no particular order), a smurf village, a carousel, an oriental bridge and some Roman ruins. What's not to love? Well the walk home actually. We did go for cheese, which certainly extended the walk a bit, but phew! long, long way. Confirmed in our minds that the rest of the Paris free museums which are even further away can be safely saved for our next trip.
Day 17 (16 Dec, Thursday) - Thursday so it was local market day and, unfortunately, coming a little bit closer to the end of our stay. We topped up with a bit of fruit, some food from Picard to pad the pantry and had a post-Cernuschi rest day. We were so tired we felt like we'd accomplished an Asian odyssey ourselves just without the souvenir shopping.
Day 18 (17 Dec, Friday) - Today we collected James's Birkenstock shoes from the most excellent little cordonnerie/cobbler geezer in Paris - monsieur Michel in the Passage Vendome just off Place Republique. We will have to time all future wearings out to coincide with visits to Paris. He did a lovely job and has given them an absolute new lease on life. Very happy indeed. Next job? Went for a booster jab. Despite having had a booster back in Australia in mid October, it just didn't seem like enough what with Omicron giving the entire world the willies and the numbers rising inexorably everywhere. We are very grateful to the French government for giving us covid shots - James in particular had an easy run of it. Only half an hour of questions and checks and wham bam - there we had it, his French issued European Covid Cert was updated and reprinted to show 3/3 shots. And as of 15 Feb 2022 - that's what it's all about - certs without a booster will be deactivated. End of life as we know it that would be. So anyway, I went in, same pharmacy, same paperwork, eventually got jabbed and handed a cert saying 1/1. Nooooooo!!! - I need 3/3. 'Non' - not possible. Honestly - best part of an hour discussing it with all and sundry (and the queues continued - testing, vaxing, buying chemist crap). C'est impossible! they said - Non! we said - C'est possible! But not, apparently, until Sunday when the same bloke who miraculously (incorrectly?) managed it on James's cert would be at work. So that was that. Running a bit late for our lunch reservation but it was only 5 minutes away so we legged it to Bouillon Julien and had a luscious lunch and wine to make up for the aggravation of my free covid shot…. Oui! C'est la covid-19 and 20 and 21… Eventually got home. Have sneaking suspicion in all the confusion that Pharmacist dude injected me with a whole vial of vaccine. Saw him pull up the shot… didn't see any dilution going on. Hmmm.
Day 19 (18 Dec, Saturday) - On a positive note it's the cleaner's day to visit. On a less positive note, oh boy… side effects. Rather than a pleasant fatigue settling over me for a few days (7 days 1st dose, 1 day 2nd dose, nothing really… 3rd dose), it appears the 4th dose is the charm (particularly a large vial of it) Felt like crap. Looked like crap. Did a lot of (you guessed it) crap. Stomach cramps. Not a well chicken at all. But never let being incapacitated get in the way of someone else doing the housework we always say. We hobbled to Parc Buttes de Chaumont and it was gorgeous. Stunning day, fascinating park, yet another side to this very interesting arrondissement.
Day 20 (19 Dec, Sunday) - Still with the stomach cramps. Losing weight as we speak as no interest in food - which has happened very, very rarely in my lifetime. Felt a bit better by the afternoon - though god knows could not have felt any worse. Made it out of bed at 11 am, dragged very sorry self to the pharmacy to catch up with the magician Jeremy - who fixed the incorrect certification in 2 minutes. So that's us. According to our French DCCs, we're both officially 3/3. Magic. And back to bed I went. Even if it confers miraculous powers of immunity upon me - no point going through this without the paperwork to prove it.
Day 21 (20 Dec, Monday) - Just a gentle jaunt locally. We returned to the walk we managed on Saturday when I wasn't taking anything in, just for another look. The 19th can vary from dire to delicious in the space of two streets (and sometimes even on the same street). Despite the lower cost of housing and the nicer parts of the 'hood, we still wouldn't live out this way.
Day 22 (21 Dec, Tuesday) - Restful day at home, Headed into the Marais around 2.30 pm - had a glorious walk and rediscovered assorted haunts including one of the best vintage shops in Paris. We managed not to buy about five wonderful shearling and fur coats. We really have to get that Euromillions win sorted out and buy an apartment in Paris before we start filling it with an assortment of fabulous coats. The grand plan was to get to Bouillon Pharamond before the queues for dinner started (and well after the queues for lunch finished) We figured 5 pm. The restaurant would have been dead in the water but for a table of 20 Spanish folks - they were definitely finishing a late lunch. We had a fabulous final dinner, even splurged and had a dessert each to fill the time until 7 pm-ish when we paid up and walked over to Theatre Chatelet for an evening with the music of Cole Porter. We don't know much about the show but love his music and the tickets were not expensive. We made it to the theatre at about 7.20 pm… It was all quiet on the theatre front, too quiet. It became an 'almost-evening-out'. There was a notice on the door cancelling the show for the next 3 nights 'due to a malady of the soloist…' Obviously Covid. So that was a bit sad. A refund will arrive in due course. With the evening now open before us, we wandered home in a leisurely fashion back through the Marais. It just got colder and colder - one of those nights. We were tuckered out by the time we made it home and very cold indeed - so actually lucky the show was cancelled and we had a two hour head start.
Isn't covid fun! Are we having fun yet? Because we're having so much fun here in Paris… We're jumping on a train on Thursday to the current lockdown capital of Europe - Amsterdam! Where the fun happens 0/24, 7/7… We're hoping it'll be a nice house and dog at least… They're American and leaving us a Christmas tree - which gets easily overlooked for us winter housesitters. And a cleaner - we love cleaners particularly - Iren(a) the Cleaner here in Paris. (It works better if you sing it to 'Corina Corina' - a song from the 1950s.)
Day 23 (22 Dec, Wednesday) - Packing day. Gotta love a good packing day. We are testing the limits of our new cabin bags but otherwise pretty relaxed as it's a train - as long as it all fits, at least we don't have to worry about liquids and sharps. We gave the apartment a sweep and wiped down the kitchen, but the biggest job (after packing) will be doing the laundry at the crack of dawn tomorrow so our lovely owner has a houseful of fresh sheets and towels to come home to. We're good like that. Paris - we will, as always, miss you dreadfully.
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