May 23 Paris
We decided to stay in Paris, since we're having such a great time. The apartment wasn't available to extend, so we rented a hotel room deeper in the Marais. It's nice to have a shower that we can stand up in!

We slept late and long and just had enough time to have breakfast on the hotel's centime. Then we took the Metro to the Left Bank to see the new Hermes store. It's built in a Beaux Arts swimming pool, a huge, three-story structure. The main feature of the store is an ash wood stairway, with slatted, wooden pavilions in the center of the floor to set off the merchandise. It's mainly for home furnishings, but only for someone who can afford to pay $500 for a pillow, or $5,000 for a casual blanket for the couch. Yikes!

Next up was Bon Marche, a big department store. We had headed in that direction and noticed that they had a special exhibition, a replica of a Charlotte Perriaud tea house that she had build in 1941 for a Tokyo exposition. (We were at war with Japan at the time, and occupied France would have been technically an ally of the Axis nations, but let's not get political...) Ira bought some socks and a belt while we were there. Right across the street was a cafe that served Berthillon's ice cream, so we stopped for lunch. Our timing was perfect, as the place filled up quickly after we sat down. Despite the heat, we were sitting in the shade and ordered raw beef, tartare for Ira and carpaccio for me. They always serve such big portions!

After lunch, we went across the river to the Louvre so Ira could sketch in the sculpture court and I could wander around and look at some art. It was crowded, because Monday most museums in Paris are closed. The Egyptian rooms were particularly filled with people. I had to visit just to see a wonderfully preserved mummy that I love, with incredibly intricate facial wrappings. For the rest, I wandered around taking pictures and enjoying the art. You can see some of the paintings here, but, of course, there's nothing like seeing a painting in the flesh, so to speak. You see so much detail you miss, even in fine reproductions.

It was a hot day, so once we left the Louvre we stopped near home for more ice cream!

We had a little time to relax before it was off to dinner. We stayed at the apartment that our friends were in, Ann and Roberta. It's over in the seventh and it's huge and modern. Two bedroom, two bath place with space for miles, more closets that you could possibly have clothes and a view over the trees of the neighboring park. From the living room you can see Sacre Coeur. This is how people should live in Paris. After drinks and snacks, we lodged ourselves into a taxi and went to the restaurant at the Hotel d'Alembert where we sat outside and enjoyed their last night in Paris. To start we had an incredibly delicious amuse bouche, a savory carrot cake spiced with cumin and coriander. Terrific and I was disappointed it was only a couple bites. My first was white and green asparagus paired with a soft boiled egg. Roberta had a Caesar salad that was so huge she shared it with everyone. For my main course, I had frog's legs with a peanut butter sauce. It's been a while since I've had frog's legs and these were delicious and creamy. We were too stuffed for dessert, so we shared a combination dessert of mousse, a pecan tarte, and a praline.

We saw the ladies off in a taxi and walked along St. Germain des Pres, crossed the Louvre at Pont des Arts with its groups of drinking and talking young people, then waited for the bus to take us home. As we were waiting, the champagne lights on the Eiffel Tower went on at midnight, a fitting farewell to the left bank...