Plus, a sad farewell to MJ and an unexpected solo day

Saturday we marched back to the marche (market) because it’s fun and we were now armed with extensive knowledge of fancy cheese. I know people think Paris is a harsh city, but I have not found that to be true. The cheese vendor was mooing, baaing and maaing (is that what goats say?) at us to explain what type of cheese we were pointing at. We were mooing, baaing and maaing back. We’re still not sure exactly what we got aside from one of each, but it was all delicious.

MJ needed souvenirs so she went to a T-shirt booth where she got a lecture from a Ukrainian man about the horrors of his country. He claimed to speak better English than French but I suspect he spoke both well.

Fully stocked up, we decided to take a chance on the Musée de Cluny even though we weren’t able to buy tickets online. It didn’t say it was closed, but when we got there, it was (and still was on Monday) because of bike racing. We were forced to sit in a café drinking lemon spritzers instead. We even got to see the bike whizzing by a few streets away. The Paresiennes are very taken by their Olympics and the enthusiasm is catching. Dinner was a repeat for me of Khajarahu, the Indian restaurant decorated with kama sutra statues. I had to share that with MJ because we are so mature. Oh, btw, the food is excellent but order it very spicy if you don’t like mild food. The French are not known for spices.

Sunday was relaxed as it must be because much of the city is closed. Nothing wrong with enforced relaxation. A fancy coffee drink and a stroll around plus some Olympics on TV make for a great day.

I had looked for tickets to Musée de L’Orangerie and at first it seemed as though they were all sold out for the week, but I am stubborn and looked again. Voila! Tickets. So Monday we trekked over (three Metro stops in the area are closed so we had to bypass it and walk back). Always worth it. How can you go wrong with two oval rooms featuring Monet’s water lilies plus dozens of other impressionist classics?

One reason the Metro stops are closed is that the Jardin de Tuileries has become the home of the Olympic flame and access is restricted. We walked by and took some pictures from afar. I asked a family if they wanted me to take their picture all together. I did and then walked away. A minute later they found me and asked if we would be in town on Tuesday. Turns out that they had free tickets to access the flame area but they had gotten them for the wrong day. They transferred them to me and we had a starting plan for Tuesday.

From the gardens, we went over to the Pantheon, which was on Mary Jo’s list of must-sees. She headed up to the top while I sat in a tabac and watched Olympics. I’m stupid about my hip, but not stupid enough to climb 200 stairs. She said it was well worth it.

Our tickets for Tuesday were at 11:45 a.m. so we rushed to make it over there. The family had given us four tickets. We tried to give to away, but managed to give one to an older Parisienne woman who was very sweet and grateful. It seems silly, but it was cool being up close to the flame (which is fuel-less in keeping with the environmentally friendly theme of these Games). We snapped some photos and made our way over to Gallerie Lafayette for the stunning terrace view stopping at a bistro, Café du Cadran, on the way for lunch. Some bistros here evey have vegetarian offerings now. My how the world has changed! We had planned to go there Tuesday because it was our hottest day so far. I am used to the lack of AC, but Americans beware: even places with AC here are not freezing cold, they are simply less hot.

New to me was a plexiglass walkway into the middle of the rotunda area. We wanted to do it, but we needed reservations. Anyway, it was fun to watch other people posing. MJ was successful in her quest to get a very specific Dior cuticle cream for a family friend and we left the store happy campers after seeing the Tour Eiffel from another angle.

The time with Mary Jo flew by. Wednesday was her last full day here which had me feeling sad, but we certainly didn’t waste a minute of it. We took the Metro to Le Marais to wander the streets, peek in the shops and have our last afternoon leisurely cafe drink before dining on the world’s best falafel sandwich at L’as du Fallafel. OK, I don’t know if it’s the world’s best but it’s certainly delicious and famous. As a testament to how uncrowded the city is, the line ahead of us consisted of two women who were already waiting for their sandwiches to be handed to them. For sure it was an off time (maybe about 5 p.m.) but still. No line around the block!

Wednesday evening we were forced to buy more delicious bread to eat with our gourmet cheese. Can’t leave it sitting! With an Olympic backdrop we mixed the remainder of our Lebanese marche food and bread and cheese with a nice glass of white wine. As MJ said, “I haven’t had a bad wine since I got here.” Bien sûr que non! or of course not!

And now for the sad part

Not only did I wave to the cab as Mary Jo took off for the airport and her lovely family in Chicago, but I received a text from my next guest, Terryl, who was supposed to cross paths with MJ. Note the “supposed to.”

I think she took off on time from Logan Airport, but for some reason (inquiring minds want to know) the plane was diverted back to Logan and she dragged her tired self back home. She’s rebooked on the same flight tonight. Fingers crossed she’ll get here tomorrow.

Gratuitous Eiffel Tower pics plus a bonus