Greetings From France - Part 2

We are very lucky! Thankfully, Sunday morning Sabine turned on the TV and was reminded that the Paris marathon was being run - and on the Champs-Elysees, right in front of our hotel. We knew that here was no way that we would be able to drive into Paris and drop our bags at the hotel, so we drove to the RER station - the commuter rail system - in St. Germain and took a 25 minute ride to L'Etoille - the Arc de Triomphe - which is only a few blocks from our hotel. We are staying at the Marriott Champs Elysees, again for free, using points I have accumulated through all of my business travel. It is a 5 star hotel and the only disappointment is that everyone speaks English (guest and staff).

I have been doing better than I expected with my French. I find that when someone speaks to me in French, I respond in French, and the same with English. Sabine and her sister Claude have been very good about making sure that I practice by sometimes switching to French, and speaking clearly and slowly. I have surprised myself by how much comes back so quickly.

Our room at the hotel is small to average size by US standards, but huge by French standards. It is a fine hotel, but we spent only a few minutes there before heading out to our first stop - the Musee D'Orsay. By the way, I am using a computer at the Marriott now to write this and they are equipped with American-layout keyboards. Yet another reminder that we are in an American hotel, but I can type much faster on it. The only downside is that I don't have French accented characters.

We had tickets for the neo-Impressionism exhibit at the museum and consequently were able to jump a line of about 200 people. The exhibit was wonderful and very well-laid out. The audio guide was available in French only so only Sabine and Betsy took one. My French was good enough to allow me to read the placards in the exhibit so I did not miss much. It was well organized and the largest collection of the style that I have ever seen. Since the movement started in Paris, much of the subject matter was local. We had lunch in a cafe at the top of the museum, overlooking the Seine through the face of a large clock (the museum was once a rail station).

Sabine left us there and Betsy and I took a long walk along the Seine, crossing over at Ile de la Cite to stop in Notre Dame. We have been there before, but no matter how many times one sees it, it is easy to be amazed by the size and grandeur. There were countless candles lit for the pope and there were organ auditions being held while we were there, adding to the majesty.

From there we continued to Ile St. Louis and sampled some Berthillion's ice cream - the best in France and native to Ile St. Louis. We dawdled through the wonderful shops and sidestreets in the area and made our way to Le Marais - the Jewish section of town.

When Betsy lived here many years ago, she dated Sacha Finkelsztajn who now owns one of the most famous patisseries specializing in Yiddish and Jewish products (They are even listed in the Michelin Green Guide as a highlight). We have visited the shop in Le Marais several times on previous visits and were excited to find Sacha's father at the store. He and his wife had adopted Betsy as their own when she and Sacha were dating and he and his wife were so pleased to see her and spend some time chatting with us. We were sent on our way with a very heavy box of sweet treats.

We then went to meet Sabine, J-F, two of her children Sammy and Nicole, her mother Laura and her sister Claude for dinner. We ate at a Morrocan cous-cous restaurant in the 8th and it was truly a treat. As many cuisines as one can sample in NYC, it is still hard to find a good, authentic cous-cous and we enjoyed both the meal and the comapny, sampling some Algerian wine in the process. There is also an uncanny family resemblance between Betsy, Sabine, and Claude. If you saw them individually, you would never guess that they were related, but when they are lined up next to each other, the resemblance is uncanny - especially between Betsy and Claude. Whenever we are together, we take a picture of the three of them to show how it continues through the ages. Molly once looked at one of the earlier pictures, turned to Betsy, and asked if that was her sister.

One of my favorite aspects of Paris is that it is the most walkable city I know. New York is very walkable, but Paris is prettier and more charming. Consequently, we took the Metro only once, and that was because we were running a little late to meet the family for dinner.

After a day in which we walked several miles, we got to bed around midnight and although Betsy is still asleep in the room (it is 8:30AM local time), I seem to have adjusted quite well and quite quickly to the time change. We are also lucky in that the weather forecast when we arrived indicated rain for our entire time in Paris, but we have not seen any yet. Yesterday was somewhat overcast and today is supposed to be sunny and 62 degrees. Ahh, April in Paris!

Today we are off to the Picasso museum for a special exhibit showing how the artist Francis Bacon used many of Picasso's works as inspiration for his own. We are meeting my cousin Marc for lunch at a restaurant called Le Souffle for a 3 course meal, each one consisting of,you guessed it - a souffle! I shudder at what my cholesterol count will be upon our return.

More tomorrow!!