Days 0-1: E-ville to Paris

Day 0-1: SFO to Chuck De Gaulle, Paris, arrive Sunday, September 8, 2019

Quote of the Day: Bob, what’s the toughest part of the hike

Weather: Perfect in E-ville, cool (high 50s to mid-60s) and a few rain drops in the afternoon.

Our personal driver gave us a ride to the airport and got us off on the right foot with a not-so-intense pomegranate from her tree:

United had been sending out e-mails that today was going to be the start of SFO closing one of their runways for maintenance and to expect delays. So we got to airport extra early, then security was a breeze with Global Entry. Almost 3 hours early. Of course, United was late boarding the plane due to “cleaning” taking longer than anticipated. This also is very common with United on international flights.

Somehow, the car looked large and yet there was not much leg room in back seat

What’s the hardest part of the hike Bob? Finding the Trail Head. Our pick-up, arranged by My Home in Paris (our agent handling the apartment rental), is nowhere to be found as we leave Immigration and Customs. DB heads to a nearby desk to get a sim card for our spare I-phone ($20 for sim card, $100 for data plan, no dealing with AT&T). Half hour later, still no pickup. It’s critical to be met since the driver has the keys to get us into the apartment in the Marais. Good news: the mobile is active and the desk staff help us with calling the various numbers (MHIP and driver). Awesome: ooops, no answers, no way to leave messages!

Low-key entrance to Le Citizen Hotel

Finally, MHIP (really staff at Le Citizen Hotel) pick up and THB is told to get a cab to the hotel. They have a second set of keys to give us (there’s a set in the apartment as well). While THB is chatting with Le Citizen, a guy comes toward THB carrying a hand-lettered sign with Briskin on it. Great timing, another few minutes and we’d be off in a taxi while this guy searched the airport for us. He doesn’t have the keys, so we’re going to Le Citizen first.

Pick up the keys and, having watched the “your apartment in Paris” video 3 times, have no trouble entering. Great spot: lots of space, lots of light, lots of places to plug in.

Bedroom with bathroom that is missing a toilet

Bedroom #2 with bathroom and toilet and step down into bedroom and step up into bathroom

Bed in bedroom #2

Missing toilet next to washer/dryer

Shower and sink adjacent to bedroom #1

Unpack and head up the street (the same one we stayed on in 2015) to a market mostly made up of cooked food stands, dining spots (covered), and a few fresh produce spots. We buy cherry tomatoes, fraises (strawberries, a varietal we don’t get in US), and figs (excellent), and half a roti-chicken and 4 potato pancakes for dinner in tonight, total of close to $40 (around 37E).

Upstairs with open kitchen: just to left one stove with 4 or 5 skillets full of roasted potatoes and a wood-burning fireplace 

THB's rib-eye

DB's skinny lamb chops

We're dining downstairs amidst mostly foreigners

Decor: tandem bike hanging high on wall

DB is using our now loaded mobile to find a meat and roasted potatoes restaurant nearby, Robert et Louise. DB goes for the lamb chops, THB rib-eye, half bottle of red Burgundy (not bad, not great), total of $65. The idea of wine with (a late) lunch when fending off jet-lag is a bit crazy; when in Paris do as the Parisians do. Except, at our shared table are two couples from the US and a table behind us had 3 Americans mit baby, how do we know what Parisians are doing? Everybody is drinking wine (maybe not the baby), and apparently so are any Parisians in the place.

More time spend searching for food: a baguette, chocolate bar and a pretty pricy Sancerre ($27) to go with dinner.

Back to the apartment, time to either stay awake (THB, who slept some on the airplane) and DB (a nap with little of or no sleep on the plane). Then dinner of re-heated potato pancakes (good!), roasted chicken (dry), baby tomatoes (good!), baguette (dry), fruity Sancerre (not dry).

Book Review: The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (paperback, pub’d in 2006). THB is not really a Didion fan: something about her style is just off or jarring to THB. Not more jarring than the theme of this book: exploring the shock of grief when her adult daughter is deathly ill in the hospital and, after Didion and her husband had been to the hospital for a visit, he drops dead of a massive heart attack at dinner in their apartment, totally overwhelming Didion.  She doesn’t start writing this book until exactly a year after husband John dies, and a bit over a year before her daughter Quintana dies of pancreatitis. It’s moving, seems very truthful, and the oddity of her prose doesn’t keep THB from recommending this book

Remnants of decals from 2015?

Who are these guys?

These two?

These two?

These four?