Bob and Gayle's France Trip

Church and Cheese Heads

We started our second week in Paris at the 9 a.m. service of The American Church, Paris. It’s a beautiful old church right on the Seine attended by English speaking expats and visitors to this wonderful city. We were warmly greeted following the service by one of the pastors and enjoyed the “coffee hour” after service. Even at church, the coffee is served with a pitcher of warm, steamed milk!

From there we went on to what is becoming our favorite shopping street: the Rue Poncelet. There we replenished our supply of the “best” coffee in Paris at the Brulerie de Ternes… they have a blend called “tostada” that is especially for the “matin” (morning)… rich in flavor and not the least bit bitter (Juan Valdez, watch out!) For those of you who would like to try some of your “caveman” French, this is the best place I’ve found to try it out… Right across the street is a famous cheese shop that serves up cheese from all the regions of France. We bought raw milk Camembert from Norman cows, bleu cheese from Auvergne, doux (mild) chevre from “j’ne sais ou” (I don’t know where) and the best Emmenthaler that Bob has ever tasted. If I didn’t know better, I’d think we were from Wisconsin… if the “cheese head fits”, wear it! (see pictures).

When we came up out of the Metro at the Arc de Triomphe, there were only a few cars in the roundabout circling it… very odd indeed, until we remembered that the Paris Marathon was snaking it’s way through Paris, to end at this most appropriate of landmarks… many of the faces we saw at the end of the race didn’t exactly look “triumphant”, but we did see some runners with medals.

On our way back to the apartment for a “siesta” mid-day, we stopped at a Patisserie in our neighborhood in search of dessert for later. A beautiful piece caught my eye and to my amazement, what ensued was a long discussion (in French) with the friendly proprietress about the ingredients contained in it… I felt “almost French” as we discussed it’s merits and I apologized for my language short comings… We couldn’t resist doing a little tableau, before consuming our treasure.

We ended our day right where we started: back at the American Church for a free classical piano concert. The final piece, “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Moussorgsky evoked vivid images, considering the great art we have seen and have yet to see.

As we left the church and crossed the Seine, the heavens opened up and we could see why Paris is called “the city of lights”…

Picture Set 1
Picture Set 2

posted by Bob and Gayle @ 3:44 PM