Les Flâneurs: neighborhood

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Birthday in Munich

25 April 2022.

Today was my birthday. Seventy-four years since I shuffled onto this mortal coil and most of the time has been spent dazed and confused. But largely happy. And so I am today.

A birthday spent in Munich, Germany, strolling through a wonderful cemetery, taking life at a slower pace than usual and just enjoying being alive.

After a leisurely morning and equally leisurely walk through the Alter Sudlicher Friedhof (our cemetery next door) we had a hot beverage and a piece of their homemade cheesecake at our favorite spot, the Aroma Kaffeebar just a couple of doors down from our apartment.

We then headed off into the old town, this time taking a route we hadn't been on before which, as it turned out, took us past the new enormous Eataly complex. From there we headed over to Sendlingerstrasse where Susie went off in search of a bath item while I kept an eye on several young women who were getting ready for some kind of photo shoot.

Susie and I made our way back through Sendlinger Tor and home for the evening.

For my birthday I fixed a dish that had been bouncing around in my head for a few days: sautéed shallots with chopped summer sausage with stir-fried little potatoes (blanched) mixed with Bergerkäse cheese with a side of blanched broccoli. Oh, and since we failed to bring an apron, a deficit we hope to rectify shortly, I worked topless with paper towels around my waist (Susie didn't want to deal with potential splatter spots on my shirt). But you'll see it all in the last photo.

Not a bad way to spend one's birthday.

along Blumentstrasse it looked like a statue urinating but. . .

it was only a watering can held by a saint

Eataly store

Sendlingerstrasse

models getting ready for work. . . note the two using the chrome wall strips to apply makeup

A slightly colorful update from Grand Rapids

The weather has turned colder, with on-again, off-again rain and the leaves are starting to drop, as they do about this time of year. But a few days ago things in western Michigan were more summer-like, Indian Summer anyway.

Oh, and yes I finished my presentation on Paris Cemeteries at Aquinas College this past Wednesday -- I had an absolutely grand time, a real blast I might've said in 1972, and they’ve asked me to come back for a Part 2 (and 3 if I’m up for it).

Susie will be partnering with Patricia Christopher and now has a temporary license to work out of Patricia's Chocolates in Grand Haven, Michigan. It's a 30-40 minute drive from home to the lakeshore and we only have one car but we're going to give it a go. . . Anyway, she'll probably be out there for a few hours 1-2 days a week working primarily on shortbread cookies and Palmiers to sell in the shop and for special orders.

There's also another venue in Grand Haven that has expressed serious interest in her caramel nut tarts and financier almond cakes. The girl is in demand, but what else is new, eh? (working on my Canadianisms in case we have to leave the country November 8).

Anyway, with the weather being quite nice, last Sunday I grabbed my camera and walked over to Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. Along the way I was able to catch just a glimpse of some wonderful color change in our neighborhood -- plus the mums at Meijer Gardens were spectacular.

our condo, sort of (hidden behind the garages)

just at the entrance to our complex are these gorgeous trees that seem to go on and on

the entrance to the Gardens

part of an indoors exhibition at Meijer Gardens featuring some 11 local artists and their creative views of living in Grand Rapids -- yep, you'll need a program to grasp what they're getting at. . .