Letter from Paris 23 April

Our landlady, Brigitte, gave us a quick tour of the apartment and everything we needed to know about such household tasks as how the various entry locks worked to get into the building, where the garbage was and how the outside shutters worked.

It was a comfortable space and while we would've liked to return to Ann's lovely apartment in 20th arrondissement, the fact that the rue Pinel apartment had an elevator and was ideally located close to metro lines 6 and 5 and thus much closer to Le Cordon Bleu for Susan's 4-day bread class, two key selling points.

Brigitte soon took her leave and set off to visit friends in the country and we began the process of settling in for the next couple of weeks.

living room

from the terrace

looking out across rue Pinel over the rooftops of the Ecole des Arts et Metiers

Once unpacked we set off to explore the neighborhood, get lunch, stroll and pick up a few staples. We stopped for lunch at Le Ménagerie, a nearby brasserie located on Boulevard de l'Hôpital, straddling the 5th and 13th arrondissements, 5 minutes from our apartment. We sat outside and opted for the plat du jour, filet de bar (sea bass) with crispy julienned carrots, zucchini and sweet onion sticks all in a beurre blanc sauce. It was, in a word, delicious.

filet de bar (sea bass) at Le Ménagerie

After a leisurely lunch (we're in Paris now), we strolled down the boulevard in the direction of the Jardin des Plantes. On the way we stopped off at La Chocolatine, the Boulangerie Patisserie de Mme et Mr Hubert, a place we frequented back in 2006 when we lived in an apartment nearby on rue Poliveau. Nothing had changed and the quality was still spectacular. We'll be going back Located just off the boulevard on rue des Wallons the pastries are exquisite. Susie and I snacked on a scrumptious apple tart as we walked over past our old apartment and then on up the short block or so to the jardin.

apple tart

La Chocolatine

From the Jardin we took the Metro just a couple of short stops to Place d’Italie and Carrefour grocery store where we bought just a few things; major grocery shopping would come later.

 We turned in early that evening; both of us were tired, not dog tired mind you but the tiredness that comes with dramatically changing your sense of time and space. an odd thing this “lag,” it doesn’t seem to affect us when gong in the other direction. Nor did it ever affect us when traveling during the day nonstop from Boston to London, a trip we’ve made a couple of times.

 With all that, and aside from the whining about jet lag or the occasional hiccup along the way, we are in Paris. What a birthday treat!

 Next: our first full day of exploration.

Between New York and Paris

It was a quick and easy three-hour drive from Corning to Prattsville, another beautiful day to be on the road and we made good time, arriving at the Archer home about dinnertime.

The evening was filled with catching up, swapping tales and just enjoying each other's company -- and of course there was a delicious meal compliments of Gloria Archer: corned beef and cabbage, and the brisket was lean and delicious. Unlike the standard CB&C Gloria used Savoy cabbage cut into wedges and they were the perfect accompaniment to the beef.

The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast before saying good-bye and getting back on the road. This time we pointed ourselves south, down I-87 toward Newark and Liberty International Airport.

Traffic moved well and after about three hours we arrived at the airport -- and after a few minutes driving around a rather distressed neighborhood we located our car park where we would leave our car for the duration of the trip.

After being shuttled to the terminal and checking in -- for some reason the airport authority had stuck British Airways and Spirit Airlines in the basement along with baggage claim  -- we made our way to security. Once scanned and approved for travel we found a place to grab lunch and kill some time before time to board.

The airport, and this will come as no shock to many of you, but Newark Airport is. High prices and the lack of general upkeep as well as the absence of major updating are strikingly familiar (we'd been through here years ago).  At one charging station, near where we were sitting, and consisting of nearly a dozen outlets which didn’t work seemed to frustrate a great many folks crammed into our end of the terminal.

And the overcrowding?! Some things never change and the absence of upgrades or serious environmental enhancements is one of them.

 But we were only temporary residents and before long we were called to leave the terminal and board our British Airways flight from Newark non-stop to Orly Airport, south of Paris.

The flight itself was unremarkable as was the food and the accommodations: the plane was showing its age and the seats were in need of repair. Still, it was non-stop and we arrived at Orly a little after 8am local time.

 Once we were through passport control and had picked up our bags were off to find Ground Transportation and the OrlyBus to Denfert-Rochereau in the city center. We made our way to the nearest RATP office to load our Navigo Metro passes for the coming week and learned that we needed new passes — we had ours since 2006. The young woman behind the desk at the RATP counter was most helpful. At one point when language seemed to get in the way she took out her ipad and scribbled a few lines in Google translate and placed the pad up to the window. Pretty slick.

 With our new Navigos we navigated our way to the Metro and began the age-old schlepping process down and up and down and up the various stairs to line 6. We got off the metro at Nationale and walked the short block or so up rue Pinel to our apartment. Our hostess, landlady, I’m not sure what to call her, was waiting for us when we got to the door of the apartment. It was on the top floor, the 6th floor (7th in US terms) so we were thankful for the elevator.

Next: In Paris

To Paris by way of New York

We left Grand Rapids at a reasonable hour last Friday morning and sped off east toward New York State. The plan was to drive to Corning, NY, spend the night and visit the world-renowned glass museum on Saturday before driving to Prattsville, NY to visit the Archers.

Everything went as planned. It was a gorgeous day for a road trip as we passed through Ohio, a tiny bit of Pennsylvania and on into the southern tier parkway of New York.

We made good time, arriving in Corning about 6pm. After checking in at the Staybridge Suites we made our way downtown — Corning is really one long main drag called Market Street — and had a wonderful meal at the Cellar. A wine bar with an eclectic menu of what was termed "modern fusion" try the Flash Fried Baby Artichoke Hearts and Local Pastured Pork Ramen. The place was packed with locals and tourists alike and without reservations we had to sit at the bar, which was fine with us: we found ourselves well-positioned for an evening of eating great food, sipping wine and watching people.

After a delicious meal and lots of quality time just enjoying the first night of our journey we made our way back to our room and to sleep.

The next morning we took our sweet time getting out of bed and ready for the day. After a brief stop at the museum Welcome Center where we left our car we walked to the museum.

This place is nothing short of incredible. Our friends Patty and Paul in Grand Haven (yep those superb chocolatiers) were the first to tell us what an fantastic museum this is and they weren’t exaggerating. There were family-based activities on hand, especially since it was spring break, as well as the usual demonstrations on their large “hot shop” amphitheater. The numerous exhibition galleries were staggeringly impressive for me since I had thought all along, “what’s the big fuss, it’s just glass.” Believe me it’s much, much more than that.

Don’ take our word for it. Go discover it for yourself.

Besides coming away with a deep appreciation for how difficult it is to produce a glass-based work of art, we learned that Corning Glass sold off Correlle, Pyrex, and  Corningware to Borden in the 1990s, which explains why the products sold under those brands today are perhaps not quite up to the standards of past year years.

Anyway, the company, with 40,000 employees world is still headquartered in Corning — although they were founded in the mid-19th century in Massachusetts — and today focuses on glass technology, such as gorilla glass for iphones and fiber optic cables. Oh, and we now know what a "gaffer" is.

photo: comog.org

photo: comog.org

photo: gafferdistrict.com

One hiccup in the day came not long after we arrived at the museum and I began experiencing odd behavior in my right eye.

I called my ophthalmologist in Grand Rapids who suggested going to the nearest optical shop to have the eye tested for retinal detachment. With a quick search of the internet using her iphone Susie found a place right on Market Street, Visionworks. They got us in at 11:30.

After a series of tests, the optometrist, Dr. Eric Crittenden, concluded there was no evidence of detachment whatsoever; I was experiencing what is commonly called “floaters.” We were both impressed with his straightforwardness, his lucidity and no-nonsense approach to the problem. He was also candid in his opinion that I would be wise to rethink having eye surgery to correct my double vision. It is, he warned, an “imprecise surgery”.

As a side-note for reasons which remain unclear, the floaters disappeared after an hour or so -- although one small one still pops into my vision every so often.

An hour after arriving and much relieved we returned to the museum to finish our tour and have lunch in the cafe.

Next: In midair. . .

Donald Wade Soper Junior

These three photos of my older brother Don, taken sometime in the late 1930s, were passed along to me by my Aunt Barbara Hinman. Aunt Barb and Uncle Bill, have since left this life and undoubtedly enjoying themselves wherever they are. Warm, kind and generous they always referred to my big brother as "Donnie".

As for "Donnie", he suffered much in his life but with a loving wife and a rock-solid belief in himself he persevered through it all. I could only wish for such strength of character.

He had his flaws to be sure, and unfortunately I kept pointing to those when he was alive and not focusing on his strengths. I owe my life to my father who rescued me and my brother who protected me.

He was my older brother and while we rarely agreed on anything -- except our Dad -- he was always there for me, especially when I was the age he was in these photos.

Thanks Big Brother.

Rest in Peace -- you earned it.

February 22, 1936 to April 26, 2016.

Manon Roland 1754-1793

. . . the thing that has struck me most has been their universal mediocrity . . . it is hardly surprising that we have fallen step by step under the dominion of crass ignorance and shameful incompetence.

Sound familiar?

Madame Roland, c. 1787, by Adélaïde Labille Guiard

Manon Roland, born in 1754, was an early sympathizer of the revolution. She is most well-known today for her memoirs she wrote in prison while awaiting trial.

On 8 November 1793 she was executed on the Place de la Revolution, today the Place de la Concorde and her body dumped into a mass grave in the Madeleine Cemetery. The cemetery itself eventually became the La Chapelle de Expiatoire and is the final resting place for many who were executed during the Terror, including Manon, Charlotte Corday and King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette (the latter two removed to the crypt of the Basilica Saint-Denis).

Quoted in Lucy Moore Liberty: The Life and Times of Six Women in Revolutionary France (NY, NY: Harper Collins 2007), p. 218.