Thursday October 2, 2025. A long, very long day for us. We are becoming quite aware that getting older and traveling can often be at odds with one another, and this trip home proved the rule, I suppose.
We awoke at 6 am, refreshed ourselves, got dressed and checked out. From the hotel it was a short walk to the Terminal 3 tram station which took us to Terminal 2E and eventually to concourse M. We were reminded from our experience this past spring how incredibly absurd the French have become with their security, at least at this airport. The number of times they checked passports and boarding passes, leading right up to and including when boarding is, well, quite absurd. But we had plenty of time and after numerous long corridors (just the beginning) and many escalators (both up and down) we found our way to the M concourse and eventually gate M49.
We stopped at Starbucks where Susie grabbed a blueberry muffin and a latte.
Our Delta flight boarded on time, although the process seemed a bit chaotic. But we eventually got to our seats and settled in for the next 8 hours or so. The staff (all Americans presumably although two of them spoke French) seemed a bit disorganized to me, especially in the announcement portion during the pre-departure. They were very friendly nonetheless and attentive to people's needs. The food was hands down the worst food we've ever had the displeasure of being given. The meal at lunchtime tasted of chemicals and seemed synthetic to us. Fortunately we had brought a bit of fruit on board and had a plentiful supply of our own snack mix.
Time dragged on, as they do on such long-haul flights, and this time I opted to watch my own videos downloaded previously to my phone. Susie crossword puzzled for much of the trip.
We arrived in Detroit pretty much on time, zipped right through Global Entry and then through security which seemed to have become infected with the French tendency to slow the process to a crawl. But we had plenty of time and we were soon on our way to Terminal B and our connecting flight.
There was some uncertainty as we started to board whether we would in fact board at all due to a possible maintenance concern. Fortunately after just a few minutes delay the Delta agent opened the door and in we went. I find it fascinating that Delta has a Priority line for boarding zones 1-4 and then when they board the remaining zones, everyone has to move to another lane. You have to wonder who comes up with these ideas. Plus, it seemed to both of us -- as I'm sure it does to you -- that the most efficient way of loading a plane is to the rear first and then forward. But we're not in charge.
Once on board we soon pulled away from the jetway and went through a series of stops-and-starts on the tarmac before finally getting to the runoff and off.
It was a short flight to Grand Rapids, maybe 20-25 minutes and we touched down a bit early. We had to gate check our carry-on so we had to wait a few minutes for our bags. We soon had our bags and walked out to meet our neighbor Don who had kindly offered to pick us up.
The day was lovely, warm in the high 70s, and we were pleased to get home to a cool house.
I scrambled some eggs for an early dinner and Susie pulled a couple of her homemade English muffins out of the freezer.
It was good to home but not good to be back. Go figure.
As usual we were leisurely for the first half of the morning. While Susie sipped coffee I popped over to the corner boulangerie and picked up a couple of croissants and a pain au chocolate, relieving us of all our loose Euro change in the bargain.
While both pastries were tasty and the laminations just right we thought the pain au chocolate was a bit skimpy on the chocolate.
Since I'm not allowed anywhere near the luggage during packing, Susie packed our things. She is a whiz using the packing cubes and before long our bags were sealed up and ready for traveling.
I had reserved an Uber for pickup at 12 noon and our driver was a bit early. We had just left the building and had to wait outside in the warm sun for only a few minutes before our car arrived. It was a pretty quick ride to the airport; although, as usual getting out of the city was stop-and-start, we were impressed at how fluide the traffic was on the peripherique (ring road). It slowed only briefly until we got past a traffic accident and were soon speeding right to Charles de Gaulle and our hotel located next to Terminal 3. (In fact this was an identical replay of our past spring trip.)
When we went to check in we learned our room wasn't quite ready so they gave us access to the "executive" lounge where we settled in for an hour or so. After a cup of coffee and cooling our heels in the lounge we decided it was time for lunch so that's where we headed next.
We both had the French onion soup and it was even better than the one we had on the Mouff so long ago (or so it seems now). The bowls (Staub knock offs) were full of caramelized onions, the broth sweet and rich and instead of sliced bread they used lovely little bread rounds topped with Cantal cheese. The same cheese we had at our wine tasting lunch! We each had a glass of Alsatian pinot gris to cool the heat of the soup. Delicious!
We spent the afternoon relaxing in preparation for tomorrow which will be a very long day of not relaxing. That evening we returned to the lobby and enjoyed a glass of wine during Happy Hour in the executive lounge (people with lots of folks who, like us, didn't look like executives).
Around 7 pm we moved to the hotel dining room, in the open atrium lobby, which is very light and airy and quite nice. We split a pizza and a each had a glass of Brouilly.
tap your own beer for Happy Hour
lots of folks partying in the bar-lobby
After dinner it was back to our room and a bit of reading/puzzling before bedtime. Tomorrow will be here soon!
Tuesday September 30, 2025. The last day of the month, our penultimate day in Paris, a day of small disappointments, but a day we were happy to be here enjoying life.
The morning began sunny but chilly although word on the street is warmer temps are on their way. We had a leisurely breakfast (fairly typical by now) before setting out. We had timed tickets for the Georges De La Tour exhibition at the Musée Jacquemart-André but wanted to scoot back to the former Pascal Pinaud's pastry shop in the 5th so Susie could ask what happened to Pascal.
So we took the 8 Metro to Bastille, switched to no. 5 and got off in our old 2006/2007 neighborhood at the Saint Marcel stop. We strolled passed our apartment building on rue Poliveau and across the small square that was a daily sight for us for so many months; and very little had changed in the intervening years. The café in the ground floor of our building was still there, the fresh produce stand across the street was still there and even the hair salon on one of the corners was still there, although the name had changed.
our apartment building with six flights of steps
our apartment top floor where the railing is
Square Poliveau
our building from 2006-2007
fresh food stand from our past
From there we walked up rue Fer du Moulin to rue Monge, past Maison Landemaine, a very well-known pastry shop which we were pleased to see is also still in business. But then again so was the Starbucks across the street. We walked up rue Monge passing Place Monge to arrive at Pascal's pastry shop where we learned that Pascal had indeed retired (Susan thought as much) and now lives in the Vendée. We did walk out with an oranais aux abricots, which we savored on our way to the Metro.
Place Monge
We took the line 7 from Place Monge to the Chaussée d'Antin La Fayette stop where, after turning ourselves around briefly, we transferred to the no. 9 and got off at Miromesnil. From there it was a short walk to Boulevard Haussmann (yes, THAT Haussmann) and on to the museum. Fortunately we had timed tickets and as a result had a short wait to get in; those without tickets, a separate line as is typical in Paris it seems, had a wait of as much as an hour or two.
queueing up
carriageway
the old carriageway to the courtyard and main entrance
courtyard and entrance on the backside of the home
looking down into the Music Room
Once we passed through what passes for security these days we made our way to the main house. The museum is worth a visit for the house and its contents which include some wonderful pieces of art and decorative pieces from the 15th-18th centuries. This time we got to see a wonderful Greuze and a lovely portrait by Vigée Lebrun.
We had been here once before to see a superb Mary Cassatt exhibition back in 2018 and the interpretive signage for the exhibition was only in French then; exhibitions here are still only in French apparently. The exhibition spaces were crowded and people were cheek-by-jowl in pretty small rooms. Overall we were disappointed in the artwork, although several pieces were striking, particularly the "Woman catching a flea" (1638).
Finished with the exhibition, we made our way to the museum's Café Nelie, named presumably after Nelie Jacquemart madame André who once walked these very halls. The café was packed and we had to wait probably 15 or 20 minutes before being seated outside on the terrace. The food was disappointing: Susan had a bland Caesar Salad and I had something that was reportedly a veggie risotto which was devoid of any flavor and lacking in the usual richness of a risotto. But the service was friendly, and the wine, a wonderful Chablis, very good.
From the museum we made our way back to the Metro line 9 and switched to the no. 6 at the Trocadero. We went two stops to Bir-Hakeim where we got off and sauntered over to the Seine.
Bir-Hakeim
Our plan was to stroll around the Eiffel Tower and make our way back to the 8 at École Militaire. Which we did.
the no. 6 Metro line
a walk along the Seine
relaxing along the Seine
boarding the boats for a tour of the Seine
across the Seine to the Trocadero in the distance (the Palais Chaillot)
From under one tower to another; Montparnasse in the distance
Along the way we passed hordes of like-minded folks, locals and tourists alike, out enjoying the Champ du Mars. We were rather surprised to discover that one needed to go through a entrance just to get into the space beneath the tower. But it didn't concern us so we moved on, putting the crowds behind us. In fact the farther we walked away from the tower the fewer people we encountered.
Along the way we did come across a fascinating sculpture group by Ivan Theimer. Titled the "Monument to the Rights of Man and Citizen" it was installed in 1989 and is a lovely collection of larger-than-life statues with bits and pieces of ceramic pieces scattered around and embedded in the walls of a small stone building. Lots of things to see here so I urge you to take a look a bit deeper.
Leaving the Champ de Mars we found ourselves at a major series of intersections and were at first a bit flummoxed as to where exactly the Metro was. But Susan spied it hiding behind a group of trees. We took the 8 all the way to Ledru-Rollin. Once above ground we stopped at Blé Sucré for a hot beverage (coffee) and pastry. I had a chocolate eclair this time and Susie had a lemon tart. We both concluded that these people know their stuff.
After sitting and chatting and enjoying the moment we said au revoir to the staff and walked the two or three blocks to our apartment. Once inside we discovered that the hot water was indeed hot and assumed this time it would stay that way.
Out for dinner. We decided to return to the place where we had our first meal in the neighborhood, Parisii. Located just on the other side of the indoor market from our apartment, it's a favorite haunt for the locals.
The service was smooth, attentive and vey friendly. We split a 500 ml carafe of Brouilly over a meal that started with a French classic eggs and mayonnaise followed by Cod on a bed of mashed potatoes for Susie and, tipping the hat to Paul Christopher, I had a double smash burger with the requisite fries. The food was very good, and we felt it was a good way to say adieu to Place d'Aligre.
I leave you with this short 30-second clip showing how the folks in this part of Paris "eat out." They don't. They go out to be together, to drink together, to share food together, to BE. Just like us; we love just being in Paris.
Tomorrow we (meaning Susan) will pack our things and get us ready for our Uber pick up at 12 noon. We spend our last night at a hotel at the airport, repeating what we did this past spring in fact. It makes for a much less stressful day of flying when you have an early morning flight (which we do) on Thursday.
Monday September 29, 2025. Our 8th day in Paris. The day began chilly (49F) but sunny and a cloudless light blue sky. This being a Monday the indoor market is closed and there is no outdoor market. And many small businesses, like the corner boulangerie, are also closed.
Today our focus was meeting with our friend Marie B. and visiting Père-Lachaise Cemetery. Back in 2006 I met Marie through our shared passion -- some might say obsession -- with this cemetery. For me it began with photo-documenting the sculpture, every single bit of it that I could find. And Marie helped direct me to so many pieces I might not have found otherwise. I spent many a day here systematically going from division to division until I had completed all 97 of them ultimately resulting in a guide to the artwork in Père-Lachaise.
We discovered this morning that we had no hot water and reached out to our host. We were informed when we checked in that the heat was controlled by the building administrator and would not be turned on until October. We just learned this morning that the hot water is also centrally controlled as well. Our host replied that there is a problem with the building's water heating system and several technicians will be out this morning. "This should be solved hopefully before the end of the day." And sure enough it was.
As they would say here, pas de problem.
We had a leisurely morning of coffee, fruit and cheese.
I took the opportunity to recharge Susie's Navigo pass for today. (Technical stuff you can skip but I want to remember.) We have had our passes for some years now and I recharged them with a weekly pass when we first got here. You can put the Navigo on your iPhone but one has to create an account which was another whole layer of hassle that seemed unnecessary since we had the passes already. I did a 10-pack of tickets to my iPhone (rather than recharge my Navigo - don't ask) and will use that for the next couple of days. I'll have to recharge Susan's pass again tomorrow for our final day in the city before heading out to the airport Wednesday.
It was soon time to make our way to Père-Lachaise and our meetup with Marie B. We walked over to the nearest no. 86 bus stop which would take us to Nation. When we boarded Susan had no problem with her daily Navigo of course, but the tickets I had on my phone didn't work on the bus! The driver didn't care and just waved me on board. When we mentioned this to Marie later over lunch she was quite dumbfounded. And reading the small print so to speak it turns out that if you buy the tickets online via the app it's for EITHER the Metro and Train OR Bus and Tram. Crazy.
Anyway, my iPhone tickets worked fine on the Metro, which we took from Nation to the Philippe Auguste stop and the cemetery.
exiting the Metro at Philippe Auguste
stopped to pick up some flowers for Sophie, Jane, Emilie and Marie
Marie's train was a bit delayed so we waited for a few minutes near the cemetery office. Marie soon joined us and off we went strolling somewhat aimlessly through the largest green space in historic Paris. I did have a few graves I wanted to see, we needed to pay our respects to Sophie Blanchard, Jane Avril, and Emilie Lavalette, and I had a list of several I wanted to find. The latter proved a bit more challenging than the former -- we know where those women are buried of course -- but we did manage to find a couple more that I had on my list.
A quick aside - if you've ever eaten potatoes in France you really should stop in D39 and say hello to Antoine Parmentier. He has a street and Metro stop named after him and for good reason. It was he who persuaded the French to take up the potato. . . And you might consider leaving a potato for him.
the side entrance leading into the cemetery
a very sad recent burial
Directly across the path from Chopin is Vivant Denon. You should probably know more about him. If you've been in the Louvre you're halfway there.
Vivant Denon in D10
Fernand Arbelot in D11
Sophie Blanchard in D13
Jane Avril in D19
Antoine Parmentier in D39
Emilie Lavalette in D36
The three us were starting to feel hunger pangs so we made our way back out of the cemetery and headed in the direction of the Metro. Just across from the Metro stop were a couple of cafès so we grabbed a table and chairs outside Aperonome enjoying the warm sun. The service was friendly, the food was somewhat lackluster but the wines were chilled and it was the company that made the afternoon so enjoyable.
The next couple of hours were full; of stories, catching up, idle chit chat perhaps to some, but we always enjoy Marie's company. She is full of fascinating tales, certainly about so many people buried in Père-Lachaise, but she is also incredibly well-travelled and still continues to teach school!
After saying adieu to Marie in the Metro -- she was heading one direction and Susie and I the other -- we took the no. 2 to Nation changed to the no. 6 and got off at Daumesnil. Our objective was simply to find an access to the Promenade Plantée. Also called the Coulée Verte René-Dumont this wonderful urban park replaced the old local train line that once went under the Gare de Bastille (long gone) to Vincennes. We had a long block walk to the gated stairs and then down into the old railway cut that led us through a wonderful tunnel and along luscious paths of green until we made our way up onto the old viaduc.
entrances are usually nondescript and access is rarely signed
tunnel walled with several small waterfalls and collecting pools
leaving the railway bed rising to the upper level of the railway
there was actually a toilette along the way
a class of students painting, some more so than others it seemed
an old trestle bridge and an exit down
the old viaduct (viaduc) consisting of mostly shops although we saw quite a few empty storefronts
We left the promenade near our apartment at avenues Dausmenil and Diderot and strolled up Daumesnil past the viaduc for a few blocks. Our apartment was quite close actually, just a few blocks with a stop at Franprix for a couple of things. We were pleased to discover the hot water was available again, although more accurately it was warm water. Otherwise we relaxed until time for supper.
That evening we walked up rue de Cotte to another Vietnamese restaurant, Do & Riz for our evening meal. Our host had told us this was one of the more popular spots in the neighborhood and every time we walked by we couldn't help but notice the queue waiting to get in. But it was a slow night -- at least when we got there - although by the time we left the joint was, as they say, jumpin'!
The food was wonderful, so tasty, refreshing and nutritious.
the kitchen was stretched along the hall leading to the sitting area
we shared spring rolls
Susie had chicken, veggies and noodles and I had Bo Bun chicken
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