City girls

We were in the centre of Paris at 9.30 this morning to drop off Ben at the International School where he is attending a MUN conference.  So, we decided to do a bit of shopping.  We started with a second breakfast at the famous Parisian cafe "La Duree" then strolled up the Champs Elysees for a bit before heading home.

Opera

Joan and I took the train into Paris after drop off at school yesterday morning.  We strolled around the shopping area around the Opera House (see picture).  Taking in Printemps and Galeries Lafayettes (the two huge department stores).  Sandwich and coffee in Starbucks (I know, not very French!) and then a quick visit to the english bookshop on Rue de L'Opera before catching the train back to school.  Lovely day shopping and chatting.  We both got some bargains in Gap's sale.

Revolution walk in Paris

This afternoon I went on the Revolution walk by "Paris Walks" with Joan and Lotta.  It was very interesting as they always are.  Plus the cherry trees in Paris are starting to blossom, very nice.

The walk took us around the Latin Quarter mainly.  The oldest cafe in Paris where many of the revolutionaries would meet to discuss things and various buildings where prominent people of the time lived or in Murat's case, died (stabbed to death in his bath, poor bloke).

The walk ended close to Notre Dame so we walked across the two islands and enjoyed a coffee before heading home.

Happy Birthday Mum!!

Back on track....

Trying not to panic about the limited time left here in Paris!  We have booked a weekend trip to Mont Saint Michel in May.  We are also planning to visit the area around Bordeaux and maybe Strasbourg during other long weekends in Spring.  I'll keep you posted.

Yesterday I went to the antique fair on the island at Chatou (just up the road) with Lotta.  Lots of lovely things as well as some junk.  We didn't buy anything although Lotta did enquire as to the price of a Gien dinner set.  When we were told it was 1300 euros, we did lots of murmuring and nodding and told the guy we would think about it.  Then we kept accidentally ending up near his stall again and kept rushing off in the opposite direction....  ho hum

Monday, Joan, Lotta and I (providing we all have healthy children, touch wood) are hoping to go to the Marche de Puces which literally means flea market.  It's antiques and bric a bac and I'm sure some junk too.  Huge Huge market, world famous......  It's on my list!

No appropriate photos so here is ANOTHER photo from South Africa

Rainy Paris

Back to yucky weather!  Spring MUST be round the corner.......

I broke some Denby plates the other week and today managed to find a company on the internet that can replace them.  There are loads of companies offering replacement Denby but most of them seem to have just odds and ends like teapot lids and saucers!  Found one that has what I need yahoo.  So I sent off the order.  Hmmm maybe we should buy dinner plates and bowls too...........

Another picture from South Africa to cheer me up.  (11 month old cheetah)  It is chucking it down outside.  My plans for today are out the window.  Lotta and I were going to go to the antique fair which visits nearby twice a year but it is outside of course and the weather is disgusting.  Maybe tomorrow.

Boutique Hotels

I think that me and Jarle are converted to small "Boutique" hotels now.  I wasn't sure about the host coming to chat with you at breakfast and ask what your plans for the day were, but apart from that it is great to stay in a cosy one of a kind place with great attention to detail.  Here are our rooms......

Penguins

The only colony of penguins on the continent of Africa not in captivity are in South Africa.  They are Jackass penguins and are very cute.  We also saw some of them floating around while we were on a sunset cruise and also on Robben Island.

South Africa

I know that this is my Elaine in Paris blog, but we just got back from South Africa and I wanted to share some of our experiences.

Cape Town and the Cape Winelands were fantastic.  The mountains and the coastline are very picturesque.  We visited many vineyards and tasted many, many different wines.  Also olive oil, cheese and chocolate.  We had a 5 hour lunch with a lovely Afrikaans lady who taught us all about pairing wine and food.  We took a revolving cable car up to the top of Table Mountain and a boat out to Robben Island.  The weather was lovely, it is late Summer early Autumn there.  The grape harvesting has just begun.