MayInParis

May 1, 2007
May Day in France! Fête du Premier Mai
In France, on the first of May, it is customary to give a sprig of Lily of the Valley, as a symbol of springtime and
wish for happiness.

We attended a concert of famous Soprano Edwige Bourdy accompanied by Phillippe Alegre. It took place in
L'Eglise Saint Julien Le Pauvre, the most ancient church in Paris. After a stop at a cafe, we walked part of the
way home in the moonlight.

May 2, 2007
Today we visited a famous kitchen and restaurant supply in Paris. It's supposed to be the largest
(and most Prestigious) in all of France. We went in search of (believe it or not) measuring spoons
and measuring cups. Other than a measuring glass, the French do not use these. Usually, recipes
ask for a teaspoon or a soup spoon of something. I was afraid to ask, and proceeded to scour the
store for measuring spoons and cups, but when I found none, Tom bravely walked up to one of
the clerks and asked if they had measuring spoons. The clerk politely held back his laughter and
simply responded, "Ah, non," as he shook his head. We bought a few small items and made our
way down behind Hotel-de-Ville in search of a store which is renown for its variety of spices and
epicurian delights. I was even able to find ground cloves. (For some reason, whole cloves are
quite plentiful in France, but not the ground cloves!) Our last stop was a very special location
called "Place de Bourg Tibourg," recommended by one of the people we met at last Sunday's
party. We stopped for a bite to eat, at the cafe L'Etincelle (the Spark), a happening "BoBo" place.
(Bourgeois Bohemian:) (New upper urban class, geek chic,)

(Oops! Forgot to take a picture before we started eating!)

May 7, 2007
Today we stopped at the Notre Dame Cathedral to say prayers and light candles
for friends and family who have passed away. We lit candles for Francisca, my
Mom and Dad, my brother Ben, for Tom's Dad, nephew Kenneth, and sister-in-law
Pat.

May 9, 2007

Tom reads the paper at La
Fontaine Saint Michel

Tom and Kathleen read
about their fundamental
rights in the E.U. (a tiny
book they were passing
out at La Place St.
Michel.)

Sunday, May 6, 2007
Presidential Election Day
Town Hall, Buttes Chaumont

Fragrant Lilacs

Statice

There are many flower shops in our
neighborhood as well as the flower
markets at Ile-de-la-Cite.

Les Invalides
May 10, 2007

Tom Gallier and
"Tom" Jefferson

Musée Rodin
May 10, 2007

Kathleen's Paris Basil Garden
May 12, 2007!

May 12, 2007, Saturday: After lunch at La Victoire Supreme
du Coeur and going shopping and to a movie at Forum Les
Halles, we walked through Beaubourg to a café in Île-de-la-Cité
for a glass of wine and a cup of tea. On the way to the café we
found a beautiful old building, the Syndicat de la Épicerie
Française. (French Syndicate of the Grocery Trade) Note their
motto "Tous Pour Un, Un Pour Tous" ("All for One, One For
All")

Sunset, May 12, 2007

At Café La Pelouse, steps away
from our apt. building, Tom
takes a moment to rest his
tired brow upon his "cart noire"
after an exhausting grocery
shopping trip at Monoprix.

Tom is instantly
revived as the glass of
Chardonnay arrives.

Á la Votre!

This building is
completely covered with
tiles (including the little
and canopy at the
street, and even the
tile-covered columns on
the penthouse
apartment at the top!)
This picture does not do
it justice!

Next to the tiled building, another
interesting example of the variety of
Parisian architecture....

Metro at Gare de Lyon

May 15, 2007: They're putting up a
tent on the Parvis, in front of Notre
Dame -- soon to come: La Fete du
Pain ("The Festival of Bread"!)

View of a Metro Bridge
from Gare d'Austerlitz

Gare de Lyon

May 15, 2007: Today we went out to Gare de Lyon to buy
our tickets to Grenoble for a special top-secret mission for
Joe.

Tom took me to L'Arpege
Restaurant for our anniversary
celebration. (7 wonderful years
of marriage!) The meal had
about 10 fabulous courses. It
was the most expensive meal
we've ever eaten . (Don't ask.
You don't want to know!)

Paris has about 16 hours per day
of sunlight now. (May 18th.)
Everything grows at a phenomenal
rate in the spring!

The rain we've had the past few
days has caused a lot of things to
grow -- including these
mushrooms in crevices by
sidewalks in the park.

An elementary school field trip in
the park.

Kathleen and Iceland Poppies

They have replanted the parks with the next "round" of Spring flowers!

The Ups
and Downs
of Living in
Paris

Cité des
Sciences et
de
l'Industrie

Look closely at the picture below.
Can you see our reflection in the
sphere?

Our Eighth Floor Elevator

23 Mai 2007

Inside Notre Dame, we lit some candles and said some
prayers. Georgina: this candle and prayer that are
pictured below were for you, as I promised! :-)