First, and most important: Mark sent me this photo of one of our favorites, tulips (and my all-time favorite, himself). When we visited Paris together six years ago (to celebrate our 20th), we bought tulips for the apartment we stayed in -- they have had special meaning with that connection ever since. I'm really looking forward to having a belated anniversary with Mark in France next month! Je t'aime, Marc!!!
Today, the art class (which I am attending, but not taking -- all the fun, none of the homework!) did not meet. Our French class met at the Southeast Paris train station, Gare de Lyon, for a lesson on travel vocabulary and how to buy tickets, figure-out destinations and conduct (get it?!) onesself on the train.
Inside, there is a very old and very famous (and very expensive) restaurant, Le Train Bleu. One of my friends likened the inside to the decor of the Titanic. I can see why:
The train workers are currently on strike (for about a week now). Only about half of the trains are running, which makes the stations extra busy. Pierre said that it probably wont last too much longer, as most of France gets a summer vacation in July, and the workers would lose all of their leverage if they make the public mad by interfering with summer travel plans! I hope he is right!
I finally got some good photos of my classmates! Here I am with Phylise, Cindy, me and Pierre
Above: Iris, Pierre, Jessica, Rebecca, and Christina
Above: Rebecca, Kristina, Tristan, Saul, Robert and Eloy
After class, Cindy and I had a great time re-visiting the covered market where she bought some sliced salami for later (six tranche mince, s'il vous plait -- six thin slices, please). We had Chinese food near the Bastille, and tried some pastries at Blé Sucre, owned by a very famous pastry chef (NO, not all of those -- that was just for "staging").
Later that day, we stopped into an old French wine bar for a little glass of wine.
I had the Rosé Côte du Rhône bio (organic) -- dry, crisp and delicious, low in alocohol.
Happy Anniversary, my friend! What an amazing day you had! Mark is so thoughtful (as always!) to send a photo --and I know you will both enjoy your time in Paris when he arrives -in the meantime - the pastries, wine bar and touring look like fun and it is fun to see your cohorts as well!! xo
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bonnie! Maybe someday, you, Justin, Mark and I can take a trip here together. Wouldn't it be fun to work our way from one beautiful site to another in between wine, cheese and pastries?
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