Paris Sunday April 7, 2013 and later

Sunday required the return to the neighborhood where we rented an apartment on our visit two years ago.  There is a coffee and tea shop, un Brulerie or coffee roasting place, where the owner engages musicians to play for two hours each Sunday morning.  It is a small shop and people come and go while the music is being played but some like us stay for most of the time.  This Sunday two young men were playing mostly old jazz numbers and some klezmer.  One man played a guitar and one a clarinet.  Both were very good but Harley thought the clarinetist was super good.  We enjoyed an espresso and cookie while we listened.

On the way up the hill we saw the "green men" out cleaning the streets.  They seem like green men to me since they are dressed in neon green uniforms, wield neon green brooms, and push neon green carts for collecting the refuse.  I have noticed them on every visit here.  Very Parisian.

Took the bus back to the apartment, had lunch and continued with a quiet day at home.

Monday we repeated our attempted walk to rue des Batignolles but this time got the correct street.  This is a lovely typical Paris neighborhood.  It is a pleasure to admire the small shops and elegant apartment buildings with their beautifully decorated facades and long windows with decorative iron work along the bottoms of the windows.  Many have flower boxes and if only it were warmer would be filled with colorful flowers.

As we returned home for lunch we made a stop at Chez Julian to try some more of their wonderful bread, this time getting a loaf of dark bread with sunflower seeds and a poppy seed baguette.  Also stopped for another bottle of wine at Nicolas.  Have to take every opportunity to stock up on wine since it is so heavy to carry.

The young man in the wine shop is American born but has lived in other countries including Scotland and Germany and now Paris.  We commiserated on how hard it is to get a start in the US these days and how much easier it is to survive in Europe because of their better social programs.  Probably won't get rich but it is a better life---and far fewer guns!