First Day in Paris

It turns out our original flight was cancelled because the plane got STRUCK by LIGHTNING flying out of Paris toward Boston and had to turn around and go BACK!

Twenty-four hours later, we caught a smooth flight - it's amazing how sunny it is above the foggy weather we get on the ground - and landed in Paris without a hitch.  We could tell we were on a French airline: dinner came with wine (no extra charge).  My husband's aunt was at the airport at sunrise to pick us up.

Obligatory first stop:  the neighborhood boulangerie, Weiland, for their delicious petit pain au chocolat.

After a nap, a stroll through a playground that made me sigh:

New French vocabulary word of the day:  crotte.  English equivalent:  turd.  Example:  Il y a beaucoup de crottes sur le trottoir:  There are a lot of turds on the sidewalk. (This situation has actually improved significantly over the last several years.)

Special treat of the day: dark chocolate, tiramisu, and bacio gelato at Amorino on rue Cler. ("Better than Berthillon," quoth my husband.)

We had dinner in Saint-Cyr with one of my husband's friends from high school, her husband, and their three lovely sons, ages seventeen, fourteen, and eleven.  I've visited Europe many times, and almost every time I am struck by how much more mature, well-mannered, un-spoiled, and comfortable-with-adults French kids are compared to their American counterparts, including our own (and ours are pretty good, in my humble view).  I won't even try to guess how that happens. ("Ils sont bien-elevés," said my husband simply.)

She served us wonderful lamb stew with raisins and apricots and a refreshing salad of greens in vinaigrette topped with peaches and cubes of feta.  Simple but delicious.  And yes, she was as well put-together as one might expect from my previous post!  Sigh...competence to aspire to.