Its going to be hot again today......

Journaling in Jardin du Ranelagh

Il est vendredi, le 3 juillet à 6 heures du matin. With the front door open we get a breeze to cool us down from another hot night. We had a nice break from the heat yesterday and took advantage of the slightly cooler temperatures. The day still included many breaks in the shade and plenty of fluids. In our attempt to stay off the beaten track, we visited Musée Marmottan-Monet. It has the largest collection of Monet in the world. The Jardin du Ranelagh  across the street provided  a shady place to relax before and after an enjoyable stroll through the gallery. The collection of large Monet paintings of Giverny gardens were wonderful. It was nice to beat the madding crowds of the Louvre or the d'Orsay, but of course you need to be a Monet fan to truly enjoy the gallery. From here is is a short stroll down the the Trocadero and the view of the Tour Eiffel provided a magnificent backdrop to a lunch in the park. We spent the time people watching. It is amazing to watch people from all over the world stroll by, and how we are all more alike than different. After enjoying the ambiance of our surroundings, we thought we needed to head off and discover more of the Paris off the beaten track. According to those who know, Belville is an up and coming neighbourhood. Right now, it is the Chinatown of Paris. Interspersed is a graffiti chic young atmosphere.

rue Dénoyez

I'm not sure what we were looking for, but it wasn't this and the heat didn't help. The only places to sit and soak up the atmosphere are cafés or bars, and it was too hot for a coffee, so we headed up to see our last new park, the Parc des Buttes Chaumont. This park was noted for its views of the city. Well to get a view you need to walk up, way up, and once you get the top of the first butte, you need to walk down and then up the second butte. Not wanting to repeat the heat stroke like episodes of the previous day, we found a shady slope and had a quick nap before heading home. The slow and steady pace has kept us out until almost 5. Passing by a few elementary schools, it seemed that the students were being dismissed for the summer. They were loaded down with all their supplies and enough energy for the summer. I couldn't imagine trying to teach in this type of heat.

Two nights in a row we ate
at the same restaurant, so last night we were going to be adventurous and try something new. We found a small sidewalk restaurant that was spreading up and down the street infront of vacant stores, and stretched even further as the store next door closed. The sidewalk tables are the place to be for Parisians. Not to be seen or to see, but to smoke and they are all young. It feels like we have taken up second hand smoking. The draw was happy hour with half-priced beer, €3.50, a little less than $5.00 pints, but the carbonara and the pizza were good too. As the heat takes its toll, we headed back to try to cool down before heading to bed.

Did we say that it is a little warm here?

Today is our last day here in Paris before picking up the rental car and heading south to Bellac. We are wearing as little as possible enjoying our coffee, croissants, pain au chocolate and the cool breeze through the open front door.  Pride be damned when you are this hot.