Paris, I do love you.

      Matthieu and I had an amazing month in Paris.  

We rented a small studio apartment with a couch/bed and kitchen with hotplates and scudsy bathroom with mold and peeling walls.  

But it was in Paris. It had a balcony. It got sun all day long, was in a prime people watching location, had the Internet and phone.  I loved it. We were in the 18th arrondissement, near both the vital North to South 12 line and the wonderful East to West 2 line.  It was a mere 5 minute walk to Sacre Coeur, to Pace du Tertre where caricatures and artists vie for your patronage, to the Moulin Rouge, to a public pool, to the fabric markets, to the cemetery where Degas is laid to rest.  

We had 6, SIX, excellent boulangeries within a five minute walk and tried them all. We were IN the neighborhood of Amélie. The fruit stand was down the street, her cafe around the corner, the seedy Pigalle area where her love interest worked was down the hill. It was an amazing month.

    We did a lot, and yet it seems like we didn't do enough. There is much to take in and experience, that quite frankly I don't know what to even say.  I have added a better late than never summary of our museum week (see further down in blog). Matthieu and I took so many photos that it will take us a little more time to sort them into an enjoyable album.  We took long walks by the Seine, discovered fabulous book stores, had laughter-filled meals with friends, discovered new neighborhoods, marveled at art, history, architecture, and ate sandwiches on our porch. Sometimes eating a really good sandwich on a porch is all I need.  

But eating a sandwich on a porch in Paris during sunset- somehow makes it taste even better.