Paris Journal 2011 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com

Photos and thoughts about Paris

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We walked across the left bank side of Paris yesterday evening to meet our friends Elisabeth and Ron for dinner. They wanted to try the outdoor restaurant in the architecturally splendid Place de l’Odeon, in front of the National Theatre. The setting was so nice, and the food was good. Ron and Elisabeth were funny and charming as ever, and we had a pleasant dinner punctuated by plenty of laughs. The service was bad, but that wasn’t entirely the servers’ fault. There were too few servers for so many tables. And the server for the table next to ours was downright rude to Elisabeth at one point. I’m glad we went to that place, but I guess we don’t need to go back there soon, and I won’t be putting it on our list of recommended restaurants for food. What I’d recommend is to stop there for drinks on a pleasant afternoon. Speaking of recommendations, I want to follow up on a couple of things that knowledgeable readers, Cynthia and Lennie, mentioned in the guest book yesterday. Cynthia rightly does not recommend the Capital One visa/mastercard for cash advances. As I mentioned yesterday, we get our cash from the BNP Parisbas ATM machines using a Bank of America ATM card. That’s what I recommend. Cash advances via a credit card are something I avoid if at all possible. I only recommend the Capital One card for credit card purchases, because this bank does not charge an international transaction fee. Cynthia also worries about our magnetic-strip-only American cards becoming dinosaurs. I’m concerned about that, too. Recently, I read in the New York Times that two American banks are considering issuing credit cards with chips in them, like the European cards. One of the banks is Chase. I don’t know what the other bank is. When I called Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Capital One before we departed Florida (to give them travel notifications), I asked about credit cards with chips. None of these three banks are planning to issue them. Lennie mentioned the Air France bus as an alternative way to get into Paris from the airport. We have used the Orly version of this bus, and we do recommend it. The route from Charles de Gaulle is farther and goes through areas more prone to traffic jams. But yesterday, with the three accidents on the Peripherique tying up traffic all around, I’m afraid the Air France bus would not have been the way to go. At least our taxi driver was able to take alternate routes, deviating from the standard route. I especially enjoyed coming home through the 16^th arrondissement, on some picturesque downhill streets that were once part of the little village of Passy. And of course with the bus, one still needs to get from the station to home. Monday simply was not an easy day for entering Paris. C’est la vie. After dinner last night we collected our stored suitcases from the other apartment and had a perfectly acceptable taxi ride back to the 15^th arrondissement. I no longer give the drivers simply the address. To be sure they take the shorter route (rates are charged per kilometer), I say that the address is near the Place Cambronne, and that the street is one way, going from such-and-such street to such-and-such street. This clearly suggests a more northerly route rather than the longer, more southerly route taken by some drivers just because that’s the only way they know to find one of these streets. Our driver followed my clues and took us to the apartment very efficiently in the rain. He helped with the suitcases, especially the heaviest one when I started to move it. He raced to my side and took it so that I would not hurt myself. Tom tipped him well. Today is cooler and damp. It was a good morning for unpacking, and the day’s weather is getting better by the minute. Perhaps it is now time to go shoot some photos. Sign my guestbook. View my guestbook. Note: For addresses & phone numbers of restaurants in this journal, click here.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011 Every year, this journal begins with a photo of a cat or dog. But this year is different, for so many reasons. But here is the starring animal, a Parisian cat who lives with its twin in a plumber’s shop window. The cat is a Persian, and so is the plumber, whose name is Reza. We’ve known Reza for many years now. The Cochon Rose, on the rue Saint Charles, has lovely things to eat. ← Previous Next →