We're in France

Our Time in Paris

We flew to Paris overnight on Sunday. We had booked an apartment in the Marais for 2 nights for a reasonable price that looked good – and it was – when we got there! The company we rented from do not have an office so we needed to collect the key from a box in the foyer of an apartment block. The  envelope containing the key would give the address of the apt. which would be near by, and include instructions to get there. There were separate pin numbers to open the door of the apartment containing the key box and the box that contained the keys. This was achieved with relative ease. The apt block we were directed to was about 50 metres away from where we collected the keys. It took a bit of finding because it was around a corner and we didn't have a good map. But we made it! 

Then we needed another pin number to open the door to the courtyard of the apt block where we were to stay and (of Course) another pin to get into the apartment block itself and then – oh joy – a KEY to the actual apt. Very Parisian!  It worked although it would have been better if it was not cold and raining! And we were a little surprised to find it was in same street as shops like these but the courtyard inside was pleasant, and the apt. quite suitable with a compact kitchen including a dishwasher, microwave, frig and washing machine. As Bob said the loo cubicle was about the same size as the one on the plane but manageable!

The door to the courtyard of the apartment - third pin code needed! Inside the courtyard with room for children to play and ride bikes.

Below left and right the ambience of the area!

We decided to go out for a walk and as it was near where we’d stayed before revisited some streets we knew around the Pompidou Centre. It was still cold and wet and as it was a bank holiday not much was open. We disobeyed our rules of looking for somewhere to eat that is away from touristy areas - even a block back is often OK - and settled on a bistro type place that was at least warm.  We chose steak - maybe inadvisably - and our meal came with a tiny piece of steak and a Huge pile of chips and maybe two pieces of lettuce. It wasn't expensive but one can and should eat better than that in Paris! However a few minutes later two guys started playing - one on a keyboard and the other on a double base and they were excellent. Don't know if there's a moral but we had an enjoyable time after all. 

The next day was spent with frustrating experiences interspersed with pleasant interludes. We wanted to have internet access while we were on the canal boat and in Croatia, where we go next. Bob believed that this could be achieved by buying an internet personal wifi hotspot - and it could but from where and how was the problem. In short we went to five shops and got different "definitive" information from each, walked our feet off, ran out of time, caught a taxi, got caught in a traffic jam and ended up only slightly nearer our goal. 
We did have a lovely lunch in the middle of the day at a nice bistro. 
We packed a bag to store in Paris as we will not need it for the next few weeks. When we went to store it we found an American agent in the travel agency who gave us some excellent advice and booked us a Eurail pass for about half what we thought we'd need to pay. To say the European rail system is complicated is an understatement! E.G. By catching a train from Milan to Paris, in a few weeks, that does not go through Switzerland enroute (and would not stop there if it did)  we can buy a two country Eurail Pass instead of a three country and save a lot. How were we supposed to know that by going at a different time of day the train took a different route and bypassed Switzerland I don't know. We were fortunate to find someone who did.
That evening we were exhausted and it was still very cold - like around 5 celcius. I was (yes me!) a little disgruntled and tired and jet lagged of course. We stumbled into a small cafe for a glass of wine and light snack before heading back to the apartment. Bob's and my conversation was limited until a lovely young man at the next table started talking excellent English to us. He was in Paris on business. We talked for over an hour and yes I cheered up. He was born in Holland to a Norwegian mother and Flemish father and moved to Belgium at some stage and now works in Berlin and is married to an Irish girl from Tipperary. And he speaks fluent Dutch, Norwegian, Flemish, German, French and English with Italian thrown in. Such people leave me in awe. He explained graciously that he'd been lucky to have the opportunities he's had and yes maybe bit I'm still in awe!

Djon

The next day we travelled to Djon by train and met our friend Peter whom we will spend the next few weeks with. We had a few hours in Djon so of course I had to look at mustard. There are other things to do in Djon but this has to be up there! Look at this beautiful display of mustards.

Other views of Djon. It has a variety of architectural styles including these beautiful old half timbered houses above and the city fountain below. Nosey me can never resist looking into open gates and this lovely house and greenery were behind on this occasion (top right).

I Missed Out on an Experience

In Djon knowing that life would be pretty simple for the next few weeks on small boats I decided to treat myself to some nice body moisturiser and foot cream (given my feet were still aching from the walking on hard surfaces the day before in Paris). L'Occitane seemed like a good choice as it is a French brand and a cheaper than in Australia. I told Bob I'd see him in a couple of minutes. I went into the shop and was greeted with the usual "Bonjour Madam." The lone shop assistant then proceeded to continue dealing with the French lady who was already in there. It was such a process. The assistant walked her around the shop and she sampled lots of things and chose some. Time went by and I waited. I'd already chosen what I wanted although was not brave enough to take it from the shelves and risk upsetting the beautiful displays. The lady seemed to finalise her purchases but when the assistant seemed to be gift wrapping each one separately and after about ten minutes had gone by in total I left. The assistant sounded surprised I left but said "Au devoir Madam" never the less. We walked around Djon a bit and I had another try at the L'Occitane shop - again telling Bob I wouldn't be long. Another customer was just leaving so I got served quickly. The assistant only spoke a few words of English but started to show me  various creams etc. She had all the time in the world for me. I cut her off and told her what I wanted and that they didn't need to be gift wrapped.  She still made the purchase an event and gave me some samples AND even sprayed the tissue she put in the bag with a lovely perfume. In talking about it later to Peter I realised that this is the way the French do things. They do not hurry and are prepared to wait for service but expect service when it is their turn and there is an art to the whole process that they enjoy and is very civilised. And I think there's a lot to be said for it. Very different to my idea of a "quick as possible" interaction.