Restless Prairie Girl

This morning I had an almond square and a cafe au lait at the cafe by me. Good stuff. Then I headed over to Montparnasse metro station. I went up to the 56th floor of the Montparnasse tower and had a good view of Paris. It was fairly clear that morning so I had a pretty good view - it was a five minute wait rather than the hour or more at the Eiffel Tower. I'd definitely recommend going there rather than the Eiffel tower. From there I wandered over to the Montparnasse cemetery. Similar to New Orleans or rather New Orleans is similar to Paris...cities of the dead. There were some really strange tombstones but the most bizarre was of a couple in bed. Really. And before you think this being Paris and all what were they doing they were just laying there. It is still an active cemetery and there were about three burials going on while I was there. I guess it sounds bizarre to say you can enjoy a cemetery but I did. By this time my right foot (with the bunion and arthritic toe) was givin...

Well guess I will talk about today then yesterday! I slept in a bit this morning which was good and after my shower I headed off to the local boulangerie - this time I had a cafe au lait and a suisse pain. oh my. we are talking pastry with bits of chocolate in...my my my. Feeling fortified I headed off to the metro and the St Michel metro stop. From there I (sort of) did a walk from the book Simon loaned me - this was of the Latin Quarter. It is named this as it was very academic a few centuries back and the spoken word was Latin. Anyway it was very interesting - wandered down all sorts of narrow cobblestone streets and saw the house where the fellow who invented the guillitone lived...also saw the oldest cafe in the world - or so they say. But I wasn't dressed for the occasion so I carried on - one of the entrees was "cooked calf's head" just like it was done back in the 1600's. Uh...no thanks. I have wanted to explore more of the left bank so am happy I did a bi...

Oh I forgot the exciting bit yesterday. Came back here and could not get in the door and Simon was not home. There were three keys and Simon said I just needed one but no I needed two so was trying both but could not get in. I was a little upset to put it mildly. Well after about 20 minutes a woman came from downstairs and I asked (more like begged) her to try the door for me and she got me in. I could have kissed her I was that grateful....when Simon got back I told him and he showed me how to use it but I still wasn't getting it. The second lock was tricky so in the end we swapped keys and doors (there are two doors with two separate set of keys - both doors lead to the same place the only bad part is if someone is having a bath I can't get out as I have to go through the bathroom!!!!) and now I can get in. Oh and if that wasn't bad enough yesterday morning I couldn't even get out of the apartment building....I had to knock on a door where I heard loud talking so the ...

Well I am coming to the end of my second full day in Paris. I arrived here on Wednesday evening. Thursday I headed out early and had a pain au chocolate and cafe au lait at an open air cafe type place - not the best and won't do that again but it was close and I was hungry and dying for a coffee. I got a three day pass for the metro - four day ones weren't available so will get a day pass for Sunday. Off I went - I like the Paris metro - not as much as London and way more than New York which is the most horrific one I've ever been on...confusing and dirty. Anyway first stop was St. Michel where I walked around the area a bit until a walking tour started at St Michel square at 11 a.m. However the group was huge and I could not hear the guide plus people were talking. I thought 'screw this' and took off on my own. I walked along the Seine and then crossed over to the Jardin des Tuileries and on to Concord Square where there is a permanent ferris wheel. It also marks t...

On Tuesday the 27th Claudia's friend Matthias came for the day. After breakfast we headed off to Bamberg which is about a 25 minute drive from Heiligenstadt. Bamberg is a little jewel of a city - about 70,000 people. Lots of history and beautiful buildings. We visited two churches at the beginning of our visit - one very ornate Roman Catholic one and another more simplistic Lutheran one. Then along some narrow little roads - more like alleys really and over to Venice of the North. I have to laugh as it seems a lot of cities have Little Venice or some variation of it. I think it would be prettier in the summer but it was interesting. From there we walked into the shopping area and got a good look at the beautiful old Rathaus - town hall. I much prefer the German name though as it's so true. Well that is insulting rats actually. :) I will try to post a picture of it - complete with a plaster leg sticking out one side! I have been there in the 80's in the summer but that didn...

After the day in Nuremburg we had a day at home. We decorated the tree - well I handed things to Claudia or her mom. The tree was crooked though and at one point we heard a crash and sure enough it had collapsed. So after sort of stabilizing it we gave it a wide berth everytime we went into the lounge. Claudia's mom - let's call her Erna as that's her name! - Erna fixed schnitzel with boiled potatoes and beans (both veggies from their garden). It was delish. They always have their big meal at noon. Breakfast is rolls with cheese and different kinds of sausage spread. Supper is the same only bread instead of rolls. Claudia is an anglofile so has loads of British comedies and mysteries so every evening we would go to her lounge in the house (the top floor is basically hers) and drink wine with a big plate of home baked goodies in front of us.... On the 23rd of December we headed off again on the train. Claudia had gotten two six euro tickets for us to use - six euros for two ...

River and bridge in Nuremburg - despite being a large city the downtown area is very fairytale Sitting in the flat in Paris. No central heating - just a heater. The owner is in India - it is very different but I like it. Oh well I won't be here much. And my room-mate Simon is a young man in his twenties for all those who are dying to know....:) How sick is this...I am on the internet and haven't even unpacked yet. I did make a cup of tea and I think another one is coming up soon....8 days without internet...oh my. Don't think I have gone that long without it in quite some time. (the internet that is, get your minds out of the gutter! ) Germany was lots of fun and I don't want to know my current weight...unreal. Every three hours it seemed there was more food going into my body....I am sure when I leave the room my ass leaves ten minutes later....I have to get back into normal mode (not that that is much better) or I will need two seats on the aircraft coming back. Claud...