Still oh so excited to be in Paris, I got up early to look out at the world below. A blue truck, so large it blocked all traffic, was situated under my window. On the side of it in big yellow letters: Net’Cuv. I googled it as I had no idea what the crew was doing besides smoking cigarettes. It stands for Nettoyage Cuves, a kind of janitorial service.
I decide to take a shower, relax, and go out later in the day because I walked 19,000(!) steps yesterday. Also I will join Brad and company on a boat ride this evening and I need to pace myself and not get too tired. Halfway to the pier, I will stop at the Maison de Balzac and eat ice cream in the lovely garden with a view of the Eiffel Tower. Sounds lovely doesn’t it?
I went to the boulangerie around the corner for a slice of quiche for lunch. Hahahaha, there was a very long line outside their door. I went across the street instead to the fruit & vegetable market and bought strawberries, bananas and figs from my grumpy boyfriend. I even gave him exact change and he still didn’t smile. Had a nice fruit salad with yogurt at home, listening to Amy Poehler, Yes Please on Audible. Very entertaining.
What happened on the way to l'Orangerie also happened on the way to Maison de Balzac. It should have been a 25 minute walk, but with all the road construction, barricades, detours, it turned into a 1 hour 25 minute walk. My phone kept telling me to Proceed to the Route. Exasperated, I stopped for an ice cream and regrouped. I eventually made it to his house, which in his time, was in the outskirts of Paris but is now dwarfed by tall apartments. It’s a beautiful French country home with a view of the Eiffel Tower (built after he died BTW). His garden was and is wild & wooley as he never tended to it. No wonder, Balzac wrote 14 hours a day. Now the garden has is a lovely picnic area with places to sit, read, relax. Someone I met through Brad said he learned French reading Balzac. I'm intrigued.
Dinner on the boat was held indoors so we did not see the sights along the river like Charlie and I did years ago. Brad and I walked home afterwards at midnight.
In the course of the day, I had walked over 17,000 steps.
___________________________________________________
After I returned to the United States, I found the boarding pass for the boat tour from Sept 27, 2018. It was a very different experience: Charlie and I sat outdoors next to a very interesting couple from New Zealand. There was a great live band who sang throughout the entire trip, including the Ave Maria as we passed under the Notre Dame. It sounds corny but it was very, very moving. Seeing Paris by night on a bateau is a must.
