More Visitors!

We were so happy to welcome another visitor, Marcel Schimasa, from Zurich.  I met Marcel in Auckland, NZ during our last sabbatical in 2010.  I wanted to give free English lessons there and Marcel was studying English and looking for an English tutor.  Perfect fit!  When I found out he was from Zurich, I said, "Oh, we're going to Zurich on the next leg of our sabbatical." Once we arrived there, he was a wonderful friend and he took us both on a few day trips to the mountains and beautiful villages.  He also visited us in 2012 in Haifa.  So now, we were so glad to host him here in Paris.

 Marcel and me at a farmer's market

This was Marcel's first trip to Paris so we had to hit all the "A" list places.  One such place was seeing the Eiffel Tower.  We were there during the day and also at night to see it "sparkle".  From 6pm to 1am (in the winter), 20,000 lights flash on and off during the first 5 minutes of each hour.  This picture doesn't do it justice--should have gotten a video.

Sparkly Eiffel Tower

You never know what you're going to see on a walkabout. This is the metro station Palais Royal near the Louvre:

 Palais Royal metro

On our walk along the Champs Elysees, we stopped in a side passage way and spotted this unusual sculpture.  I know Parisian women don't weigh much, but this is ridiculous!

 Sculpture

We had a quick 3 day visit with Marcel and then a few days later, Debbie and David Block-Temin from Haifa came to town. I guess you can call them "groupies" because they also came to visit us in Trento, Italy in 2010 on our last sabbatical.  Will they visit us on our NEXT sabbatical?  I sure hope so!

Us with David and Debbie

Debbie and I went together on a walking tour of Montmartre.

Sacre Coeur backdrop

We thoroughly enjoyed the many Montmartre stories the guide shared with us.  One was about a guy who had the ability to walk through walls.  Naturally, he became a bank robber.  One day, his abilities suddenly disappeared and he got stuck mid-way in the wall.

The next day the four of us went to the newly renovated Picasso Museum.  It had been closed for 5 years, so the lines were LONG.  However, our 1-hour wait was well worth it.  Picasso was extremely creative and besides numerous paintings, he did many styles of sculpture.  Here's a sample of some of our favorite pieces.

On their last trip to Paris 2 years ago, Debbie and David went on a culinary tour with an Israeli woman, Sharon, who is a pastry chef. They were so excited about what they saw and ate that they arranged with Sharon to do it again and I joined them.  And what a treat!  We visited pastry, bread, cheese and chocolate shops as well as markets.  The tastes/quality were INCREDIBLE!

This shop got 1st place as best croissant in 2012.  We tasted it and it was excellent.  Sharon also explained that every pastry chef has their own style. Here's a visual sample of unique pastries:

Ble Sucre pastry shop

Another special place was Cafe Pouchkine (Cafe Pushkin) which specializes in--what else--ultra-elegant Russian pastries.  They were pure works of art (some dusted with edible gold) and looked like Hermitage-worthy sculptures. 

Then, we were off to Marche d'Aligre, another wonderful farmer's market.  Here are a couple of unusual selections:
 

Turkeys--Sharon said they display them like this to show how fresh they are

Sea urchins

And if we hadn't had enough to eat (I didn't even mention the eclair shop and Alain Ducasse's chocolate "lab" with samples), Sharon insisted the grand finale should be at Jacques Genin's pastry and chocolate cafe/shop.  We sipped Chinese tea and enjoyed his delectable delights.  The mille feuille (square pastry on the right) was made when ordered.  Bien sur!  If it were made ahead of time it would get soggy and not be flaky.  Magnifique!!!

Yum!

We visited the Richard Lenoir market again and this time we passed this street musician.  He was so charming, singing French songs and entertaining these children.  I'm not sure what the instrument is called, but it's like a combination player piano and organ grinder.  The long string of cards has holes punched in them and he feeds them through the box by turning a handle.  So simple and so sweet.

Organ grinder?

Classic Citroen truck in the Marais neighborhood

Sadly, we had to bid Debbie and David goodbye on the 23rd. To console ourselves with our friends' departure, we were determined to have some more adventures.  We had a very interesting time visiting the Marche des puces Clignancourt (Flea Market).  The largest flea market in the world, there's everything from piles of used household items/clothing to fine antiques. 

 Vintage clothes

 Vintage hardware