A wonderful weekend in Paris with an old friend

After 13 years apart, we found things right where we had left them.  Only we had moved from Texas to Europe.  An excellent weekend in Cambridge with Céline and Charles proceeded by a few days another marvelous weekend in Paris with Vanessa.  Both St. Stephen's alums and former college tennis players, we met up this weekend after having found each other via Facebook about a month and a half ago.  

Je suis rentrée, mais les boulangers sont partis!

After being away for the weekend, I finally braved the cold drizzle to do a little grocery shopping.  Since I live in a place where one is constantly being lurred down the street by the smell of fresh baking, I don't usually buy my bread at the grocery store.  Why settle? There's a bakery every couple of blocks.  Except?  When France goes on vacation!  Market failure?  How is it that all three boulangeries within a half a mile of my apartment are closed at exactly the same time?  The one across from the metro and at Monoprix were probably open, but I had just done my shopping at Franprix (right around the corner from me) because I had planned on going to my favorite boulangerie (just down the street from Franprix) since its typical day of "fermature" is Tuesday (today is Monday).  Finally, after walking down the Avenue General de Gaulle in both directions and passing all of the closed shops (not just the bakery, but also the cheese shops and butcheries), I finally stopped in at the Kosher café, Le Piment rouge ("the red pepper").  Slightly exasperated and seeing that they make and sell sandwiches, I greeted the young woman behind the counter with a "Bonjour. Vous vendez du pain?" (Do you guys sell bread?) Eh, oui!  Enfin!  I wonder if they sold a lot of bread today, or if everyone else, more up to date than me, just bought their loaf or baguette at the grocery store, with the knowledge that all of the bakeries in the neighborhood were closed.  Hmmm...

Under the river and through the woods: A weekend in London and Cambridge

Eurostar magazine diagram and info

Céline and Charles, my lovely hosts

Residences at Magdalene College (chez C et C)

Les fiancés

A few snaphots of Cambridge and several of the University's beautiful colleges

 

"Two wheelers left here will be removed"? (or something like that)

 The first time we passed this sign in the evening, there was a bike attached to the bars just below it.  When I did an internet search for the meaning, I found many other postings of the exact same photo, with a note on one of them that suggested that the "two wheelers" are never removed.

Cam River and punting boats

 The start of the Saturday morning run.

Jesus College; two wheelers here NOT removed

 In fact, what's cool about this entryway is that the bicycle parking is part of the decor.  There are chains attached to the bottom of the wall for locking up one's bike, but they are rather inconspicuous.  It gives the place a very casual and friendly feel, as if the owners just hopped off and leaned their vehicle against the brick partition before heading inside.

Céline at the market

Streetview 2

A streetview

On Sunday afternoon, I took leave of my Cambridge friends, and took the First Capital Connect train back down to London.  The first order of business, post King's Cross-arrival, was to head to Victoria station and pick up some goodies at the Savanna, a chain of South African convenience shops in London.  Here are the spoils of this detour, plus the next one to Nando's (A South African export that serves chicken) before making my way to the Hicks.

After descending at Putney Bridge, I got slightly turned around and asked for directions from a group of thirty-somethings and their gaggle of baby carriages.  My request resulted in a race between 4 smartphones to find my address, which was only about 500 feet away.  Love technology! 

When I arrived at the Hicks, I was first welcomed in by David and Margaret, and then...a Strawberry Fairy!

Eliza, the Strawberry Fairy

S.F. and my Navigo card for the metro

My pic with the S.F.