Well, this morning I was avoiding the reception luckily, and while waiting for breakfast, I overheard two people talking about, “if you’re on on the train at 1:00, then it will stop?”
So after we breakfasted in the room- with a step-up velvet green wallpaper, we asked the Indian reception guy (Helen’s boyfriend) what the deal was. He explained that it would be closed from 1-5 p.m. for a memorial for a man who died during the strike.
Thus, we decided that walking would be the key. We took a round about tour from our hotel to St. Germain and St. Michel to shop, look, sightsee and Helen found a green watch band. Getting drizzled on a bit, we passed by many sections of the Sorbonne and lots of bustling students.
Shopping and Delicious French Food
We decided to look for the Fondue 🫕 place, and it took about an hour to find it, as the streets weren’t on the map. Then a hotel guy knew where it was (first right, first left, second left). Lo and behold after all our searching it wasn’t open. Instead we crossed the corner and sat at a small “Le Methode” corner restaurant for lunch, without even knowing the menu.
The nice waiter explained it to us, translating as best he could. We had no problem with the wine, and I ventured for salmon with potatoes, while Helen took rare beef with tates and cheese. This was the best meal we’ve had since the first night! The salmon was absolutely wonderful great! It was served in a sauce of (bed of) cabbage very slowly cooked in sugar and a load of butter 🧈. It was heavenly and so was Helen’s!!
Heading around after our lunch, it really looked like rain clouds, so we waited in the taxi line with others (in front of McDonald’s and 31 Flavors) for a taxi to Printemps Italia. It turned out to be a huge mall including Printemps. We looked, but didn’t see any clothes we had to have. I saw a cute light blue bag by Kipling that called out to me, and bought some Kenzo perfume that I hadn’t seen in the states. Helen looked for her Mac lipstick color Apricot, and we sprayed perfume until we couldn’t smell anymore.
Fondue in Paris
Taxied back to the Hotel de Senelis and had some Beaujolais in the room, trying to get CNN. Soon after relaxing and doing some wash, we headed back around the Pantheon again to the Berger Käse fondue 🫕 restaurant. It was quaint like a mountain chalet! We shared a nice white wine, as usual. I ordered Raclette, Helen the fondue.
Two Italian couples were on our left, a French pair on the right, and a good-looking dark haired guy across from us, with an Asian gal (both American) that Helen was dying over. She said, “Now she’s feeding him fondue.”
I was just dying- it was fun! We both felt fuller than ever we had been, and made it home without getting lost- even though Helen insisted it was to the left, and I insisted it was to the right…it was.
Monday 7 June, 1999
