Our Long Sejour en France

 It's finally gotten warm in Paris, so I'm a much happy camper. This is also our last week in our AirBnB in the 18th arrondissement, so we checked our list of things to do and see and made sure we visited whatever was left to do and see north of the Seine. Sunday the 30th we're off to the other side of the river (and the city) to the 13th Arrondissement. This is our last full month in Paris before the Games and before we embark on our tour around France. But we've got 2 more weeks in July in a new AirBnB plus a couple of days with Countryman family friends in the 7th arrondissement.  One of the things I've liked best to do in Paris is to go to concerts and exhibits that are off the beaten path. Friday evening we went to an outdoor concert of the Chamber Orchestra of Paris at L'Hotel de Ville. Although not off the beaten path, we only heard about this from someone Chris has befriended here in Paris. This was part of a city-wide Fête de Musique with all kinds of m...

 We've had a quiet week this week, what with Chris's cold, my dicey breathing - and - my catching cold, presumably the one Chris had. However, one high point was getting a FedEx package with 3 months worth of one of the meds I've been missing. Thanks, Erik Hromadka, for arranging this ultimate care package to me! I'm breathing much better now - even with a cold. That being said, our sightseeing points this past week were le Palais et le Jardin de Luxembourg, Sainte Chapelle, and an exhibit at the National Archives. We chose the palace and gardens as an outing where we could spend time hanging out and resting. We are so impressed with the way the French take time for leisure, family, and sports and games. All were on view in the gardens. It was especially fun watching the boys sailing their boats in the fountain. You can view a video of this on my FB page. The palace is, of course, impressive: Also impressive were the huge topiary trees on the other side of the garden. W...

 Wherever you go, there you are.  One of the patterns of our life in Paris is going to church on Sunday morning and then going exploring. This past Sunday we ended up in the area of Paris known as The Marais. We love walking the streets, turning a corner, and finding something to explore. This week's wonder was an art exhibit along the lines of the summer art exhibits that my Indianapolis readers will be familiar with.  But what's most noteworthy is that when we turned a corner in the exhibit, we were greeted and drawn in by one of the artists. We identified ourselves as Americans, and she shared that she'd lived in the States for 15 years -- in Indianapolis! Of course we said, "We're from Indianapolis!" And we were off! She is Brazilian, but her husband is French and was assigned as director of a French company in Westfield. Her kids were educated at the International School; 3 of her sons graduated from ISI. Her daughter, who also went to ISI, was there help...

 We're now in a new Airbnb in a different part of the city. I really loved where we first landed in the 17th Arrondissement, but it's fun to see and get to know another part of the city. It's been a bit rocky over the last week, as this is the point where I transition from the maintenance meds I took in the US to what is available here in France. I've got my new prescriptions; we'll see how it goes. I'm still waiting for the doctor to confirm whether or not I still have a lung infection - whatever that means. In the meantime, Chris's niece Shayla has been visiting us in our new place and we've had some fun. We went back to the Marché des Puces (flea market) with Shayla. An example of an antique store at the Marché des Puces On our way home we came upon this urban garden along some old railroad or trolley tracks. We also got a snack/lunch at a café that had these cool fluorescent lights: Who knew there could be cool fluorescent lights, right? On Monday Sh...