Now don't get me wrong - I am definitely telling you if you want to buy a camera - don't buy a Kodak Easyshare - because easy share it isn't. But it does take great pictures. If I hadn't been so persuaded, I would have stuck with the Nikon brand, just a smaller version from what we have, but it was a lot more expensive. I bought the Easyshare and then fought with it and Kodak's stupid customer service line for a month - to get the pictures off of it. Well, now (no thanks to them) I have the photos and so do you!
On Wednesday, I went to the library. Sounds mundane enough...well, I took the RER -A to Paris, where I switched to the Metro Line 9 at Auber under Haussman Boulevard, and then got out at Alma Marceau. I saved the life of a 10-year-old boy, then walked across the Seine (okay I walked on a bridge) and past an amazing building and down the street in full view of the Eiffel Tower - just to return my Maisie Dobbs mysteries --oh yeah, and to contribute the fourth one in the series as they didn't have that one yet.
On Thurs. - the first sunny day since I last wrote a blog...I went to La Varenne to see what could be found. I stopped to see Ahmed at Café Creole (for all his friends, he is doing fine after two visits back to Pakistan last summer and is hoping business picks up).
On Thursday, I couldn't take a train anywhere because it was "Black Thursday." (This was a huge strike day for all French unions and the trains, post office, banks, etc. were all closed. Millions of people marched in the streets. We all had several days notice, so planned accordingly.) I poked around my town picking up some odds and ends like wine for cooking, and restocking the kitchen with vanilla, some good grains(have you tried quinona?),and a french cooking magazine and then went to lunch at Café de Paris. I also stopped at the travel agent to pick up some booklets for our upcoming trips, and did a little "soldes" shopping - looking for great deals at the end of the annual sale season that runs from about 7 Jan to 7 Feb. Just to be clear, I also did a little work after I returned home, but in all it was a really pleasant "Black Thursday."
We didn't have big plans on Saturday, so we also wandered into La Varenne, where we met with our travel agent for a plan for an upcoming ski trip to the Alps. Then, we went to the tea house, the photo shop (to get the rest of the photos off the camera) and we stopped back at Café Paris for an afternoon Perrier + mint syrup cocktail. Then we decided what we were going to do for the evening, which turned out to be dinner on the Champs Elysée with our holiday gift certificate from Pat's bosses.
The city was beautiful and while I am still learning to use my new camera - here are a couple shots that are interesting. The one of the left is Paris city hall, and the second is the magnificent hotel in Place de Concorde.
