Day After Day

The days fall into an easy rhythm, not much difference from day to day. And that is fine. We spend the first couple of hours in our outdoor living room, which has two long couches and lots of pillows. Then spend another hour or two in the afternoon after our time on the beach. Breakfast is either yogurt with bananas and granola, or croissants from the French bakery down the street. Then, usually, a couple of hours on the beach. We have plastic lounge chairs that we haul out from the garden every morning, and back in at night. Lunch is usually crackers or a baguette with cheese, sometimes with tomatoes and or cucumber if we can find them. Today, though, we had ice cream from the place a couple of doors down from us on the street. It's pretty good, but pretty pricey for here, on a par with at home. Twice I have taken home leftovers from our dinners. Once it was a pasta and shrimp dish, which I had for lunch the next day. Last night I had sopa de mariscos, seafood soup, which was delicious, perhaps the best meal I've had here so far. And more than I could eat. I planned to have the rest for lunch today, until Loring proposed the ice cream idea. So it will probably be tomorrow's lunch. It had all kinds of seafood including shrimp and squid, conch I think, and I believe also some fish. The broth was gently curried, and there were veggies in it too, carrots, and tayota, known elsewhere as chayote and by numerous other names in different places. In the afternoons, more time on the beach, reading, and playing in the water. The waves have been quite gentle, although on a couple of days strong enough to knock me over a couple of times. And the temperature of the water is perfect. Loring goes on a couple of long swims every day, and I go frolic in the water at least once, listening to music on my favorite toy, my mp3 player. Today, though, the voice on the player was saying something, over Joni Mitchell singing, that I couldn't decipher. Until the music stopped, and I realize she had been saying battery low. Oh well. In the late afternoon we have been usually playing cards while having our rhum drinks at home. First it was gin rummy, then cribbage, and last night played 500 rummy which I don't think we've played for years. It's a good game. We didn't make it to near 500 points, so will continue as soon as I finish writing. And then, out for a stroll down the beach, our biggest decision for the day being which restaurant to eat at. We have eaten only once at each place so far, still have at least a couple to try before we return to any of them. We have six nights left after tonite, so are half way through our sojourn here in Las Terrenas. Today is Sunday. We expected there to be more people on the beach yesterday and today, since probably half the people here seem to be local, or at least Dominican. But that didn't prove to be true. Oh, did I mention the elvers and the elver fishermen? I probably did. Well, I will mention them again. Elvers are tiny eels, about an inch long. They are fished here, in some other tropical places, and seemingly incongrously, in Maine. They are prized in Japan where they are eaten in sushi and perhaps other ways.To be an eel chef is separate than a sushi chef, requiring special training. They are caught and then grown to larger size before being shipped to Japan. They are so valuable, up to $2000 a pound. There was a whole book written about them being fished in Maine. The elver fishermen, with their green nets, head lamps or flashlights, and plastic bottles to catch the eels, create an eerie, almost mystical vision along the shore at night. They line up, fairly close to each other, and comb the waves with their nets. It seems only once in a while do they catch an elver. Last night we walked along the shore, close to our house, and one of them brought his net up to us to show us the one he had just captured. I often see eel on sushi menus at home. I wonder if it is the same species as these. I am guessing not. This requires more research. I will report back.

Onto Terrenas

s We are now in Las Terrenas, our second and last destination in the DR. Today is our third day here; we will be here 12 nights total. This is the second time we have been to Las Terrenas, and the same place we stayed last time. I probably said before, in a previous post, that it is rare for us to stay in the same place twice. We like to explore different places. There are so many places I'd like to go, and also so many I'd like to go back to. I have begun to acknowledge that I will never go to all the places I'd like to visit. Also, so many places seem overrun by tourism that I might not even like visiting them anymore. This VRBO house is unusual in that it is on the main street of the town. The front door is on the street. But the back door gate, through a garden, opens directly onto the beach. It feels like a secret garden opening into a different world. it is apparently the only house in the. town that is directly on the beach. We don't have the spectacular view we had in Cabarete, with the waves rushing almost up to our building. But we still can hear the waves from here, from the bedroom, and the garden. And the beach is low key. There are the dozen or so beach restaurants that we remember from a few years ago, most of them with tables in the sand. No need to wear shoes to dinner, which was also true in Cabarete. I'd be hard pressed to say which place I like the best, we have been happy with both. I'm kind of glad this place wasn't available the first few days we wanted to be here, this way we got to experience both. Last time we spent a few days in Santo Domingo. The hotel we stayed at was historic and charming, but I didn't care too much for the city. The first night here we chose a restaurant about halfway down the stretch along the beach. I think it was a one person operation. A delightful woman welcomed us, took our order, brought the food. I am guessing she also cooked it. Loring had chicken and I had pasta with shrimp in an Alfredo type sauce. Delicious but way too much to eat. I had the second part for lunch today. I may not want any supper! Our pattern is to have breakfast and lunch here, and dinner out. We bought yogurt, granola, bananas, cheese, crackers, cucumber and tomato at a couple of small grocery stores. Our routine was similar in Cabarete except for the sumptuous breakfasts they served. There is a French bakery a few doors down from us. A little incongruous. They have fruit tartes, croissants, various breads, and a bunch of other pastries. The first afternoon we just surveyed the place and said we'd be back in the morning. Next morning L went out early and brought back a baguette and an almond croissant. The croissant was so big and covered with almonds and powdered sugar that I couldn't make out the crescent shape and had to ask the woman what it was! I can't say the pastries are as good as in a French bakery, but I am not complaining! A beautiful beach, a garden and outdoor living room, and French pastries, what more could one want? L went to the bakery again this am and brought home another baguette, a strawberry tarte, and a delicious macaroon. We haven't had the tarte yet, I'll let you know how it is later. Our dinners last night were a wonderful ceviche and a fish filet. There was a choice of ceviches, and two styles, traditional and Thai! I order the mixed Thai, which was marinated in sesame oil and coconut. But pretty sure what I got was the traditional. That's ok. I'll go back another night for the Thai. Loring has gone for long swims every day, as he always does in beach environments. I have gone in for long dips every day, not always true for me. I like calm oceans, with gentle waves. Happily, that's been the case in both locations here. I go in with my underwater mp3 player and dance around in the waves for, I don't know, maybe a half hour? It's hard to estimate time here. Today I listened to Eminem, Debbie Harry, Bruce, the Chicks and more. I think if people are watching me in the water they must wonder what the hell I am doing. And speaking of watching people, we were really entertained this afternoon watching two young women at the edge of the water striking poses and taking selfies and pictures of each other. Loring said they'd already been there for about half an hour before I came out. There are a few kite surfers here, but nowhere like the number of ones in Cabarete. I think the beach they all take off from there is even called Kite Beach. We think a lot of them must have been local, because they all came out late in the afternoon, perhaps after work? Also, we've noticed a number of local children in both places, often without adults, which seems so nice. Not something you'd find in the States. The kids in both places seemed to appear at about 3 o'clock which would mean after school. Yesterday, two little girls came up to us speaking in Spanish that we couldn't understand. They seemed to be asking for something. Then one of them went into a recited monologe which was really two parts of a dialog she'd learned, ie " How are you, sir? I am fine, how are you? And then they both struck frozen poses. It was rather odd; probably some kind of game that we couldnt understand. Yesterday there was one sole kite surfer off the beach, really close to us in the water. . We were actually a little concerned that he might get tio close and we'd get caught in his cord. Well, I've almost run out of things to tell you about, and Loring is hinting that it's time to play cards. And also have our rum cocktails. So I will stop here. On to the next event. TBC.

The lull of the waves.

The repetitive sounds of waves hitting the sand is so soothing, and equally so, at least in a calm ocean, is the lulling motion of the waves when you are floating in the sea. It was a very conscious decision to leave home for a tropical place at this particular time. We did the same thing eight years ago for the first Trump inauguration. Although I did watch part of it then, and more of the pink hat march. Loring went for a swim then. This time neither of us had any desire to watch. And even though one is still aware of events taking place, just by virtue of being in another place, where you know that most people are not focussed on the event, makes it much more tolerable. Today we had another sumptuous breakfast at the hotel. They serve from 8 am to 10 am. We have seen almost no other people eating at the restaurant. Wondering if perhaps breakfast doesn't come with every reservation. There are somewhat more people at dinner. Although nothing like our first night, Friday, when there was live music and a bigger crowd. I am glad that breakfast comes with ours. Today it was the Americano breakfast, scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, bacon, toast, fruit salad. It was more than I could eat. This may be the first time in my life that I turned down bacon. There was so much that I gave two slices to Loring. This is our last day here. Tomorrow we leave at noon for Las Terrenas, where we will stay for the remaining 12 days of our visit. It's not that far in miles, but a three and a half hour drive. We haven't had a car here, and haven't needed one, nor will we in Las Terrenas. The only thing I would have wanted to see here is the center of town. Loring did walk down there along the beach this morning, while I established myself on the sand between stands of lounge chairs and umbrellas. I might have been tempted to rent one, but we didn't have any money with us. The one guy who approached us said it would be 500 pesos for two chairs and an umbrella, about eight dollars. So I guess it would have been around $4 for one, not unreasonable. But I am ok lying on a towel in the sand as long as I have something to use as a pillow, in this case Loring's towel while he was walking down the beach and swimming back. However, shortly after I lay down on the beach it began to rain. And continued, more than the brief shower it often is in places like this. Although it's warm and not really unpleasant in the rain, I didn't really relish trying to read while getting rained on. So after about fifteen minutes, with the sky not showing signs of quickly clearing, I walked back down the beach and onto our hotel deck. The lounge chairs we have been using there each day are not covered. But there are some comfortable chairs and sofas where I settled in. About fifteen minutes later Loring returned. At noonish we went back to our apartment and read for a while longer, then had lunch. I was not very hungry after our big breakfast, but knew I would be later if I didn't have something. We have been eating light lunches of cheese and bread or crackers, with some cucumber and tomato. We've had a very good hard cheese, perhaps cheddar, with cumin, and a soft queso fresco, a mild white cheese available in the supermarket at home. It's begun to rain again, a good time to write, but also quite pleasant on our porch overlooking the water. I am not expecting the rain to last much longer, and we'll then head out to our own section of the beach right in front of the hotel, It's somewhat quieter here today, as we'd guessed it might be, now that the weekend is over. The family with several kids who have spent the last few days here, the kids spending the entire day between the pool and the beach, has now gone, and we miss them. They were so friendly and joyful, and we enjoyed watching them. But there are still families with children along the beach who seem Dominican, as far as we can tell. I think the rain has stopped, so, time to head back to the beach.

Return to the Dominican Republic

It is Sunday. We left Boston Friday morning on a four hour direct flight to Santiago DR. This is our second trip to the country. We rarely go to the same place more than once, always wanting to discover new places. That is with the exception of Paris, where I can never go too many times. Eight years ago, though, we did go on a second trip to Guadeloupe, right on the cusp of Trump's first inauguration. We didn't go to the same airbnb, but to one a few doors down, also right on the ocean, that we had seen on our previous trip. It was upstairs from the bar in the TV show Death in Paradise. This trip we are returning to the same house we stayed in three years ago. But we are not there yet. It was only available on this coming Tuesday, the day after tomorrow. And tomorrow is the inauguration. I was determined to not be in the US for that. So we are here in Cabarete for four days. It was a good choice. We are staying at the oddly named Ultra Infinity Hotel. There is a long stretch of beach here, and we are on the far end. Further down, the beachfront is occupied by myriad hotels, restaurants, and bars. It is all pretty low key. But on our end it is pretty quiet, and the waves are calmer too. There is a constant parade of people walking along the beach, and they all turn around right at our hotel, because there is an old concrete pier jutting out right past there, a bit hard to walk over. Our apartment faces directly onto the ocean. We have a nice balcony with comfortable furniture, Our bedroom overlooks the water, too. There is a kitchen and a second bedroom, which we don't need, except for serving as Loring's dressing room! There is ample closet space, but peculiarly, almost no drawer space. We have found that to be true at many places we've stayed, hotels and b&bs. There must be a reason why, but we haven't figured it out. So I have used the closet, and Loring uses the bed in the spare bedroom as his. Breakfast is included, and there is a wide selection of choices, including a number of different omelettes, pancakes, french toast, waffles, and more. There is a choice of fruit juices, including passion fruit, pineapple, watermelon, orange, and lemon. And fresh fruit is served with each breakfast entree. Pineapple, canteloupe, watermelon, papaya, apple, a different combination each say. The first night we ate here at Ultra. I had a conch dish, Loring had fish. Quite good. Last night, we walked down the beach quite a ways before deciding on a restaurant. The setting was great, table on the beach, away from the loud music that most places have. The food, though, was disappointing. My shrimp dish with passion fruit sauce was ok but not great, and had crunchy pieces that weren't appealing, that I think might have been the passion fruit seeds. And Loring made the mistake of not specifying that he wanted his grouper steamed, not fried. It was very dry and not great. And the service was very very slow. We are used to slow service in many places, but this was extremely slow. The service staff was very friendly though. But I don't think we'll go back there. Tonight, we will eat here at our own place again. Yesterday, we walked down the beach quite a bit and stayed at a spot with our towels spread out on the sand. Most places had lounge chairs, which we assume were for rent. But we found a spot between places where we could spread out. We walked back to in front of our own place and went into the water, me for the first time. It was calm and pleasant. But no sooner had I immersed myself than a police officer blew his whistle and motioned for us to get out of the water. There was a local man and his two kids next to us. They got out too and he asked the young cop why we had to leave the water. His answer was that his boss told him so, and he didn't know why. The local man was friendly and spoke good English. He said that he worked at one of the local hotels, the Majestic if I am remembering right. He made a joke about being loco, a play on being local. Loring thought the only reason he could think of was that there had been a shark sighted. We don't know, and today there was no problem. There are tons of wind surfers and even more kite surfers, dozens, and maybe more than a hundred. Loring noticed that they also were all gone mid afternoon yesterday, perhaps also told by the cop or someonne to leave for whatever reason we had been. But they were all back today. There are venders walking up and down the beach, some with jewelry, some with cigars, others with merchandise undiscernable. They are hardly hustling, in fact seem kind of lacksadaisical. One guy was texting on his phone while carrying whatever was his merchandise, not paying any attention at all to potential customers. The visitors here are a very mixed bunch. There are some other Americans, some French speaking, many that seem Dominican or at least are Spanish speaking. Lots of families with young kids, but also many couples and groups around our age. Since it's the weekend, we aare wondering if there will be less families tomorrow. We'll see. Well, Loring is bugging me about heading down to dinner, so I guess I'll stop here.

My last meal in France

It was the morning of the day I would fly home. My flight was at 7pm. I planned for the taxi to pick me up at 3pm, to make sure I had ample time and then some, and wouldn't stress about it. I had two possible agendas. One was to go back to the Marais and buy some gloves and a scarf for Carolina, to thank her for wiring the money. The stores on Rue du Temple all seemed to be staffed, and likely owned, by people of Asian heritage. The merchandise was cheap, and certainly not French made. But they had some awfully nice designs, and I had euros to relinquish. Plan two was to go to Bouillon Julien, a restaurant a metro ride away. Bouillions are a kind of old fashioned restaurant that originally served inexpensive meals to workers. They are still quite inexpensive compared to typical French restaurants. I had previously been to Bouillion Chartier, which I had stumbled upon on a trip some years ago. It felt like going through a time warp. The tables were communal. The hall was large and high ceilinged. I took Loring there on a subsequent trip. He doesn't remember it, though. I decided to go to the restaurant first, and if I had time, or if they couldn't seat me, go to the shops in the Marais. It was Sunday, and I wasn't even sure the shops would be open. I had read about Bouillion Julien on this trip, and seen photos. In the entryway was an exqusite mosaic with two peacocks and the name of the restaurant. That alone was a motivation for me to visit. The interior looked beautiful, deco in style with pale greens predominating. I couldn't make a reservation but their site said they accepted walk ins. Someone had written that they went without restervation and had to wait, but it was worth it. They opened at 11:45, which is when I wanted to be there. I left home early, having packed first, and arrived at 11am. There was a roped area to line up in. I was the first one there. By 11:45 a few people had arrived behind me. And at promptly 11:45, they opened the door. There was only one line for those with and without reservations, so I wasn't sure how they would seat people. They asked me if I had a reservation, and if I was by myself. I was the first one seated, at a table right in front, at the window, so I could see the line get longer and longer as they seated people a party at a time. There was no reason for me to have arrived before 1145. No one came to serve me until the place was pretty much seated. That was okay. The menu was indeed inexpensive. There were entrees (which in French actually means appetizers) and plats, which are the main dishes, and desserts. And wines of course. On the list of plats the first item was Bouillion Julien. So I of course had to order that. Since it was listed as a main dish I assumed it would be a hearty broth. But when it came, it was quite thin, with small pieces of beef, and those tiny noodles that are just small pearls of pasta. What's more, it was lukewarm. I thought about sending it back, but it tasted good, and I didn't bother. The good thing is that it left me room for dessert. Which was delicious. It was an apricot almond tarte. While I was waiting for my meal, I walked around the restaurant and took pictures of the beautiful interior. The aisles were quite narrow, and I had trouble squeezing thru where a table had a bottle of wine beside it. I wonder if the food in general is mediocre, or I just ordered the wrong thing. And I wonder why the boullion was listed on the main dish part of the menu. In looking at online reviews I see both positive ones and ones that say the food is terrible. I would definitely go back on a subsequent visit, just to see if some of the other dishes were better. And to see the mosaic entry and the stunning interior again. The apricot tarte made me think of the deserts I had. My first was a raspberry tarte, my favorite. I had to resist ordering that every time I passed a patisserie. I think I had three over the course of my stay. Once I was buying a baguette in a boulangerie, which also had some pastries. I bought a kind of chocolate twist pastry and took it home. Then there was the chocolate meringue. It was a large ball covered with chocolate. I assumed the inside was all meringue. I generally don't like meringue, or macarons. But it looked so good. I was curious and had to try it. I actually liked it! The meringue was interspersed was a light foamy mousse. It was rich but light at the same time. Then there was the day with the gigantic chocolate banana almond whipped cream crepe, previously described in another entry. I almost couldn't, and probably shouldn't have eaten the whole thing. But I did. And to be fair, to myself, that was my main meal for the day! I must had some other pastries, but they escape my memory at the moment. So to sum up, I had started out with a goal to visit at least six museums in two weeks. That's a much slower pace than on previous visits, but in truth I am slowing down. And I lost one day due to the theft of my porte-feuille. That means wallet, I just had to get that word into print. I visited the Arts Naif museum, the Pompidou, the Petit Palais, the Arts Decoratif( only on my second attempt, the first was when I discoverd my wallet was gone.) And the Victor Hugo, which is a house museum located on the corner of the Place des Vosges. I had been there before, a long time ago. I always like house museums. And I was tired from walking around the city. And it is relatively small. And it is free. It certainly isn't as well known as many of the Paris attractions, but is definitely worth a visit. It's an apartment, small for a museum, but large for a house. The furnishings are not the originals, but are of the period. Except for the bed in the master bedroom. Which is the bed in which he died! So that makes five museums, unless I am forgetting one, which is certainly possible. Close to my goal. But I do wish I'd had the energy for a few more. I wouldn't have minded another visit to the Orsay, another favorite, or the Palais de Tokyo museum of modern art, which was closed between exhibits. And several others. The Louvre isn't high on my list anymore. I'm not sure it's even on my list. If the lines weren't so long, and reservations weren't necessary, I might be inclined. Not to see the Mona Lisa. There's another Leonardo portrait in the corrider that I much prefer. I think many people are underwhelmed by her anyway. It seems that so many sites have enormous crowds now, and not only in Paris. I wonder if I'll feel like visiting again next year, or if this might have been my last tango. (what was that movie about, anyway?) Valerie and Laurel have already scheduled another mural workshop for next year, as the school has requested another mural. Several people have already signed up, and they only have room for a dozen or so. Addendum: I just realized that I ought to consider the Cirque d"Hiver as a museum. It's historic, dating from the Napoleonic era,and was the place where the trapeze was created, (by a man named Jules Leotard!) They do a wonderful backstage tour one Saturday a month. So I guess I did meet my museum goal after all. Goals are nice to have, but I also think it's okay if you don't always meet them.

Reflections and reminiscences from back at home.

I will now attempt to fill in some of the gaps, some of my experiences that I haven't yet documented. I hope I remember all or most of them, and hope I don't repeat myself too much. First, the performances. I attended two while I was there. First was a concert in a small venue in my neighborhood. I always try to look at ads in the metro and online for things happening during my stay. But this was just a small club close to my apartment that I happened to notice walking by. The poster on the door called the show for 7:30. I showed up about 7pm. I hoped that there would be tickets available at the door, as I had no credit cards to reserve online. There was another woman waiting, and we waited quite a while. A man soon joined us. I asked if they already had tickets, which they did. I don't think they opened the doors until after 8pm, which I don't think was normal because both the man and woman seemed frustrated. The venue, when they eventually let us in, was quite small. There was a stage, a few rows of seats, and an open floor. I sat on the top row, so I'd have a back to lean against. There were only four or five short rows, holding no more than twenty five or thirty people. The floor could have held quite a few more, but there were only about twenty people who stood there. So not more than fifty altogether. There was a first act was a singer with a guitar and a sweet voice. She sang completely in English. But spoke in French. The main act was also a French woman with a three piece band. She was very good. She also sang mostly in English. I messaged her afterwards to tell her I enjoyed her performance. Although the audience was small it was very enthusiastic, and didn't feel at all uncomfortable, at least to me. Next to me was a couple with the only child in the audience. He was about three, cherubic in looks with blond curls. He also must have had a severe case of ADHD or something similar. He was in constant movement and chanting or singing loudly nonestop. I felt both compassion for the parents and frustration with them for having brought him. They did leave early. I had read about a dance performance based on the music of Leonard Cohen, performed by the Montreal Ballet Company. The name of the performance was Dance Me. Online it looked as though the only tickets available were with limited visibility, or no visibility. It was at the Chatelet Theatre, another place I'd never been. Their site said the box office opened at 6:30, before each 8pm performance. I decided to show up at 6:30 and see what they had available, willing to settle for limited visibility. No visibility for a dance performance was puzzling. It worked out, and they actually had better seats. I ate at the cafe next door, which worked out perfectly. I was seated in the last orchestra row, fine especially since I hadn't been sure I'd get in at all. And it allowed me to stand when I couldn't see past the tall woman in front of me. Why do I always get the tallest person in the row? The first piece was wonderful. It featured the men in the company wearing black outfits and Cohen's iconic black hat. The performance was entirely his music, 18 songs I believe. The next few were also great. But after a while the choreography seemed to become repetitive. I was especially disappointed in their piece to the song Suzanne. To me, the lyrics describe a strong woman. And yet, the man of the dancing couple seemed to lead. I t bothered me. The performance ended with Hallaluyah. I was again disappointed because they did a solo singing rendition. The singer was a multi talented dancer in the company, and she had a beautiful voice. But I wanted the performance to end with a rousing dance. Nevertheless I was glad to have gone. The theatre is old and beautiful. And the performance had enough high moments to satisfy me. Interestingly, when I later googled reviews, I found a British reviewer from when they had performed there last year, who had some of the same criticisms that I did. It was rather gratifying to know that my feelings were echoed by a professional reviewer. I am glad I didn't read the review beforehand, or I might not have chosen to go. The audience gave the company long applause. I am still trying to figure out what a dance performance with no visibility would be like. I suppose you could go just to appreciate the music and the theatre itself. T

my last night

It's almost time to leave. This is my last night here and I am enjoying relaxing in my apartment.  I leave here tomorrow afternoon for an evening flight back to Boston. 

My day started earlier than usual.  I had planned  to take a tour of the Cirque d'Hiver which they offer once a month. It's a place I'd heard of but never known much about before. Carolina and Max's school mate from the Phoenix School has become a professional trapeze artist. I see her posts on fb and had seen that she was coming here to perform. The performances begin a week from now, so I won't be able to see her perform.  But we arranged to meet up at noon today after my tour and before her rehearsal began at 1230.

I couldnt buy a ticket online ( credit cards stolen, remember? ) so decided to just show up and hopefully buy a ticket there. That worked out relatively well with a couple of glitches.  One, in my rush to catch the bus I got on in wrong direction. Got off at the next stop but it was a long stretch and probably added ten minutes to my trip.  Had a little trouble finding the way- I have no internet on route- but am getting pretty good at asking for directions.  Arrived at 10:03. No open door but several people waiting.  Turns out there was some problem with the guide getting there, which I didn't understand, but he arrived at 10:30. He never took tickets, which I think all the others had, so I got a free tour. It was all in French and I understood a good part of it. He said afterward that he would have been happy to speak in English for part of it. But I hadn't wanted him to. It was really good practice for my French skills.

The place is beautiful and historic.  We saw dressing rooms, costumes, and, best of all the theater itself.  I don't know how often this happens, but we got to see about fifteen minutes of an aerialist rehearsing her act accompanied by a pianist on a piano that rose up from the stage. It was magical.  They were rehearsing the lighting as well. This is my third encounter with  a rising piano in the last few weeks. First there was one in part of the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Outdoors.  I watched that on tv at home. Next,  one of the weird moving apparatuses in the exhibit at the Musee des arts Naif involved  a rising piano. And then today at the Cirque. All of them in Paris.

There was so much more to the tour than I can relate. Suffice it to say that if you happen to be in Paris on a Saturday morning you might want to check out the tour. I'm sure they'll be happy to do some of it in English. 

I did understand that the art of trapeze was invented there, by a performer named Jules Leotard! And Izzy later told me that it felt like the pinnacle of her career to be performing there. I'm not sure she actually used that word,but I did! 

Let's see, what else can I relate before running out of time or energy? I feel like there's much more to tell,  despite my frustrating reduced level of energy.

Well, there's the Petit Palais , another place I'd not been to previously or known much about. It sits across from the Grand Palais which is open for special events and exhibits.  It isnt petit at all, but i guess smaller than the Grand.  It is an exquisitely beautiful building with both permanent and special exhibits.  It has a wide variety of art, some by artists I recognized, many beautiful pieces by people I did not. But to me most special of all was the interior garden and cafe. I I wouldn't have discovered it at all but for the sign at an elevator indicating it. It was an oasis with all kinds of plantings, pools with mosaic trim, and best of all,  canvas sling lounging chairs throughout with no obligation to purchase anything from the cafe. It was the first sunny warm day in my two weeks. Lots of people were basking in the sun. As did I  for about three quarters of an hour. I highly recommend a visit. 

Today after the tour I debated where to head next and decided to walk toward the Marais again and perhaps head over to the Jewish Museum after having discovered it closed for Rosh Hashanah  on my previous attempt. It was a longish but pleasant walk. Lots of people out strolling and sitting in cafes and more English and other languages spoken than I'd heard in two weeks.  But clearly lots of locals too. I stopped to browse in several stores looking for ways to spend my remaining euros. Got several ideas but decided to wait. Got to the museum and after walking into the courtyard decided I was too tired for that too and thought I might want to save my remaining euros for an extravagant (for me) last restarant meal.

So my plans for my last half day tomorrow are still up in the air, before I go up in the air myself. In the morning I'll eat the remainder of today's baguette,  still surprisingly good in the morning. If I have the time and energy I might head back to the Marais once more for some last minute purchases or even the museum. Or I may try to get into the Bouillon Julien. They have no reservations left but apparently do take walk ins. I want to go there as much for the stunning decor and mosaics as for the food.  I haven't figured out just what the difference is between a bouillon,  a bistro and a brasserie is, but am going to look it up and perhaps let you know in my next post.

Or, I might just head downstairs to the Mome cafe/restaurant right downstairs a little earlier than my 3pm taxi and have a last meal and coffee there. All of the possibilities sound good. I'll just have to wake and pack and then see.