After walking for awhile to clear our heads and stretch our legs we set out to get a few basics such as bread, cheese, and wine to tide us over until we could shop more fully later in the week. We are in the same neighborhood that we have stayed in for four years so things are very familiar and comfortable. As is our tradition, our first dinner is at the same restaurant we have always visited on our first night and it did not disappoint. While the restaurant looked the same and the food was excellent, we did not see any waitstaff that we recognized. Cindy asked and was told it was all new management, which didn’t mean much to us since it was still wonderful. After dinner we wandered about a little and headed home for a much needed rest from our journey.
The next morning after our walk/run along the Promenade, Cindy started a small load of laundry while I started making breakfast. All of a sudden the apartment smelled like a sewer and the kitchen floor began to flood. After doing a systems check, I discovered that the water was coming from under the kitchen sink (the washing machine is in the kitchen under the same counter that houses the sink). It appeared to me that the hose leading from the washing machine to the drain was not working since water was coming from the connection. There are no tools in the house and my army knife and small all-in-one tool were not up to the task so we stopped the washing machine, placed a bucket under the offending drain, and while I started mopping and cleaning, Cindy was calling our landlady who luckily had not yet departed for Paris. She called a plumber and we were told he would be here in thirty minutes, which we didn’t believe, but someone was indeed here within the hour.
There were two of them and the only sign that they were workmen was their matching jackets. They carried only a small backpack with a very small set of tools and began the process of figuring out what was wrong. It turns out that these were the very same plumbers who had installed the washing machine a few days before and they were shocked, simply shocked, to discover that they had failed to remove the seal from the plastic drain that connected to the discharge tube of the washing machine. Instead of replacing the unit, they simply took a pocket knife and stabbed the offending part until they had a large enough hole in it to allow water to pass through. All the while the landlady is watching this without a word, just a few Gaelic shrugs and an occasional ‘poof’ noise. Cindy and I could barely contain our giggles, but soon the job was done, handshakes were exchanged, and off they went to perform another miracle of modern plumbing.
With one ordeal behind us, we began to plan for the next: returning the rental car to the airport. On a whim, we gathered the paperwork and walked the eight blocks to the train station where all the rental car companies have their offices. When we booked the car from Costco travel, it was made clear that it was an airport to airport rental, but working on the assumption that it never hurts to ask, that is exactly what we did. At first we were greeted with the normal, “oh, that is impossible,” but we had a great agent who decided to see if it was really impossible and lo and behold, it was NOT impossible. He was only too happy to have us return the car to his office, but not until after 2 pm since it was their lunch hour. We were as delighted as little kids who get a surprise snow day off from school. While the trek to the airport is not difficult, I had simply had it with driving and the thought of driving it five blocks was delightful. We had a simple lunch, - goat cheese salad for Cindy and a cheese omelette for me - at a little bistro that was next to the parking garage. We had visited this bistro several times in past years but stopped going since the owners were always drunk, but it is now under new management and it was lovely to see that things are on the way up.
At precisely two we were at the rental car company, the inspection was done to make sure all was well and I was very happy I had made sure the agent in Paris noted on the form a scratch since our guy found it and would have charged us without that notation. Soon it was all handshakes and goodbyes and smiles and we were free from the tyranny of the automobile. We knew when planning this trip that an auto would be the best transportation for us, given our various stops that were off the main train routes, and we found a great price at Costco, but in the future I’ll be more inclined to have less complicated itineraries and use the rails and planes instead of the car. When you factor in the price of fuel (about 8 dollars a gallon), tolls, parking, and stress, alternatives look much better.
We walked home and got our backpack shopping bags and headed to the grocery store for some provisions. I had already purchased flowers and vegetables at the open air market after my walk but we still needed the basics and then some since the apartment only came with salt and pepper! I had forgotten how 44 stair steps with a forty-pound pack can make you feel your age, but once up the stairs and in the apartment I rewarded myself with my first Kir! That night we ate out again, this time at a restaurant close to our apartment that we had been to several times with mixed results. This time it was marvelous - and guess what, under new management. That meant that the first three places we ate were all under new management since last year. Talk about turnover in the hospitality business.
After only three full days, we are in our groove. We have reestablished our relationship with our cheese monger, been welcomed at our favorite bar/cafe where we go every morning for coffee and sometimes for lunch, verified that our favorite bakery still produces the best baguettes in town, and filled our refrigerator with box wines and excellent Cassis. We are happy. Weather permitting, and it usually is, we will have lunch out and dinner in. While not the best kitchen we have had, it is manageable and I made a big batch of ratatouille that we enjoyed along with patés and a rotisserie chicken for dinner last night. After dinner we did something we seldom do, we watched a movie on my iPad, which meant sitting romantically close to one another. (The movie was The Imposters and it is a delight if you haven’t seen it.)
We are here for another three weeks and will perhaps write a bit more as the excitement mounts! A bientôt, Cindy and Wm
No comments:
Post a Comment