Springtime in Paris

Compared to the last few weeks, today was quite uneventful.   After the first quiet night for a while, we headed off in search of a café-au-lait to kick-start our day .... as evidenced by the mug-shot below:

Karen's Interpol mugshot

De Goin' home after 14 years

Energised by the coffee, we went in search of some travel equipment for our adventures through Russia and Mongolia, in particular some means of warding of marauding Cossack and Mongol raiders.   So where better than a shop recycling accessories left over from the French revolution:

Just take them in your cabin baggage ...

De Goin' home after 14 years

These are standard issue on the Trans-Siberian ...

De Goin' home after 14 years

Finally we caught up with Peter & Anna Blake and the new baby Blake.  We all had lunch at a classic French brasserie where we had the single obligatory grumpy waiter, but among a group of other waiters who were very friendly and cheerful.

Now we are back in our room ... sipping some Ruinart champagne courtesy of Mercer, and Eric Warner in particular.   Eric gave me a Nicolas voucher when I was in Paris for my farewell dinner almost 2 years ago and this will have been our first and only opportunity to cash it in before it expires.   It is helping to banish the memory of that bottle of Grange Hermitage splashed across Cadet Metro station ... although Blakey was hoping that a good Syrah will help to disguise the smell of urine that is more normal in the Metro stations!!

The Cadet Metro station also featured later on our final evening when a busker was spotted ... playing a piano no less ... not the sort of thing that would happen in Lugano (is it Kevin?) ... but would probably happen in Milan (wouldn't it Allan?).

Clip 1:  note the trolley behind the piano ... but I wonder how it gets it up those Metro stairways.



Clip 2:   Perhaps I should refresh my old keyboard skills ... they're only 41 years old!