Last full day for Gail and Peter 7-28-15

Today is Gail and Peter's last full day in Paris before they head over to England.  Gail woke up this morning feeling much better so we planned for a day out, walking around the Rive Gauche (left bank).  We wanted to walk through the Cour de Rohan and some of the other interesting streets in that quarter.   But before going over there we took the subway down to Place Bastille and then walked over to see the Marche d'Aligre, it is a brocante market that takes place everyday but Monday. Gail wanted to walk through and see what the dealers and pickers might have that would interest her and Peter had interest in the dealer of mineral and fossil specimens that is always there as well.  So we spent an hour or so wandering about there.   After the market we headed over to our original destination with a brief stop at our favorite Italian restaurant to make reservations for dinner.

That accomplished, we headed into the small streets of the quarter and made our way to the Cour de Rohan only to find that all the gates were closed off.  We speculate that it's likely due to the impending exodus from Paris for the August break, homeowners don't want hordes of tourists and perhaps thieves wandering around their houses while they are away for the month.  So we walked around to the other end on the off chance that it may have been open, but no luck.  Furthermore the creperie where we wanted to eat lunch was also closed, this being Tuesday.  

So we made our way further into the area to another creperie, La Moliere, where we had a very nice lunch of galettes followed by sweet crepes for desert.  Galettes are savory crepes made with buckwheat flour, while crepes are made with white flour and usually contain jams, jellies, or something like Nutella.   Very good eating when pairs with the hard apple ciders from the same region.  After lunch we headed over to the Place Furstemberg, where the Delacroix museum is located (closed on Tuesdays as well) but also one of the two oldest trees still growing in Paris.  Deb and Gail did some wandering through an interior design shop while Peter and I idled outside and read a historical marker about the place and the cardinal for whom it is named.  We then headed into the St. Germain des Pres church, the oldest in Paris where we had a leisurely walk around.

Since this was a day for flaneurs we looked a few more shops and then found a brasserie where we could sit outside and have a cup of tea, followed by a beer and watch the rhythm of the street.  A couple hours later it was time to walk over to our Italian restaurant for dinner.   We had a very nice dinner with some good wine from Sicily.  The owner was on vacation so his manager was manning the front and was very gracious.  A bit of diversion in the form of a pretty loud U.S. party of 4 who must have been on one of the whirlwind bus trips because they came in after us and left before we had finished our main course, telling the manager that they had to catch their bus.  Things were a bit more settled then.

We caught our bus back to the apartment around 9:30, just as the lights were being lit on the Eiffel Tower, the first time I've seen that since we arrived.  Tomorrow we will go to Gare du Nord to see Gail and Peter off on the Eurostar to London.