A Dry Run and Good Idea 12-14-15

I mentioned a few posts back that we are going to Sicily for a week after the end of the year and given my proven track record for a somewhat half-assed approach to maneuvering around we felt that a dry run out to Orly from the apartment would be a good idea.   I've never been to Orly and as usual it's completely simple on paper.
But nothing is simple when you have side issues, and ours are that we have our Navigo passes which allow us to travel throughout the Parisian network of trains, buses, and subways.  Our stated goal was to see how long it actually takes to get out there so that we can plan to be there before our plane leaves.  Also it will allow us to plan for little quirks that are never explicitly stated anywhere but exist in all their glory and will bite you in the tush if you don't know about them.
So the goal was to take the Metro down to connect with the RER (train) that connects to the OrlyVal which is the tram that branches off of the RER directly to the airport.  My electronic planner says that it should take around an hour and we wanted to test it.  Everything proceeded like clockwork right up to the point that we got off the train at Antony and went to get on the OrlyVal.  Turns out that they are not part of the system and require a separate ticket, which is as expensive as the ticket out to Charles De Gaulle airport on the north side.  So that means an additional 50 euros to get the last couple miles.
However the agent at the ticket window mentioned that our passes were completely good on the OrlyBus, a parallel bus connection that branches off the RER.  So that was our first gotcha sort of avoided, but we still weren't at the airport, in fact we had to go back into Paris several stops to Denfert-Rochereau where we could catch the bus.  So we had to time ourselves back to that stop and deduct that time and recommence from there.   We got back to Denfert and found the bus, it was just leaving as we came out of the train station.  So we have a potential up to 15 minute additional wait for the next bus.
We took the next bus and it seems to be very efficient, but there is a potential for heavy traffic congestion, and we were there in 20 minutes.  When we got to the airport we found the gates where our airline loads passengers.  So in about 2 hours we were able to get a pretty good idea of how we need to prepare for the trip.  So we took the bus back to Denfert and determined to walk over to our favorite Italian restaurant for lunch.
The sun had come out and burned off the heavy fog of the morning so it was a pleasant walk.  As we walked along we happened to look across the street and noticed a sign for "convent" created products, when we were in Madrid these little shops turned out to be a great source for cookies baked by the sisters.
So we crossed the street and went in and found quite a large shop selling any number of things that were created by monasteries from around France.  So there were food items, including cookies, liquor, beer, meats, and cheeses among other things.  There were hand made papers, preserves, perfumes (odor of sanctity?), painted porcelains, lots of things.  At the back of the shop there was a sign pointing down the stairs which just had to be explored.  My goodness there were another 4 or 5 rooms in the basement and each was filled with other offerings.
There was even one room with brocante like items that had been donated.  I bought a copper pan-lid really cheaply!  But they also had handmade leather goods, hand woven shawls, hand thrown pottery, and a room of antique linen and handmade lace, which were incredibly inexpensive, beautiful stuff.   So we bought a little bag of pasta as well.
When we finally made it to our restaurant (L'Osteria del Passepartout)  it was late for lunch but they were just as welcoming as if we had showed up precisely at noon.  We have developed quite a warm relationship with the owners and so it's always a treat to have a meal here.  The owner noticed that we had pasta and Deb explained buying it at the shop.  He responded, "Oh, the one down near Porte Royal" so he knew exactly where it was.  He also gave Deb a couple tips on cooking it properly. We mentioned that we were planning to go to Sicily and could they give us any favorite places, but alas nothing was forthcoming.  Ah well, the lunch was just as good as ever.
After lunch we walked over to Place Bastille to catch the Metro back for the apartment.