WALKABLE PARIS - along the river Seine

The marker for the centre of Paris, just in front of Notre Dame, on Ile-de-la-Cite

Inside Cathedral Notre-Dame

A Rose Window in Cathedral Notre-Dame

Bartholomew, Simon, James the Less, Andrew, John and Peter.

Portail of the Last Judgement

 Paul, James, son of Zebedee, Thomas, Philip, Jude and Matthew.

Just a couple of the famous gargoyles of Notre-Dame

The Courtyard at the Hotel-Dieu Hospital. 

The Beautiful River Seine (left bank)

Activities on the River Seine

Tuileries Garden

L'Orangerie in the Tuileries Garden (a taste of Versailles and the Sun King Louis the XIV

My daughter's favourite moment with the Pigeon Whisperer of the Tuileries Garden

The Modern Louvre entrance

D'Orsay Museum

Pont Alexandre III

Flame of the Statue of Liberty and Princess Diana's Memorial (her car crash in the underpass  was under this bridge) on the right side of the Seine River

Fledgling Horse Chestnut Trees and the Eiffel Tour by Princess Diana's memorial (resembling the trees in Dr Seuss' books)

My favourite tree on earth (admittedly there are few other close in the running)

Trocadero

La Tour Eiffel!

2 story carousel near the Eiffel Tour

As my husband says, plagiarizing Rick Steves, "A Riveting View"

Classic photo!

JAPANESE GARDEN

Washing to be ready for the tatami room

Love the staying on the stones rule

CINQUIEME ARRONDISSEMENT

The first time I was in Paris, I went from the airport to the train station, transiting to an 'au paire' job in Franche-Conte. The second time, I went to Paris with my husband and we stayed at Hotel Beaubourg in the Marais district for a week. We walked everywhere and saw most of the sites by touristing dawn 'til after dusk. Two surprises were places I had never heard of and we stumbled on by accident. One of the places was the town hall (mairie) of the 5th arrondissement that we visited while waiting for the Pantheon to open. These are the murals I remembered on the 3rd visit, yet again waiting for the Pantheon to open (it opens late! and is under construction, so no Foucault's pendulum). They are exquisite, painted by absolutely no one I know (named Martin), and free for the looking, as you curl up the spiral stairs past a beautiful statue by no one that's announced.  The greatest thing about Paris, and Europe in general, is that there are gorgeous buildings everywhere filled with art that can be viewed in quotidian ways. This is what led us to stay on our last trip in the area - the 5th arrondissement is near the Jardin Luxembourg, the Sorbonne and the St Germain area full of chocolates and macarons. We stayed at the very enjoyable Hotel Excelsior Latin, ate breakfast at La Croissanterie, and often had a light supper at a creperie.

        

  

NEW CALICO KITTY BORN AUGUST 1ST

Did you know all calicos are girls? Here is our Caramel Swirl! She was one of a maxed out litter of 8 (mom cats only have 8 nipples!). Isn't she sweet?

ROCK CREEK REGINA

Salad as meal

Room for dessert

BROWN'S SOCIAL CLUB IN REGINA'S NORMANVIEW

#28 Dragon Bowl with a great friend

Veggie Cowboy Salad

Raspberry mojito - Perfect for the hot day!

TREMBLANT IN THE SUMMER

Hiking the ski trails

International Unicycle Cross country competition

Birds of Prey

31 IRON RICH VEGETARIAN FOOD

1 cup soybeans 8.8 mg
1 cup sunflower seeds 7.4 mg
1 cup lentils 6.6 mg
1 cup cooked spinach 6.4 mg
100g dark chocolate 6.3 mg
1 cup sun dried tomatoes 4.9 mg
1 cup lima beans 4.5 mg
1 cup blackeyed peas 4.3 mg
1 cup pinto beans 3.6 mg
1 cup black beans 3.6 mg
1/2 cup tofu 3.4 mg
1 medium potato with skin 3.2 mg
1 cup prune juice 3 mg
1 cup collard greens 2.2 mg
1/2 cup dried apricots 2 mg
1/2 cup oatmeal 1.7 mg
1/2 cup raisins 1.6 mg
1/4 cup dried peaches 1.6 mg
1 pint strawberries 1.5mg
1/2 cup peas 1.2 mg
1 tsp dried thyme 1.2 mg
1 cup kale 1.1 mg
1 oz (1 handful) pumpkin seeds 0.9 mg
1 T molasses 0.9 mg
1/2 cup brussel sprouts 0.9 mg
1 cup brown rice 0.8 mg
1/4 cup dry whole wheat pasta 0.4 mg
1 T sesame seed paste (tahini) 0.4 mg
1/2 cup arugula 0.146
DAILY VALUE 17 mg
1 slice whole wheat bread 0.7 mg
1/2 cup broccoli 0.3mg

SOURCE: Pinterest

LE LOUVRE IN UNDER AN HOUR

The first time I went to the Louvre, I was with my husband. We got there at opening and stayed until closing. We saw the highlights then split up. He followed a Rick Steves guidebook, and I walked every room and tried to look at every wall and every painting and every ceiling. 

So when we returned to Paris with my daughter, we wanted to show her a few prime items but we knew that we wouldn't have a lot of time to keep her interested. 

We entered at the pyramid main entrance, with the previously purchased Paris Museum Pass at the Tobacco shop across from Sainte-Chapelle. We walked directly to the Denon Pavillon up to the first floor. We pressed towards the front of a well marked room off to the left from the main Italian Paintings hallway to show our daughter the most visited piece of art in the world, known to many as the Mona Lisa, or La Gioconda. It helps to be a kid to get to the front of the line! Here is the view of Leonardo's alleged favourite painting and the crowd in low season to see her!

La Gioconda
(Mona Lisa)

Paparazzi and one photographer against the stream

Love this view of the horse gate in the Denon wing ground floor

Rick Steve's biggest fan!

John the Baptist, italian style

The Virgin of the Rocks as mentioned in the Da Vinci Code

Napoleon's apartments 

Conversation, anyone?

I would love this tiara!

The last thing I saw before my daughter dragged me out of Cour Marly on the Richelieu side.

IL CENTRO

Apps in Pointe-Claire Village Il Centro. We love the deep fried calamari.

Pork on risotto

Pesto pasta

Arugula salad

Limoncello on a hot terrace for a summer birthday

BOOK REVIEW: THE THIEF OF VENICE BY JANE LANGTON

For a change of pace, I decided to try a new series to wander the streets of Venice. This was maybe not the right way to meet Homer Kelly, by missing the first 13 stories, but it was a great walk through Venice. It was a little strange, though. On my next try, I'll start at the beginning. See for yourself, but be warned that the characters are quite apt to odd immoral but transient behaviour! Has this series jumped the shark? Let me know!

FRAK : "POLITE" VERSION OF A FOUR LETTER WORD?

Well, I didn't hear it first hand, but while watching a netflix show called Accidentally On Purpose, I learned that Battlestar Galactica had invented the future swear word. It began in the early version, then spelt as "frack", and then revised to be a 4 letter word,  "frak". It might come in handy!

FROM THAÏS BY ANATOLE FRANCE

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"There are, Lucius, certain forces infinitely more powerful than reason and science."
"Which?" asked Cotta.
"Ignorance and folly,"replied Aristieus.

STEALING MONA LISA

I went to the library to find some travel books to dream by, and saw this book on a random display shelf. What drew me in was the photo on the bottom. I have loved "Rainy Day on the streets of Paris"by Gustave Caillebotte for years, but until I was researching this blog, I thought it might be set in New York because of the triangular "flat-iron" building. It is, in fact, just north outside Paris at Place de Dublin. If the internet gives any indication, the triangular shaped building is still in existence. Pretty amazing since the painting was done in 1877, 137 years ago. That's one of the reasons why those of us born in the new colonies love Europe so much!

Now, back to the book!

This story was familiar to me. I remember reading that the Mona Lisa was once stolen and that copies were found, but I hadn't recalled any more details. This "version" of the truth was the page-turner I hoped for. I have to admit that it took me a couple of chapters to be sure, but the ground work was laid to bring the story full circle. 

The story begins in a newspaper interview that resulted in a real article. It follows the story of a gentlemanly conman with no lack of resources and more one soft spot. I don't want to spoil the rest of the twists, but it was a fun read that I recommend!

BURY YOUR DEAD

My good family and friends humoured me with a few detours, which was impressive, since it was cold and rainy practically the whole time! I think we walked 7 km, and my 8 year old daughter was still sprinting at the end!

Here was the itinerary:

Wolfe - Montcalm monument in the Parc des Gouverneurs - an obelisk we could see out our window looking out towards the Citadel Hill and Dufferin Terrace from Room 6261 in the Chateau Frontenac

Literary and Historical Society aka English Library (follow the little pyramids for a detour off St Jean
up hill) - Saint Stanislas turns in to Chaussee des Ecossais, where the Morrin Centre is located.

Jeanne D'arc Garden, in the plains of Abraham, at 390 Avenue Bernieres

Wolfe monument in front of the Museum of Fine Arts (MNBA) - an underwhelming but progressively taller statue to honour the death of the Montcalm, near Grand Allee

Petit Coin Latin Restaurant - rue St Ursule -where we had a generous breakfast of eggs, hash browns toast, and coffee in a beautifully carved Parisian style bistro playing spanish and french music where we got the best seat at the window and a nice warm heater at our knees.

Notre Dame Basilica - 20 rue de Buade - the oldest North American parish north of Mexico; destroyed in the siege of 1759 and rebuilt to resemble l'eglise Sainte-Genevieve in Paris, the finest neoclassical facade in Quebec, restored by architects after being gutted by a fire in 1922. I still have yet to see the gorgeous interior. Something to do with next visit!

PAILLARD BAKERY, QUEBEC : AVE ST. JEAN

My daughter and I hit the bakery for breakfast. They have the biggest croissants I have ever seen! The hot chocolate with whipped cream was the "aubaine"(deal) I would get next time! I tried the Fleur de citron on a puff pastry base. It was quite delicious, with chunks of custard and poppy seeds. The amandier was excellent too, with a tiny café au lait to hit the spot!

LE CHIC SHACK, QUEBEC : AVE DU FORT

I really enjoyed eating this weekend through the streets of Old Quebec City. We started here, meeting up with friends, and heading out from the Chateau Frontenac to the Chic Shack. I had a great house veggie burger with an interesting twist that I really enjoyed; beet! I was very proud that my very picky daughter felt she wanted a lettuce salad with parmesan (hold the dressing) and a poutine (gravy on the side). It's a start, for a girl who has yet to eat a burger!

TESTING THE LIMITS OF TECHNOLOGY

It used to be so simple. The needle on empty used to mean it was too late. Now, thanks to intelligent technology, the sweating at 3 am that I underwent driving to the gas station was unnecessary. Which was lucky for me, because the gas station, despite being lit up like Christmas, was closed! By the time I got home, I was below zero and yet, the next day, my beautiful merciful husband, who would never allow this to happen to himself, drove without event back to the now open station the next morning.
This is me freaking out at the gas station at 3 km!