Je ne pas parle Francais

Well, I know enough French to say that to the lovely couple that stopped me mid-run yesterday asking me where this or that was. I must look like I know where the hell I'm going as I leap over piles of dog shit and dodge my fellow tourists milling around the Eiffel Tower.

I definitely took a picture of my appetizer last night at La Petite Troquet. I thought I was getting some shrimp....and I did, but it was miniature prawns. They were kind of like the teeny shrimp you get in shrimp salads, but with shells. They came with an empty bowl for the shells and heads, a bowl of butter (for something we never figured out) and a bowl of lemon water to wash your hands afterwards. I ate about 10 of them, making a small dent in the rest of the bowl, and gave up, It was not worth the work. Mom guiltily ate the rest. Wilma had a mushroom "cake" with salad and Mom had escargot. For our main courses, Wilma had Beef Bourginon, Mom had Steak Au Poivre, and I had Tuna over zuchini. Delicious! For dessert I had a macaroon with a small spoonful of vanilla ice cream.

After dinner we walked back to the apartment, stopping to get a bottle of wine and a few postcards. We played Hearts and watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle and then went to bed. We stayed up so late we even got to Skype with the kids. A fun day!

This morning, we slept a little later, bought our paper and croissants, then went to La Mairas, the Jewish quarter of Paris. We walked around, shopped, sat and had a cappucino, looked in windows and courtyards, and ate lunch at Carette (Salon de The) on the Place de Vosges, the oldest planned square in Paris. We each ordered a sandwich and shared them so we got 1/3 of a chicken, ham/swiss, and parma ham sandwich. Yum!

Mom and I spent the afternoon walking around and visiting the Pompadou Museum, which houses modern art. It was interesting, but hot. We walked back via St Merri church and Hotel De Ville. We took a water taxi back to our apartment and are preparing now to take the metro to meet a friend for dinner.

It is hot here!!!!!!!!