The Most Beautiful Walk in the World

I've just about finished reading the book, "The Most Beautiful Walk in the World" by John Baxter. He's an Australian and has lived in Paris for over two decades. He gives literary walks around Paris, lives in the same building that the Shakespeare and Company's founder Sylvia Beach once lived.
The book gave me a thought to do a post of people walking around Paris. That's what we do, don't we when in Paris. I have driven a car, I have ridden a bike but to walk the streets, smell, see and absorb the various stages of the day in Paris is an experience. Morning, lunch, night - all have a special moment, well they do for us.

The book - worth a read.

We are now coming to our last days on this, our 2010 trip to France. This was our fourth time, well we could say eighth time in Paris, City of Light. We fly in, stay a few days to recover from over 20 to 30 hours of travel and walk the streets of Paris. After driving the length and breath of France, we return to Paris and stay in an apartment usually for a week before returning home to Melbourne, our home by the bay.

Back to John Baxter's book;
It talks of walking the streets and taking in the hidden treasures, the mysteries of Paris. Being a writer, Baxter mentions the stories behind the times of Earnest Hemingway, The Fitzgeralds, and of course Sylvia Beach. He takes you to Montmartre, Montparnasse and to the seedy parts of old Paris where there were bordellos and opium dens.
It's a great read filled with great stories told with humour.

This man emerged with a file in his hand from this wonderful doorway - why?

People walking the covered hallways - it was raining outside!!!

People enjoying festivities.

Us enjoying the cool spring Paris night with friends.

Walking the Champs

Walking by doorways

Passing by shops in the rain

Buying the morning baguette

About to buy some chocolate from a very famous shop - maybe!

Or buy a book by the Seine and read it in the spring sunshine

Or walk my bike

Or just make an exhibition of myself.....Does anyone care in Paris?

Walk, walk and walking - in those shoes????????

I really need a rest - I've walked all day.

OMG - are we really in Paris, I don't believe we are really here.

Don't look dear - just some more crazy little girly tourists - not real Parisiennes like ouselves. Don't we look cool?

Our 2010 trip is coming to a close and our previous posts on Sue's 60th birthday trip to France maybe to recent to re post for Wednesdays in France so I'm in a quandary as to what we do for our usual French Wednesday posts. Maybe we might draw a scene from the 1000s of pictures from 5 trips to our spiritual home. We can't wait to 2014 when we can return to France.

Mentone's Past

Mentone Melbourne took its name from the town on the French/Italian border. It took many street names from the areas of Italy. Milan, Naples, the Corso were some. There are other Mentone town's, I found a few in the United States. California, Texas, Alabama being a few.
Sue and I visited Menton in France on our way to Italy in 2006 only for the fact that we live in Mentone Melbourne.

I thought I would post few pictures I stole from our local Council Historical Society - the "old" seems to hold a special interest to us. What is happening to our lovely suburb is not to our liking these days - it is becoming very high density and we have more traffic lights, less parking but that might just say more about us and what we would like from our lifestyle these days. Maybe you would like to make comment on your lifestyle.

Mentone early subdivision took on an Italian persona with the naming of the streets. Being on the bayside it still looks like the Mediterranean cost line,

And the French/Italian area it takes its name.

We had our own grand Movie House - Its now gone.

I wish I had the opportunity to have seen a movie here - it was demolished for a road widening project,

We had our own pier and sea baths - it's now gone.

We also had our own bakery - it's also now gone..
But it is now the local historical museum.

We had our own Metro Fire Brigade - we still have although I believe it may be in another location which is now only two blocks from our home. I wonder if this picture is of the same location. I'll look that up.

Oh yes and we had a skating rink but that's gone.

The same skating rink - a bit earlier before they paved the roads.

This was the gasometers in Mentone but that's also gone - maybe not a bad thing.

This is the local primary school which is probably now over 130 years old, Sue taught here and occasionally still does a bit of emergency teaching.
It is one of the few pieces of old Mentone that remain although it is now two story with many more modern classroom on the grounds.

Although the roads in this picture are dirt, the building to the left is still there and the Mentone Coffee Palace, now a girls catholic school still exist. It's nice to know that some of old Mentone has survived.

Maybe in a future post I might do a story on modern Mentone - the Mentone that seems to draw a greater population to Bayside living.

Jack turned 92 today

Today was my father's 92nd birthday - isn't he grand?

Since he can't ride his road bike any longer he's now on the stationary bike  still clocking up the kms.

Basilica Saint Denis. Resting Place of Kings and Queens of France

We find that we learn more after a trip to the many places that we have visited due to blogging. You tend to research these places when posting - that's a great thing because it opens your eyes to the facts and figures behind the great sights. Basilica Saint Denis was one of these experiences.

We caught the Metro out to Saint Denis. It was another of those "Must See" places on our list. I was intrigued by the legend behind the Basilica. The story unfolds with the legend of the first Bishop of Paris being beheaded at the hill of Montmartre and then with head in hands, he walked to the site of the now Basilica where he was buried. A Martyrium was built over his remains. This was followed by a church commissioned by Saint Genevieve, Patron Saint of Paris.

The Basilica holds the remains of France's many past kings and queens. Dagobert I (639), the last king of the Merovington dynasty is buried here along with Clovis I (511) . I must learn more of him as he seems to have been a most powerful reigning King over France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Nederlands.

Basilica Saint Denis

We marvelled at the tombs, effigies and the thought that we were walking amongst centuries of French royalty. The history of French rule existed within the confines of Saint Denis Basilica. The artistry of the tombs is amazing.

Most amazing of all was the tomb of Louis XII and Anne Bretagne - looking more closely you see them lying naked with expressions that would be described as at their moment of death. Above these effigies are the couple in prayer and possibly contemplating their own mortality. Who knows, but to see it is to form your own opinion.

Further below in the crypt and the foundations of the earlier church where Saint Denis was believed to have been buried lay stone coffins. Where we were standing took us back to around 260 AD when Saint Denis was said to have been buried here.

We would have to say to anyone visiting Paris to take the day and hop on the Metro to Saint Denis - don't rush it, take time to absorb centuries of French Royalty history. I think it deserves a second visit after publishing this post. It's a shame I didn't know more before our visit, I would have been richer for it.

Figs and a Bathroom Demolition

An obtuse, strange and maybe just a little weird heading for this post - that's our life in Melbourne. 

So what do figs and a bathroom demolition have to do with each other - absolutely nothing.............

We never know what will eventuate on our weekends and of course the Easter break makes it a double  weekend. We decided with thoughts of impending retirement that we better get the house in order for a possible future sale. The "other bathroom", that's the one the boys used for the last 20 years needed a face lift. It was the time to start so what happens? I got to work with the demolition and what does Sue do - she cooks. She has this fig thing happening. Figs as a savory, figs as a desert but I'll let her tell you more as I need to get back to the Bathroom reno.

I guess it's because they are so fragile, but figs here are very expensive in the shops. About $3.50 for 2 figs!

There is an alley behind a local shopping strip that has a large and generous fig tree. My brother and sister in law have pilfered me two large bowls full. And they have been great. Here is a simple fig tart ready to cook. Just a little almond meal underneath to catch the glorious juice and sugar sprinkled on top to go a bit caramelly. Not sure why there is no pic of finished product. Yummy though. No more figs.

The old bathroom was looking a little tired and so we went out and bought a new bath and shower screen. Next is a new toilet and a new vanity cabinet and mirror. We need to bring the bathroom into the 3rd millennium. We are looking at a stark white with terracotta floor tiles which are in the family room and hallway leading to the bathroom. It will give some continuity and flow from room to room.

It all started here - the new bath.
Little did I know how much work there would be in front of me.

I'm sure that the hard work is the demolition!

The bath tub itself was wedged into the wall studs and then placed on a bed of cement for stability - it took some effort to remove it.
The new bath is a lot more simple and has its own steel framework for stability.

A very good friend has loaned me his trailer which I'm currently using as a huge garbage bin until I've cleared the debris from the bathroom. I hope to complete the demolition so we can be prepared for laying the base for floor and wall tiling next weekend.

There is something therapeutic about having a hammer in one's hands

smash, bash, bash, smash......