La tour Montparnasse

I've always liked the idea of this photo, but it didn't come out quite the way I thought it would. And I only took one. I could probably figure out where I was and try to take another (the next time I'm in Paris, lol), but it wouldn't be the same. The building has been changed and is changing again. Maybe it would be better. But, like they say, you can't go back again. Still, I like the ghost-like quality of the tower. It comes through better in black and white.

I also like how you can see people on the rooftop observation deck over the 56th floor.

Digitized color slide (although I took most of the color out in this version), Spring 2001.

The wind is howling this morning as it did through the night. We're having a storm. With rain. And it's my morning to go out with Tasha. It'll be a short walk.

A walk in the lower 7th

I think I was wrong yesterday about saying that one of the first things I did when we arrived in Paris was to take a walk over to Invalides. Based on the order of my slides, the first thing we did was to go to the tennis tournament. That must have been a Thursday, giving the women a day off between the semis and the final on Saturday. But let's pretend; I'll show photos of the walk first.

The top of the Eiffel Tower. Digitized color slide, Spring 2001.

Yesterday I drove up to a commercial zone (read: shopping center) just south of Blois. I finally ordered the new curtains for the living room after two years of waiting. We planned to do that in early 2020, then covid hit and we couldn't. Later, inertia set in and we just didn't get it together. But in recent weeks, we looked on line and learned how to take the measurements and we found a sheer that we liked. We decided not to order on line (in fact, the store we chose didn't offer that option) and just go up to the store to see the curtains in real life before ordering. They're non-returnable because they're custom made, so it seemed the prudent thing to do.

Turns out that I didn't like the curtains we saw on line. Too shiny. I found another sample that I liked and, although it was almost twice the price as the original, the store was offering 15% off, so I figured what the heck and went ahead. It's done now and the curtains should be ready in about three weeks. The process was easy and the sales rep was very nice.

I took advantage of being up there to stop at a big produce market for some good stuff. Tomatoes, avocados, broccoli, bok choy, and radishes, among other things. All in all, a successful morning.

On to Paris

We planned to spend the last few days of our Spring 2001 vacation in Paris. We had tickets on Center Court (Phillipe Chatrier) for the women's semi-finals at Roland Garros (The French Open). The hotel we chose was the Duquesne Eiffel, on the Avenue Duquesne near the Ecole Militaire métro station in the 7th arrondissement. This was the view from our street-side room.

The view from our hotel room. Digitized color slide, Spring 2001.

We were familiar with the neighborhood from past trips. Our friend Cheryl was staying at the Hôtel Muguet on the rue Chevert, a short walk away. Both hotels are close to the southern end of the rue Cler, a market street popular with tourists. Also not far is the Hôtel des Invalides and Napoléon's tomb. One of the first things I did after we arrived was to go out for a walk in that direction.

Parting glance

One last shot of the little house we rented in Vouvray. As I mentioned, the house was sold, along with the manor house across the street where the owner lived, not long after our 2001 stay. Since then, it's a private home.

The gîte in Vouvray. Digitized color slide, Spring 2001.

This morning is apparently the coldest we will have in this little wintry spell. The electricity folks are asking people to cut back their usage this morning to help reduce demand. It seems that a number of the country's nuclear generators are off-line for various reasons. We normally run appliances like the dishwasher, clothes washer, and water heater in the off-peak night hours, so there's nothing else we can do there. Most of the lights in the house are LED, so turning them off doesn't help much, either. I was planning to make pizza for lunch. The oven is electric. Uh-oh.

Good-bye, Vouvray

Our time in the Loire Valley wine town of Vouvray came to an end and we headed up to Paris for the remainder of our 2001vacation. That included a day at the French Open. More about that later.

A winery's tasting room in central Vouvray. Digitized color slide, Spring 2001.

We enjoyed the region so much that, when we decided to buy a house in France, the Loire Valley, and more specifically the small city of Amboise, is where we decided to look. The house we found is, of course, not in Amboise, nor is it on the Loire. But we're close, enjoying a more rural setting in the Cher River Valley.

Snowmageddon?

Hardly. Still, it snowed. We had some brief snow flurries on and off through the afternoon yesterday. Then, as I was coming home from the afternoon walk with Tasha, the flakes got big and it snowed pretty heavily for about ten minutes. Needless to say, there was no accumulation at all. But the snow was pretty while it fell.

Looking west out over the vineyards as the snow falls.

We had major progress on the contractor front yesterday. The deck guy's crew showed up on time (eight a.m.) and got to work on the garden shed. They installed two tie rods along two of the shed's walls to stabilize the building. Ça ne bougera plus, one of the guys said (It won't move any more). It took them about two hours (I'll get some photos when the weather improves). As they were leaving, their boss showed up with another colleague and they did a once-over of the underside of the deck. They're going to sandblast the old chipping paint off and re-do it as part of the renovation.

I took the opportunity to ask if he had an idea when we'd be scheduled. I asked if it would be a matter of weeks or a matter of months. He shook his head and said no, no, we're talking weeks. You'll have the deck done before summer. I hope he's right.

Covid did a number on the local contractors' schedules, as did the crappy weather we had last summer. Add to that the supply chain issues and you come up with two years of cascading delays. I'm hopeful this new flurry (!) of activity means that the contractor's got what he needs (namely the deck tiles we ordered) to get under way as the weather warms up.

Signs point to "yes"

I remember that old Magic 8-Ball answer popping up in the little window of the ball. I don't remember the others, but that one popped into the little window of my brain when I saw this photo again. I'm not sure where I took it, but it must be in or near the town of Montlouis, based on the other slides around it.  And that little cardboard "Montlouis en fête" sign is a big clue.

Directional signs at Montlouis on the Loire. Digitized color slide, Spring 2001.

The sky is clear so far this morning. No snow. But it is cold. Brrr. And the mornings will stay around freezing through the weekend, apparently. I'm back to building fires in the wood stove. They keep the living room comfy while reducing our heating fuel use.

The contractor that we engaged to renovate our deck stopped by yesterday afternoon. He and his crew are showing up this morning at 8h00, but not to start work on the deck. Among the other jobs we asked him to do is the repair of a rather large crack in the wall of the garden shed. That's what they're coming today to do. It's progress, for sure. I need to ask him (again) when he thinks the deck will get done. I'd probably have better results asking the Magic 8-Ball.