Linda and Bernie

Visiting Paris, that wonderfully remarkable city, is certainly a joy in any weather and at any time. That joy is multiplied exponentially when the visit is shared with great friends. We spent our last day in Paris with special friends, Bernie Verdier and Linda Spalla. 

Bernie was born in Paris but moved to the United States when he was ten. He spent a career in the Army and retired in Huntsville where we became friends. He is 80 years going on 55 and has more energy than almost anyone I know.

Linda has been a friend to both Judy and me since our seminary days at Emory University some fifty years ago. She is a retired television station manager and writer, often inspiring me to do more with this blog since she does such a marvelous job with her own.

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We spent the day walking around Paris with them–16,000 steps by late afternoon. Judy and I were exhausted, but they were just getting started.

We began the day by walking up from our hotel, the Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe Hotel on Avenue de Wagram, to the Arc de Triomphe and around Place Charles de Gaulle to the Champs Elysees and down to Avenue George V. We were making our way to the Apple store and strolling along until it opened. The beach figures were on the Avenue George V along with the large, wrapped candy figures. In addition, thee were also individual wrapped candy art with colors representing flags of different countries.

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The Apple Store in Paris is an amazing site. An old apartment building that took several years to renovate, you will find the old juxtaposed with the most modern–old wooden stair rails across from spartan modern ones, the latest in Apple products in a setting that could be from the 1800’s. It’s amazing to see. We were only allowed on two of the five floors on this day.

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From there we took the Metro–the most efficient way of getting around in Paris–to a little cafe in Saint-Germaine-des-Pres, Le Deux Magots. The cafe is a famous tourist attraction because of its reputation as a gathering place at one time for the literary and intellectual elite of Paris. While Bernie sought out a table, Judy, Linda and I visited the Abbey church of Saint-Germaine-des-Pres, where I took the pictures you see and remained a few moments for prayer in remembrance of our deceased grandson, Bradley. I found it meaningful to light a candle on the altar in his memory.

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Upon leaving the cafe, we encountered a man from Italy roasting chestnuts on the streets of Paris. I had never had a chestnut, so we bought some and began a most interesting conversation with the elderly gentleman–I say elderly, but we found out later that he and I are exactly the same age. You can imagine how that made my day. He is a second-generation chestnut roaster and it seems that his son is following in his footsteps.

 Across the street, we found a jazz band just beginning to play Dixie Land Jazz. I knew New Orleans had French connections, but never thought it extended to jazz. Actually, they were very, very good.

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Since Judy and I had never seen the Pantheon, we spent some time there while Linda and Bernie waited for us. Following that we simply made our way back to their apartment in the Marais district where we rested until time for our dinner reservations nearby. The following pictures are from that final stroll to their apartment–you always have to take pictures along the way regardless of how tired you are.

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After dinner, our friends rode the Metro back to our hotel to be sure we didn’t get lost in Paris, something I am quite capable of doing. It was a great day with special friends and a wonderful way to end our trip.

Now that we are back home, the only disadvantage to the trip I can think of is that I became addicted to European coffee–especially espresso.