Pebbles in the Pool

There goes the neighbourhood

Posted on by Roger

Having arrived at Gare de Nord last night and travelling by cab to our home for the next 7 weeks in Paris, we headed out for a welcome drink in one of the numerous bars nearby. The one we picked was full of very noisy Argentinians who were delighted when their team put the nail in the Netherlands coffin as we watched on in awe of the athleticism and stamina of a field full of footballers running for two hours and ending the match in a penalty shootout. A late dinner rounded out the night.

This morning, with an outside temperature of 1, we headed out to stock up on some basic provisions and seek ways to take massive advantage of my halting schoolboy French.

The fun of prowling the aisles and discovering that your foreign language skills are rubbish. It’s a sobering reminder of the challenges faced by the many who seek new places and ways to live.
Christmas trees looking for a warm home
The Poissonoire full of the sea based aroma of scallops in their shells, sea urchins, prawns and all manner of things from the sea.
There’s any number of great looking patisseries and boulangeries nearby. Loaded up with a boule and a baguette: yummy with a bit of fromage or buerre.
A fromagerie – Is this a cheese shop? Not like the Monty Python variety.
OK, time to be strong: besides, the bag is getting heavy already. We can browse this and a number of wine shops another day. The supermarket also carries a wide range of very reasonably priced wine.
A flower seller plies her trade outside the butcher
Wow! It’s warmed up in the middle of the day, hitting a top of 4 degrees. It’s time to head home to unload our goodies and plan a plan for tonight’s game between France and England in the world cup. The man at the chicken shop has already told us that they’ll be closing early as he and a whole nation get ready to call ‘Allez le bleu’

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