Lulu's Back in Town

I just arrived in Paris today.  A short respite to catch my breath and get over jet lag before I take the train to Nice on Saturday.  I'm meeting my friend Laura Walker there for a 12-day road trip on the Riviera.  I've been warned about the twisty roads that I'll be driving, and just hope we manage not to turn into Thelma and Louise!

For this short stay in Paris, I chose a hotel, the Prince de Condé on the rue de Seine, just a block away from the apartment I occupied for 18 months in 2016-17 (hard to imagine it was that long ago).  Air France and Delta are slowly unwinding their partnership, so I flew on Air France today -- a good flight and only a few minutes late.  No strikes at the airport, thank goodness, although this is the season for labor actions in France.

Luigi's

It was wonderful to walk around my old neighborhood.  I had dinner at Luigi's on the rue de Buci.  Totally bummed out to start with that my favorite Traiteur had been replaced, but this is a charming Italian restaurant with a good bar and a quite decent kitchen that is still finding its feet.  I plan to revisit it and you should try it too.

On my way back to the rue de Seine, I passed my favorite jazz band that always seems to be on the streets somewhere in St.-Germain at this time of year.  They were playing "Lulu's Back in Town", a tune I learned from the Ukulele Band at the Evergreen State College, thanks to its leader and the college's President, Les Purce, who refashioned the lyrics as a tribute to the Oyster Olympics, which features the college's mascot, the geoduck, among other mollusks.  Made me feel right at home -- in more ways than one!

Walking back to the hotel, I passed La Palette on the corner of rue de Seine and rue Jacques Callot, right across the street from my old apartment (sorry for the lousy picture).  Happy memories!

Just so you know, Karen's back in town!