We’ve settled into our life in our Paris neighborhood in the 15th arrondissement. The first few days here, we’ve mostly explored on foot our close-by neighborhoods so we can feel like locals.

We are near the Metro station La Motte Picquet. There are cafes and bistros on nearly every corner and every block seems to have a bakery, other essential vendors and a supermarket a block away. Every morning, we pick up a fresh baguette and pastry, make French press coffee and put out fruit and all the fixings. The perfect petit déjeuner.

Andy has set up a mini music studio in our dining room. Yes, we actually carted a travel guitar and a mini electric keyboard in our carry-on bags (translation: we brought even fewer clothes than usual!). After breakfast, he does music stuff for a few hours while I go exploring or writing a blog post. Like now!

Then off to explore.  The first full day, we walked 16 minutes to the Eiffel Tower and circumnavigated this massive—yet delicate-seeming— monument.  We are saving our trip up the tower for the iconic views for when our kids arrive in town.

After, we walked to a charming, pedestrian lane called Rue Le Cler where we shared a fresh seafood salad and Andy scarfed his first snails, errr escargots! Le Cler is filled with little shops each dedicated to a different food specialty like cheese, fish, chicken roti, pastry, chocolates etc as well as charming cafes like Le Petit Cler where we chowed down.

The second day was Weds., farmers market day in our neighborhood. Set up under the elevated Metro, dozens of food vendors of every stripe filled 2 long blocks and we stocked up on fresh fruits and eggs that were minutes from the farm. It’s quite a scene and the rainy morning didn’t stop anyone because the market has the Metro as a canopy.

We tend to come home  late afternoons for a few hours of rest as jet lag is still kicking our butts. However, on Thursday we didn’t do that!

Instead, around 3 pm, we took the train to the Louvre. It was pouring rain when we left so a museum seemed the perfect activity. After a 15 minute ride, we exited the subway to bright sunshine. We got on the non-ticketed Louvre line that was moving smartly until we got to the head. Then no movement for over 20 minutes.  I said “ let’s ditch this joint.” Instead, we decided to walk through the Tuileries gardens to L’Orangerie Museum at the other end of the park  that our friends M&S raved about.  

We couldn’t do that as it turned out the gardens were mostly closed and being de-constructed to their Pre- Olympics condition. Instead, we walked along the Seine and spotted my favorite Paris museum on the other side of the river.  That, of course, is the Musee D’Orsay, a former train station that gloriously showcases some of our favorite artists from Picasso to Monet, Degas, Van Gogh and more. We just might have to go back another day.

Finally, we entered the Tuileries garden from the other end and made our way to L’Orangerie.  This boutique size museum was formerly a greenhouse with glass skylights everywhere. The French are clearly masters of repurposing period architecture to brilliant new uses. 

Inside, all is modern and  light.  The collection includes some beloved painters with works we hadn’t seen before. There were Picasso, Matisse & Modigliani paintings, of course. There were also a few paintings by Marie Laurencon whose evocative works of women were new and delightful to us.

But the big draw of the museum was the Monet murals of his beloved water lilies.  These room size, impressionist works envelop you in their tranquility and romance.  Viewers are requested to treat these two salons ( 8 murals!) as meditation spaces but there were plenty of people taking selfies, shooting “influencer videos” and simply absorbing the art as well.

It was 6 pm when we left and  returned again to pouring rain as we made our way to the metro.  

Fortunately, we had made 7:30  reservations to a tiny, recommended restaurant two doors down from our apartment so we had 30 minutes to put our tired feet up first. By 9 pm, we were on our couch watching the latest Netflix episode of “The Perfect Couple.” Then off to bed.

And that’s how we live La vie Parisienne.