Touchdown
Lunch: Breizh Cafe, near apartment,; good 19-euro menu of the day, specialize in unique crepes, buckwheat crepes
Walk: phone cards, Luxembourg Gardens
Dinner: American-style burgers and fries a few blocks from our apartment on a quiet side street
Accommodation: Le Grand Casimir Apartment (Airbnb); host Raoni
We arrived on time at Charles de Gaulle and headed to the oversized baggage claim to collect our bicycles. When we reached the area, armed police corralled all the passengers into the far end of the hall and held us for about 20 minutes, then released us; we are not sure what that was all about, but it appeared that there was some security concern.
Once we were allowed to move again, we found our bikes and loaded them onto baggage carts. The boxes had TSA stickers indicating they had been searched. Ken's sprocket had cut through the box, but it was not damaged. Whew; it is always a relief to get the bikes safely to a new destination. We were still able to meet our driver on time in the Arrivals Hall, and he maneuvered us through the heavy traffic from the airport to our apartment in the Latin Quarter.
Meghan had already checked in and met us at the door with cold drinks--very much appreciated. The apartment was cool, comfortable, and quiet, a good place to settle for four days in the middle of a heat wave.
By noon, we were at a creperie near our apartment, eating a light lunch and trying out our rusty French.
In the afternoon, Ken and I walked a mile or so through the Luxembourg Gardens to the Orange phone store and purchased French SIM cards. On the way back, near our apartment, we found a little side street with a couple of outdoor restaurants. After a little rest, we returned to one of them with Meghan and Konur for a typical American burger dinner. We are going to ease into the French cuisine with a 12-year-old who is cautious about eating new things. 😊
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| The Luxembourg Gardens offered welcome shade. In the late afternoon, the temperature topped out at 98 degrees Fahrenheit. |
