A Week in Paris With No Internet, Just Adventure and Rain

No internet connection in our wonderful apartment means we have to get creative (as the wifi at Starbucks in our neighborhood is not working) so we lugged the laptops up to the new Apple store by the Opera.  Situated in an old bank it is massive and impressive and as all Apple stores seem to be filled with customers (as few other store in Paris are).  We settled in on a bench at the bottom of the stairs in what could have been a bathhouse (given all the tiled surfaces) but now serves as the place to purchase Apple accoutrements.  This was much to the amusement of the mostly French folks and Apple techies going up and down, but several people kindly offered to take our photo...

Miserable weather in Paris can’t dampen the spirits but it sure soaks everything else. .  The kind of a chill damp rainy blowing blustery day that I would normally avoid going outside in at all...  But then Paris is not normal.  Paris is fabulous and exhausting, friendly and impersonal, warm and cold, stunningly beautiful or garbaged ugly, inviting and stand-offish all at the same time.  Probably not the ideal day for walking and getting lost but that is what we did.

As ‘une femme du certain age’ in Paris I am always looking for toilettes in Paris.  They are few and far between.  Parisian women obviously don’t drink much water - and where do all those espressos go? There are a few public spots on the street but I couldn’t help laughing when I turned the corner with my umbrella blowing inside out and spotted this!  Not much privacy but then the French are looser about natural tendencies than we are...  (An aside rant - Apple get hip!  How can a huge American company have a behoumouth store anywhere with no bathroom available for the customers?  Shame on you Mr. Jobs! No pun intended.)

Shop windows in Paris are always inspirational and we like to take lots of photos.  None of the stores will let you take photos inside but they can’t stop you if you are on the street although some will try.  Here’s an angry clerk who is reaching to turn the mannequin around.  My shutter was faster than her hand.

Finding bargains on the streets of Paris is always fun.  Here’s Marcy scarfing up some souvenirs (sorry I couldn’t resist the pun).  We love a bargain!

A Bientot!