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Nuit Blanche -- White Night

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An excuse to stay up all night sponsored by the City of Paris. We don't actually understand French modern art.  Or maybe we don't understand anyone's modern art... One night a year the city of Paris runs the event called Nuit Blanche,  which I (Tom) attended 12 years ago and we've been looking forward to since before we arrived.   We accept that we don't "get it".  But,  that's ok.  It's fun.  And one of the areas where they were concentrating this year was less than a mile away. But, first,  lunch.  We picked up sandwiches and macarons at what had been one of our favorite bakeries in 2006 when we lived down the street.   With the weather remaining great,  we had a picnic in Luxembourg Gardens. Now, Nuit Blanche... Nothing says French Art like outdoor roller ball Or tall women posing next to statues of DeGaulle Or soccer under black light in glow-in-the-dark, neon rain jackets. But, Paris at...
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Septime

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There is one restaurant that has been on our Paris must try list for over 4 years -- Septime.  TimeOut Paris calls it "the hottest table in the world" and also says that "getting a table is like being a contestant on the Hunger Games."  So Maxine has been on a quest since we arrived in Paris.  Seats are released at 10am, 3 weeks and a day in advance.  After several unsuccessful attempts, we got a lunch reservation (easier than dinner) for yesterday.  Yes, there was a lot of anticipation! Lunch service started slowly and we were afraid we'd been forgotten.  We were feeling disenchanted until Tom spoke to someone -- major apologies and complimentary glasses of champagne to make amends.  And then we had a great lunch! With our champagne, we enjoyed a melted gouda dip with homemade breadsticks Raw scallops with squash and squash broth infused with black cardamom served with a Sicilian orange wine Tom doesn't eat fish/shellfish so his first...
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Gilets Jaunes

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Yesterday was the 4th week of demonstrations throughout France by the Gilets Jaunes.  First, a little bit of background and then I'll tell you about our experiences.  Gilet Jaune means yellow vest and refers to the bright yellow safety vests that drivers must carry in their cars.  These have become the symbol of the protests because the near term cause of the protests was the increase in the gas tax. The gas tax increase is an attempt by Macron to push drivers to use more climate friendly forms of transportation such as public transportation or hybrid vehicles.  The gas tax increase combined with higher world oil prices to dramatically increase the cost of transportation, especially for those who live outside the major cities and are forced to drive. The public perception is that Macron is president for the rich since the changes are only helping the wealthy.  The general population of working and middle class is suffering and having an increasingly difficul...
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