You are under heaven

I made my first foray into a French market for our breakfast -- oranges to squeeze, salami, bananas, yogurt, cheese. I also picked up three types of croissants from the bakery right next door to our apartment. Pascal Un had highly recommended it, and he was right. I had a minor coffee disaster in the kitchen, but I think I figured out the French coffee technology.

Antonia went off on her own to wander the Marais, while Darien and I walked down Voltaire until we got to the site of the former Bastille. We took the Metro over to the Louvre, but she had to leave right away for rehearsal. I visited an exhibition of the history of the Louvre, which was particularly interesting because I was still reading The Three Muskateers, and a lot of the significant scenes are played out there. I also looked at paintings from the Italian Middle Ages and Renaissance. The Mona Lisa left me a bit cold, given the camera hungry crowd that enveloped her. I couldn't get close enough to have a proper look.

The performance at the L'eglise Sainte-Marie-Madeleine was probably the best yet. The acoustics were very fine and Mark teased the crowd by sustaining final notes until they reverberated throughout the space. Pascal Un brought his niece, and they were both enthralled.

Antonia headed back to the apartment alone, since we intended to get more Louvre time in. La Madeleine is in on the Rue Royale, home to couture names even I recognized. We spent over 28 euro on a couple of beers, then started to walk back to the Louvre through the Tuileries gardens. Darien confessed she was completely fatigued, so we went back home instead.

It was after 9 PM before we went out to a place on Rue Thimbaud Pascal Un recommended. (I never did meet Deux. I am told he is The Quiet One.) The restaurant was pricey, but we ate lightly -- Darien a piece of rock fish with a pureed mushroom, Antonia a small cucumber soup with salmon, and me a lobster salad. The waitress rushed us through ordering, but then loosened up and was very informative, helping us to choose food and wine. For dessert, she recommended Darien have baba au rhum, which the waitress seemed to drench with a quarter pint of rum. "You let the rum come up to your nose, and then take a bit of cream not too sweet, and you are under heaven," she rhapsodized.

At night in our rooms, we sweltered.