French Baker

My daughter and I went to Paris to celebrate my second sister's birthday. We travelled with my third sister.

We set off in fog but soon the sun broke through. We were very excited, even though cattle class on the Eurostar is a bit rubbish. They laughed at me because I kept on about how the French trees look so different from ours. We have discussed that it is probably because of pruning methods.

The Metro is filthy and smelly in comparison with the Tube and the layout is weird and difficult to follow, especially from a map. They had no Harry Beck. :)

We arrived at Oberkampf just as the huge street market was packing up, which was a shame as I would have loved to have taken snaps. We found our apartment but couldn't get in as my second sister and her second daughter hadn't arrived. Their plane from Pau had been delayed. We decided to join café society and sat at a metal-topped table complete with tassels, on the pavement, drinking beer in the warm sunshine and watching the world go by. I decided to post the baker pic as it's such a typically French scene.

Once we had explored the fab apartment with its chandeliers and baby grand piano, we went shopping for provisions, mainly wine. We learnt that it is not usual to laugh in shops. We soon had the owner of the off-licence and all his clientele in fits as we chose 'sinful' and 'palate caressing' bottles - lots of them. :)

Eventually my fourth sister, her daughter and my third sister's daughter arrived. Then my second sister's first daughter, who lives in Paris, arrived fresh from her work as a parfumier. Our group of of nine women, ranging in age from me at a certain to Isobel at fifteen, was complete and ready to party - some of us more so than others. :)