Everybody has been talking about the movie The Greatest Showman. We've been patiently waiting for it to come to Paris. Kelly and I went to the 10:30 am showing today. The movies during the 10:00 hour are the only ones that are discounted here-we saved about 5 euros each going so early. On the way we saw this ad for raclette pizza. Raclette pizza sounds so crazy but Kelly really wants to try it. Ham, raclette cheese, and maybe those are potato slices? And don't forget the little cornichon on top!
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| Raclette Pizza |
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| The Greatest Showman |
The theatres and screens here seem to be pretty small. But then there were only five of us there this morning. We can see why they discount that time to draw in more movie goers. We really enjoyed the movie and the music and choreography.
We were surprised to see blue sky after the movie and celebrated with a Nutella banane crêpe on the way home. We took a detour to check out the Seine. The flooding has continued and the river still has not crested. Maybe tomorrow. The Seine is expected to crest at 20 feet. Four feet is normal. The worst flooding was recorded in 1910 at 28 feet. The lower level of the Louvre with Islamic Art is closed and items in storage in the basement have been moved to safety. I read that we have had twice as much rain as normal in January so I am not crazy when I say it is always raining. I never go out without an umbrella, even when the forecast says no rain. I never believe it!
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The Seine Climbing up the
Stairs by Nôtre Dame |
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| Kelly and the Seine |
In Paris, there is a statue of a Zouave soldier on the side of the pont de l'Alma not far from the Eiffel Tower. According to tradition, when the Seine covers the feet of the Zouave, the Seine is flooded. As you can see, it has gone way past his feet and is approaching his waist!
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| Zouave on Pont de l'Alma |
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| Seine up to the Zouave's hips |
You may wonder what a Zouave is. A Zouave was a French light infantry soldier originally from Algeria serving between 1830 and 1962. They retained their oriental uniform for years. This particular statue represents those who fought in the Battle of the Alma during the Crimean War in 1854. The bateaux mouches are all docked and there is no river traffic except for small police boats.
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| Docked Boats |
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Beautiful Sky this Afternoon above
the Bateaux Mouches |
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| La Grande Roue et le Pont Alexandre III |
The sky this evening was amazing. You can see the Eiffel Tower above the onion domes of the new Russian Orthodox Church near the Pont de l'Alma.
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| La Grand Palais and la Grande Roue |
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| Russian Orthodox Church and the Eiffel Tower |
I headed down avenue Rapp and then over to see what our students affectionately called Li'l Eiffie. This was the first I had been here since we arrived a month ago. We so miss our old neighborhood. Being back there felt like I was home. But we like our new neighborhood, too, and take advantage of being so close to the Seine and Nôtre Dame.
I walked down the Champ de Mars to the BYU apartment and our old quartier and caught a glimpse of the dome of Les Invalides where Napoleon is buried.
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| Les Invalides |
The BYU apartment is just above the awning of the Papeterie. The red geraniums were still blooming in the apartment windows. We would water them every week for the woman who owned the building. She was proud of her window boxes.
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BYU Apartment Just Above
the Papeterie |
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| 41 avenue de la Motte-Picquet |
I couldn't resist stopping at our favorite boulangerie a few doors down. Unfortunately that late in the day I did not see anyone working who I recognized. But I picked up Kelly's favorite chocolate éclair to bring home to him.
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| The "White Bakery" |
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| La Boulangerie |
I crossed the street to check out the rue Cler. This is the pedestrian street where we did a lot of our shopping at the produce stands and the bargain grocery store-Leader Price. The Leader Price signage was new and the boulangerie we used to call the Red Bakery is now lavender. Of course even though no rain was in the forecast, it did start to rain on my way to the bus. But remember-I never leave home without an umbrella!
Kelly and I savored the éclair when I got home-I should have bought two. Next time....
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| rue Cler |
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| Flower Shop |
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| The "Red Bakery" |
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Rue Cler looking towards
avenue de la Motte-Picquet |
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| Leader Price |
The news stories on the flooding are graphic. You aren't kidding when you say it has rained and rained and rained. I hope it starts to dry out a bit. I'm glad you got to see The Greatest Showman. Did I tell you about Marianne's friend?https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900007822/discover-utahs-loren-allred-the-voice-behind-the-hit-song-never-enough-from-the-greatest-showman-soundtrack.html
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