Washington, DC, 2021

We spent our customary couple of weeks+ with daughter Rachel and her husband Will in DC, mostly recovering from five months of travel, seeing a few old friends, conducting some business, getting our steps on walks about town, and seeing just one cultural institution [next post]. Much time was spent, too, migrating everything to my new Pixel phone (the camera on the old one died), and even more time migrating our "old" website to the "new Site," as mandated by Google. It is in fact much improved and updated, and features a carousel of "ussies" I really enjoyed compiling. The site currently is at https://sites.google.com/site/theroadgoeseveron/.

First photo taken with my new Pixel

Walking around downtown,

always looking for interesting

old buildings

Not the old world, but there still are plenty of buildings of interest

Outside the New York Avenue Presbyterian
Church, hitching post reserved for President
Lincoln, back in the day

Excellent signage in the nation's capital

Thus

The church in question

I've always been more of a Grant than Lincoln fan

Among the longer food truck lines I've seen; on the Mall

Pretty much any any open space in DC is now a campground:
homeless people; I counted about forty tents on this site on New
Jersey Ave, NW; porta-potties provided

Only in America

Rachel and Will took the Sehestedts and Sherouses to a Georgian
restaurant, Supra; despite the lack of Southern fried chicken, grits,
and sweet tea, we had a great sampling of the cuisine, which 
reminded me a bit of Ottoman cooking...

Rows of pointy houses in Rachel's neighborhood

At an underpass on M street, NE; never mind the hanging sculpture;

the tank obstacle barriers are there to clear out the dozens of tenters

that have been living there for several years...

No camping zone

Interim Update #1,258

Very reluctantly, we left Paris on October 18th, vowing to return as soon as events transpire and permit. All our visits to Paris over the years have been wonderful, and this last was perhaps the best. We landed at Dulles at 3 in the afternoon and by 5 were at daughter Rachel's in Truxton Circle, near the NOMA area of DC. We'll be here until November 8th, then on to Knoxville and Vicki's sister's place there, and then on to our west coast base in Middle California, with daughter Rebecca and grand-daughter Penelope. We've been away more than four months and, despite weekly Zooms and such, are much looking forward to being reunited with our little family.

Paris Out-Takes, 2

Liquor store of my dreams...on closer inspection, turned out to
be a popular pizza parlor, the bottles filled with colored water

"Helluva party," episode 1,739; which reminds me to note the

unforgettable sound of a Paris dumpster's worth of bottles

cascading into the dump truck

There were perhaps a dozen or more Marks and Spencers in
Paris--very helpful for those accustomed to scones and clotted
cream for breakfast--but they are quickly disappearing now,
as Brexit proceeds and the British (re-) discover that they are truly
on an island, cut off from their only significant trading
partners

Do not stand under this tree (birds...dirty, disgusting, filthy,
lice-ridden birds)

Defaced ghost-sign on a building on Rue Montorgueil; France 
still dealing with its colonial past

Debris from a fire in one of the fashion/fabricants next door to
us; Parisian building features significant fire-breaks; thankfully

Fashion all around; Parisians by and large are
quite well-dressed, although the footwear most
commonly seen on younger women was of the
Doctor Marten's variety; same as in London

The great upholder of tradition, classicism, and dignity in French art

of the early 19th century was Ingres; what a surprise then to see this

little Ingres painting at the Petit Palais...Henry IV Playing with

His Children at the Moment the Spanish Ambassador Is Admitted,

1827

French public art is perhaps unconventional but 
always worth a look

In Paris, art pervades all aspects of life

Impressive pastry department in the local Monoprix (a common supermarket)

I have long resisted touring the Opera Garnier--

it is more significant in the city's history than in

music (IMHO)--but finally relented, only to find the

grand hall itself closed for rehearsals; maybe

next time...

Seven weeks in Paris, and, I am pleased to say,

we never once visited a McDo's

Despite there being some of architectural interest

Don't mess with the bus driver: a list of offenses
and fines

As we left Paris, Halloween merchandizing was already well 
underway...

Paris Out-Takes, 1

Paris is a city of 6-story apartment buildings, each apartment of
which, in many cases, has a little half-balcony: requiring half-umbrella
shades

And half-tables

In a kitchen shop: carrot sharpeners; seriously

Dining in Paris has gotten way more international these days; 
Asian fare is quite the rage, if the long weekend lines outside tiny
Japanese and Korean restaurants are any gauge; "French tacos"
is another matter...actually a chain...

Seriously; the idea of French tacos, with an Irish name, seems
to take the notion of fusion perhaps too far

Despite Disney, Ratatouille is no longer welcome in Paris

18th century aristo doggie bed in the Carnavalet

Ad board in the Metro...apparently for milk of magnesia...hmmm...

Sic transit, Gloria: the La France evening newspaper building, now
a Carrefours Express...

Dali would have been proud

Collection of water pitchers at the brasserie down the street; nowadays

you rarely have to ask for une carafe d'eau anymore

The Auberge Nicholas Flamel is in Paris' oldest
house, that of Nicholas Flamel, a late Medieval
figure whom 18th century writers have built a
legend of alchemy and immortality around...and
continued by Victor Hugo and J. K. Rowling, 
among others; there is not a grain of truth in
any of this, of course, but as they say, it's a good
story; we have eaten at the restaurant many times, 
with special friends and on special occasions;
we visited in 2021 but decided not to eat there:
no outside seating (Rue Montmorency is not
much more than an alley), inside very cozy,
and a menu that was quite limited and did not
appeal; maybe next time; anyhow, while we were
in Paris, an article appeared somewhere describing
strange carvings on the house; I suspect these have
always been there and don't express much more
than the usual Medieval piety; but it's a good story,
or was good for a story; anyhow, one column of
said carvings is above

At the Basilica Saint-Denis

Also at Saint-Denis: something new to us, a
stained glass window hinged to open for air
circulation

Still processing this one...

Near our apartment, a skateboard park created
out of a tiny triangular junction

Alas, we did not visit Euro Disney on this 
visit (no grand-daughter with us!), but did 
get to the store on the Champs-Elysees; the 
security guard was on me in a second for not
wearing a mask while groping Elsa and Anna

Still More Louvre Loonies

 But wait, there's more...

"Can't we just talk?"

Vicki examining a detail of David's Leonidas

One more reason not to go on cruises...

Nessie's last stand

Extreme sic transit gloria mundi (look it up)

Etruscan comfy chair (a throne)

French Luger

"Stop with the flashes already!"