Still Walking

Diane and I headed out early today to do Frommer’s Walk #7.  It was  a tour of the Bastille area, so started not too far from our apartment.  We walked there and back. 

This may be the last of our Frommer's walks as we only have a couple of days left.  It's not an obsession or anything to get them all done, but it has been a fun kooky goal to do as many as we can.  In total, we've done 18 of the 24.

The Bastille area was a surprise to me with lots of interesting restaurants, dance halls and shops.  It’s a surprise just because it is not on the usual tourist path. 

Diane noted along the way that she wished we had done the walk before our friends arrived here because we encountered Ballanjo, which is a big dance hall and the gang (except me) wanted to go dancing.  Likewise, we visited Barrio Latino which is an amazing 4 storey restaurant which was converted from an old furniture show room.  It would have been great fun to go as a big group (me too).  Oh well. 

We also walked along the canal which runs up to Bastille Square and also saw the paving stones which outline the location of the Bastille.  The Bastille was a fortress converted to a prison and became the very symbol of oppression during the French Revolution.  It was disassembled stone-by-stone during the Revolution.

There is a restaurant chain called “Hippopotamus” whose name intrigues me.  One of the biggest is on the Bastille Square.  I have always envisioned it as a sort of a French TGIFriday’s, but we were in the mood for something different so went there for lunch.  Not bad.  I had a burger; Diane had some foofie goat cheese on toast thingie.

This afternoon we both went for walks; Diane along Rue de Rivoli, me toward Place Vendome.  Diane says her walk was great.  Mine was good too: saw lots of very fancy stuff.  I walked the length of Rue Saint Honoré before coming home.

For dinner, Diane ran out to buy a carton of asparagus soup and a baguette.  We also had a half bottle of Rosé  wine.  This evening, we're just kinda sitting around.