Larry likes to make lots of little word plays and jokes for places and names – the title of this post is his latest. As we approached our place at the end of a long day he said “Well, it’s good to be Rue du Bac home.” Our apartment is on the Rue du Bac, in the 7th Arrondissement, on the Left Bank. I couldn’t have asked for a better location. We are no more than 15 minutes’ walk from the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Orsay, and Notre Dame. We are less than two blocks down the street from the most famous gourmet grocery store in Paris, La Grande Epicerie de Paris. Those of you who know me well know that I have what borders on a fetish for gourmet markets. I could spend hours perusing all of the gorgeous produce, meats, fish and exotic ingredients in each aisle.

The apartment is pretty much as I expected based on the pictures and floorplan we received from the owners. It’s a decent sized one bedroom + office, with a tiny little Parisian kitchen and a balcony that looks over to the Invalides and Le Tour Eiffel. The view is really great. We’re on the 6th floor, and our view is unobstructed to the West. We were both thrilled as soon as we got up here and opened the blinds.

We spent the first afternoon unpacking and settling in, then went out for one of my favorite meals in France, an omelette. Eggs are just better here – whether in quiche, an omelette, or on top of a croque madame. Probably because everything is made with a gallon of cream and/or butter. My cholesterol levels may need some emergency intervention when we go back to the States. We walked around the entire large block around our apartment on the way back to get a feel for the neighborhood, and found a Tabac and a convenience store where we severely overpaid for some Coke Zero. I think we’re going to have to cut back on our habit if we’re going to live economically over here.

The next day we got lost in the Grande Epicerie (at least for as long as Larry had the patience) and then went down the street to a regular grocery store to stock up on some regular items. Food is a lot more expensive in France. You’ve gotta love the T.V.A. (taxe sur la valeur ajoutee) or for those who know it by its English name, the VAT (value added tax). Invented by a Frenchman in 1954, it is a consumption tax that was originally directed at large business but really everyone pays the price (cap and trade, anyone?). VAT is currently 19.6% in France.

Our goal as it relates to grocery shopping is that we will never buy the same thing twice (except the basics like milk and bread), thus forcing us to try lots of new and different things. We also have a goal of buying two new types of cheeses each time we visit the market so we can spread out our cheese tastings among the more than 1,000 types of cheese currently being produced in France.

On Sunday we walked over to the Eiffel Tower. It was a beautiful sunny, cool afternoon and there were a lot of Parisians and tourists alike enjoying it.

On Monday we ventured over to the Louvre for our first of hopefully many visits while we are here. We spent about 2 1/2 hours covering the Denon wing, which included the Mona Lisa, Galerie de Michel-Ange (Michaelangelo), the Victoire de Samothrace and Cupid and Psyche, which is one of my personal favorites.

I love beautiful paintings but there’s something about the luminous, life-like, peaceful stillness of marble sculptures that entrances me. Standing near them feels like I’m standing next to a person who will spring into animation at any moment.

Rodin is one of my favorite sculptors – and lucky me – the Rodin museum is just down the road! We’ll definitely be spending some time there as well.

After we left the Louvre we wandered through the Tuileries, past the Place de la Concorde and down the Champs Elysees.

We finished the evening off by seeing Angels and Demons in a movie theater on the Champs-Elysees and eating omelettes – again. Larry spent quite a bit of time in the middle of the Champs Elysees trying to capture the perfect blend of moving traffic with the Arc de Triomphe at the center.

Tuesday we explored more of the left bank as we searched to do a little window shopping and ended up at the chapel of Saint Germain des Pres which is one of the oldest churches in Paris. The bell tower was built beginning in 990. The tomb of Rene Descartes (“I think, therefore I am”) is there, among others.

After the church we stopped to eat in one of the famous left bank brasseries, the Cafe de Flore. We had the BEST quiche Lorraine ever (more eggs!) while sitting in the sun terrace and watching passers-by. Larry spotted who he thinks was Faye Dunaway leaving the cafe surrounded by a handsome male companion and a personal assistant. Unfortunately I only saw the back of her head.

(All photos (c) Larry L. Hanson or Lisa Hanson, 2009)