Birdwatching in the Bois de Bologne

Today we had lunch with Cecile and Gilles (who own our apartment) and their family and we had a lovely meal at their place. On the way to their house we passed by the street market on Boulevard Port-Royal and were amazed by one cheese stall in particular - there must have been over 100 different types of cheese. Luckily we had a small lesson on cheese at their house and maybe they will come shopping with us one day as we wouldn't really know where to begin. They also kindly invited us to their house in Normandy so we can see the Bayeux tapestry (a life-long dream of mine) and drink calvados in situ.

After lunch we had a big walk to the Rodin Museum in an effort to aid digestion! I like some of the sculptures but found the views of the dome of Les Invalides far more beguiling with its gilded shields, flags and other military symbols on the dome, glittering in the sun. I have decided I like architecture more than sculpture. As it was a nice day we walked across the spectacular Pont de Alexandre III which was built for the great exposition in 1900 - there is a great use of gilt in Paris it seems! Hugh was starting to complain about sore feet and this is the man who can birdwatch through swamps for hours on end, so we came home.

To keep him happy, on Sunday we went to the Bois de Bologne to see if we could see some nature. The park, although huge, was filled with an enormous number of joggers and every kind of dog breed known to man! Eventually we found some peace and quiet and some some nuthatches, tree-creepers and even long-tailed tits. Hugh was very pleased and almost smiled! We found a cafe and had some wine (very civilized) and the French version of fast food - a very delicious cheese tart in my case and a hot dog in a baguette for Hugh. It was fun sitting in the sun and people watching for a while. Hugh made us catch the metro home although I prefer the buses - probably because of a slight claustrophobia but also because Paris is so pretty, why would you want to go underground? But I had my reward for being a good wife as Hugh strangely agreed to go to the Opera if we could get tickets - so watch this space!