Kings' weekend

13 April 2008- Just got the turkey roast in the oven. We have a lovely built in rotisserie so I love to cook ala Ronco, "SET IT AND FORGET IT." We got rained on coming home from the conclusion of our kingly weekend.
Yesterday we trekked out of Paris but still on the metro to Basilique St. Denis. It was the sight of the beheading of St. Denis. Rumor has it, he picked up his head and walked away. So they built a church. And in this church lie all the kings of France. I mean all the way back to Clovis in the 6th century. The most elaborate tomb was for Catherine de Medici and Charles II. Very cold in there. I mean 10 degrees colder inside than out. I guess that is what you get with these gothic stone structures. A good treasure for history and conspiracy buffs alike.
We did a pub tour with some fellow expats last night. The Frog and Princess provided our english dinner of mostly fish and chips. We tried another pub, Academie de la Biere. The funniest thing was our ankles got attacked by a Yorkie from the next table. It still strikes me as odd that dogs are everywhere. They also had a yellow lab waiting on the other side of the table. Too weird. Definitely going to return as it is very close to home and to try more of the extensive beer list. I stuck with the Weinstephane hefe. Tried and true since 1040. Amazing to think they have been brewing beer since that time.
Today Chad and I returned to Chateau Vincennes for the tour of the castle or donjon. It was self guided and very impressive. You get to walk up the stairwell in the tower and journey through the rooms including the King's bedroom, some prison cells, private chapel and the bell tower. Well worth the money and not crowded like the other tourist locations in the city. We had a quick little impromptu snack of baguette, sausage and Gruyere cheese. I have mentioned how good the cheese is here. So good. I am so going to miss the cru lait varieties. Pasteurization be damned. Give me the raw milk!
We took a detour through Parc Bercy. It was crowded with families and many soccer matches. It is very sweet to see that families take the day to be together. Give it to the French, they definitely got this one right. We crossed back to the Rive Gauche via the Simone Beauvoir bridge. It is one of the prettiest bridges to span the Seine. A quick trip back on the metro to the rainy streets of our neighborhood. Hockey playoffs on NASN so it almost feels like home. Just cold and rainy.