This morning we explored a small “bio” bakery just down the street from the hotel, and enjoyed a very good croissant and coffee. Hotel breakfasts can be convenient, but when you are in a neighborhood with many excellent bakeries, why bother?

After breakfast, we took a bus to Bénédicte’s apartment, and from there walked to a very small, organic farmer’s market close to her apartment. It is in an enclosed park, and there were many families relaxing and having a picnic with food from one of the vendors. We had a simple lunch of felafel sandwiches made by a Palestinian woman who has a stand at the market.

After lunch, we took a bus to the Fondation Bemberg, which has some art in its permanent collection that Bénédicte wanted to show us. What we didn’t take into account was that this weekend was part of les Jours de Patrimoine, and it was free entry to this beautiful old mansion. There were about 100 people in line to get in.

We decided instead to spend a couple of hours in the Jardin des Plantes, a huge park filled with families enjoying the fine weather. We worked our way to our bus stop, just as the bus was pulling up; we didn’t have time for a proper good-bye with our friend.

We went back to the hotel and rested before meeting our guide, Véronique, in the lobby of the hotel. The three of us, plus one other couple on the tour, went to dinner at a nearby bistro. That’s the end of our leisure time; we’ll be on a schedule for the next week.