This sojourn I wanted us to do whatever came along on any particular day and that’s mostly what we’ve been doing, subject only to the exigencies of work. Some days it works, some days it doesn’t, some days it rains.

Although I wouldn’t particularly be heading there at night in the middle of winter when it’s dark, Chez Michel, 10 rue de Belzunce, in the sketchy 10th arr., a few minutes from Gare du Nord, is a place I’d go to anytime of day/evening. The bread (a loaf of which you can buy on your way out), the morels in wine sauce with a poached egg on top and the Paris Brest were worth the trek, let alone the rest of our lunch. A diverse and fun wine list from various the various regions. One thing we’ve noticed over these years is that even young wines taste better, fresher, more flavourful, without having been shipped across the Atlantic. This place was another treat in a city full of them, oddly enough just down the street from our friends’ Jackie and Paul’s place.

Later went for a long walk around the ‘hood; but really did little but a little work after lunch.