Sorry for the long gap in postings. We’ve been having such a good and busy time
that there hasn’t been time to stop and reflect.

I’ll try to catch up as briefly as possible. On the Saturday morning in Paris, we decided
to give Musée de
l'Orangerie a final try, and were rewarded for 13 years of patience. We were there at 9.30 and beat the crowds so
were able to spend quite a long time in the two water lily galleries. We worth the 13 wait and the images still
clear in the mind’s eye 4 day later and just hoping they last for some
years. We also saw the current
exhibition, although the crowds had now arrived and made it
difficult to longer in front of any one painting. It is as exhibit of a school that I hadn’t
ever realised existed; Italian Impressionists http://www.musee-orangerie.fr/homes/hom e_id25242_u1l2.htm

Wonderfully different.

We spent the afternoon in a residential district of Paris at
the main department store. It was the
last day of the summer “Sales”. Both the
streets and the store were packed and it was even too much for Ches, who gave
up after an hour.

It was interesting to compare the Metro on the branch or
cross city lines. On our previous trips
to Paris, the line running across the
city following the Seine has been much the same as all the other lines. Now, it has trains running every 3 minutes
and every station has a clear glass wall separating the platform from the
tracks with doors that slide open only when the train has stopped so you enter
through doors in the wall and doors in the train. The train itself is completely computerised
with no driver or other staff. It is
open from one end to the other so you can look down the train and see it
bending and rising and falling as it snakes through the tunnel. Ches in her inebriated state, after dinner on
Friday night, chose to stand on the rubber section joining one carriage with
the next and it was like a Luna Park ride.

The trains on the lines that cross from the Left Bank to
Right Bank, are still the old trains with mediocre air-conditioning, pretty
grubby and I guess being for the Parisians rather than tourists, not deemed to
need an upgrade any time soon.

We packed on Saturday night ready for an early departure for
our boat in Trier on Sunday.

By the way, if anyone wants to join me in a:Grand Marnier
Souffles with Crème Anglaise AdvertisingYield: Serves 8ingredients·
3/4 stick (6
tablespoons) unsalted butter plus additional for buttering ramekins·
1 cup sugar
plus additional for coating ramekins·
1/4 cup plus 2
tablespoons all-purpose flour·
1 cup whole
milk·
7 large egg
yolks·
1/4 teaspoon
vanilla·
1/8 teaspoon
orange oil*· 2 tablespoons
Grand Marnier· 8 large egg
whites
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Generously butter eight 1-cup (3 1/2 x 2-inch) ramekins and coat with sugar,
knocking out excess sugar.

In a 1 1/2-quart heavy
saucepan melt 3/4 stick butter over moderately low heat and whisk in flour.
Cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add milk and cook over moderate heat, whisking,
until mixture is very thick and pulls away from sides of pan. Transfer mixture
to a bowl and cool 5 minutes. In a large bowl whisk together yolks, vanilla,
oil, and a pinch salt, and whisk in milk mixture and Grand Marnier, whisking
until smooth.

In a large bowl with an
electric mixer beat whites until they hold soft peaks. Beat in 1 cup sugar, a
little at a time, and beat meringue until it just holds stiff peaks. Whisk
about one fourth meringue into yolk mixture to lighten and with a rubber
spatula fold in remaining meringue gently but thoroughly.

Spoon batter into ramekins,
filling them just to rim, and arrange ramekins at least 1 1/2 inches apart in a
large baking pan. Add enough hot water to pan to reach halfway up sides of
ramekins and bake soufflés in middle of oven 20 minutes, or until puffed and
tops are golden.Remove pan from oven and
transfer ramekins to dessert plates. With 2 forks pull open center of each
soufflé and pour some crème anglaise into opening. Serve soufflé immediately.