Saturday, July 8, 2023

DAY 36 – THE BEGINNING OF THE END

Time to leave Basel and bid Aufwiedersehen to Switzerland. Today marks the last leg of my trip – and I’m heading back to Paris for my last few days.

            After I check out of my hotel, I stroll through the neighborhood and lovely park that’s not far from my hotel. I could hear tennis being played nearby, and wandered over to find people playing on a clay tennis court – which I’ve never seen in the U.S. Nearby I found a stand selling pastries, so I grabbed some sort of deliious ham & cheese pastry, and sat and ate – and watched people stroll by.

            Eventually I meandered on, taking the long route toward the train station, and passed an inordinate number of hair salons – all open, but quite empty. There also seems to be an architect shop on almost every block too – with the fascinating 3-D miniatures of their projects displayed in the front window.

            Maybe I’m uninformed of current trends, but here I have seen modernized versions of old-style perambulators quite frequently – which add to the ambiance of these charming old neighborhoods. If the moms had been toting parasols, it would have been perfect.

            In due time I get to the Basel Train Station, which is huge (30+ tracks) and has a large numer of shops and eateries. I grab some Pelligrino for my 4-hour train ride, and stroll through shops until time to board my train.

            After a random unexplained delay, I arrive in Paris and get to my hotel – this time, right in the heart of Paris. It’s late, so I grab a Lebanese sandwich – and order Lebanese Cheesecake called Knefeh, which is nothing like cheesecake but is actually Cheese Cake. It’s more like a light cornbread with melted mozzarella – served warm so the cheese is still melty – then drizzled with a simple syrup. It was interesting and good – but you’ll never find this stuff at The Cheesecake Factory.

No comments:

Post a Comment