9th, 18th and 10th

This morning I caught a bus to the northern part of th 9th arrondissement and had my breakfast and coffee at another of the coffee shops listed as being good. I presume it was started by Australians because its name used to be Koala Bear - although not spelt that way. Now it is KB coffee shop

I walked up the hill ( I counted  165 steps)  to Sacre Coeur in the 18th arrondissement. Lots of domes, no information in English, only a few people, peaceful. Then I wandered round some Montmartre streets, but I was too early. People were only just starting to open up their shops and cafes. I gave up on that and walked east to yet another coffee shop ( I will go to one  in every arrondissement) . Another nice cup of coffee, except I spoke more French than the guy behind the counter. I'm sure he will learn faster than me.

I spent the next few hours zig-zagging my way down through the 10th arrondissement. Sometimes deliberately and sometimes not so. I stopped at a place on my list and sat down for lunch. The guy next to me heard me order and asked in (American) English where I was from. Turned out he was one of the owners. He asked why I was there, I said it was on my list, he asked who recommended it, so I got out my phone to look up the spreadsheet to tell him. He knew the author of the book that had recommended the place.  He had spent time in San Antonio , one of the places, courtesy of Wendy and her family's road trip, that I saw last October.

Then I continued the zig-zagging back here , via the Place de la Republic.

One of the things I enjoy about wandering is coming across things that make me smile. There was a typical park that I have seen many of - flower beds, some grass, a ping-pong table, some children's play equipment, seats . This time right in front of a church called Eglise Saint Bruno and with the lovely bare trees that are everywhere. Bruno sounds an unlikely name for a saint, but there was one. There was also the normal bar/cafe on one corner.