For all the nice hot days we had when we arrived, we’ve been paying dearly with the last 2 weeks of rain.

I’ve started to get a little routine up and running. It hasn’t been tweaked yet, I haven’t sat down and thought it through yet, seen if changes are necessary, additions required, deletions enforced. But it’s starting to take form as a routine.

I know where to purchase my tapenades & olives for the ‘aperitif’. I have selected my florist, for better or worse. He puts flowers aside that he thinks I will like Friday afternoon, but hell cometh if I decide to buy any anywhere else, I have to do a wide arc around our street to avoid him seeing me. It fills me with guilt and I feel like I’m sneaking home, after a couple of weeks of cherry picking, I’ve decided it’s best to stick with him. He’s my regular florist. (except this week and next, ’cause he’s on vacation!) I have a favorite boulanger for bread, another for croissants, and still another for pastries, although for pastries I have to admit I’m not that fussy – any of the 5 or 6 boulangeries can tempt me in depending on their window displays and the length of the queue outside. My seafood is covered locally, but for really special treats I make the journey into Lafayette Gourmet where the seafood counter is out of this world. Coffee is set. Cafe creme at one place, espresso another. If I want an orange juice with that, there is a choice between 2 cafes who squeeze their own. Carafes of rose in the afternoon are determined by the level of the sun, or the amount of rain and the number of the people on the street available for people watching. The only thing I haven’t been working on is a butcher, but since the rain has set in, and the temperature had dropped rather dramatically that will soon become my top priority. I’ll keep you informed.

Julie & Lorna arrive tomorrow morning. I expect the same routine of restaurants will kick off with brunch on Montorgueil around 10am. I’m looking forward to it.

Have a good weekend.