Tuesday, September 15th

Last night after leaving the hospital Afran, Philippe and I drove to a cafe near the Seine, "Le Petit Bofinger". (Afram is shown standing by the entrance). After looking at the menu I was grateful to have them order for me - the detailed descriptions contained words that were mostly unfamiliar to me. We ordered two three course dinners and one additional entree - then we shared salads and desserts. We enjoyed a delicious Bordeaux and meal and it was nice to relax and enjoy the evening after an extremely tiring day.

Today we spent the day at the hospital, meeting with the Chief of Staff and several others. So far, all the physicians that we have met in this part of the hospital are women. Most appear to be in their 30s and they all have supervisory positions. Iraj and his family are friends with many Paris physicians so, in addition to his assigned doctors, he has been visited by those that are friends. We all feel that he is receiving superior care in Paris.

There were no tests scheduled today so we're hoping they will be completed tomorrow. Otherwise, the hospital stay may be longer than we hoped.

Sal Petriere is the largest hospital in Europe and it is known as being the best. When we were in the emergency room we were given a map of the buildings. I didn't count them but there has to be at least 50 or more. I'm told there are 25,000 employees in the complex so it's like visiting a small city.

Roger had an excellent night of sleep and he no longer has an IV so he's free to use the bathroom for a shower but otherwise, he's still kept to his bed. He's definitely doing better and we've provided him with snacks, a DVD player with English movies, bottled water and juices and an English language newspaper so he's making the best of a difficult situation. We're very hopeful that the worst is over.....................

What a Difference a Day Makes- - - - - - - - - -

There's a song that starts with:
"What a difference a day makes - twenty four little hours.........................."

Our's changed Sunday night when we rushed Iraj to the emergency room of a Paris hospital. We stayed with him until 2 a.m. until a doctor finally treated him (after a four hour wait). They took a brain scan and decided to keep him overnight until more tests could be conducted.

Today he was moved from the emergency area to a private hospital bed and this evening about 6 p.m. he received an extensive examination when it was determined that he had experienced a stroke on his left side.

Tomorrow he will be examined by several specialists to confirm the diagnosis and then the doctors will determine ongoing treatment. We expect him to be in the hospital for several more days. Then he must rest and relax with the hopes that we can still return home on September 30th. If not, we'll have to extend our trip until it's safe for him to travel.

A Saturday Night Paris Party

The Parisians really know how to party. Food, singing, dancing, drinks and lots of interesting conversation.

Everyone apologized about their poor English but we were able to communicate very well.

We didn't fall into bed until 2 p.m. but we slept until 11 a.m. this morning so we're caught up on our sleep and ready for a relaxing Sunday afternoon.

The bottom photo is of Roger and his sister, Afran and Afran's husband, Philippe/

Galeries Lafayette - Downtown PARIS

It was such a lovely day so we decided to test our skills, once again, on the Metro. Afran and Philippe live on Rue Louis Blanc and the Metro station is on the same street about 6 blocks from their apartment. Our destination was one of the world's largest and most elegant shopping centers, GALERIA LAFAYETTE. The building is breathtaking and the merchandise is elegantly displayed with every major designer being represented. The cosmetic department takes up almost the entire ground floor. There are eight floors of shops and the building covers one full block (and it's a long block). The majority of the clothing is made with natural fibers so it seemed that everything I touched was silk or wool.

The domed ceiling is set with leaded stained glass and when we got to the 7th floor we had a view of it from the outside so apparently the dome is set inside the frame of the 7th floor and not on the roof.

Weekend in Paris

We're staying closer to the apartment this weekend so we are going to take another walk through the neighborhood this afternoon. Tonight Roger's sister is having a party in his honor and tomorrow we're driving into the country to visit a friend, Lili, at her estate. We'll be her house guest Sunday night and we'll return to Paris Monday night. The weather continues to be lovely so the windows are wide open and we're enjoying the sunshine and gentle breeze.

Other Stuff From PARIS

Today is the first day that I have been able to connect to the Internet so this evening I'm trying to catch up on the past week's events.

I'll take a moment to tell you about the traffic in downtown Paris. I thought that Buenos Aires was crazy bt the Parisians have them beat when it comes to "bumper car" driving techniques. Three lanes can become five in a moment with horns honking and screeching tires. What's important, though, is that there have been no crashes - just a lot of close calls.

Tonight Afran and Phillipe had a small party with appetizers, drinks and dinner so it was fun meeting their friends. We've had interesting conversations because the guests spoke a variety of languages; French, Persian, German and English.

St. Pierre de Montmartre

This afternoon we went to St. Pierre de Montmartre, a cathedral built in the 12th Century. We took a funiculair up the hill instead of walking up the steep incline. The church is huge and beautiful and we marveled that this magnificent building was built in the 1100s.

After visiting the cathedral we continued walking up a cobblestone street where we found a number of cafes and shops with at least 50 artists who displayed paintings and drawings. Many of them are portrait artists so we watched as many people were posing for theirs. Everyone that we saw was beautiful and life-like.

As we waked back to the car we passed through an area hat specializes in selling fabrics from all over Europe and Asia.