Well, here we are again in our favorite spot in the world. We arrived last Thursday evening, Sept 13 in the early evening. We had had a flight from Florence at 4 pm but it was canceled since the plane coming in from Paris had been diverted to Pisa due to bad weather somewhere. They wanted to bus us to Bologna for a 7:10 flight the next morning, but Janet balked and they miraculously found room for us on a flight at 7 pm from Florence.
We arrived in Paris about 9 pm. grabbed a cab, dropped Carl and Janet off at their hotel, and then we went on to our apartment a few blocks away. We told C and J that we might meet them at the Cafe Charlot, midway between the two places. They were hungry and went for a light snack at 11 pm. We were so tired we skipped the meal and went straight to bed after talking for a bit with Steve, our landlord. The apartment was little changed from last year and we settled in rather easily.
Janet and Carl had made up a plan of things that they wanted to see and do. We just wanted to rest up, so they did their thing during the days and we did ours, including laundry, shopping, and cafe sitting. Erwin had developed a bladder infection so we went to the American Hospital on Saturday where our diagnosis was confirmed by Dr. Shiggins, an Irishman, who was in the emergency area. He prescribed a drug and had us make an appoint with a urologist for the following Tuesday, today actually. We will see him at 5:20 pm.
We have gone to dinner each evening with C and J in some of our favorites in the neighborhood including Les Enfants Rouges, Chez Jenny, and Le Machon d'Henri. These are all places we had been to last year, and for many years before. Each one is distinctive for its decor and food. On several occasions, instead of having coffee in the restaurant, we went to a cafe. Here we are, Erwin took the picture, at a cafe on the Place de la Republique after dinner at Chez Jenny. We had been used to Italy and its cafe corretto and now in France it is not as popular.But we are sure to have decaf in the evening or else, no sleep.
This evening, after C and J finish frolicking through the two large department stores, we will have dinner for the last time together since they will be leaving tomorrow after three marvelous weeks of site seeing, camaraderie, and new (and a few old) restaurant experiences. Tonight, it will be Chez Omar, one of the best places in Paris for couscous. We all had the couscous, either lamb or vegetarian. It is so copious that we didn't order starters. We did have the little Algerian pastries and mint tea afterwards.
Enjoying the couscous. Notice the large tray of the couscous at the right
The lamb
The Algerian pastry tray
Eating the pastry and the glass of the mint tea
J and C caught their plane the next morning, Sept 19, and we started our new life all alone. But we will survive. Paris will see to that. We are looking forward to the visit to Paris of two of our good friends, Davida and Ed who will arrive next week. Davida is a former colleague and they now live in Northern California.
Until we have something more concrete to report, I thought I would show you some of the door knockers that we have seen thus far through out our trip. I have probably taken photos of over 100 different ones. Here are a few. mostly from Rome and Florence.
As you can see, they are all different, some similar and others not, some ornate and others very simple. Many have a lion motif. More to come later when there is a dull moment in our lives here.
Thursday, Sept 20
Today, we went off to one of our favorite places for a walk. It's the Jardin du Luxembourg. We have been there many times but we always go back, both for a spot of tea in the outdoor cafe and for people watching. For more complete info about the Jardin, click here. In addition to the flowers, statuary, pools, and trees, The French Senat has it's seat at the edge of the Jardin.
A map of the Jardin posted at one of the entrances
Reading in the sun
Flower display
Students having fun by making a stack of park chairs
A stuffed duck sits on the stack.
And finally on the very top chair. Notice this is not a reflection but one chair on the legs of another
The home of the French Senate, called the Senat
One of the wide alleyways in the Jardin lined with trees
A contrast of the old and the new. The Jardin and in the background the more modern skyscraper at the Montparnasse railway station
Thus endeth our visit.
Friday, Sept. 21
We have spent most of the week just walking around, seeing new things and visiting old haunts.
Saturday, Sept 22
To day we took a long walk in the Marais which is where we live. We passed by the lovely little park on the Rue du Parc Royal. It is on the rear side of the Carnavalet Museum, the museum of the city of Paris. Watch for our report of a revisit of the museum and its gardens. We had tea and a crepe in a small tea room called Page 45. Very nice place to stop and relax with a cup of tea.
In the evening we went to another of our favorite restaurants (we have a list) called Astier which was only about a twenty minute walk from the apartment. It is a typical French bistro not near any of the tourist spots. It has your traditional red-checkered table cloths, waiters in black aprons, and very good food. Read a review about it by clicking here. We each had the 35 euros fixed menu with 4-5 choices of entrees(Correct appellation of first course), plats (main courses), and desserts. Before the dessert there was also the cheese tray with a choice of over a dozen different cheeses, each one a delicious morsel. They left the tray on the table and you helped yourself to whatever you wanted. We had camembert with calvados, bleu d'Auvergne, cantal, goat cheese, and one other whose name I have forgotten. We plan on going back so I will get a picture of the tray next time. Although the menu price, about 55 dollars with a glass of wine, seems high, it really is excellent value. There certainly are others with a four course prix fix menu in Paris but I haven't found any yet, and certainly not with this quality.
The owner working behind the bar
The main dining area
A table for four in the main area
A baba au rhum for dessert. A typical French dessert where the baba is cut in half and then doused with rum, served with a pot of cream, seen in Alexandria's hand.
We had a great time at Astier, chatting with the waiters and having a marvelous meal. We were there for more than an hour and a half and enjoyed every minute of it. We recommend it highly.
Sunday, Sept. 23
Today we did our annual visit to one of the local brocantes. A brocante is a sort of flea market and antiques show combined frequently found on a wide boulevard. This one was the Brocante Beaumarchais. The boulevard Beaumarchais is a wide street that runs from the place de la Bastille halfway up to the place de la Republique. Today the sidewalks were lined with booths and tents with over 100 merchants selling everything from expensive antiques to junk. Books, furniture, postal cards, tools, kitchen implements, clothing, rugs, silverware, plates, statues, it was all there. We walked about halfway down, stopped for a coke, and then went the rest of the way. We saw lots of interesting things but probably the best was the following living room set. You might not tell from the photo but it is suitable for small children.
Here are several photos of the brocante.
Supper was at home so no new restaurant to tell you about until later.
Monday, Sept 24
Today, we went to the Madeleine church for a choral concert. The Chamber Choir of the Imperial College in London gave an a cappella concert that was very good. They sang a variety of shorter pieces including Britten, Vaughn Williams, Parry, Victoria, and Rachmaninoff. If you are interested in the choir, click here.
After the concert, we had a drink at a cafe opposite the Madeleine, returned to our neighborhood where we had dinner at Mme Shawn, a Thai restaurant near us.
Wednesday, Sept 26
You may have heard of the play "A View from the Bridge." Today we now have "A View from the Bus." We were on our way home on the bus, it was a rather long ride, and I decided to take what I thought were some interesting photos. We both thought that they were pretty interesting, several not having any meaning for us, but here we go.
Interesting name for a children's clothing shop
Door into a middle school. French school children are not much different from ours.
A poster on the side of a garbage truck. It tells us that a pizza costs 8.50 euros and if you throw the box on the street, it will cost you another 35 euros in fines for littering. It further tells us that Paris fines polluters, and that there is a garbage can every 100 meters in Paris
Man on a motorbike, waiting for a green light
The cupola of the department store Le Printemps in the bright sunlight
A good example (not many remain) of the original metro entrances
High class graffiti on a wall on our street near the apartment. Did you know the singular of graffiti is graffito?
Friday, Sept 28
Today, we went to several more of our favorite haunts. We first took the bus to visit St Sulpice on the left bank. We always stop there for a visit every time we are in Paris. This is the church referred to in the book and movie, The DaVinci code. There are many interesting chapels here. They have tried to restore some of them but in many the paintings are very dark and in need of a good cleaning. This is a long and expensive process.
Here is one that has been cleaned up in the St Jean-Bartiste de la Salle chapel
And here is one behind the rather modern sculpture that has not been cleaned up yet in the St Paul chapel
There used to be a disclaimer posted in the church denying any connection with the novel but it seems to have disappeared. We cannot say why.
Here are a few other shots of the interior of the church.
After leaving St Sulpice, we walk over to the famous cafe, Les Deux Magots. Alexandria says that they have the best hot chocolate in Paris, so this is what she has. I have a glass of white wine and we share a delicious caramel eclair. Then on to our favorite chocolate shop in Paris, Debauve et Gallais on the rue des Saints Peres. We get about 200 grams which we will make last for a week or so, eating just one each every day. Good chocolates in Paris are expensive. They can be $50 or so a pound.
Saturday, Sept 29
. We had decided to go over to the two islands in the Seine, ile St Louis and ile de la Cite.
On our way, we sat for a bit in the gardens of the Hotel de Sens. Like many such gardens they are beautiful in full bloom in all seasons.
One of our reasons for this visit was to savor the ice creams made by Berthillon, probably the most famous producer in Paris. When we got to the ile St. Louis, we were pleasantly surprised since on previous visits there had been lines waiting to go into the tea room. This time there was a line but only for the takeout section. We went right in to the tea room and were seated immediately. We each ordered a three scoop coupe. Alexandria had one each of blueberry, tiramisu, and pralines. I had peach, apricot, and cherry. all of the flavors had a very rich intensity. They are all made on the premises. Each one came also with a kind of cookie that the French call a tuille.
Berthillon shop
Line for takeout
Three scoop coupe
We walked down the main street of the ile St. Louis which is full of shops most appealing to the tourists that flock there. We crossed the bridge between the two islands and went over to Notre Dame but we did not go in since the lines were very long. We will go back some other day when the crowds are not so large.We did have a nice walk in the gardens behind the cathedral. Here are some photos of aspects that are not always pictured.
We went to the Palais de Justice where we caught the 96 bus back to our neighborhood. We ate in this evening. We had some of the pici that we had brought from Florence. If you haven't seen the blog on Italy, click here to read about pici.
Sunday, Sept 30
Today, we will go to walk around the Jewish quarter on and around the rue des Rosiers. Sorry, but today was a washout. We walked up to the blvd Beaumarchais to catch the bus and we found out that the buses going in the direction we wanted were delayed because of "perturbations" on the line. This means that something was interrupting the traffic, most likely a demonstration along a boulevard or on one of the important squares. At least three lines were disrupted so we sat in a cafe for an hour or so, people watched, and then strolled back home. We had dinner in a little cafe near us.
I would like to take a few minutes to make some observations about Parisians. In general, they are very nice and cordial, from our point of view. BUT, there are a few things that disturb us. First of all, being from New Jersey, we find that people in motor vehicles do not observe the marked crosswalks. This is especially true of those on bikes and motorbikes. You have the right to cross but few observe your rights. So beware. Another thing is the smokers. Not the smokers themselves but the way they get rid of their butts. So many people throw them away where ever they are and do not even take the trouble to put them out. We have even seen waiters in the cafe terraces empty ashtrays into the gutters. On the sidewalks there re many trees and around each tree is a two foot wide grating. These gratings are full of butts. Poor trees!
The other evening we were in a cafe that had all of the floor-to-ceiling windows open. As you may know, smoking is not allowed in eating establishments. There was a couple sitting at a table that was indoors but partially in the window area. Both were smoking, Enough of the smoke was coming into the indoor area to be annoying but they were oblivious, and so was the waiter. Just inconsiderate.
Here are a few more interesting photos that I hope please you.
One of our favorite spots in Paris ;-). The emergency room entrance at the Hotel Dieu hospital opposite Notre Dame. This is where the emergency EMT's took us two years ago when Alexandria fell and fractured her shoulder. Excellent treatment and absolutely no expense to us.
A
The clock on the tower of the Conciergerie was recently restored and since August has been able to be seen by people on the Ile de la Cite. The Conciergerie is a former palace of French kings before they moved to the Louvre in 1358 and also for many years was a prison. See more detailed info by clicking here.
A monument to those who gave their lives for their country. It is located in the courtyard of the town hall (la mairie) of the 3rd arrondissement which is where we are living. It is actually just across the street from the end of our street.
Guess what?
Monday, Oct 1
Today we had the great pleasure of having dinner with Ed and Davida. Both have been
friends for years and Davida was a former colleague in Millburn. She is as great a
francophile as I am, and she and Ed are in Paris for ten days to revisit old favorites and
see some new things.
We met at the place St. Sulpice and had a drink in a café and caught each other up on family
and friends. They had arrived in Paris the day before and had spent their first full day
just walking around near their hotel. We went over to the Mâchon d'Henri, yes the same
one I had reported upon before in this blog. It is one of our favorites and we have been
there enough times that the waiter greets us with a handshake which, in France, is an
indication that we are good customers. This is a very small place with just the one
waiter, one chef in the kitchen which is smaller than ours in Union, and one person who
does the entrées and the desserts. See the four of us in a photo taken by the waiter. Notice the size of the kitchen in the background of the photo.
We had a good meal with D and E enjoying a lovely salad and a roast chicken.
Alexandria had the salad with Roquefort cheese dressing and the herring. I had the
roasted red peppers and the lamb chops. D and E shared a chocolate mousse and we
shared the compote, which is really just stewed fruit. And a pot of red wine. We talked a
lot more during the meal and over coffee and tea. We spent, à la française, almost two
hours for dinner. We like this place because the food is not fancy but very good, and just
a bit over 50 dollars per couple.
We parted ways out on the street and returned to our separate abodes. We agreed to
meet at Chez Jenny on Thursday for dinner. Certainly we'll have more happenings to
talk about.
Wednesday, Oct 3
We started out this afternoon to walk down to the place des Vosges. It was a bit cloudy,
but by the time we were about 3/4 there, it started to rain. We ducked into a cafe, sat
under the awning on the sidewalk, and had our usual afternoon libation. We noticed
across the street a very small, but nice park called the square Leopold Achille. It had a
lot of places to sit and a small children's playground.
Paris has many such peaceful places including the one near our place. By the time it
had stopped raining, it was getting a bit late to go to the place des Vosges, so we too a
different route back, through the little park, and through some side streets. We passed
by a very elegant building, see photo below.
We also saw some new and different graffiti pictured below.
We also passed by a building that used to be a small hotel and a café, now run down.
Here we saw the epitome of graffiti.
That evening, we had dinner in a small place a few blocks away called la Fontaine
Gourmande. There were only about a dozen tables with room for maybe 30 people. We
had a very good meal. Seated across from us was a very quiet, well-behaved customer
who never said a word. We asked if we could take a picture, and here he is.
Thursday, Oct 4
Today we went for another walk in the "quartier" and had afternoon tea, again, at the
Terasse des Archives which we had enjoyed a few days ago. We then went to visit the
gardens of the Archives. We had often come here before. It is a very beautiful and
tranquil place. See photos.
The Archives building itself taken from the gardens
The gardens of the Archives
We sat for a bit, people watched and then took another route back to the apartment. We have just about exhausted the possibilities of routes back home. In the evening, we went again to Chez Jenny where were joined by Ed and Davida.
Ed's skewer was greatly presented.
We chatted quite a bit before ending the evening with two desserts, one Baba au Rhum and one chocolate and vanilla ice cream coupe.
This Baba is different from one a week or so ago but equally good, and equally doused with rum
Speaking of desserts, here a few otrhers that we have recently. The first is a chocolate moelleux, rich chocolate cake with a richer soft center of chocolate. The second is a griotte tart, griottes being a type of sour-like cherries.
We parted company after a wonderful evening and agreed to do lunch next Monday.
Friday, Oct. 5
Today we went off to the Centre Georges Pompidou, also known as the Centre
Beaubourg, not to see the art which is mostly modern, but to again people watch. Our
vantage point was a café that overlooks the front esplanade of the museum.
We sat on the the terrace of a café where hundreds of people stroll by each hour.
There are always entertainers here. Today, there was a clown entertaining mainly
children by tying balloons in funny shapes.
But we were more interested in the juggler who alternated amongst balls, flaming
batons, and regular batons. See him below.
You will be able to see him in video if my first attempt at the technology works. It seems to work on my PC but not on my iPad.
On the way back to the apartment, stopped for a light supper at the Moroccan food
stand in the Marché aux Enfants Rouges which is the local outdoor market just behind
our place. We each had couscous, Moroccan bread, and mint tea. A simple but good meal.
Back upstairs for an early night since we had to get up early the following day.
Sunday, Oct 7
Despite the fact that it was Sunday, and the fact that it is the first Sunday of the month when the museums are free, we went off to the Louvre museum for our first visit this year. We went specifically for the new exhibition of Islamic Art which had opened recently in a new section of the museum. There were lots of people there but the security line went quickly and in less than a quarter of an hour we were seeing a wonderful exhibit of thousands of artifacts from the Islamic world.
At the entrance there was a large map that showed the areas of the world exhibited there.
We spent over two hours there and really saw a portion of the displays. Here is a selection of a few that we especially liked.
A ceramic bowl, 10-12 centuries from Iran
Ceramic dagger handles
A front-opening cabinet of ivory and wood, 17th century
An elephant door knocker, copper, 17-18 century
Dish picturing the battle of the animals from Iran
Ceramic star tiles from Iran, 14-15 centuries
Oil lamps from Iran, 11-12 centuries
There are many more photos which will be posted later.
After the museum, we went to the Mariages Freres tea room in the arcade under the museum. We have been to their main store/tea room many times before on past visits. We had a light late lunch accompanied, of course, by their famous tea service.
They will serve you tea with hundreds to choose from. Here is the tea bar where all of the brews are concocted from the containers of the different teas. The "barrista" is an expert in getting teas ready for serving.
Monday, Oct 8
Today we had a long lunch at Astier (see Friday, Sept 21) with Ed and Davida. They are leaving for home (California) on Wednesday and this would be the last chance we would have to see them before departure. It was a rainy afternoon when we left the restaurant. We took the bus back to our place, and they took the metro back to their hotel. We stayed in the rest of the afternoon. We had a light supper before watching a DVD in the evening.
Tuesday, Oct 9
This afternoon, we spent several hours at the Pierre du Marais cafe around the corner from our place. We attended presentation about using your iPhone camera. The presenter was Michael Honegger, a photographer living in Paris. He showed us a lot of useful techniques and apps for the iPhone/iPad. The session was sponsored by Adrian Leeds, a property consultant in Paris, whom we met several years ago.
Early in the evening we went out to dinner in a small café located near la place des Vosges. called Café des Musées. We had read about it in several guides so we decided to try it. When we arrived about 7 pm, most of the tables were either occupied or reserved, this on a Tuesday evening. We did manage to get a table between the door and the bar and across from the small kitchen area. It was a table that most would not have cared for, but enjoyed it immensely because we could watch the barrista preparing drinks and coffee,, the chef at work in in his small kitchen, the rest of the small staff going about their business in a very professional way.
Typical service bar of a restaurant
The small kitchen of the Café des Musées with the chef at work. He is aided by one other person doing salads, French fries, etc. There is prep kitchen on the basement level where there are probably one or two others at work doing the prep work and washing dishes. We had a fine dinner including several of the specialties: mushrooms stuffed with snails and a roast loin of pork with roasted garlic and scalloped potatoes.
Thurs, Oct 11
Not much happening the past few days. Have been to some nice repeats on restaurants.Other than that, not much to report. So here are some unusual photos that I have taken recently.
More grafitti on a wall. Don't ask me what it all means.
A hair dressers with a name that is a play on words. Notice it sounds like scissors?
More wall grafitti
An unusual sculpture near the metro stop Arts et Metiers.
Friday, Oct 12
We have had several days of on and off showers with an occasional serious downpour. It has limited our travles and walks. However, today we went to the Ile St Louis and visited the Eglise S Louis en l'Ile. It is located on the one main street that runs the entire length of the island. It is only a few doors from the Berthillon ice cream shop and tea room. It is a smallish church but very well kept with a lot of beautiful art work and a lovely interior. See photos below.
View of the church from the rear
The high-vaulted ceiling
One of many stained glass windows
A close-up of one panel of a window
Another window
The organ
We continued on along the main street to the end of the island and crossed the bridge to the Ile de la Cite
Here is a view of the Paris Town Hall from the bridge.
Have to leave. More to come later today. If you are following, the next addition will be in the form of a new posting which means that it will appear from now on at the beginning of the blog and you will not have to scroll down to the end to see new additions.
