Pictures from the Picasso Museum

Sausage and aligot

Veal piccata and aligot

Our Last Day

We took the Metro to Anvers and then walked to the Abesses Metro stop to meet our tour guide from Paris Walks for a tour of Montmartre.  Paris Walks is great because you don't need to sign up ahead of time -just meet your guide at the appointed spot, pay a minimal fee and off you go.  The guides are all professional, speak English well and really know their area.  Our tour was 2 hours long and there were about 20 of us.  We saw all the interesting spots in Montmartre - the only remaining windmill, the apartments where many famous artists lived, including Salvador Dali, Au Lapin Agile, a famous nightclub, the last vinyard in Paris and ended at Sacre Cour, a Romano-Byzantine church started in 1870. Throughout the tour we had alternating rain and sun, which made it difficult for our guide but didn't detract from the tour. We then went into Sacre Cour, which is unusual and beautiful.  The view from the hill upon which it sits is spectacular.  We walked around the corner and went to St Pierre de Montmartre, which was originally a Benedictine Abbey and is one of the oldest churches in Paris, founded in 1133.  A stray bomb during WWII destroyed the stained glass windows and they were replaced by Gothic style stained glass.  We stopped at a bistrot, St Jean, for lunch and  had  Croque St Jean (tomato, cheese and ham) and beer.  We walked around for a while, bought candy in a beautiful chocolate shop, got the Metro back to Bastille and picked up some macarons to bring home at Lenotre. We finished our packing, called to confirm our pick-up by the limo service and then went out to Au Bouquet St Paul for a light dinner.  We shared a salad and baked camembert with honey and we both had Onion soup and Berthillon ice cream for dessert.  I had caramel and pear and Leas had caramel and raspberry.  Back to the apartment and to bed, sad that this wonderful adventure has come to an end, but so glad we were lucky enough to experience it together.

Great metro sign

Artist apartments

Statue on Sacre Cour

Sacre Cour

Croque St Jean

View from Sacre Cour

Debunking the Myths

Numerous times during our three weeks we were taken by the myths about the French that are either no longer true or maybe never were.  A few that were most noticeable:
The French don't eat on the street, but only sitting in restaurants or at home.  Daily we saw lots and lots of French people walking and eating all manner of food from ham sandwiches and crepes to cakes and pasteries.

No one but tourists wear tennis shoes in Paris - so not true.  Tennis shoes are seen on everyone's feet and are in all the store windows.  They have some of the most novel and colorful tennis shoes I've ever seen, many that match the outfits they're shown with.

Parisiens don't wear shorts.  Although we were there during a chilly, rainy spell, we saw a fair number of locals wearing shorts.  Summer probably really brings them out.

The French don't really say Bon appetit.  They do!  At least half of the restaurants we ate  in said those very words when they served us.

You have to fight for a seat on the Metro and people don't give up their seat.  I will admit that during the busy hours, all Metro seats are taken and when one person gets up, another is almost immediately in their place.  However, I had a seat offered to me on many many occassions and by all ages.

Most French people smoke.  Although the number of people smoking is higher than in the US, there are a lot fewer smoking than previously.

The French rarely smile and think we smile way too much and for no reason.  It is true that the French don't walk around with a smile on their face but, usually when we smiled at one of them (even on the Metro) we got a smile in return.

TRUTHS

The French do talk to themselves - all the time and everywhere.

They always wear scarves.  Man and women both seem unable to go out the door without a scarf around their neck, but they always look good in them.

You still have to watch where you step as only a few of them pick up after their dogs.

Coming to the End

RestaurantDidn't have much planned for today as we've done almost everything on our list so we walked over to the Islands and then through the Latin Quarter and Saint Germaine - just strolling and wandering streets.  Rained on us a few times but we're getting pretty used to that.  Back to Ile Saint Louis and stopped at a small restaurant for lunch as we liked their menu on this cold, rainy and windy day.  Aux Anisetiers du Roy is a building that's 4 centuries old and quite small and quaint  I had cassoulet and Leas had beef Bourgounon.  Both were very good and mine was one of the best cassoulets I've ever had.  We continued to wander and ended up at Carette in Place des Vosges about 4:30 so I could have their hot chocolate; delicious and almost like drinking chocolate pudding.  Also had a crepe with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.  Then headed back home so we could get a head start on packing.

Restaurant

Cassoulet

Inside of the restaurant

L'Opera & shopping

Took the Metro to L'Opera Garnier, one of the most elegant buildings ever.  It was started in 1862 and completed in 1875.  The staircase and foyer are majestic and the ceilings and auditorium (5 tiered) are opulent.  The lake underneath was the inspiration for the Phantom of the Opera.  Then we went to Galleries Lafayette looking for the Epicierie, which has shops run by all the best chocolatiers and pastry chefs etc.  As the store is now in several buildings on all sides of the street, it took us a few tries to find the right one and then we went in the door for Japanese tourists.  They have an area with perfumes, cosmetics, liqour, handbags and other luxury items with all Japanese speaking sales associates and the tour busses lined up outside.  We got through the crown of thousands and had to stop at the coffee bar for a little refreshment before shopping.  We both bought some chocolate and Bordier butter (which is supposed to be the best you can buy and is only sold here and one other spot).  We left there and walked over to La Madeleine, a church dedicated to Mary Magdalene, started in 1764 and consecrated in1845.  It is very lavish inside and an imposing building on the outside.  The square, Place de la Madeleine has lots of interesting food shops, including Fauchon (the millionaires supermarket).  As it was lunch time, we decided to try Cafe de la Paix, there since 1862 and also designed by Garnier.  It was quite elegant and, although on the expensive side, worth it for the experience.  I had oysters and Leas had a salmon club sandwich and fries.  Good food in a fun and elegant spot with great people watching. After lunch, we walked to Place de la Concord and caught the Metro home.  We stayed in the rest of the evening as we're both wearing down.  Fixed scrambled eggs with lardons for dinner.  Today was cold and windy, alternating with sun.  

Saturday, May 16

Today was a lazy slow morning, a sign that we're wearing down a bit and really did a lot yesterday.  When we finally got ourselves going, we walked to the Musee Cognacq-Jay, a small  museum of artwork bequeathed to the city by Ernest Cognacq who founded the Samaritaine department store.  It is housed in a townhouse built at the end of the 16th C and has been open since 1990.  Most of the art is 18th C and their are some beautiful porcelain pieces and sculptures.  The building and furniture are always interesting to see.  We then walked to the Musee de la Poupee, a small museum devoted to dolls and doll houses.  Very interesting and I, as a collector of paper dolls, bought some in the gift shop.  Right ouside the museum is the Jardin of Anne Frank so we went through it before moving on to a church which was closed.  Luckily we were able fo hit several shops on our list along the way and we headed to the next goal, the Tour de Jean Sans Peur, built in 1408 by the Duc de Bourgogne as an addition to his home for protection.  Then walked rue Montorgueil, another pedestrian shopping street.  Stopped for a pizza at Le Brelan, really delicious , and took  the Metro home from Chatelet.  Picked up some bread and wine before going backt to the apartment for the night.

Carousel at Sacre Cour

Anne Frank museumdolls

May 15

This  morning took the Metro to the Arenes de Lutece, the ruins of a Roman amphitheater which was used for burials in the 4th century. It had a seating capacity of 15,000 and was used for theatrical productions and gladiator fights in the late 2nd century.  Then went to the church of Saint Etienne du Mont (the steps from the movie Midnight in Paris), the Pantheon, where many of France's heroes are buried; Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Rousseau and Emile Zola among others.  Then went to the church of Saint Nicholas du Chardonet, which has beautiful crystal chandeliers. We stopped for a croissant and cafe creme and then took the Metro to the Musee D'Orsay, a railroad station turned into a museum which holds lots of impressionists paintings.  We walked from there over to the right bank (had a delicious crepe from a cart on the bridge) to go to the Orangerie, which holds two rooms of Monets' water lilies.  Then we walked through the Tuileries, sat by the pond and watched the ducks and then continued to the Place du Parvis in front of Notre Dame, where the Fete du Pain was being held.  The festival of bread is  a week long celebration of bakers and bread which is held every year in all the cities and towns of France.  A huge tent was set up in front of Notre Dame and filled with ovens, bakers racks and everything else needed by bakers.  As soon as we entered the tent, we were offered a fresh baked croissant, still warm and delicious.  We wandered around watching all the activity and then bought a baguette fresh out of the oven and walked over to visit the Memorial of the Martyrs of the Deportation, which is in memory of the 200,000 who were sent to Nazi concentration camps in WWII.  We crossed over to Ile St Louis and stopped for a kir and then visited the church Saint Louis en I'lle, begun in 1664 and consecrated in 1726.  Finally headed back home to rest until about 8:30 when we went out to dinner at Gaspard de la Nuit.  I had mussels and leeks and lamb with vegetables and Leas had the pepper steak.  Really good bottle of wine.  Back home and to bed.  Today was cold and windy and the city is getting more crowded.

Ascension Thursday

Started out at the Picasso Museum, which has been closed and only recently reopened.  Very interesting as I never realized that Picasso worked in so many different mediums.  I've not been a big fan but I did like several of his sculptures and the museum has been beautifully set up.  Most other museums are closed today due to the holiday so we didn't have a lot of choices.  Made a reservation for lunch at Ambassad d'Auvergne so we walked there.  Very cute restaurant with lots of dark wood.  We both had the green lentil and bacon salad which was delicious and I had the veal scallopine and aligot and Leas had the sausage and aligot.  Aligot is a type of mashed potato which is whipped with cheese until it drips in sheets from the whip.  It was good but I think I expected more as I could hardly taste the cheese and the consistency wasn't as smooth as I expected.  Leas had a delicious chocolate mousse for dessert while I had the pots de creme - three small bowls of pudding in the flavors of auvergne (verbena), orange flower water and Aveze.  Good but a little too perfumy for me.  Then we walked over to BHV , one of the department stores, on rue de Rivoli.  Bought a few things we were looking for and then hit some miscellaneous shops on our way home.  Picked up some ham and a baguette for dinner and eclairs for dessert.  Got caught and drenched in a downpour so we stopped in a doorway until it let up and then went to the nearest bistro for an Irish coffee.

Pictures from Giverny

Giverny

Today was forecast to be a nice sunny day so we decided it would be the best day to make the trip to Giverny, Monet's home.  I was there in the fall of 1998 and, although enjoyable, it didn't live up to my expectations.  I'm really looking forward to seeing the spring flowers as opposed to the fall flowers I saw back then.  We took the Metro to Gare St Lazare and then the train to Vernon where there were three busses waiting for us to take us the rest of the way.  It seems like everyone on the train was going where we were headed and the three busses barely held everyone - we had several people standing in the aisle and sitting on the steps.  After getting off the bus, we had a 10-15 minute walk and, by the time we arrived, there was a long line so we decided to getllunch first and then return to the house.  We went across the road to Nympheas and sat out in their garden/patio which was full of flowers and very pretty.  I had poached eggs and wild mushrooms in a wine sauce and Leas had quiche with ham (the ham being several huge slices along side the quiche).  After lunch, we walked back to Giverny and were amazed by the masses of flowers, especially the iris, lilac and wisteria.  Unfortunately, the peonies were not quite blooming and the tulips were almost done.  The lily pond was beautiful with the wisteria hanging off the trellises.  The tour of the house was much better than I remembered and you can now take pictures inside the house.  After touring, we walked around the town, visited some interesting shops and then caught the train back to Paris.  We went to dinner at Bonnes Soeurs where we both had risotto with gambas and red fruit crumble for dessert.  A really beautiful day in a beautiful place.

Just to let any of my readers know that I haven't deserted you but was so busy the last week in Paris that I had to make a choice between sleeping or blogging and sleep won out.  I returned home just in time for the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival, a four day event run by volunteers (one of whom is me) to raise money for the community, so I again had the choice to sleep or blog and sleep will always win. At one point I thought I made a bad decision to plan my trip at this time, but, in actuality, coming back into a really busy schedule didn't allow me to have any jet lag. Now that the Festival has ended, I promise to finish up the trip with the remaining days and lots of pictures.  Sorry about the delay but now I get to relive the trip by writing about it.

Best Meal

Tuesday, May 12.  We have a lunch reservation at L'Ami Jean so we planned our touring in that area and started with the Invalides which holds the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte.  Beautiful golden dome can be seen from many spots.  We then walked down rue Cler, a pedestrian shopping street. Along the way, we discovered the church of Saint Pierre du Gros Caillou, half of it was very old and the other half modern. Then we headed to the restaurant, which is very cute and small- only about 30 seats.  We had the tasting menu which consisted of six courses.  Started with a kir, of course.  First was a bouillon with crab, peas, scallions and tiny croutons that managed to stay crunchy.  Next was a seven hour beef with carrots and a cold sauce - it puts pot roast to shame with it's flavor and tenderness. Then veal with radish, mushroom and scallions and a broth that was onion soupish. The fifth course was mackerel with leeks that tha chef torched just before serving. The main course was duck breast with peas and scallions and the best whipped potatoes I've ever tasted.  They were so smooth and buttery it's hard to describe but I could eat them every day and be very, very happy.  Dessert was rice pudding and, again, it's almost indescribable because it was like no rice pudding I've ever had.  It was somewhat smooth without lots of grains of rice and was serves with salted caramel and a nougat that you could add yourself.  We also had a small creme caramel with passion fruit and chocolate, but the rice pudding was the star.  Coffee was served with chocolate coated almonds.  A heavenly lunch and definitely was of the best meals I've ever had in Paris, or any where else.  After lunch, we headed for the Rodin Museum, one of my favorites because it's mainly outdoors and has beautiful gardens. We next went to Bon Marche food store, which Leas described as a gourmet food store on steroids.  It's huge and has almost anything you could want.  Next door to Bon Marche is the Church of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal - it's small in relation to other churches but has a beautiful altar.  The church was full of people praying which was amazing because this was the biggest crowd we've seen anywhere so far.  We walked home and stopped on the way for bread and lemon tarts at Eric Kayser and caramels at Jacque Genin.  After our huge lunch, we decided to skip dinner and just have a lemon tart.

Canal Saint Martin

Took the Metro to a boulongerie, Pain et des Idees, which is recommended by everyone.  Got the chocolate and pistachio escargot and pain des amis, both of which were very, very good.  Walked around the area of the Canal and had a lunch of Japanese salads at Ooka- they were interesting and quite good, but not something I'd go out of my way to eat. Went to the Bassin de la Villette to get the boat for a 2 hour ride on the canal.  As the sun was out and it got fairly warm, the canal was lined with people eating lunch or just enjoying the weather.  We sat on the top deck of the boat to get the best views despite the sun.  The guide had lots of interesting information and was really delightful.  During the trip, you go through eight locks ( two sets of doubles) each lowering you  three meters as there is a twenty for meter difference from the start to the end. The boat is nice and has a bar with snacks and drinks so we shared an artisinal beer,Folie Douce, very cinammony.  The last eighteen minutes of the trip are underground and the temperature change was amazing.  The trip ends at the marina Port de l'Arsenal, which is at the Bastille and right around the corner from the apartment.  The marina is long and narrow and filled with houseboats three deep on either side.  One of the conditions of their rental is that they must leave for two weeks during the summer to allow room for visiting boats.  The waiting list requires a twenty year wait.  Stopped and had a kir at Le Grand Bleu Paris, an outdoor cafe overlooking the marina.  Home for a little while then to Au Pied du Fouet, a large brasserie around the corner, for dinner.  We both had duck confit and fries.  Good.  Fun day and really enjoyed the canal.

Observations:

On Saturday and Sunday there are lots of fathers out with their children, shopping, eating, in the parks or just walking.

Haven't figured out why Parisians are always rushing in the Metro. They act like they are going to miss the last train, which is pretty impossible as a train comes every 3 or 4 minutes.