Pere Lachaise

We started off this morning by taking the Metro to chatelet and then walking across the river to tour the Conciergerie.  It was originally the site of the royal residence of Clovis, the first French king, in the 6th C and then, in the 14th C, it became the seat of Parliament.  During the Revolution it became a prison, Marie Antoinette was held here until her beheading, and it was listed as a historical monument in 1914.  In 2011, it was covered with scaffolding as they were cleaning the outside so it looks really nice now.  I last toured it in 1998 and it seems to have changed, There didn't seem to be as much to see, but my memory isn't always the best.  We went back across the river and had a cafe creme while waiting for the bus which would take us to meet Babeth (the relationship is way too difficult to explain here but she and her son visited the US many years ago and Leas met her at that time).  She had been made aware of our trip to Paris and insisted we come to lunch at her flat before our visit to Pere Lachaise.  I had never taken a bus in Paris before so we were both a little nervous about the experience but we needn't have been as it's as easy as the Metro (with no stairs to climb up or down).  Babeth was at the bus stop with a sign welcoming us and we walked about a block to her flat.  She served us a fish loaf and ratatouille with a nice Sauvignon Blanc and cheese cake for dessert.  It was all delicious and so nice of her to do for us.  We were joined by her friend Sylvaine for dessert and he became our cemetary tour guide.  He was fantastic as he's lived in the area all his life and has spent numerous hours in the cemetary learning where all the important graves are located.  We got a great history lesson during the tour as he was able to explain the importance of all the people whose graves he was taking us to.  He speaks very little English so Babeth was our translator.  We spent about three hours walking around and saw the tombstones of Heloise and Abelard, Balzac, Sarah Bernhardt, Edith Piaf, Chopin, Molier, Jim Morrison and Gertrude Stein among many others.  We also saw the memorials to the victims of the Nazi death camps, each camp has it's own memorial and they are very stark and graphic.  After saying goodbye to Babeth and Sylvaine, we boarded the bus back home to get ready for our dinner at Auberge Nicholas Flamel, one of my favorite restaurants located in the oldest house in Paris.  We got a taxi at the stand a block from us as we dressed up a little for this dinner.  We had the chef' 5 course tasting menu with wine and it was delicious, even though the chef, Alan Geaam, wasn't on site.  He's opened a new restaurant on the left bank behind Saint Sulpice church - have to get to that one next time.  Dinner started with an amuse bouche (make the mouth happy) of foie gras, chestnut soup with chantilly, a mousse of cheese and basil and a haddock and potato croquette.  Next course was foie gras, something jellied and crayfish with toast and a beet square served with a white early harvest from the base of the Pyranees that tasted like a riesling.  This was followed by smoked salmon, fresh cheese and a cold cream of pea soup with Saint-Bris, a white burgundy from Savignon.  The fish course was dorade (sea bream) with a chantilly of beet and yuzu on black rice  and a shizo leaf with a Bourges pinot noir.  The main course was veal with sweet potato mousse, asparagus, noodles, sauce and potatoe chips with A Chateau Ferran 2011 Bordeaux.  Dessert was chocolate souffle with hot caramel  and a chocolate cookie with black sesame ice cream.served with a sweet bordeaux.  A really delicious dinner in a charming setting with great service.

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