We must have walked 10 miles today, and most of it was in the 5th Arrondisement. We went to Luxembourg Gardens, the Pantheon, and the loveliest church dedicated to St. Genevieve, patroness of Paris. It is said that she gave her life to God at the age of 7 and because of her faith and dedication to prayer, the Huns turned away from Paris in AD 451 and attacked another place instead. As part of her vow of poverty, Genevieve only ate twice a week, which seems impossible in this gastronomic paradise.
We also went to a Muslim mosque and had plans to go to a tea room nearby. But it was packed, so we headed back to St. Germain. On the way to Larry's apartment, we stopped at La Rhumerie, which serves scrumptious rum drinks. I had a daiquiri, which is not like any American daiquiri. It was lemon juice, rum and sugar. Divine.
This morning I shopped for hours at Le Bon Marche, a department store in St. Germain. Endless displays of shoes, purses and scarves. I could hardly get enough of the place. Nearby was La Grande Epicurie, which is like Whole Foods, only on steroids.
We had a rain shower tonight and it remains cool enough to wear a jacket.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Food and shopping
Larry took off today and we went on an adventure. We went by the World Bank building and he showed me his office, his projects and the garden he has designed. Quite spectacular. Then we went to Musee’ Marmatton and saw wonderful paintings by Monet. The museum is in a lovely old townhouse in the 16th Arrondisement near the World Bank.
Lunch was at a bistro near the museum. I had a green salad with salmon, tomato, avocado, corn and a light, lemony dressing. Then café au lait.
Then it was on to Pinacotheque Museum, where we saw an exhibit by Edvard Munch, of “The Scream” fame. Before he got to the jolting “Scream” phase of his career, he was an impressionist painter of calm scenes and sedate people. “The Scream” is not in Paris, but in a museum in Oslo. But we saw several drawings and paintings that were reminiscent of the famous piece.
We topped off the day at Printemps and Gallerie Lafayette, two department stores with seemingly endless offerings of shoes, purses and perfumes. I succumbed to a purchase or two, but my bank account is still intact.
Last night, we went to La Boussole bistro, a Moroccan restaurant in St. Germain, where I had a meal I will long remember. Tender escargots, pasta with tomatoes, shrimp and spices, and rice pudding flavored with pistachio and chocolate. Bon appetit!
Lunch was at a bistro near the museum. I had a green salad with salmon, tomato, avocado, corn and a light, lemony dressing. Then café au lait.
Then it was on to Pinacotheque Museum, where we saw an exhibit by Edvard Munch, of “The Scream” fame. Before he got to the jolting “Scream” phase of his career, he was an impressionist painter of calm scenes and sedate people. “The Scream” is not in Paris, but in a museum in Oslo. But we saw several drawings and paintings that were reminiscent of the famous piece.
We topped off the day at Printemps and Gallerie Lafayette, two department stores with seemingly endless offerings of shoes, purses and perfumes. I succumbed to a purchase or two, but my bank account is still intact.
Last night, we went to La Boussole bistro, a Moroccan restaurant in St. Germain, where I had a meal I will long remember. Tender escargots, pasta with tomatoes, shrimp and spices, and rice pudding flavored with pistachio and chocolate. Bon appetit!
Art Museums Galore
Discovered several new art museums in Paris, all of which are treasures. First is L’Orangerie, a perfectly wonderful art museum, where I discovered some new artists that I like – Utrillo and Derain. My favorite painting was by Rousseau, whose art is very strange but I like it for some reason. People and objects are out of perspective, the subject matter is odd, but it’s still very compelling. L’Orangerie is a beautiful space perfect for displaying art. Very quiet. Not overrun with school children like le Louvre.
Monet’s water lilies are there in two oblong rooms – the paintings molded to fit the curved walls. Quite a spectacle. But I must say I liked the other art there better.
It has been very cold in Paris. Yesterday, the winds felt like they were 30 degrees. I was quite chilled when I got back to 8 Rue de Varenne, where I'm staying.
Larry is the consummate host. Last night, he baked cod in olive oil, white wine and rosemary with fresh tomatoes and onions. It was unbelievably delicious. He served pasta and then for dessert, a molten chocolate cake with ice cream. It was too good for words. Chez Larry is definitely the best place to eat in Paris.
The other night, we ate at La Petite Chaise, which claims to be the oldest restaurant in Paris. It is just around the corner from Larry's apartment. There were lots of Americans there, and it felt like a typical French restaurant. I had French onion soup that was superb, sea bass, which was delectably crisp, and it was served with green beans, little onions and carrots and herbs. A fine meal.
Paris is incredibly, incredibly beautiful. La Place de la Concorde remains the most spectacular spot on earth. The view down the Champs de l’Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe, the Tuileries Gardens, the National Assembly, the Seine. It’s all too exhilarating for words.
Monet’s water lilies are there in two oblong rooms – the paintings molded to fit the curved walls. Quite a spectacle. But I must say I liked the other art there better.
It has been very cold in Paris. Yesterday, the winds felt like they were 30 degrees. I was quite chilled when I got back to 8 Rue de Varenne, where I'm staying.
Larry is the consummate host. Last night, he baked cod in olive oil, white wine and rosemary with fresh tomatoes and onions. It was unbelievably delicious. He served pasta and then for dessert, a molten chocolate cake with ice cream. It was too good for words. Chez Larry is definitely the best place to eat in Paris.
The other night, we ate at La Petite Chaise, which claims to be the oldest restaurant in Paris. It is just around the corner from Larry's apartment. There were lots of Americans there, and it felt like a typical French restaurant. I had French onion soup that was superb, sea bass, which was delectably crisp, and it was served with green beans, little onions and carrots and herbs. A fine meal.
Paris is incredibly, incredibly beautiful. La Place de la Concorde remains the most spectacular spot on earth. The view down the Champs de l’Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe, the Tuileries Gardens, the National Assembly, the Seine. It’s all too exhilarating for words.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Le Louvre
The Louvre was overrun with school children today, but I still managed to take in a fantastic general tour of this enormous art museum. Saw the sculptures Winged Victory and Venus de Milo and the paintings Liberty and the Mona Lisa. The tour guide was excellent and I learned a lot about art -- one of my favorite things to do. The tour also took us to the original medieval fortress upon which Le Louvre was eventually built. We walked through what once was a moat surrounding the fortress.
It is very cold in Paris today. I'm guessing in the 40s and it's misty and windy. I was going to walk along the Seine but it was too blustery.
My friend Larry is quite the host. Last night he fixed Confit de Canard, a perfectly delicious duck dish, with pan roasted potatoes, hericots verts wrapped in bacon, and for dessert -- a square of soft chocolate swimming in a sweet cream sauce. Larry said I could lick the plate, but I resisted. Just scraped it clean with a spoon. Yum.
It is very cold in Paris today. I'm guessing in the 40s and it's misty and windy. I was going to walk along the Seine but it was too blustery.
My friend Larry is quite the host. Last night he fixed Confit de Canard, a perfectly delicious duck dish, with pan roasted potatoes, hericots verts wrapped in bacon, and for dessert -- a square of soft chocolate swimming in a sweet cream sauce. Larry said I could lick the plate, but I resisted. Just scraped it clean with a spoon. Yum.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
View of the Eiffel
As I suspected, my friend Larry has a very tacky apartment in Paris. It only has a view of the Eiffel Tower, a balcony with flower boxes, a huge bathroom and fully equipped kitchen. I'm suffering.
As I also suspected, Larry (AKA Marathon Man) led me on at least a five-mile walk today. It rained much of that time, but he provided umbrellas. We walked to the Marais, the Latin Quarter and Place de Vosges, which is a lovely large courtyard off the beaten tourist path. We had the most delicious fish lunch there and then trekked over to Notre Dame.
Almost everything is closed here this weekend because of May Day, which is a national labor holiday. Paris is amazingly empty and quiet.
I got here five hours late yesterday. We sat on the tarmac in Chicago for two hours while maintenance worked on what was described as "an item" on the aircraft. Then, maintenance discovered another "item" and the plane was taken out of service. We de-planed and waited for another aircraft, which materialized about an hour later. Thunderstorms delayed our departure for another two hours. We didn't take off for Paris until 10:45 p.m. Friday. Poor Larry had to come to the airport twice yesterday. The positive side of this story is that I was able to sleep for several hours on the plane and I didn't have the usual jet lag.
More later...
As I also suspected, Larry (AKA Marathon Man) led me on at least a five-mile walk today. It rained much of that time, but he provided umbrellas. We walked to the Marais, the Latin Quarter and Place de Vosges, which is a lovely large courtyard off the beaten tourist path. We had the most delicious fish lunch there and then trekked over to Notre Dame.
Almost everything is closed here this weekend because of May Day, which is a national labor holiday. Paris is amazingly empty and quiet.
I got here five hours late yesterday. We sat on the tarmac in Chicago for two hours while maintenance worked on what was described as "an item" on the aircraft. Then, maintenance discovered another "item" and the plane was taken out of service. We de-planed and waited for another aircraft, which materialized about an hour later. Thunderstorms delayed our departure for another two hours. We didn't take off for Paris until 10:45 p.m. Friday. Poor Larry had to come to the airport twice yesterday. The positive side of this story is that I was able to sleep for several hours on the plane and I didn't have the usual jet lag.
More later...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
