Home again...Paris in our hearts

Time flies in Paris and then you're home again wondering what happened.

To continue...we enjoyed our anniversary champagne and then walked to a restaurant that had been recommended by the woman from whom we were renting the apartment. It was on a small street in the 9th, in a neighborhood with nothing else around (OK, there was a laundromat across the street). If you didn't know the address you'd walk right by--no sign. But inside was a cute French neighborhood bistro, and we were soon studying the interesting menu. The food was fabulous! Not just good French cooking, but creative and interesting dishes that were both delicious and beautiful. For an appetizer Tom and I each had the "Verrine de queues d'écrivisses, émulsion de pamplemousse, guacamole, et mozarella." It was beautiful--a glass filled with green guacamole, then a layer of white mozzarella, topped with crayfish and grapefruit emulsion--and very tasty.

For the main course Tom indulged his love of duck (this version served with shrimp), while I opted for "Rable de lapin farci aux saveurs du Périgord," or rabbit stuffed in the style/flavor of the Perigord region of France. Yum. Ann and Stephanie joined us for the celebration, and we were all glad for the walk home after a great meal.

Tuesday morning we ladies decided to meet our neighbors in the Montmartre Cemetery. It was a beautiful day, and we had a lovely stroll and saw the tombs of Francois Truffaut, Hector Berlioz, Adolphe Sax (inventor of the saxophone), Edgar Degas (the tomb says "Famille de Gas"), Louise Weber (the creator of the Cancan, AKA La Goulue, meaning the glutton, because she always finished the clients' champagne), and Najinksy, complete with cowboy boots.

After lunch we continued on our theme of dead people and went to the Basilica of Saint-Denis, in the town of the same name, just north of Paris (and easily reachable by metro). This is the burial place of most of the kings and queens of France and is quite amazing. We saw the very ornate tombs of Francois I and Claude de France, Henry II and Catherine de Medici, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and a number of other Louis, Charles, etc. The tomb of Clovis I, who was king of France from 481 to 511, was also there. Fascinating to see all this history in one place. The basilica itself was large and beautiful, with many fascinating gargoyles, and the nearby town square a delightful mix of ethnic groups and people.

That evening we went North African and had various kinds of couscous at Chez Bébert. There are three restaurants of the same name and ownership in Paris. Last time we enjoyed the one near Gare Montparnasse; this time we tried the one near Place de Clichy.

We've really been enjoying getting to know these new neighborhoods of Paris. In general they are much less touristy than other places we have stayed. The restaurants are in general quieter, and seem to attract a neighborhood crowd. Although we don't have the great variety and choice we had around St. Sulpice, there is an easiness about the life here, a slower pace perhaps (except for rush hour on the metro...). Although we're not far from Montmartre and Pigalle, we aren't really aware of them as we go about our days.

Wednesday...we become more aware of the short time we have left in Paris. In the morning I accompanied Stephanie and Sarah to the Marché St. Pierre, a huge fabric market at the foot of Montmartre. Floors and floors of fabrics of all types, and lots of sales people with their measuring tapes ready to cut your selection. For Stephanie it's as good as a museum; but not being in a mood for sewing myself, I soon took the funicular up Montmartre (my knees LOVE the funicular. For the price of a metro ticket--or in our case with a weekly Navigo pass it's "free" you can save yourself a whole lot of stairs!)

I went to the Montmartre Museum, which is in the oldest house in Montmartre. The house was once home to various artists, including Renoir and Utrillo. It's a small museum that gives a real appreciation of the history of Montmartre and the beginnings of its nightlife--the Moulin Rouge and the many other clubs and cabarets that flourished there. The original painting of the Lapin Agile (which is a painting of a rabbit jumping from a frying pan, by the artist André Gill. The "lapin à Gill" soon became the Lapin Agile) is there, as are several Toulouse-Lautrec paintings of the Moulin Rouge, Aristide Bruant, etc. Really fun to get a sense of the history. Did you know that Montmartre used to be a big gypsum quarry? The plaster was used in buildings and also in medicine--thus the term "plaster of Paris."

After that I met Ann for a guided tour of the Opéra Garnier, another of my favorite buildings. Last fall we were lucky enough to see the ballet Les Enfants de Paradis in this beautiful setting, and I wanted to know more about the building. The tour was great, with lots of interesting information about the history and the social scene--it was much more important to be seen at the opera than to actually see what was being performed, thus the high status boxes with lousy views of the stage, but great opportunities for everyone to see you! Charles Garnier, the architect, was chosen in an anonymous competition, and he had never built anything before! Apparently the judges thought from the style that they were voting for Violet le Duc, but were surprised to discover it was a 35 year old unknown. Lots of marble, gold, chandeliers, and detail throughout, and a magnificent central staircase (which is sometimes used as part of the production--there were jugglers and clowns and ladies there last fall when we came for Enfants). Another beautiful Paris building. I'm getting spoiled!

Dinner was at Aubergine, a lovely restaurant that had no aubergine (eggplant) on the menu, but lots of other very good food. We all had delicious dinners, but Stephanie wanted some frites (French fries), so she asked the waiter. His response, "C'est possible" gave us all a great laugh and has become an new to our vocabularies.

Still with me? Sorry this is so long, but I couldn't get around to writing in those last few busy days.

Thursday Stephanie and Sarah headed back to Bordeaux. Tom and I spent a quiet morning home writing and then walked to an outdoor cafe for lunch. I then decided to check out some of the covered passageways of Paris--shopping arcades built in the 1800s, narrow passages with glass roofs and an assortment of restaurants, shops, and galleries along the way. I only visited 3 but later learned from a book that Ann gave me that there are 17 still in existence in Paris, and another 20 or so that have been demolished. So I now have an agenda for our next visit, to check out the other 14!

For our final evening we decided to take in some Paris views. Tom, Ann, and I went to the Tour Montparnasse--the big ugly building that everyone hates, but which provides fabulous views and is much easier to access than the Eiffel Tower (we didn't wait at all). We got to the observation deck about 7 PM, when it was still light. It was somewhat cloudy and hazy, but still fabulous to see all of Paris laid out before us. Just before 8:00 the lights started coming on the Eiffel Tower, and we were treated to a beautiful sunset behind the Tower, that got more red and dramatic as it got darker. The lights gradually came on the other monuments--Arc de Triomphe, Invalides, Notre Dame, Louvre, Sacré Coeur--and then at 8:00 the sparkling lights started on the Eiffel Tower (they come on for about 5 minutes every hour). Magical! I love panoramic views of Paris, and this was spectacular. A great last evening.

But the evening wasn't over yet, as we headed over to our old neighborhood near St. Sulpice to find dinner. We were reminded what a lively restaurant scene this area is--the streets were packed, and there were so many restaurants to choose from. We decided on a small bistro called "Comme a Savonnieres." Savonnieres, I have just learned, is a town in the Loire Valley. These folks are obviously very attached to it, since they also have a road sign out front that indicates it's 258 kilometers to Savonnieres. Another great dinner--duck, veal, and game hen--topped off with profiteroles, those delicious little cream puffs filled with ice cream and covered with chocolate sauce. After all, it was our last night in Paris!

We needed a walk after that, so we strolled back toward the Seine, and then across to the Louvre. As we stood on the road that cuts through the Louvre waiting for the bus to take us home, we all had the same thought--this was a pretty amazing place to be waiting for a bus!

So home we went, to face the next day of packing up and leaving. The morning we left was absolutely gorgeous, not a cloud in the sky. There's never a good time to leave Paris, but it's particularly hard on a glorious day. So we will hope to find such a day when we return!