Encore Paris

While in Paris, we bought tickets for the Hop On, Hop Off tour bus.  The double-decker buses follow different routes around the city, coming every 10 minutes or so. On Friday, Liz and Boris went to visit some sights that Jim and I had already seen, so we split up. Around lunch time we hopped on the bus and Jim pointed to the left and said, "Look at that!" I didn't see anything particularly interesting, then noticed that Liz and Boris were sitting a few rows in front of us!

 They didn't notice us until we got off the bus and waved at them.

Jim and I went to find some geocaches in Paris. This was our first stop, and according to all the photos on the log, this was the common stance to take when being photographed in front of this statue ;-)

Elaine had told us about a multi-cache (one where you visit several spots) on the Ile de la Cite. It seemed close by so we walked over. We had fun figuring out all the clues, but it was even more fun hunting through the log book to find Elaine's entry!

When Elaine was in Paris, one of the quilt stores that is well known was closed for holidays. She made me promise to go check it out. It seemed close by so we walked over. I am always tempted by something different in other quilt stores, but unfortunately I didn't find anything I liked in this store. She had about 9 books, the fabric was not to my taste, and the fat quarters were 5 euros each! Good thing I don't live in France (although Jim was astonished I didn't buy anything and probably thinks it would be cheaper if we lived there).

After that we walked all through the latin quarter. It didn't really look that far. Jim did find a Warhammer shop and went in to buy a couple of things. I stayed outside and watched the dogs follow their masters without leashes, then poop on the sidewalks while their masters ignored them. Paris didn't have a lot of garbage around but you still had to watch where you were walking!

We met up with Liz and Boris after dinner and since the  Champ des Mars wasn't too far away, we walked over to see the Eiffel Tower lit up. On the hour it has little strobe lights that come on and make it look like it is sparkling. It was the perfect night to be out, nice and warm, and there were people sitting on the grass (with several bottles of wine!). It was kind of like a big party.

Since we were close by where I used to live, we walked over to the street so I could show everyone my building. I couldn't remember the number, and so much was unfamiliar (remember, it has been 32 years) but I did manage to find it. My apartment was on the 7th floor - and no elevator! There was a fountain on the street that I was sure wasn't there before, but it had a sign on it saying it was built in 1901. Guess I noticed different things when I was 20 (like the french men??)

137 rue St. Dominique

With all that thinking that things weren't too far away, I think Jim and I walked about 10 kilometres through the streets of Paris that day! Good thing, because these french pastries and baguettes are starting to add up!

On Saturday we went to the Orangerie to see Monet's Water Lilies paintings that are displayed in huge oval rooms built for that purpose. I had read that someone had written a piece of music that is played at specific times so you could listen to it while viewing the paintings. We made sure we were in the room in plenty of time to experience this blending of the two senses. While it sounded like a great idea, we weren't too impressed with the music. I think that while it was supposed to sound calming, it actually sounded kind of depressing.

Water Lilies covering the whole wall

We had taken a cab home from the Musee D'Orsay on Thursday and we found out a few things from the cab driver. One, that if you have more than 3 people in a cab you have to pay extra. What is it with the french people and the number 3?? He told us not to even try to find a cab on Sunday morning because the Parisians party till about 4 or 5 am and all the cab drivers go home to sleep after that. He  also said that we absolutely should go to Montmartre.  The Hop on/off bus had a line that went up there but we had to change buses at Madeleine. While we were waiting we noticed a La Duree shop around the corner. Jim and I had tried their macarons the day before in the latin quarter, and told Liz and Boris they had to get some.

La Duree

 These macarons are only slightly better than Stephen's. All the other ones we have tried on this trip didn't even come close. Good for you Steve! Funny thing, while I was waiting for Jim to pay at the shop in the latin quarter, two girls came in and asked if they ever had any "stages" work in the kitchen because they were 3rd year pastry students!

Right behind the bus stop was the famous Fauchon's. When Jim and I were in Paris for New Year's years ago, there had been a line around the block to get into that store. There are an awful lot of rich people in Paris. The window was full of enticing desserts, and look at the prices!

 Believe it or not, most of the desserts were sold when we came back later.

Fauchon "little bites" for with drinks - 40 euros

Chocolate/Candy tray - 400 euros

We stopped to see the Moulin Rouge on the way to Montmartre. I didn't take a picture because I have already seen it, but a good blogger would have taken one for the blog! I didn't take any of Sacre Coeur either. But I did take one of these cheeses shaped like Eiffel towers!

And of the wonderful onion soup I had for lunch.

And the mussels Jim had for lunch.

Looks like this post is mostly about food! Well, while in Paris...

We ended up walking up the stairs to get to Montmartre, but took the funiculaire down. I recommend taking the funiculaire both ways. That is a lot of stairs! 

On the way down to the bus stop we walked down a street with lots of fabric stores. (I knew these stores were there and it was a little bit of a detour but everyone just followed me thinking I was leading them straight to the bus. Shhh) I couldn't believe my eyes. Fat quarters! and only 2 euro! But the quality was very, very poor. So again I amazed Jim by not buying anything.

One store had a Patchwork corner and I found some cute orange fabric with white polka dots. Can you see why I didn't buy any? That price says 20.60 euro per metre. Man, I should take my fabric stash and open up a store in France!

It was fun riding the double-decker bus because you had such a good view of everything. Like this gridlock for example! The Vicar bus is blocking the traffic going in our direction, and for some reason the traffic going in the other direction wasn't moving either. This is when you want a bike or a scooter because they just zipped right through the cars!

Another food stop - the Maille mustard shop.

Who knew there are this many kinds of mustard??? I expected 5 or 6. It was really difficult to choose.

On our way back to the hotel we got stuck in traffic on the Ile de la Cite. These bus drivers must have the patience of Job. I didn't mind that it was taking so long, I enjoyed just watching all the people, but navigating those tiny streets with a big bus crawling along at 1 foot a minute could get on your nerves. As we rounded the corner, I saw what was holding us up. A protest march going to city hall. Ah, now our Paris experience was complete!

We couldn't even see what the protest was about. We did see a police boat racing down the Seine though. Cool - I didn't even know they had those in Paris!

Paris........ or I just spent $5.00 on a coke

My feet hurt.

Ok, enough complaining, after all, we are in Paris!

I get a strange feeling as we walk along the streets. First of all, our hotel is only a few blocks from where I used to live when I went to university here. I catch myself looking for people I know (not that I would recognize anyone, they have gotten older too!) It has been 32 years since I lived here. I did come back with Jim for New Year's eve in 1985, but I don't remember much of Paris then, I must have had eyes only for Jim! I do remember that they had new lights on the Eiffel tower, that the traffic around the Arc de Triomphe actually stopped at midnight, and that the metros were free that night but they were as busy as the ones in Japan where they push the people inside to close the doors. Jim and I celebrated New Year's eve in the typical French fashion, with champagne and chocolates. We still do that!

Jim came to Paris in the summer of 1984 as well, so both of us have seen the major sights. I have to say that they haven't changed much in the last 32 years. Of course not - these buildings and streets have been here for hundreds of years. I know where everything is, but I don't remember how to get there (which metro did I take, or did I go by bus?)

The atmosphere seems a little different to me too. Maybe because I am not 20 any more, maybe because I really am a tourist this time. It is still beautiful, that will never change. I realize that when I was a student here I didn't really pay attention to the tourist spots - I went in the Louvre once or twice (although I did visit the Jeu du Paume many more times because that is where the Impressionist paintings were). I didn't see Napoleon's tomb until after I graduated, even though it is within walking distance of where I lived. I agree with Elaine, it seems like a very clean city, cleaner than when I lived here.

Of course, there is an advantage to having lived here. I know a few tips and tricks. Like that there are side entrances into the Louvre. It sure is easier to go in there now that there are huge line-ups because of security. (We didn't have security in those days - the Mona Lisa wasn't even behind glass, just a cord about a metre away.) Anyway, we arrived at the door at 9 am and we were second in line. We went straight to the Mona Lisa. It was weird walking through the halls as there was no one else there - we had the place to ourselves.

Empty Halls

Almost empty room with Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa - now behind bullet-proof glass

I also wanted to see the Venus de Milo - the few times I had ventured into the Louvre before, she had been away on tour. Again, we almost had the room to ourselves.

Venus de Milo

Another quilt pattern from the floor of the Louvre

This statue was pretty gruesome:

Hercules and the Hydra

It was actually a fountain. Can you see where the heads are cut off that there are some holes? The water would come out of the holes representing blood!

Fountain

Da Vinci Code picture

Jardin de Tuileries from the Louvre

We decided to cross the river and find a cafe to eat lunch. We tried to get out of a direct line of sight of any of the museums, thinking that that might save us a few euros. We found a nice little place and I ordered a Croque Monsieur Complet. A Croque Monsieur is the French version on a grilled ham and cheese, only it is open faced. Complet means that they added the tomatoes and egg. I was huge! And yummy. And meant that I certainly didn't need a big dinner.

As we walked along the streets we looked in all the shop windows. I was thinking of buying these scissors as a Christmas present for you Elaine, but then I found out that they cost 35 euros. Way too much for a pair of scissors that probably don't even cut well! And they were also probably made in China, not Paris. 

Bird scissors

 I also did not buy this for Stephen:

For chefs with a lot of aggression

 We then walked to the Rodin Museum, where we saw a lot of his works, including The Kiss.

The Kiss by Rodin

 I didn't take a lot of pictures. This is another museum that I did frequent when I lived here and have seen the statues a number of times. Rodin also made The Thinker, The Gates of Hell, and The Burgers of Calais  (not hamburgers - the citizens!) and The Hand of God.

I have always liked one of his quotes: "Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely". Another quote of his, a little less lofty - "I choose a piece of marble and chop off what I don't need."

Our last stop was the Musee d'Orsay. Yes - 3 museums in one day! And we walked from to the other. I told you my feet hurt!

You are not allowed to take pictures of any of the artwork inside the museum, but I took a picture of the clock over the entrance. What a grand building this is. It used to be the main train station in Paris, right on the banks of the river Seine, in the middle of the city. People coming into Paris by train would see all this ornamentation and know what a rich, important city Paris was. I used to take the train home to Holland from the Gare du Nord, and I hate to admit it but I never really looked at the building. Maybe if we have time we can make a quick stop and I can look up and around, instead of just looking for the exit!

Clock in Musee D'Orsay

Dinner at Chateau Brou

Dining Room

This is the dining room at the Chateau Brou where we thought we were going to eat our dinner.

Ceiling

See the exposed beams on the ceiling? That is a sign that it was built in the 17th century. Can you see the initial M? It was on the fireplace as well. All these chateaus had initials painted and carved everywhere. They were very proud of their family name and of what they had built. It makes me think that we should paint some B's on the ceiling at home, or at least have one carved in the fireplace!

Private room

This is where we ate our dinner - in a private room off the dining room that was part of the chapel dating from the 14th century or maybe even earlier. I'm not sure why we got the private room - I may have mentioned that it was Jim's birthday or they might have thought we were going to be the rowdy ones because we were at least 20 years younger than the rest of the guests!

All the Baidacoffs got the memo to wear white - I didn't!

Birthday dinner

Our dinner consisted of 4 courses, and we had 2 choices for each course. Jim and I chose the exact same courses from the menu. The appetizer was fois gras with some sides. You know Steve, you are absolutely right that the front of house staff has to know food as well as how to serve. The service was great but they didn't explain the courses very well, and by the time I get it in front of me I have forgotten what it said on the menu. See that cone shaped thing? They snipped the top off and the white part slid down onto the plate (I think it was fromage blanc) with a caramel like sauce on top of it. The orange puree was apricot, and there was a tulle around the fois gras.

Appetizer

It was delicious, but it was very sweet. I remembered what you said about having dessert - that your mind knows the meal is over when it tastes sweet. I felt like that a little bit - other than the fois gras, this could easily have been a dessert, and it didn't really stimulate my palate for more food. We did like it though.

The second course was roasted guinea fowl with a lobster bisque and seasonal vegetables. We loved the skin on the guinea fowl. It was crispy and not fatty at all. I don't usually eat the skin but I did this time. The lobster bisque wasn't very strong, it just added a little bit of moisture. I thought the vegetables in the jar was very cute.

Main course

The dessert was White Peach in all its States. So fresh, sorbet. and juice. Of the three, I liked the sorbet the best.

I forgot to take a picture of the cheese course - it was a chevre and a creamy cheese like a Boursin, shaped like Steve does his potatoes and ice cream. The word is on the tip of my tongue but I can't remember it!

We had wine pairings with the courses as well. The first wine was sweet too, almost like a dessert wine. We had a red wine with the guinea fowl and it was perfect - not too heavy but a nice flavour. I should have written down the name!

Our breakfast the next morning was also lovely, but my favorite thing was the individual baguettes that they had! I love baguettes and will miss them a lot when we come home.

On our way from Chartres to Versaille we stopped at a bakery and came across this pastry. I think they are a new type, I had never seen them before although we have seen them in several stores since.

I wanted to show you that we really traveled in style. After Provence we decided to return one of the cars we rented since Stephen wasn't going to be traveling with us and we could manage to get all our luggage in the back of one car. There were these neat little tables that folded up from the driver's and front passenger's seats. This is a picture of when we were stopped - unfortunately I can't read or type in a car because I get sick. But that cup holder came in handy!

You know the saying, you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Well, it applies to me. Every time I see the C on a tap, I think Cold. In french it is chaud, which means hot. I know that but my first thought is cold. F on the right side, stands for froid, which is french for cold. Liz asked me, "If you think C stands for cold, then what do you think F stands for?" I answered her - Frigid!