What Might Have Been

Tags

Ali, apartments, Aya, Brian, Brian Boyle, Covid-19, Jackie, Les Gobelins, Lisa, Montorgueil, Sheila, Sheila Boyle, Sherard, Zhizhong

Spring in Paris was a mirage this year. I had all my reservations, but Covid-19 had other ideas. Not only would it have been unsafe to travel, but France had locked down by the time I planned to travel, and my flight was cancelled.

Instead of another fabulous petit séjour I spent the spring mostly cooped up in my apartment, relieved by occasional Zooms with the folks I would have been spending time with in Paris. My self-pity was contemptible, in the context of a pandemic in which thousands were dying. The only aspect personal to me was the vulnerability of age; in other respects most everyone was having an experience at least as bad as my own. And even if I could have traveled there, the Paris I had enjoyed so many other springs had ceased to exist this year.

I’ve finally worked through the stages of grief, so here is a bittersweet post about what might have been.

Intersection of rue Montorgueil and rue Tiquetonne, Paris (2011)

From April 27 to May 10 I had planned to stay once again with my three cousins, Jackie, Lisa and Aya, in the same comfortable 15ème apartment, a few block from our great friend Ali, exactly like the two prior years.

Jackie, Aya and Lisa (2018)

Dinner Party with Jackie, two friends, Ali, Aya and Lisa (2019)

I’m sure we would have gone on some terrific outings, like the day trip Jackie and I took last year to Provins.

Jackie in Provins (2019)

Or our visit to the Atelier des Lumières.

Aya and Lisa dancing at the Van Gogh show at the Atelier des Lumières (2019)

One of our first guests would have been my great friend Zhizhong.

Zhizhong and Bob at Le Camondo (2019)

Farewell dinner with Zhizhong at Café des Anges (2019)

On May 1 my cousin Brian and his wife Sheila were scheduled to arrive in Paris, and we expected outings similar to those in prior years.

Champagne Day Trip with Brian, Sheila and their friend Sheryl (2018)

Brian, Jackie, Sheila, Rick and Sheryl after dinner at La Régalade Conservatoire (2018)

From May 10 to June 1 I had booked the same apartment on rue Montorgueil in the 1er arrondissement where I had stayed last year.

Steve at the dinner party hosted by Sherard and Bob on rue Montorgueil (2019)

The owner had radically renovated in the intervening year, turning the kitchen into a third bedroom, and adding an en-suite bathroom to my preferred front bedroom. A minimal kitchen and the clothes washer had been moved to one end of the living/dining room. These changes were great for packing in a crowd but made it even more absurd for me to live there mostly alone, and I would also have missed the kitchen. But the location was unbeatable, it was very comfortable, and I liked the owner.

Just like last year, Sherard was scheduled to join me for a week at this apartment. I’m sure we would have once again walked ten miles a day, taken in a tsunami of art, had wonderful meals, and spotted untold numbers of Space Invaders! Helas!!

Sherard on rue Montorgueil (2019)

Sherard with the small piece by Clem Letrusko (lower left) that he purchased on opening day of the Belleville Open Studios (2019)

Sherard, Zhizhong and I on Tuesday at Champeaux (2019)

For the month of June I planned to return to Les Gobelins at the southern edge of the 5éme, which I enjoyed so much last year. The apartment Jared and I rented last year had many good features but it was a bit cramped and didn’t really lend itself to the dinner parties we had hoped to host. I was delighted, however, to find another two-bedroom place in the same block that was much more spacious, with a great kitchen and fabulous views, all for a lot less money!

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I snapped up this place even though I hadn’t confirmed any June guests, on the well-tested theory that, “if you rent it, they will come.” But Covid-19 began rearing its ugly head just a few weeks later, and the rest is history.

AirBnb courteously and efficiently refunded every cent for the first apartment. The second apartment had been rented on a handshake with the terrific owner, who accepted my cancellation with good grace. The third apartment had been rented through a brokerage site, ParisAttitude.com. The owner graciously agreed to cancel and refund my deposit, but, true to its name, Paris Attitude only gave me a one-year voucher to recover its brokerage fee against another booking. I was pleased, however, to be out of pocket only a few hundred dollars after cancelling several thousand dollars of rentals.

I had booked my Air France flights, via Delta codeshare, using points from my Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. Delta and Chase initially gave me a runaround, offering me only a voucher even though Air France had cancelled the flight. They caved eventually, however, and re-credited my points. I cashed out all my points and cancelled the Sapphire Reserve card, since who knows when I will be traveling again, or even going out to restaurants.

My trips to Paris have given me tremendous pleasure over the past decade. I hope it may be possible to resume them one of these days, but whether or not that comes to pass it’s a delight to be able to relive the trips through this blog. I hope it has (or will) enable you to enjoy my Springs in Paris as well.

May Day!

Tags

Art, Aya, contemporary art, gilets jaunes, Jackie, Lisa, meals, muguets, muguets de mai, Paris, Salon de Montrouge, Zhizhong

Since Lisa and I arrived on Sunday morning we missed the gilets jaunes protests on Saturday, April 27. I had thought we were in the clear for a week, since their protests are typically on Saturdays. May 1, however, is Labor Day, a jour férié (national holiday) in France, as it is in most civilized countries. (In America, in the hope of inoculating us against Godless Communism, it’s “Law Day.”) Not only are protests scheduled for jours fériés as well as Saturdays, but the protest on May 1 was touted as an “apocalypse” of gilets jaunes ultras and anarchist “black blocs,” in addition to the large traditional march of union members and other more-or-less militant groups. Last year we headed for the march but this year we stayed far away. In the event there was much less disorder and damage than expected, and we saw no signs of protest except a phalanx of riot police on motorbikes who passed by harmlessly. I don’t mean to discount the impact of the protests, but news reports focus on exciting problems, not on the fact that 99% of a big city like Paris goes on obliviously, and for the most part happily.

One striking feature of May 1 is that muguets (lillies of the valley) are sold on every busy street corner.

I discovered this tradition during my first long stay, in 2010, and I’ve enjoyed it ever since. Only this year, however, did I realize its complex historical resonance. While the muguet has long been associated with spring, before World War II May 1 was called la fête des travailleurs (Worker’s Day) and the flower most closely associated with it was the socialist emblem the red eglantine. Petain subtly changed the name to la fête du travail (Work Day) and changed the flower to the muguet. So while French people love their mugets de Mai 1, the hardest core unionists still resent the original rightist meaning.

Instead of cowering indoors we met up with Zhizhong for lunch at Le Petit Gorille, which I had enjoyed for dinner a few days before.

Midday on a jour férié was very busy, but even with that excuse the service was terrible, although the food was again quite nice.

We then strolled over to see the 64th Salon de Montrouge, a contemporary art show that I’ve visited on several other occasions. It was uneven, as usual, but nevertheless had many points of interest.

After an apéro on the pleasant terrasse of a Montrouge café we went our separate ways and called it a successful, non-apocalyptic, May Day.

Farewells

Tags

Ali, apartments, Aya, Berkeley Books, English Book Store, Jackie, L'épidon, Lisa, meals

My last days in the 15ème with Jackie, Lisa and Aya sped by in a blur. I had arranged to check in on Tuesday to my new place in the 2ème (of which more later) to leave me free to focus on checkout from our shared apartment the next day. Tuesday evening after my check-in we all met up for an apéro at Berkeley Books, an English language book store in the 5ème that is the labor of love of Lisa’s great friend Phyllis Cohen.

A little fountain I noticed on my walk down to Berkeley Books.

Joined by several of Phyllis’s cousins and a young friend we strolled a few doors down and had a marvelous organic dinner at L’épidon.

My filet of Saint Pierre at L’épidon

A unique feature of L’épidon is two swings in place of seats, to help keep children amused.

Hmm…

Getting everyone packed up on Wednesday morning was a minor project, since Jackie was moving to a different Airbnb, while Lisa and Aya were packing for the long trip back to Uganda. The check-in person was late because he encountered some of the same confusions we did about the precise entry and stairway. Then just as he arrived we noticed Aya playing with the pieces of a glass bird. It wasn’t clear whether or not she broke it but I acknowledged it to the checkout guy rather than trying to cover it up. It’s a minor miracle that there wasn’t more breakage than there was since the place is full of hundreds of tiny fragile objects! I bundled Jackie into an Uber, then helped Lisa carry luggage over to Ali’s place, from which they left very early the following morning.

The most poignant farewell was between Lisa and Ali, but I felt a pang too when I said goodbye to them.

There were many farewells, as everyone went in their different directions. The most poignant was between Ali and Lisa, although they will see each other again in October. I hope to catch up with Ali again this visit myself, and also with Jackie, but I don’t know when my paths will cross again with Lisa and Aya. My time en famille in the 15ème was a special, and heretofore unique, part of my intermittent life in Paris.

Friends and Family

Tags

Arooshee, Art, Aya, contemporary art, Jackie, Lisa, Metro, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, Parc Zoologique de Paris, Paris, Rosa Bonheur, temple de la Sibylle, weather, zoo

The gorgeous weather has continued: sunny and warm during the day and pleasantly cool at night. One of the best runs of fine weather of any of my Paris stays! The rhythm and energy of our household has been the main theme, except for Sunday afternoon, when I went my own way.

On Friday Lisa and Aya visited friends so Jackie and I had dinner at a Lebanese restaurant which I found on The Fork — with a 50% discount! It was about a mile away but we both enjoy walking so we strolled over and back. Not only did we get a good meal but we took home enough leftovers for Saturday lunch, after which we checked out the Salon de Montrouge, an annual contemporary art show that I have enjoyed in prior years. It was about half the size of the 2016 exhibition, but enough art for the time and energy we had.

Jackie and Bob reflected in “Your Infinity” by Roland Burkart at the 2018 Salon de Montrouge

That evening we hosted Ali for dinner. Lisa and I had seen him on several casual occasions this trip, but it was a particular pleasure to join him for a proper event. Our conversation was trenchant and engaging as always!

Bob, Ali, Aya and Lisa at our dinner party. Photo credit, Jackie.

The fruit tart which I slaved over a hot cash register for several minutes to acquire.

Sunday was so lovely that I took the métro up to the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, one of my favorite spots in fine weather. The trip was from one corner of Paris to the other, so it required three subway legs. The last one, on the funny little 7 bis line, was the most amusing, since almost everyone was more or less obviously heading for the same place.

Sunbathers enjoying a perfect day at the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont

Bob at The Temple de la Sibylle, in the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont

Exploring the park was thirsty work, so I stopped by Rosa Bonheur for a beer (or two). As always on a fine Sunday afternoon, the always-mixed crowed tilted in a decidedly gay male direction by 4 pm, when the barriers went up to limit the size of the crowd. I have sometimes had wonderful conversations there, but it’s hit or miss and this afternoon I was more of a sightseer than a participant.

Boys, and girls, on a Sunday afternoon at Rosa Bonheur

Through a mutual friend I had met Arooshee, a junior at University of Michigan who is finishing a semester in Paris. We met that evening for dinner, at Phở 14 in the 13ème, with her college roommate, who had just arrived to join her on a whirlwind European tour.

Dinner in the 13ème at Phở 14

Jackie had business to attend to on Monday, so Lisa and Aya and I went over to the fully modernized little zoo in the Parc de Vincennes. The highlight for Aya was the lions, and by happy chance she was able to turn into one herself!

The zoo features big outdoor enclosures that allow the larger animals to roam around, rather than being confined in cages. I heartily approve, although this can also make it hard to get good photos. As it happened, Aya was more interested in an indoor giraffe than the fourteen others that were outside.

Over the next two days we will wrap up our stay together in the 15ème and I will move to my own Airbnb in the 2ème. While I’ll be living alone for a while plans are afoot with Zhizhong and with my cousin Brian and his wife Sheila, so I won’t be lonely.

Family and Friends

Tags

Aya, Bains-Douches, Jackie, l'Oasis d'Aboukir, Lisa, Marais, meals, Oasis d'Aboukir, Paris, rue Montorgueil, weather

The weather has been sunny and less chilly these past few days. We’ve taken lovely walks, enjoyed the nearby park, and eaten most of our restaurant meals a la terrasse.

Lisa and me enjoying an afternoon glass of rosé on our way to the nearest shopping mall.

We had chosen a perfectly random café — L’Argument — but it proved to be quite satisfactory.

Poké salad at L’Argument

Where, you ask, is my Jungle Jim sun hat? Someone else tried it on for size…

Aya trying out Uncle Bob’s silly hat

Our big adventure the day before had been the local park, which was jammed with kids since it was their school holiday. A highlight for Aya was scaling this really challenging climbing rock. At four years old I was nowhere near as brave!

Aya atop an impressive climbing rock

Friday afternoon Lisa and Aya visited friends so I had lunch with my Harvard friend Elliot, at his neighborhood Moroccan restaurant Le Berbere.

Lunch with Elliot Marks at Le Berbere.

He’ll be in the U.S. for most of my stay — part of the time in Boston — but we plan to catch up once again just before I leave Paris. Unfortunately, I’ll miss the Harvard LGBT alumni event by just a few days, along with many other events in the latter part of June. I looked into extending my stay but at this point changing my flights would be punishingly expensive. And yes, Boston isn’t a bad place to be either in the summertime.

After lunch I strolled over to the Marais with Elliot, then wandered up to my favorite quarter, rue Montorgueil, where I will be living for most of this year’s stay. The impressive vegetative wall that I have watched grow year by year — L’Oasis d’Aboukir — was getting a trim.

L’Oasis d’Aboukir getting a trim.

I met up with Jackie for dinner at a Lebanese place about a kilometer from our apartment, and noticed this historic building on our walk back home.

Public bath house, for people of an earlier era without bathing facilities at home. Now fortunately an anachronism.

I’ve been walking about five miles a day so far this trip, but on Friday I broke ten miles so hopefully I’ll end up with my usual Paris average of about seven miles a day.

En Famille

Tags

Ali, apartment, Aya, bis, Jackie, Lisa, May Day, meals, neighborhoods, Paris, quater, ter, Virgule, weather, Zhizhong

The unique feature of this year’s petit séjour is that the first part is en famille. I’m staying for ten days in the 15ème arrondissement with my first cousin Jackie, her daughter Lisa and Lisa’s four-year-old daughter Aya.

Jackie, Aya and Lisa in our intensively furnished Airbnb in the 15ème

Our apartment is lovely, well-designed and filled with light. It’s also filled with a fascinating collection of bric-a-brac. The location is safe and quiet, well served with grocery stores and boulangeries, albeit completely lacking in anything that might interest a tourist (I haven’t noticed one since I’ve been here). We chose the area to be close to our friend — Lisa’s former partner — Ali. I’ll move to central Paris next week, but I have to admit that living here is perfectly pleasant, and perfectly Parisien.

The day I arrived the weather was dreadful, cold, windy and rainy. The flight was early but there was a SNAFU. The plane landed in the distant reaches of Charles de Gaulle airport, and the five buses sent to take us to the terminal left me behind, along with two dozen other passengers (and the entire crew). We waited for ten minutes or so on the freezing exit steps until the crew invited us back into the plane, where it was at least half an hour more before a sixth bus finally arrived to rescue us.

The was also a SNAFU concerning the address. Lisa had correctly told me that our building was at « 15 quater, rue A___ B____. ». I didn’t know what to make of quater, which isn’t in my Larousse, so I ignored it … to my sorrow! I was well acquainted with 15 bis, which means a second entry with the same number, somewhat like 15A. And I congratulated myself on having also encountered the enigmatic ter, which would in America be 15B. But Lisa had to explain by telephone, after the door code didn’t work at 15, that quater is yet another entry beyond ter!

15	15 Bis
15 Ter	15 Quater

After quater I personally give up but for the curious I offer this link. Jackie called me with the same problem when she arrived later in the day. I’m afraid I was laughing too hard to be properly sympathetic!  2019 Update: So far absolutely everyone (except one Uber driver) has been confused by Quater the first time they visit, even when we’ve tried to explain it beforehand.

One of the peak experiences my first year in Paris — 2010 — was a walk across half the city with Lisa on May Day. We planned my arrival to allow us to take another May Day walk, adjusting gracefully to the changed route of the march and the inclusion of my new hyper-radical first-cousin-twice-removed Aya. Luckily, the weather was much improved, so we had a delightful walk, after a longer bus ride than we had expected. We arrived at Place d’Italie a bit after the main demonstration, but still managed to borrow a red flag for a classic photo op.

Aya waving the Socialist banner to demand equal rights for all!

Zhizhong was busy at work that afternoon — on a jour férié ?!! — but he joined us later for a lovely reunion dinner, at Virgule, near Place d’Italie.

Jackie, Lisa, Aya, Bob and Zhizhong at our May Day dinner.

The adventure in dining begins!

That afternoon we noticed some curious posters, for another demonstration next Saturday.

Google Translate explains that la fête à Macron means “the party in [President] Macron.” Sounds like fun!

Mot du jour: faire la fête à, to beat up.

First Days Back in Paris

Tags

apartment, arrival, Art, Aya, Charile Hebdo, Italy, Le Village Montorgueil, Marianne, Montorgueil, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Place de la République, rue Montorgueil, weather, Zhizhong

My first days in Paris have been pretty good, though different from other years. Normally I arrive in the morning after an overnight flight from Boston; my first day in Paris is also the start of my vacation, and my first day abroad. The drama of arrival was muted this year, however, by the fact that I began my holiday with ten days as a tourist in Italy. The Italian part of my trip was busy, strenuous and filled with art, architecture and food. After the short flight from Venice to Paris I was more interested in resting at my new home than in hitting the ground running!

Fortunately my rental apartment is just as beautiful as it appeared in the listing, including many little details that I couldn’t know in advance: afternoon sun, deep quiet for sleeping, an eclectic collection of DVDs and music CDs, a washer-drier that actually dries (!). In sharp contrast to last year, everything works and the place is squeaky clean. The immediate street — as I knew when I made the rental — is a somewhat uninspiring row of fabric stores, but I’m just a few short blocks from all the food, animation and charm of rue Montorgueil, one of my favorite Paris neighborhoods.

The first couple of days I mostly just settled in, and bought the food and other consumables needed to change my rental apartment into my home-away-from-home. I got out to a couple of good art exhibits, however. The first was the Salon de Montrouge, an annual show of contemporary art by young artists that I had enjoyed last year, which is on until June 3, 2015. I once again found it fresh and cutting-edge, even juxtaposed with the Venice Biennale that I had seen a few days earlier. The second was an impressive series of installations by a Haitian artist at the VnH Gallery in the Marais, through 20 June 2015.

Installation by Pascale Marthine Tayou.

Installation by Pascale Marthine Tayou.

Installation by Pascale Marthine Tayou.

One striking absence this year is my cousin Lisa, who has added so much to my other stays in Paris. She and her daughter Aya are in Uganda, where Lisa is working on a book and on her PhD. (They will be here later in the summer but I will unfortunately miss them.) One of our old favorite restaurants is also gone: the gay-friendly Le Loup Blanc is no more! Fortunately, our mutual friend Joël Zhizhong Yao is still here; we have gotten together several times already, including a day trip to Auvers-sur-Oise that I’ll report on in my next post.

The most striking moment of this year’s visit was when I first saw the statue of Marianne — symbol of the French Republic — in the Place de la République. After many months of work a gorgeous renovation had been unveiled in 2013:

Statue of Marianne, symbol of France, in the Place de la Republique, after its renovation in 2013.

But the Place de la République was the site of the protests after the Charlie Hebdo murders in January, 2015. Their graffiti has been left as a tribute to the victims. I found it a very sad symbol of the way in which evil can so easily destroy the fruits of civilization.

Statue of Marianne, symbol of France, in the Place de la Republique, after demonstrations against the Charlie Hebdo murders in January, 2015. (Photo May, 2015)

Graffiti since the Charlie Hebdo murders in January, 2015, on the base of the statue of Marianne in the Place de la Republique. (Photo May, 2015)

The weather had been perfect in Italy the first two weeks of May — 80s by day and 60s by night, with scarcely a drop of rain. Apparently it had been similar then in Paris, but it turned cloudier and cooler the day I arrived. As usual, there have been stretches of sun every day, and moments when it felt really nice. But overall the weather has been so-so, and at times downright chilly.

Flânes, Food, Friends and a Fête

Tags

Ali, Aya, bah non, bah oui, Batignolles, ben non, ben oui, Boulevard Pereire, Cour Delépine, crue janvier 1910, Fête de la musique, January 1910 flood, Le Janissaire, Le Pretexte, Lisa, Pont-Cardinet, rue de Charonne, rue Proudhon, Sami, Zhizhong

The weather has been lovely the past few days so I’ve spent most of my time exploring. The rail strike has continued so I’ve stayed within the city. I enjoyed several more walks from ParisInconnu.com: Faubourg Saint-Antoine east of Bastille, Mouton-Duvernet and Montsouris in the southeast and Ternes in the northwest. While I continue to find little errors (which I’m catching by cross-checking with Google Maps) I enjoy the way these itineraries take me to new places, or on out-of-the-way routes through more familiar areas. Here are a few snapshots:

Festive pedestrian posts in Saint-Paul. The stonework at right is one of the last remnants of the 12th century city wall of king Philippe-Auguste.

Many suns on the sidewalk of rue Proudhon, which passes under the tracks of the Gare de Lyon.

Reminder of the height of the January 1910 flood (crue) at the corner of rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine and rue de Charonne.

Lovely and peaceful Cour Delépine off rue de Charonne in the 11e. (Not open to the public but I drafted in after a resident. #whiteprivilege #whitehairprivilege).

Rue de Charonne is a bit too noisy and bobo for me but I could certainly see spending a month in an apartment opening on this lovely private courtyard.

A rose arbor in the park that runs down the middle of Boulevard Pereire in the 17e.

There’s a ton of new development going on around railway station Pont-Cardinet.

New development around Pont-Cardinet railway station.

A grand square at railway station Pont-Cardinet that I had never seen before.

I had previously visited — and loved — the Square des Batignolles just across the tracks from Pont-Cardinet. This time I did a more complete tour of the area, including its permanent market. Once the 13 line is upgraded, and particularly after the 14 line is extended to relieve some of the burden on the 13, Batignolles will become quite an attractive area to live in, and even for a tourist like me to rent an apartment.

On Friday I was in the attractive area around the Daumesnil métro station (which I gather is technically called Picpus). On Allée Vivaldi I stumbled on my first real restaurant find of the year.

The sunny terrace of Le Janissaire, a Turkish restaurant near métro Daumesnil.

Le Janissaire offered a terrific three-course Turkish menu for 12,5 euros.

Delicious fish brochette platter at Le Janissaire, near métro Daumesnil.

There were good choices for all three courses; the sunny patio was on a pleasant quiet street; the other diners were French; the service was friendly and gracious. I sat down on a park bench right after finishing and wrote a rave review for TripAdvisor. What a find!

Friday evening I met up with my new friend Sami for an apéro, this time at my place. As on two previous occasions, we had a lovely hour-long conversation in French. He works in customer support for a package delivery company, and he finds it exhausting to deal all day with angry customers, especially when they only speak English. But even worse are Anglophones who he can tell are trying to speak French, but who he can’t understand at all. Whatever my failings at least I’m not in that category!

Saturday noon was a grand luncheon with Lisa, Ali, Zhizhong, and of course Aya. Even Phyllis joined us for a quick coffee. Lisa and Aya are flying to the U.S. today to join a Mack family reunion on Cape Cod, that I will miss! It was an unusually casual farewell for Lisa and me since she will stay with me in Cambridge for a couple of nights in mid-July. Zhizhong will also be away at the end of the month but Ali kindly offered to look after the guidebooks that I typically leave in Paris, and a few items I bought for this year’s apartment that one of them might like.

Ali, Lisa, Aya and Zhizhong. At least someone is looking at the camera!

We ate at Le Pretexte, based on good online ratings. The food and value were good, though the service was just ok. (I see now that I could have gotten us a 30% discount by reserving through The Fork but somehow I couldn’t find the restaurant when I looked at the app yesterday.)

Saturday was also the Fête de la Musique, a street party that takes place each year on the summer solstice. It is meant to be worldwide — and I see that there were a dozen events in Boston and Cambridge this year — but it originated in France and Paris surely does it best.

A pint of beer was 7 euros in the gay-bar area but I shopped around and bought mine for 2 euros at this Ecole de Garçons (School for Boys) in the haut Marais.

The happy throng on rue Veille du Temple for la Fete de la Musique, June 21, 2014.

I enjoyed being part of the happy throng, but I have accepted the fact that I will never recapture the mind-boggling thrill of my first Fête de la Musique in 2011.

Mot du jour: bah oui.  You hear this all the time on the street, and clearly it means something like “but of course.” But it’s like nothing I was ever taught in school. Here’s an explanation from a language discussion site, and on another site I saw a plausible speculation that bah derived from the similar-sounding ben:

In France, we use “Bah” to say two things :
– if the “bah” is long, it means an hesitation. In English, you can translate this by “er” or “um”.
– if the “bah” is short, it means the obviousness of the answer.

In plain language, “bah oui” means “yes, obviously!!!” and “bah non” means “non of course!!!”
“baaaaah oui” is used to say “I think it’s yes but I’m not really sure…” and “baaaaah non” means the same thing but with “no” at the place of “yes”.

“Ben” is also used for the same sense. “Beeeeeeeeen oui/non” or “ben oui/non”

This formulation is frequently used in France.
I hope my explanation is clear…
Last edited by onealice; 25th May 2014 at 10:26 PM.

Bah oui, onealice !

Jason and Friends

Tags

Aya, Canal Saint-Martin, jardin du Luxembourg, Jason, L'Open Café, Le Chant des Voyelles, Le Duplex, Les Souffleurs, Lisa, Marcus, meals, Parc de Bercy, Pramil, Rosa Bonheur

Jason’s first two days here were lovely — the best weather we have had this year. Sunday was mostly cloudy but still a comfortable temperature. We took advantage of the fine conditions to walk at least nine miles each day (though to my annoyance I left my fitbit at home yesterday).

On Friday we wandered across the Seine to the Latin Quarter, and took a couple of snapshots in the jardin du Luxembourg.

Jason and Bob, in front of the French Senate, in the jardin du Luxembourg.

Bob with his Parisian scarf at the jardin du Luxembourg.

After the park our walk took us through Port Royal — an area where I had not been — but eventually to the charming Buttes aux Cailles neighborhood that I had first explored with my nephew Andy in 2000. We had dinner at an old favorite restaurant in the Marais, La Chaise au Plafond. Here’s some food porn:

The tomato tarte Tatin, a signature appetizer at La Chaise au plafond in the Marais.

Salmon main course (plat) at La Chaise au plafond in the Marais.

On Saturday we strolled over to le musée d’Orsay, via a travel agency (billetterie) which sold us a priority ticket that allowed us to skip the painfully-long line. We were thrilled by the impressionists on the top floor, and I also really enjoyed galleries on the second floor of less famous contemporaries. Photography is now prohibited, but I grabbed a shot of the main hall — formerly a railroad station — and a favorite view from the café.

The Musée d’Orsay was formerly a railroad station.

A favorite glimpse of Sacré Coeur through the clock in the café of the Musée d’Orsay.

We met up for dinner with two Swedish friends of Jason’s who happened to be in Paris at the same time. They were sweet guys as well as being easy on the eye. I somewhat randomly selected a restaurant in the Haut Marais from the Michelin Guide called Pramil. The menu was very appealing and the food was delicious and creative without being over the top, or unreasonably expensive. The only odd thing was the fact that all the other diners were rich, older American tourists. I felt under-dressed without a string of pearls! At least Chis wore a tie.

Bob and Jason with desserts at Pramil, in the Haut Marais.

Chris and Marcus with desserts at Pramil, in the Haut Marais.

After dinner we did some serious bar-hopping: L’Open Café, Les Souffleurs and Le Duplex! Marcus and Chris seemed disappointed by the quality of the cocktails but the beer tasted fine to me. I met an old friend and a new friend at Le Duplex, which is becoming my favorite gay bar here.

On Sunday Jason and I met up with Lisa for a walk over to the Parc de Bercy and lunch on the banks of the Seine.

Jason, Lisa and Aya at the Parc de Bercy.

We wished Aya a happy ten-month birthday, and she rewarded us with some lovely smiles.

Miss Aya is ready for her closeup!

After lunch Jason and I visited the convivial terrace of Rosa Bonheur, then walked back via the Canal Saint-Martin. We had a good and moderately-priced meal at Le Chant des Voyelles in the Marais. The adjacent walking street was jammed with guys overflowing from the bear bar next door. Jason observed that almost every guy at both places had a beard, often around a week’s growth. We may indeed have reached “peak beard” but it’s nice while it lasts!

Mot du jour: doudou. Security blanket, or a the favorite soft toy of a small child.

Road Trip! L’Ejumeau, Château de Chambord, Orléans

Tags

Avis, Aya, Chambord, driving, L'Ejumeau, La cathédrale Sainte-Croix, Lisa, meals, Orléans, Restaurant du Grand Saint Michel, Sologne, Zhizhong

Friday morning Zhizhong and I met at Lisa’s place and we rented a car for a weekend visit to her family’s estate, L’Ejumeau, in the Sologne. It was the first time I’ve had to include a child seat with a rental car, for Lisa’s 8-month old daughter, Aya.

Lisa and Aya, on our road trip to L’Ejumeau.

L’Ejumeau is about 2-1/2 hours from Paris, but we stopped for lunch both ways so the drive was even easier than usual. Intermittent rain slowed us up a bit, as did some traffic on Sunday getting back into Paris, but overall this was one of the least stressful road trips I’ve done here. Apart from a few cowboys — and completely crazy motorcyclists — French drivers are relatively law-abiding. And my Garmin GPS helpfully alerts one to each of the frequent speed cameras.

The weather wasn’t too conducive to outdoor photography — or for jumping in the pool! — but a couple of photos from prior years will give you an idea of what a wonderful place L’Ejumeau is.

L’Ejumeau, a farmhouse that sleeps 13 people on a 100-acre estate in the Sologne.

Jeff, Bob and Rosé in the pool at L’Ejumeau, in 2011.

We did get out for one good walk, however, among the several large ponds (here called étangs) in the surrounding forest.

Zhizhong, Lisa and Aya, at l’étang Robert.

And nothing could stop us from enjoying each other’s company, as well as two delicious home-cooked meals.

“Uncle Bob” enjoying some quality time with Aya.

Zhizhong and Lisa at dinner on our first night at L’Ejumeau, 2014.

There’s a unique opportunity to house-sit L’Ejumeau for part or all of July in case any of my responsible friends is attracted by a rural retreat — to write a book, perhaps? A complete lack of distractions, apart from satellite Internet, can be assured. You would be responsible for utilities but would otherwise enjoy the place rent free!

On Saturday we made an excursion to the Château de Chambord, the largest of the Loire valley châteaux. It’s a dramatic pile, begun by François I but not completed until the 19th century.

Le château de Chambord, the largest of the Loire valley châteaux.

Zhizhong and Lisa at le château de Chambord.

The interior is an odd mix of period furnishing and art, with the oddest room of all being the hall of trophies.

Bob in the hall of trophies, at le château de Chambord.

Saturday lunch was at the Restaurant du Grand Saint Michel in Chambord, which we all really liked. Lisa called on baby-privilege to get us served promptly, and the meal proved to be delicious.

Bob’s entrée (appetizer) at the Restaurant du Grand Saint Michel in Chambord.

Zhizhong with his dessert at the Restaurant du Grand Saint Michel at Chambord, seemingly oblivious of the menacing sanglier looming behind him!

On Sunday we stopped at Orléans for lunch, then strolled over to La cathédrale Sainte-Croix, like Chambord built over many centuries, originally Gothic but finished in a Renaissance style.

La cathédrale Sainte-Croix in Orléans is particularly dramatic in contrast to the four-story buildings which predominate in the rest of the old city.

The facade and towers of la cathédrale Sainte-Croix in Orléans were not finished until the 18th century, and they add Renaissance confectionery to the Gothic building.

Joan of Arc getting rather dramatically burned at the stake in a late-19th century stained glass window of La cathédrale Sainte-Croix in (Old) Orléans.

Zhizhong was especially charmed by how peaceful Orléans was on a Sunday. Taken though he is by Paris, he’s also drawn to the calmer life of the French provinces.

While the driving was remarkably low-stress, Avis had a little zinger in store for me. When I dropped off the car the agent claimed that a tiny ding in the driver’s-side door was my responsibility.

Spot the tiny ding that Avis is charging me $450 for. Hint — just above the arrow. Would you notice this when looking over a rental car for preexisting damage?

I had carefully inspected the car when I rented it, but the ding was so minor that it could have been there without my noticing. I wasn’t aware of hitting anything with the door, though a car parked next to us could have made the dent in any of several lots and garages. Hopefully this year I have met the stringent requirements to get reimbursed from Master Card. Another time I will take pictures of the car when I rent it!