Paris Sacred and Profane

Tags

Arc de Triomphe, Chez Ginette, Experimental Cocktail Club, France, meals, Montmartre, Parc Monceau, Paris, Sacre Coeur, Sherard, St-Pierre-de-Montmartre

Tuesday was a bit brighter so we set off to see the view from the base of Sacré-Coeur, the white-domed church on the top of Montmartre. Rue Montmartre starts near my place, at the foot of Saint Eustache, so we followed it through the faubourg, then took rue des Martyrs and many flights of stairs up to the top. The view was panoramic but too hazy for my postcard aesthetic.

We both found the tourist crush around Sacré-Coeur off-putting, but we enjoyed the much calmer and much older St-Pierre-de-Montmartre that shares the summit.

Peaceful alcove in St-Pierre-de-Montmartre

We had a late lunch at Chez Ginette, a modest but pleasant restaurant just above the Lamarck-Caulaincourt métro station. The food was fine and the view was unbeatable. After eating we strolled over to posh Parc Monceau. It was later than I usually see the park and there was a steady stream of joggers. We read our books for a while, trying not to let ourselves be distracted by the passing parade.

Gilded entrance to posh Parc Monceau

Then we headed over to the Arc de Triomphe. I made the classic error of mistaking the métro entrance for the underpass beneath the traffic mayhem of the Étoile, but after a brief diversion we found the correct entrance and explored the base of the monument.

Tricolor flying beneath the Arc de Triomphe

We had passed an attractive restaurant on our way up to the Arc de Triomphe so we backtracked a couple of blocks and had a good meal at Le Beaucour, in one of the posher neighborhoods of Paris.

Sherard enjoying his café gourmand a few blocks from the tourist crush around the Arc de Triomphe

After regrouping at home we started our evening with cocktails at Experimental Cocktail Club — where I’m becoming a regular — then beers at our neighborhood bar Hoppy, then a special birthday visit to a gay bar that I had avoided all these years: Le Depot. Sherard had enjoyed the upstairs bar at Total Beur the previous Friday, but on Tuesday only the downstairs was open. It was just as sketchy as my friends had said! The physical space was clean enough but the few other patrons had a zombie quality that we put down to a single-minded obsession about hooking up. After finishing our beers we fled, sadder but wiser!

Advertisements

Drinking While Paris Drowns

Tags

Arturo, beur, drinking, Experimental Cocktail Club, France, Garçon Magazine, Hoppy, Jared, La Chaise au Plafond, Le Depot, Les Mots a la Bouche, Les Souffleurs, Marais, neighborhoods, Open Café, Paris, Quetzal Bar, rebeu, Sherard, Total Beur

Friday night was an epic bar crawl. I’m tempted to just refer the gentle reader to the Circe Chapter of Ulysses and leave it at that. But as a dedicated blogger I must try to record the experience!

On Wednesday Sherard and I had visited Les Mots à la Bouche — the indispensable gay bookstore in the heart of the Marais. A friendly clerk invited us to the launch party on Friday for Garçon Magazine issue 4, so we arranged to meet Arturo there to start our evening. Meanwhile, Jared W got in touch to suggest coordinating with him and a friend so we suggested that he meet us there also. Then a young Chinese filmmaker who I had met once in Boston surfaced and asked if we could meet up this evening. So I invited him to meet us there as well. The more the merrier!

Arturo was already at the Garçon launch party when we arrived, and a photographer was taking pictures for possible use in the next issue. Naturally the three of us volunteered; my guess is that our photo might just get in: How could they resist a handsome latino, a super-cute mixed-race guy and a charming much older gentleman? Then Jared W arrived with not one but four friends. We toyed with the idea of looking for a table for eight but eventually decided to go our separate ways for dinner. Then the filmmaker arrived, and showed every sign of wanting to spend the rest of the evening with me, despite the fact that I already had two excellent companions. I introduced him to the photographer and sent him over to have his picture taken, saying that I had to go back to my friends.

That seemed to work, so Sherard, Arturo and I headed over to the Open Café for cheap happy-hour beers on their terrasse. Who should arrive, however, but the filmmaker, still lonely as a cloud! I walked him into the bar and introduced him to a sweet-looking Australian of my vintage to help him order a beer. Happily, this time my social engineering worked and we saw them later going into Quetzal Bar.

Meanwhile, the three of us walked down to Les Souffleurs for cocktails. Arturo was scandalized when the bartender larded his martini with vermouth, but after much heated discussion he got an American-style martini, and ended up with a free drink. Who should we see as we left to find dinner but Jared W and his four friends! (This wasn’t as big a coincidence as it might seem, since Lisa’s Geoff had introduced both of us to the bar during Jared’s stay with me a few years back.) Jared and his friends had already eaten falafels on rue des Rosiers, so Sherard, Arturo and I went looking for a table for three.

My favorite Bad Boys, Sherard and Arturo.

Happily, we found one at an old favorite, La Chaise au Plafond. Their famous millefeuille appetizer wasn’t on the menu, since tomatoes were not yet in season, but otherwise the meal was up to my expectations. The only photo I took, however, was of the toilet — sorry, it was that kind of evening!

The toilet at La Chaise au Plafond. Arturo almost touched hands with the person opposite, thinking that the hands he saw were his own in a mirror.

After dinner we walked back to our own neighborhood (Arturo’s apartment was nearby) and had excellent cocktails at Experimental Cocktail Club. Arturo was feeling tired for some reason, so after a couple of drinks he headed home.

Sherard and I were still thirsty, though, so we each had a distinctive craft beer at Hoppy, a brand new beer bar just down the street. We closed the place down, and had a nice conversation with the owner as we left.

Hoppy

When we got home, however, Sherard realized that this was Total Beur night at Le Depot — a big 16th Anniversary event! I like beurs/rebeus (slang but not necessarily insulting terms for guys of north African ancestry – mot du jour link), but I was a bit tired myself by this point and I had never been to Le Depot, in part because friends had described it as a creepy sex club. So Sherard headed out once more into the alluring Parisian night. He reported the next morning that it was a lively and attractive crowd, and that the ground floor was a pleasant, normal gay bar. (He also brought back a card for free admission on a Tuesday night, but more about that later…)

In case you found this a teensy bit confusing here’s a helpful table:

Party/Bar/Restaurant	Sherard and Me	Arturo	Jared W+4	The Filmmaker	The Aussie
Garçon Magazine issue 4 Launch Party at Les Mots à la Bouche	X	X	X	X
Open Café	X	X		X	X
Les Souffleurs	X	X	X
Quetzel Bar	X	X		X	X
La Chaise au Plafond	X	X
Experimental Cocktail Club	X	X
Hoppy	X
Le Depot	Sherard

Sherard and I have been friends for years, and we’ve shared a glass of wine or two on many occasions. This is the first time we’ve traveled together, though, so when he first arrived I asked what his attitude was towards going out drinking. He said he was open to the idea, and he was true to his word!

First Days With Sherard

Tags

art, Arturo, Experimental Cocktail Club, France, Gaîté Lyrique, Galerie Linz, Lucas Talbotier, Marais, meals, Montorgueil, Nanashi, Open Café, Paris, rue Montorgueil, Seine, Sherard, weather

Sherard arrived on Wednesday morning for a week-long visit to Paris, his first. After he got settled in I asked what he particularly wanted to see or do here and he gave me a short, straightforward list:

• the Louvre,
• the Musée D’Orsay, (most famous for its unparalleled collection of impressionist works) and,
• the Pompidou Center (the national museum of modern and contemporary art).

“No problem!” (I thought!) Because it was closest, and in the gay-friendly Marais, we set out that afternoon to see the Pompidou Center, the national museum of modern and contemporary art.

At the café atop the Pompidou Center

We started with an exhibition about the life and work of Paul Klee. It was large and comprehensive, although I was surprised not to see some of his most iconic images. These were a few pieces from the show that caught my eye.

Paul Klee, Green X Above Left, 1915

Paul Klee, Mask Fear, 1932

Paul Klee, Snake Paths, 1934

It’s always a pleasure to revisit the Pompidou‘s permanent collection but I’ve blogged about it many times before so I won’t repeat myself here. I did get a decent video clip of a rotating op-art piece I’ve always liked, however: Nicholas Schöffer, Spatiodynamisme (visions condensées), 1958

Also, I hadn’t noticed this piece before, which embodies the absurdity of some branches of conceptual art.

George Brecht, Three Arrangements, 1962 / 1973 / 2015

That evening we strolled down to the Seine. The recent rains had caused the river to rise higher than I remembered seeing it. I took a photo, but didn’t give it much further thought…

The quai at the tip of Île Saint-Louis on June 1, 2016, at the start of the Great Flood of 2016.

We ended the evening with cocktails at my old favorite, the Experimental Cocktail Club.

The next morning Sherard was kind enough to give me moral support at a coffee date with Arturo, a guy I had been chatting with for a few years but had never met in person. He turned out to be great — handsome, smart and sweet! We made a plan to meet again for drinks that evening and continued on our way.

We got our art fix on Thursday from less mainstream sources. First was a quirky show at the Gaîté Lyrique, a former theater that is now the neighborhood cultural center for the 3ème arrondissement. The show started out with some cute-ish computer enhanced image manipulations, then developed into a meditation on information gathering and surveillance, and on our mostly-futile attempts to protect ourselves.

We had lunch at an old favorite, Nanashi in the Haut Marais. We both enjoyed our  meals as well as the handsome and friendly waiters.

Sherard with our Bento boxes at Nanashi in the Haut Marais.

We spent the late afternoon seeing galleries participating in Les Jeudis Arty (Arty Thursdays) in the Marais, which now happens just three times a year.

This exhibition space was as interesting as the works (which were on plastic tables suspended by wires from the ceiling struts).

This piece was one of Sherard’s favorites.

Sherard with Memory Drift, 2015, by Nicholas Dhervillers at School Gallery Paris

Painting by Lucas Talbotier at his Biome show

I liked several pieces by Lucas Talbotier at Jola Sidi Gallery.

I was pleased to learn that the handsome young artist will be spending a semester at Rhode Island Institute of Design (RISD) starting next January. We exchanged contact info and I hope I’ll have an opportunity to show him around Boston next winter.

My favorite gallery of all was the Galerie Linz, hidden at the back of a courtyard. I liked almost everything but my favorite piece was a remarkable balanced stone sculpture.

After a minor SNAFU we met up with Arturo and had a beer at the Jeudis Arty after party at the Carreau du Temple, then decamped for cocktails at Le Mary Celeste.

Arturo and Bob at Le Mary Celeste. (Photo credit Sherard)

The drinks were fine and the atmosphere was nice but the service was lackluster. We then tried the Experimental Cocktail Club, but we couldn’t get in because it closes at 2 pm on Thursdays. By this point we were close to home so Sherard and I invited Arturo up to the apartment and we ended the evening with a few glasses of wine.

Last Days in Paris — For My Friends

Tags

Antoine, apartment, Bateau Mouche, Chris, Cocktails, Experimental Cocktail Club, Gillian, La Faille, Matt, meals, Montorgueil, Old Cuban, Paris, Pont Alexandre III, rouget barbu, rue Montorgueil, Sacre Coeur, Seine

Monday was the last day in Paris for Matt and Chris. Our first plan was to get the view from the top of Sacré-Coeur, but Chris was feeling a bit under the weather so we switched to something that didn’t involve so much climbing: a boat trip on the Seine. It was 100% touristy but actually rather fun.

A selfie of me with the Eiffel Tower taken on a Bateau Mouche. Could anything be more touristy?

Detail of the most beautiful bridge in Paris, the Pont Alexandre III. You can’t get this view from shore.

Revisiting from the water side so many buildings we had seen from the land made this a rather good way to round out their visit. That evening Matt and Chris made their last home-cooked meal – with fresh pasta from a market on rue Montorgueil — and I headed out to meet  my nephew’s girlfriend Gillian, her mother and her brother Rob for dinner. Gillian had been traveling through Europe for weeks, and her mother and brother had joined her in Paris a few days before; this was also their last day here. We met at the Sentier métro station, then strolled down rue Montorgueil looking for a good place to have an apéro. We settled on a corner table at Blanco that was sunny but not smoky. We all had kirs, with different flavors of liqueur. Then we foraged for a meal. We settled on La Faille, a relatively new restaurant on rue Montmartre that I hadn’t previously tried. I was impressed with the decor and the very energetic service. I also liked the way the owner chased away a panhandler who started bothering us. The wine and food were both quite good, and the price seemed consistent with other good restaurants in Paris.

Gillian, with her mother and brother at La Faille on rue Montmartre.

My rouget barbu at La Faille on rue Montmartre.

After wishing them a good trip home to Chicago I headed back to my apartment around midnight. Normally I feel quite safe in the neighborhood, but this evening three young men were loitering around the door to my apartment.

Young men loitering about my apartment around midnight.

I was right to be concerned, since they dragged me away! … to the Experimental Cocktail Club for a couple rounds of creative drinks. (We particularly liked the Old Cuban, and an unusual little chicory-flavored drink that Matt got.)

In the morning Matt and Chris headed back to Boston, after a lovely visit. The apartment is quiet again! But not for long…

An Ethnic Evening

Tags

Château-Rouge, Chris, Experimental Cocktail Club, Matt, Mazurka, meals, Metro, Montorgueil, neighborhoods, Paris, Polish cuisine, Polish food, rue Maurice-Utrillo, rue Montorgueil, rue Paul-Albert, rue Saint-Sauveur, Sacre Coeur, stairs

Chris had made only one culinary request — aside from not taking him to any more restaurants where there’s nothing he can eat — which was to dine at a Polish restaurant, serving the kind of food his mother makes. Thursday was his night. Chris chose a place called Mazurka, and since it was nice out we set off for a half-hour walk rather than taking the métro. After the first ten minutes I was no longer familiar with the neighborhood, except that we were climbing so much that we had to be going up Montmartre.

The restaurant is in a somewhat run-down part of the 18ème, but it looks rather cute. Chris and Matt had a flashback to the empty restaurant we had fled on our first night but I reassured them that we were just on the early side, and that this place looked fine, as indeed it proved to be.

Matt, and Chris at Mazurka in the 18ème. (And note our playful waiter in the mirror on the right.)

Polish isn’t my favorite cuisine but I have to admit that this plate was pretty darn good.

We had been noticing tantalizing little views of Sacré-Coeur as we climbed up to the restaurant, and on the map it seemed to be quite close — just a few little streets away. So I suggested we stroll over, imagining that we were already more-or-less on top of the hill.

Chris and Matt on “rue Maurice-Utrillo,” which, like “rue Paul-Albert” is actually a steep flight of steps. Not the best plan right after a filling Polish dinner…

The church was lovely by night, however, as was the view from the plaza.

Sacré Coeur looking nice after dark.

Just as Matt and Chris were about ready to forgive me for taking them up all those steps I made an even more serious mistake. I let Google Maps navigate us back to métro Château-Rouge. After midnight. I knew better, but we were all tired and this was both the closest station and on a line that took us directly home. Almost everyone else on the platform was drunk and rowdy. We were also amost the only white people. One guy in particular staggered in my direction and seemed to be planning to accidentally-on-purpose fall on me, which would have been unpleasant at best, and would have cost me my wallet and/or cell phone at next best. Chris, though not tall, is trained to deal with aggression, and he was braced to act if the guy got much closer. For some reason — quite possibly Chris’s glare — the guy changed his mind and the train arrived and whisked us safely back to our cozy neighborhood. Note to self: avoid Château-Rouge after dark!

Our walk back home took us up rue Montorgueil past my former apartment on the corner of rue Saint-Sauveur. I suggested the possibility of rounding out the evening with a cocktail, and hearing no dissent guided us a few doors down to the Experimental Cocktail Club, the first of a current flowering of bobo cocktail establishments in Paris. It’s in a tiny speakeasy-like stone room. It was busy but not jammed and we only had to wait a few minutes for seats. The service and patrons were friendly and the cocktails washed away any anxieties that might have arisen at Château-Rouge.

A nightcap at the Experimental Cocktail Club on rue Saint-Sauveur in the 2éme.

Our refreshing drinks at the Experimental Cocktail Club.

As we were about to go Matt chided me for not eating the cherry in my drink, but warned me about the pit. His warning was unnecessary, however, since it was actually a radish.

Yet Another Spring in Paris!

Tags

2ème arrondissement, apartment, euro to dollar exchange rate, exchange rate, Experimental Cocktail Club, layout, Montorgueil, Paris, rue Montorgueil, ventilation, view

I’m pleased to report that I’ve made arrangements to spend six weeks in Paris this spring! (May 13 to June 29) I’ve rented a lovely-looking apartment in the 2ème arrondissement, just two blocks from my beloved rue Montorgueil. Here’s a glimpse of the living room:The full description of the apartment is at this link. These were the criteria I used to select this place from hundreds of online options:

• Location is of course a primary consideration. I wanted to rent near the center of the city, in or near an animated area (bakeries, food stores, shops, cafés, restaurants, etc.), but not in an area that is too heavily trampled by tourists. This apartment is two blocks from bustling rue Montorgueil, which is active without being too touristy. The only wild card is whether daytime commercial activity on rue des Jeuneurs may be somewhat annoying. I’m sure it will be quiet at night, though, and while I loved looking out on the activity of rue Montorgueil I think it will be a lot easier to get to sleep in this apartment.
• Decor. Last year’s apartment was very well located, but it looked a bit rundown from the photos, and it turned out to be dirty and poorly maintained. It was 500 euros per month less than this one, but when you are spending 6-8 weeks in a place you really do want it to be pleasant. The photos of this place make it look truly inviting, even though it lacks the exposed beams that have graced most of my previous rental places.
  
• Stairs/Elevator. My first year both places I rented were on the French 5th floor — five flights up — with no elevator. The stairs weren’t a physical challenge but I felt psychologically distanced from the ground. For example, I would sometimes eat a stale baguette for breakfast instead of going down to buy a fresh one! In subsequent years I’ve rented on the French 3rd floor and had no issues. This apartment is on the French 3rd but also — a first for me — has an elevator! I hope I’ll mostly use the stairs but it will be nice not to have to schlep my big suitcase up three flights when I arrive.
• Amenities. High-speed internet and WiFi are now typical, but it would be a huge inconvenience to rent somewhere that didn’t offer them. I like a place with a washer/dryer, keeping in mind that most French units do a poor job of drying so you must plan on hanging most of your clothes anyway. A dishwasher isn’t essential, but is nice to have. I personally like to have a desk and chair for my computer, which this place offers.
• Layout and View. French apartments usually have no air conditioning, so it’s important to make sure they have good ventilation. The ideal configuration — which I found this year — is through ventilation between windows on the street and windows on the courtyard. It’s also appealing to get some sun and a view in the living room, while having the bedroom open onto the (usually) quieter courtyard. Because I like to invite friends to visit I prefer to have the toilet accessible both from the bedroom and from the sofa bed in the living room. (The apartment on the corner of rue Montorgueil and rue Saint-Sauveur that I rented for several years was in most respects wonderful, but having to go through the bedroom to get to the toilet was suboptimal.)
• Cost. I set a budget limit of 2,200 euros per month this year, and this apartment came in right at the top of my range. The extraordinary fall in the euro relative to the U.S. dollar will make this year’s petit sejour in Paris much cheaper than in prior years, however. In the past 12 months the euro has dropped from $1.38 to $1.09:  US Dollar to Euro Exchange Rate Graph – Mar 10, 2014 to Mar 6, 2015

Jason’s Last Day

Tags

Alexis, Candelaria, crepes, Experimental Cocktail Club, gallettes, Hôtel de Sauroy, Jason, meals, Musée Carnavalet, Nanashi, Proust cork lined room, rue Charlot

Jason and I had planned to rent bikes at Versailles on his last day in Paris, but the forecast was discouraging so we made it a museum day instead.

After a sleepy start we set out to search for Breton food, and landed at the Bar du Marché des Blancs Manteaux on rue Vielle du Temple. The service and decor were nice, and we had pretty good gallettes (similar to crêpes but made with a different batter and with a salty filling) despite the iffy Yelp ratings.

After lunch we visited the Carnavalet, the museum of the history of the city of Paris. It’s a wonderful omnium-gatherum of art and artefacts relevant to Paris that don’t quite make the cut to get into one of the fine art museums. It’s hard to give any real idea of the scope of the collection but here are a few pics.

Yves Alix, L’escalier roulante (1928). Musée Carnavalet.

Marcel Proust’s cork-lined room at Musée Carnavalet.

Bob with art deco peacock at Musée Carnavalet.

After the museum Jason and I shared a delicious apricot-pistachio tart, did some shopping and took afternoon naps. Then we headed out to Nanashi for dinner with my French friend Alexis. As we were waiting outside the restaurant this tranquil doorway caught my eye.

Hôtel de Sauroy, rue Charlot in the Haut Marais.

After a good meal, and a good conversation, Alexis led the way to Candelaria, a hip cocktail bar quite nearby. The entrance is through a tiny, garishly-lit taco bar, but if you get past the doorman you’re ushered through the back door into a large, candle-lit bar, reminiscent of the Experimental Cocktail Club in Montorgueil. We enjoyed tasty and remarkably complex cocktails, and more good conversation, as a fitting end to Jason’s visit.

Bob and Jason toasting Alexis at Candelaria.

This morning Jason packed, ate a quick breakfast and headed to the airport. In an excess of caution I checked the RATP Etat du Réseau site in case there might be any delay. It was lucky I did since the train to Charles de Gaulle airport was skipping Châtelet due to an abandoned package! We figured out an alternate route and Jason is on his way to Bulgaria for the second part of his European trip.

Dynamo!

Tags

art, cheese cake, Eiffel Tower, Experimental Cocktail Club, gâteau de fromage, L'Absinthe Café, language

After our half-marathon Monday (which, by the way, included the equivalent of 53 flights of stairs, per my fitbit) both Brian and I were ready for a quieter Tuesday. He went off to the modern art museum of the city of Paris, then wandered over to the nearby Tour Eiffel. I slept in, blogged, and was still here when he got back! We had dinner at L’Absinthe Café, a neighborhood restaurant in the nearby Arts et Metiers quarter that Elliot Marks had recommended years ago. I was mildly horrified when the waiter gave us English menus, but at the end of the day it lived up to my claim that it primarily catered to nearby French residents.

Dinner with Brian at L’Absinthe Café

We rested after dinner, then walked a few doors down rue Saint-Sauveur to see whether we could get into the Experimental Cocktail Club, which I had enjoyed several times over the last two years. I had been concerned about Brian’s jeans, but that proved not to be a concern. The issue was whether we were cool enough! The doorman was affable but insistent on my answers to a series of questions (en français, bien sûr). First off, he needed to know whether I have been there before, which of course I had, on several occasions. I also claimed to know one of the owners (though not by name). Then it was important for him to know whether I was “leading” (amener) young Brian. I wasn’t exactly sure what this meant but I claimed that I was. For whatever reason, we made the cut and were invited to enter. There were two dj’s spinning mellow music, and excellent experimental cocktails, in a cosy little room.

Brian with an experimental cocktail.

Brian’s petit séjours in Paris made a nice bookends to his Grand Tour. He got away early Wednesday morning to catch his flight home. But not until he made the baguette run — the first time one of my house guests has been so thoughtful. He also offered me his spare U.K. adapter; at first I declined but then I realized that I was really going to need one during my short trip to London later in the month, so I gratefully accepted.

The day was cloudy, with predicted showers, so I booked the Dynamo show at the Grand Palais, which surveys the last hundred years of art involving light and/or movement. I tend to like those types of art — which can mimic the pleasures of an amusement park or fun house. But I was blown away by the size and quality of this show. The exhibition must be ten or fifteen times as large as the entire Boston Institute of Contemporary Art. At several points I thought to myself that the show had been cool, and well worth the price of admission; but then it went on and on!  Light and movement calls for video, so I’ve posted a few clips on YouTube, as well as a still photo set on Picasa.

One of dozens of rooms at Dynamo, at the Grand Palais in Paris, June, 2013.

Anish Kapoor’s Islamic Mirror, 2008.

There were several variations on the theme of a hall of mirrors in the show, but I had never before seen a vertical hall of mirrors.

Here’s my full photo set:  2013 Dynamo Exhibition, and here are the video clips:

• Rotating Labyrinth, Jeppe Hein, 2007 (Finally a work of art that is all about me!)
• Double métamorphose III, Yaacov Agam, 1968-69
• Slow Arc Inside a Cube, Conrad Shawcross, 2009
• Gregorio Vardanega, Espaces chromatique, 1970
• Gerhard von Graevenitz, Kinetisches Objekt mit konkaver Ellipse,1972
• Elías Crespin, Circunconcentricos Transparente, 2013

Meanwhile I’ve also done several loads of laundry, etc. Fortunately, I love playing house. Jared arrives on Monday morning so I have a few days left to my own devices, apart from several evening plans.

Mot du jour: « cheese cake ». Playing the language game with our waiter at L’Absinthe Café I ordered « un gâteau de fromage » to share even though he had given us English menus. He explained that the French term for “cheese cake” is « cheese cake ».  Addendum: A Canadian friend subsequently explained that in Quebec it’s illegal to use English terms like “cheese cake” on menus, so there they in fact do call it « gâteau de fromage » !

Au Revoir

Tags

An Hour from Paris, Canal Saint-Martin, Experimental Cocktail Club, meals, Parc de Sceaux, Sceaux, Tien Hiang

Feeling quite nostalgic my last days here!  But my pain was assuaged considerably on Thursday evening by a lovely farewell dinner at Lisa’s and Ali’s, also including Ali’s sister and my American friend Colin. Ali’s Iranian cuisine was terrific, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves as much as I did.

Iranian Feast

In a time-worn ritual Lisa accepted my mysterious dental apparatus for storage until my next visit, though in a new twist Colin took my stash of Paris guidebooks to see what might be useful for his stay here.  After dinner Colin came back to my place to have a look at my poutres apparentes (and another little glass of wine).  Then we met up with my friend Dan and strolled over to The Experimental Cocktail Club.  It was a big, happy crowd!  As well as enjoying the creative drinks and each other’s company we got into conversation with a group of fêtards seated nearby and Colin ended up exchanging phone numbers with one of the young women.  (!?!)

I had initially planned to see Dan for dinner on Friday night, but he contacted me early in the week to ask if he could “sleep on my floor” for a couple of nights.  Needless to say, I offer a higher standard of accommodation to my guests!  So he stayed over Thursday and Friday nights in unexpected comfort.

Dan at 59, rue Saint-Sauveur

Dan and I had dinner on Friday with his friend Johanna, starting with drinks at her fabulous and quirky apartment overlooking the Canal Saint-Martin.  We ate at a peculiar little Asian vegetarian restaurant, Tien Hiang.  Each of the dishes was described (in French) as including « chicken » or « beef » or some other meat, all composed of textured soy protein.  The food was very good, but I couldn’t help thinking that the place catered to vegetarians who were pining away for a meat diet, or to couples in which only one was vegetarian.

During the day on Friday I took an excursion from An Hour From Paris to the Parc de Sceaux, only a 15 minute train ride from Paris.  It’s a glorious place, with an impressive château, lovely gardens, fountains, waterfalls and a kilometer-long Grand Canal.  It was originally designed by André Le Nôtre, the architect of Versailles, for Louis XIV‘s right-hand man,  Jean-Baptiste Colbert.

Fall Flowers, Parc de Sceaux

The château houses the Musée de l’Ile-de-France, a charming hodge-podge well worth half an hour of your time. The park’s little secret, however, is that the only original building is the tiny Pavillon de l’Aurore. The current château dates from the 19th century, and the park itself is an early 20th century restoration. Despite its dodgy provenance, the place is delightful and fully expresses the 17th century vision of its creators.  My photo set is at: Parc de Sceaux.

Saturday, after Dan left, was mostly spent blogging and cleaning.  After an uneventful checkout I attended Elliot Marks’ birthday party.  He cooked up a storm!  Colin and Andrew were there, as well as other Harvard and non-Harvard guests.  I was particularly pleased to meet Elliot’s partner Pierre.  I made it an early evening, however, since I fly to Marrakesh tomorrow.

Au revoir, Paris !

Art, Food, Friends, Family, Fun

Tags

Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Élysées, Experimental Cocktail Club, Gerhard Richter, Gerry, Jacques, Lézard Café, Louvre, Marais, meals, Mona Lisa, Montorgueil, Pompidou, rue Montorgueil, Saint Sebastian by Pérugin, Tuileries

If it’s Wednesday this must be … the Louvre!  I walked Gerry over since he was still getting oriented (and still waking up around noon).  My initial thought had been to leave him to it, since I’ve been so many times, but there was hardly any line, so I was swept along into another encounter with its vast beauties.  As a first-time visitor, Gerry made a beeline for the Mona Lisa.

Mona Lisa

In case you haven’t seen it in person I made a little video to capture the experience, which is interesting from a sociological perspective, though completely devoid of aesthetic content.  As usual, my own attention was caught by other genres:

Saint Sebastian by Pérugin (detail). Around 1490-1500.

I also added a few more photos to my Paris Louvre Picasa Album.  As it happened, two friends of Gerry’s were also visiting the Louvre that day so we met up with them.  They were a nice couple, but I preferred to take my separate way through the collection. Moving between works and rooms is complicated even with one other person — tho Gerry and I do this comfortably — but with a larger group I find museum-going excruciating. By coincidence we all finished around the same time and met for a walk through the Tuileries gardens, across the Place de la Concorde, then along the Champs-Élysées, to the Arc de Triomphe.

Arc de Triomphe

I had to stand in the road, risking life and limb, to snap that shot.  Postcard-worthy, no?

Wednesday evening I had dinner with my good friend from two prior visits, Jacques. Here is his photo from the French-Asian float at this year’s Paris Gay Pride:

Jacques as an Asian Prince at Paris Gay Pride 2012

He is doing great, working hard at a top accounting firm and enjoying leisure time with his long-standing petit copain (boyfriend), who knows about and accepts our friendship.  It was great to see him again, and we planned one more meal together before I leave.

After Jacques headed home Gerry and I met by chance on rue Montorgueil and ended the evening at the Experimental Cocktail Club comme d’habitude (as usual).  It was another cozy interlude, with good music and atmosphere.  We got into a lively conversation with a good-looking young man across from us until his friends said (in French) “are you with us or with them?”  After which Gerry and I had to make do with one another’s excellent company.

Bob and Gerry at Experimental Cocktail Club

If it’s Thursday it must be … the Pompidou!  This is a fine collection of modern and contemporary art, in a building that is itself an icon of modernity.

Miró Blues

I enjoyed seeing the permanent collection again as well as an exhibition of the remarkably varied work of Gerhard Richter (which ends on Monday).

Gerry at the Richter Exhibition at the Pompidou

Thursday evening I had planned dinner with my cousin BJ, starting with an apéro at my place.

BJ at 59, rue Saint-Saveur

She emailed that morning to ask whether some friends she had also been meaning to catch up with could join us, and of course I said yes.  The new recruits turned out to be two of her former boyfriends and an interesting older woman.  When the first ex arrived he mentioned that he had just left two of his own friends at a café downstairs, so naturally we invited them up as well.  Before I knew it I was hosting a party for eight or nine people!  Several brought wine and I had some provisions on hand so it was a convivial start to the evening.  Most of us stayed for dinner at our new favorite, Lézard Café.  It was once again a really nice experience — good food and friendly (if slightly giddy) service.  At one point I did a double take because there was a handsome young man who I didn’t at first recognize sitting at the other end our table conversing with animation.  With a pleasant little shock I realized that he was our waiter!

After saying farewell to BJ, her friend — and our new waiter friend — Gerry and I headed over to a bar in the Marais, Duplex Bar.  It was a lively place, with an attractive and friendly crowd and relatively low attitude.  We stayed until closing, at 2 am, lingering on the sidewalk to see whether two guys who seemed to have met for the first time that evening would go home together.  They left as part of a foursome, leaving us to wonder whether they were a ménage à quatre (“household of four”, playing on the phrase ménage à trois) or, perhaps (recycling a French friend’s witticism), a manège à quatre (“merry-go-round of four”).