Plants, Food, Etc.

Tags

Alpine Garden, Desvouges, Experimental Cocktail Club, Fanny Ardant, Gay Pride, Ginkgo Biloba, Hiroshima Mon Amour, jardin des plantes, Jared, Marais, Tom, water lilies, water lily

On Friday we headed over to the nearby Jardin des Plantes. I had strolled through it before Jared arrived but didn’t really do it justice. We both felt that the central gardens seemed rather thin (especially compared with 2010), and were bored by the repetitive patterns that characterize a formal French garden.

Our impression wasn’t improved by a visit to the quirky little botanical museum.

We were mesmerized, however, by the water drops at the center of these huge water lily leaves, which looked like liquid silver.

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The greenhouses (serres) were lush with vegetation, in striking contrast to the central lawn.

Ginkgo Biloba

My favorite spot in the Jardin des Plantes, however, was the English-style Alpine Garden, which I’d somehow managed to miss in all my visits to Paris. It’s both lush and lovely! You do have to dodge the sprinklers but it’s worth the effort.

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We had lunch at Desvouges, Jared’s favorite among the restaurants we’ve eaten at this year, and one of my favorites as well.

Jared with Magret de Canard at Desvouges

After lunch Jared did some shopping, I did some blogging, and we both took naps. We had dinner at home, the highlight of which was a blind taste test comparing a baguette from the nearby supermarket with one from the neighborhood boulangerie. I was surprised to find that I liked the supermarket baguette better! But we agreed that both were perfectly fine.

We then headed across to the right bank to see a one-woman performance of Hiroshima Mon Amour by the renowned actress Fanny Ardant. It was, as I expected, powerful, moving, and somewhat difficult for me to follow. The theater was beautiful but we realized that it wasn’t air conditioned when they handed us fans and water bottles! It was warm but not too bad, and the theater made it seem downright cool when we stepped outside.

We strolled up to the Experimental Cocktail Club to have a couple of drinks for old times sake, then over to the Marais to see the pre-Pride buzz. It was a beautiful evening for a walk. We ended up jumping on the métro at Bastille.

Addendum: A funny thing happened on the way over to the theater. As Jared and I stepped onto the métro I felt a tap on my shoulder. Having been recently pickpocketed I spun around with an unfriendly expression, but instead of an evildoer there was Tom, now with platinum blond hair! He was meeting friends for a pre-Pride party but we had a chance to say hello and goodbye. It was nice to see him one more time before the end of this year’s petit séjour.

Sherard’s First Days

Tags

Antoine, Batignolles, Bouillon Chartier, Comptoir General, Experimental Cocktail Club, flâneur, Fushigi!, Hoppy, Il Tre, Le Refuge, Le Tout Petit, Les Ambassades, Marais, meals, Metro, Montmartre, Montorgueil, Musee d'Orsay, Palais Royal, Parc Monceau, Rodin Museum, rue Montorgueil, Sacre Coeur, Sherard, Théâtre de Nesle

My friend and book club colleague Sherard arrived on Tuesday, May 21, for his second visit to Paris. We had had a lovely time here three years ago, in 2016, so I was delighted when he accepted my invitation to visit again.

Sherard on rue Montorgueil

He arrived in the morning so our strategy was to keep him up and about until at least 8 pm to help with jet lag. We headed up to Montmartre, starting with Sacré Coeur, which we had also visited during his previous stay.

Sherard with Sacré Coeur

We were both bemused by the crush of tourists at the top, and impressed with how much quieter it was off the tourist track on the back of the hill. We sat for half an hour at Le Refuge, which Antoine had introduced me to in 2010, watching local people (with nary a tourist in sight) come and go at the métro station Lamarck—Caulaincourt. On our way home I proposed dinner at one of my favorite places, Bouillon Chartier. There I made the first of several mistakes, by failing to warn Sherard that the bar entier would be a whole fish, head, skin, fins and all. He bravely tackled it and I think mostly enjoyed it.

Bob and Sherard at Bouillon Chartier

We finished the evening with a couple rounds of cocktails at Experimental Cocktail Club, which is exactly the same as we remembered it from 2016.

The following day we got a joint ticket for the Musée d’Orsay and the Rodin Museum, and headed off to the Orsay. I discussed our experiences at the Orsay in the previous post, but this pic of Sherard from a hallway in the Orsay is worth adding:

Sherard getting his model mojo on

When we first arrived at the Seine Sherard remarked on the wide walkways on each side of the river (berges). At first I was puzzled, but then I realized that he hadn’t seen them during his previous stay since they were submerged by the Great Flood of 2016.

After the Orsay we were hungry, and wandered back into the 7ème, which I don’t know well, to forage. We finally came across a friendly place called Les Ambassades whose 19 euro menu included appetizer, main, dessert and beverage, so we were well fed. After lunch I realized that we were just a block or two from the Rodin Museum. Our ticket allowed us to visit the two museums on different days (with a three month period, actually) but since we were already there I suggested that we make it a two-museum day. The indoor museum doesn’t thrill me, but we both quite liked the sculpture garden.

The garden of the Monet Museum, with The Thinker and even Balzac peeping through the vegetation

Balzac by Rodin

The garden of the Rodin Museum

We just had time to regroup at home before heading across the river again to see an interesting production called Fushigi! at the Théâtre de Nesle, an improvisational piece based on the films of Miyazaki. I had imagined colorful costumes but I couldn’t have been more wrong. A young girl embarked on a mission to restore a precious plant to its environment. She and her mother used (very) friendly monkeys to carry messages between them. A wicked witch turned the girl into a vulture, but fortunately her identity was restored and they all lived happily ever after. I don’t have to give you a spoiler alert because the show is different every performance; all this was improvised by four actors clad in white using mime, plus occasional spoken words, to tell a vivid and affecting story. It was also perfect for us, since rapid fire, subtle French is challenging to follow.

After the show we had a a simple but delicious Italian meal at Il Tre, on rue Montorgueil.

Bob with Sherard at Il Tre on rue Montorgueil

We went out later to explore the gay scene in the Marais, but everything was pretty dead so we ended up with a tasty beer at Hoppy, one of our favorite bars from 2016, that fortunately is still thriving.

Sherard at Hoppy, after a long day

The next day Sherard asked me to look over a map of Paris and point out the areas with which I was least familiar. This was an approach that worked well during his last visit, ending up with a charming dinner in the faraway 14ème. This year one of the less familiar arrondissements I mentioned was the 17ème. I had visited a few times but never fully explored. We set out on foot, as is our wont, which took us through the Palais Royal.

Statue at the Palais Royal (with modesty preserved by a strategic bud)

Bob ‘s hat head at the Palais Royal

When we encountered the Galeries Lafayette I suggested we take a look, as a contrast with the more popular 17ème. It’s beautiful and impressive, but I find the rank commercialism rather distasteful.

Dome of Galeries Lafayette

Our first stop in the 17ème was the charming Square des Batignolles, a jardin à l’anglaise, i.e. mimicking nature rather than geometry. A striking contrast to Galeries Lafayette!

Square des Batignolles with Sherard

Square des Batignolles

We had lunch in a cute little place next to the park.

Bob at “Le Tout Petit,” Batignolles, 17ème

Sherard at “Le Tout Petit,” Batignolles

Then we plunged into terra incognita (to me). I was surprised to find dozens of big, brand new buildings clustered around a planned station of the fast, fully automated métro line 14. Unfortunately the buildings are finished and occupied but the station has been delayed, so the overcrowded line 13 is a nightmare for the time being.

Just a few of many new buildings in the 17ème

Sherard had noticed a green strip called the Cité des Fleurs on the map and suggested that we check it out. What proper flâneur could say no? I wasn’t sure that it would be open to the public, but in fact it’s open from 7 am to 7 pm, so we enjoyed a stroll. The older buildings on each side couldn’t be more different from the high rises just a few blocks away.

Lovely houses in the Cité des Fleurs, 17ème

It was only as we were about to exit that I remembered my friend Antoine having mentioned that he had moved from St. Germain des Prés to this very Cité des Fleurs! I texted him on the off chance that he might be at home, taking care of his newborn daughter; he was, and he invited us up for coffee!

Antoine with his two-month old daughter

Bob, Antoine with his daughter, and Sherard

It was great to catch up with Antoine and to see what a family man he has become. We walked home via the beautiful Parc Monceau.

Sherard and I we’re both a bit tired after our long day, and my memory of dinner is hazy, but I’m pretty sure that we capped the evening with cocktails at Experimental Cocktail Club.

A few days later, on Friday afternoon, I made a remarkable mistake that needs to be recounted. I took Sherard for a drink at Le Comptoir Général, an African-themed bar along the Canal Saint-Martin that Alexis had introduced me to in 2013, when it was known as the Ghetto Museum.  I had been blown away on that first visit by extensive conceptual art installations, as well as by their powerful signature cocktail, the Secousse (Earthquake).

A glimpse of the Ghetto Museum from 2013, but the art is almost all gone now.

I also had a dim memory that over the years it had become less African art museum and more pretentious yuppie bar, but it was still on my mental list of places to show visitors. What I definitely did not recall was that I had taken Sherard there on his first visit, in 2016, and we had been distinctly underwhelmed:

I showed Sherard Comptoir Général but realized, seeing it through his eyes, that it was no longer the astonishing art-intensive Ghetto Museum that Alexis had introduced me to several years back, but had become just a big hipster bar with a few bits of African decor.

The current Comptoir Général isn’t a terrible place. We had a moderately pleasant time sipping our drinks and watching the hipsters. The terrible thing is that I had forgotten that we had done the same thing three years earlier. Memory becomes an issue as one gets older. For someone who is “pushing 70” I think I do pretty well, but I have to admit that this oversight gives me pause. It would be an “expected surprise” to sink into outright dementia in the last years of my life, but I’m hoping to stave this off as long as possible!

Near the end of the week Sherard revealed that he had had a slight ulterior motive all along: To keep me so happily busy that I wouldn’t have time to blog. In this he succeeded magnificently! I’m writing a full week later, just after he headed back to Boston.

Arts et Métiers with Andy

Tags

apéro, Blanco, Bouillon Chartier, Diving suit, escargot, Experimental Cocktail Club, Hispano-Suiza, Hoppy, L'Absinthe Café, Musée des Arts et Métiers, Scaphandre, Scaphandre rigide, snail, steam punk, Steampunk

On Sunday afternoon Andy and I headed back from Belleville around 6 pm to get ready for an apéro at Rick and Cheryl’s place. Two of Rick’s nieces were staying with them so we thought it would be fun to get them together with Andy. Rick and Cheryl also invited their friend Carl and his nephew Alex, so we ended up with four aunts and uncles and four nieces and nephews. (I thought I was so original but it seems that quite few uncles invite their nieces and nephews to visit them in Paris!)

Neices, nephews, uncles and an aunt at Rick & Cheryl’s apéro

It turned out that one of the girls was best friends with one of Andy’s former roommates, who gave him a good review. After snacks and several bottles of champagne the young-uns went out on the town while Rick and Cheryl and I had a nightcap at Blanco.

There was talk of another 20-something outing for Monday night, after Andy’s and my second day in Belleville, but thunderstorms were predicted so everyone stayed in.

On Tuesday Andy and I walked over to the Musée des Arts et Métiers. He loved it as much as I expected. I’ve taken so many pictures in prior years that I only added a few to my extensive [Musée des Arts et Métiers Photo Set]. The museum is hard to describe but here’s a try: It’s an historical museum of engineering, design and science; basically the attic where every French gadget that’s too cool to throw away ends up.

Loved this diving suit! It never worked but has nevertheless become something of a steampunk icon.

Diving suit by Alphonse and Théodore Carmagnolle, 1882

Hood ornament, Coupé de maître, Hispano-Suiza, 1935

We had lunch at the nearby l’Absinthe Café so we could easily return to finish the museum. It used to be a classic neighborhood restaurant, recommended by my friend Elliot, who formerly lived in the area. I have seen it change over the years, adding burgers a few years ago and this year doubling or tripling the price of a carafe of wine. It’s still ok but I miss the old days!

Lunch at l’Absinthe Café

For dinner we walked over to Bouillon Chartier, an old favorite that has retained its classic character, despite being a tourist attraction.

Bouillon Chartier. The cubbyholes at the right were for the napkins of the workmen who frequented the restaurant back in the day.

At Bouillon Chartier you are seated with other patrons. This couple met when they were both 20; the American guy was a serviceman stationed in France, the woman was a local girl, and the rest is history. We had a lovely conversation with them.

With new friends at Bouillon Chartier.

When I mentioned that Andy had never eaten a snail the woman offered him one of hers. To my surprise, he accepted!

Andy preparing to eat his first snail!

The moment of truth!

Ummm…

We were still thirsty after dinner so we stopped off at Hoppy for what turned into a couple of beers.

Beer at Hoppy on rue des Petits Carreaux

That only made us thirstier so we finished the evening at another old favorite, Experimental Cocktail Club.

A couple of after-beer cocktails at Experimental Cocktail Club

Mot du jour: Scaphandre rigide: Diving suit. You can never be sure when this may come in handy!

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!

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.