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!

Machines and Music

Tags

Allen Hamrick, Église Saint-Sulpice, Café Cassette, Chris, Equinox, Juilliard, Le Duplex, Marais, Matt, meals, Metro, Musée des Arts et Métiers, rue des Rosiers, Saint Sulpice, Steampunk, Yale

Sunday was rainy so we considered indoor possibilities. Matt and Chris like machinery and devices so we walked over to one of my favorites, le Musée des arts et métiers. As expected, they loved it:

Matt and Chris at le Musée des arts et métiers.

And I always find things I haven’t previously noticed or appreciated:

Steampunk engine from Clément Ader’s “Avion 3”, 1894-97. (Spoiler alert: It never got off the ground.)

We were starving by the time we got to the chapel so we decided to defer close inspection of the vehicles until another visit. We took the métro over to Saint-Sulpice and had a good typical meal at a corner restaurant, Café Cassette. The waitress was initially rather brusque (though we noticed that she treated everyone else the same way). I bided my time, then at the proper moment said to Matt, in her hearing, « Elle n’est pas méchant ; elle est une caractère. » (“She isn’t mean, she’s a character,” in my fractured French.)  This pleased her, and we ended up not only each receiving a souvenir pen, but Chris getting to choose his color. I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat there again but the meal illustrates how you can get a solid reasonably-priced meal almost anywhere in Paris, outside of the main tourist areas.

We were there for a 4 pm concert in the beautiful Église Saint-Sulpice by a combined Yale chorus and Juilliard orchestra, with our friend Allen Hamrick on bassoon. The space was a bit boomy, but magnificent for sustained choral and organ notes.

Yale/Juilliard concert at Église Saint-Sulpice, with Allen Hamrick on bassoon.

There were several distractions, however, including a woman who fainted and had to be carried out on a stretcher by EMTs.

Among the distractions was a woman who fainted and was carried out by EMTs (partially blocked in this photo).

After the concert Allen took the orchestra bus to their hotel, near the Eiffel Tower. His phone didn’t work in Paris, however, so we couldn’t reach him to coordinate an evening plan. Eventually we took the métro to Charles Michels in the depths of the 15e. The desk at his hotel had no record of him checking in so we had a drink in the hotel bar and hoped for the best. Just as we were starting to despair he appeared, and the evening was launched! We headed over to the Marais and had a look around before getting caught in a downpour on the uber-touristy rue des Rosiers. We nixed falafal and in desperation took refuge in a traditional restaurant on the corner of rue Vieille du Temple, Equinox. It was moderately priced, reasonably good, and above all warm and dry!

Chris Miller, Allen Hamrick, Bob Mack and Matt Wagner at Equinox in the Marais.

We finished the evening at Le Duplex, where a 40-something expat from Boston made a heroic and just slightly annoying effort to chat up each of us in turn.

Paris – After the Top Ten Sights

Tags

Alcohol, An Hour from Paris, Arc de Triomphe, Bastille, Bercy Village, Bois de Vincennes, Canal Saint-Martin, Catacombs of Paris, Château de Vincennes, crime, day trips, drinking, Eiffel Tower, Grand Palais, Institut du monde arabe, Jardin de Luxembourg, Jardin de Reuilly, l'Oasis d'Aboukir, Latin Quarter, L’Étoile Manquante, l’officiel des spectacles, LB Café, le Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, le musée du quai Branly, le Musée Jaquemart-André, Marais, Metro, Montmartre, Montorgueil, mugging, Musée Carnavalet, Musée d’art moderne, Musée des Arts et Métiers, Musée Rodin, Musee d'Orsay, museums, Opéra Garnier, Open Café, Palais de Tokyo, Palais Royal, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, Parc Floral, Parc Monceau, Parc Montsouris, Paris, Pariscope, Passy-Auteuil, Petit Palais, pickpockets, Place des Vosges, Pompidou, Pompidou Center, Promenade plantée, Public Drinking, Rosa Bonheur, rue de Charonne, rue Montorgueil, safety, Seine

The Top Ten Sights

[If you just want to see what my life in Paris has been like you can skip this post.]

On your first visit to Paris, like everyone else, you will go up the Eiffel Tower.

Iconic!

You will go to the Louvre and take a snapshot of the Mona Lisa.  You will gaze in awe at the facade of Notre-Dame. You will have an ice cream made by Berthillon on l’Île Saint-Louis. You will take a Bateau Mouche tour of the Seine. You will stroll along the Champs-Elysée up to the Arc de Triomphe.

Arc de Triomphe

You will eat a soggy crêpe at a stand in the Latin Quarter. You will climb the south slope of Montmartre up to Sacré Coeur and be dazzled by the view.

In all of those places you will be surrounded by other tourists doing exactly the same things, clutching their maps and mobile phones to ensure that they never stray from the well-worn Tourist Track.

Not only will you do these things, you must do them, and you should do them. Why? Because these places are iconic, and your friends would never forgive you if you didn’t. Because that’s what it means to go to Paris for the first time. And, last but not least, because they’re fabulous. It is not tragic that everywhere you go those first few days will be excruciatingly touristy. It’s normal.

Every travel book will tell you how to see the top ten tourist spots over your first few days, and I leave this task to them. But when you have gotten this out of your system — after your first few days, or on your second visit — read on. This post is about what to do after you’ve seen the top sights.

Getting Ready for More

First off you will need some technology. Get the RATP app, the Métro app and the TripAdvisor City Guide app that I describe in my Getting Into Paris post. These will help you get around and enable you to stray as far as you like from the beaten path without anxiety. And if your battery runs out just stroll for a bit until you run across a métro station. They all have detailed maps with a red dot labelled « Vous Etes Ici » (You Are Here). While you may have to change lines once or twice there will always be a station within a few blocks of your hotel.

Next, find out what’s happening in Paris. One excellent resource is the City of Paris English web site at this link (and there’s lots more on the French language site). For under a euro you can pick up a copy of Pariscope or l’officiel des spectacles at any newsstand (they come out on Wednesday). The text is in French but you should be able to puzzle out most of the listings even if you don’t read the language. Look in particular for exhibitions at the Grand Palais and Petit Palais.

Last but not least, shift gears. You are no longer checking off “must-see” sights. It is not important that you see the eleventh through twentieth best things in Paris. What you want now is to have some personally rewarding experiences, connecting in one way or other with this big, complex and fascinating city. Slow down, let your blood pressure drop a few points, and look up from your maps! What aspects of the city do you want to explore over these next few days?

Indoor or Outdoor?

The first big question is whether you’ll be exploring outdoors or looking for something under a roof. This obviously depends on weather as well as your own preferences. My one additional observation is that Paris can be lovely in the rain if you have the right gear to keep warm and dry, and you’ll want that gear anyway to get to an indoor destination if it’s raining.

Indoor Options

These are just a few suggestions out of a myriad of wonderful indoor options. Do two things in each case on line before you set out: Check the opening days and hours, and see what special exhibitions are on offer.

• Musée d’Orsay
  This wonderful museum is on many top-ten lists, but if not it certainly deserves top consideration as your next indoor destination. Buy your tickets on line or at a travel agent to avoid the ticket line, which can be more than an hour long. When you enter go left and take the elevator or escalators up to the fifth floor, to start with the Impressionist masterpieces. There’s plenty more on lower floors but you don’t want to risk getting tired before you reach the top.
• Pompidou Center
  The Pompidou is fun to look at since its structural elements and mechanical systems are on the outside, color coded. But it also has a great collection of modern art, an ok collection of contemporary art, and interesting rotating exhibitions. Your ticket also lets you see whatever is going on an the French first floor, opposite the escalators to the main floors. And whatever you do, check out the view from the top floor.
• Musée des Arts et Métiers
  If you like machines and technology allow a half-day for this enormous grab-bag of mechanical stuff, ranging from tiny scientific instruments to giant steam engines.

Musée Carnavalet

1. This is the museum of the history of Paris. It’s also a marvelous grab-bag — of art, furnishings and memorabilia. Like all the City of Paris museums, it’s free, and closed on Mondays. But note that until the end of 2019 collections from the French Revolution, 19th century and the Belle Époque are closed for renovation.

• Opéra Garnier
  Strangely, I’ve never taken the tour of this utterly gorgeous building, but friends tell me it’s excellent. (I have been to several performances in the new opera building at Bastille. It’s a great space but you must reserve in the first few days tickets go on sale to get affordable tickets.)
• Catacombs of Paris
  These vast underground tunnels are where the bones are stashed when construction work wipes out a cemetery, most notably by Haussmann’s renovation of Paris in the mid 19th century. It’s ghoulish but fascinating. I’ve described the experience thusly: Ten minutes of “When do we get to the bones?” Ten minutes of silence. Then half an hour of “When do we get to the end of the bones?”
• Other Museums
  There are a hundred museums in Paris!  Among those I’ve enjoyed are le Musée Rodin (which needs good weather because at least half the masterpieces are in the extensive gardens), the odd and wonderful le Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, the informative Institut du monde arabe (which offers a great view from the roof even if you don’t want to buy a ticket to the museum), the primitive-art-museum-that-dare-not-speak-its-name le musée du quai Branly, one of several house-museums, le Musée Jaquemart-André, the city’s answer to the Pompidou, the Musée d’art moderne, and the adjacent — wild and wooly — contemporary art museum, the  Palais de Tokyo (but confirm first that the exhibitions are open). Some are quite obscure, but nearly all will reward your time. How about trying a museum that isn’t in the guidebook, or even in this post??  A full list is at this link.

Outdoor Options

• People-Watching from a Café
  This is one of the most delightful things you can do in Paris. You can do it almost anywhere, but here are some of my favorite spots.
  • My favorite street for people watching is rue Montorgueil in the 2e, and my very favorite table is at the LB Café with a view down rue Tiquetonne as well as up and down Montorgueil. You will see all sorts of people, from stylish youths to women pushing baby carriages, to still-elegant retirees. Some foreign tourists — increasing every year — but still mostly French. Order an expensive coffee or kir and nurse it for an hour or two as you take in the passing parade!  Then become part of the parade yourself as you stroll up to the top of the street, beyond the arch, to check out the L’Oasis d’Aboukir.
  • A close second, though much more touristy, is L’Étoile Manquante on rue Vielle du Temple in the Marais, at the intersection with rue Sainte-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie. Or if you want a stronger gay flavor, the classic Open Café on rue des Archives.
  • Another busy and stylish place is Bercy Village, a posh shopping area at the Cour Saint-Émilion métro stop.
•  Stroll Along the Promenade Plantée
  This is a linear park along the top of a disused railway viaduct – the (earlier) Parisian version of New York’s High Line. Depending on the season it has beautiful flowers, and always offers commanding city views. The elevated portion ends with a pedestrian bridge over the green center of the Jardin de Reuilly, a favorite sunbathing spot. You can plan lunch at le Janissaire, then continue another mile or so along a portion of the tracks that ran through a depressed cut. Or you can window shop your way back to Bastille by dozens of artist studios and art-related stores that have been created in the arches of the viaduct.
• Have a Picnic
  There are so many great parks to choose from!  A few of my favorites are:
  • the lovely little Place des Vosges and the similar garden of the Palais Royal
  • the big and beautiful Jardin du Luxembourg
  • posh little Parc Monceau
  • large and hilly and un-touristy Parc Montsouris
  • spectacular though somewhat remote Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, which has the wonderful ginguette Rosa Bonheur in the top corner (near métro Botzaris), and the delightful little Temple de la Sibylle overlooking its man-made lake.
  • The Bois de Vincennes on the east side of Paris (like the Bois de Boulougne on the west) is dauntingly enormous, but there are great things to do there: rent a boat on the lake, visit the gorgeous Parc Floral, go to the brand-new zoo, tour the Château de Vincennes, etc. Just make sure the métro stop you go to is within walking distance of the part of the park you’re aiming for!

  But don’t limit yourself to parks. There are other lovely spots to picnic.

  • The banks of the Seine are classic spots for a picnic, especially around or in the vicinity of the two islands at the city’s center. Just go down one of the flights of steps and find your perfect spot.
  • Another favorite place to picnic is along the banks of the Canal Saint-Martin in the 10e. Most charming is the section from rue du Faubourg du Temple (where it emerges from its long tunnel) up to the bend when it turns towards the east.

  Everyone seems to have wine or beer with their picnics, except in parks where a sign specifically prohibits alcohol, but the legal picture in theory appears to be quite complex. My thought is that if others are drinking in the same area and you aren’t rowdy you are unlikely to get more than a warning. In particular there doesn’t seem to be an “open container” law like in the U.S., just prohibitions on actually drinking in public.

• Take a Walking Tour
  Strangely, I’ve never taken an organized tour, but it should be worthwhile. There are good self-guided walking tours in the TripAdvisor City Guide app mentioned above, and if you speak French and have data on your mobile there are fascinating (albeit uneven) self-guided tours at ParisInconnu.com that I enjoyed in 2014.
• Get Lost on Your Own!
  This is my favorite thing to do in Paris. You always find something interesting, especially if you’re willing to divert from your original plan to do down a curious alley or investigate an attractive patch of greenery. Here are some possible areas to try, but don’t let this list limit you. In each case zig-zag through the area, exploring side streets, arcades (passages) and alleys as well as the main street.
  • Le Marais, 4e
    The lower Marais, the 4e arrondissement, is a classic area for strolling — and getting lost. There are plenty of restaurants and shops, open even on Sunday. The busiest and most touristy area is north of rue de Rivoli but I recommend a quieter stroll also on the other side of rue de Rivoli, including the little pedestrian area called Village Saint-Paul.
  • Montorgueil, 2e
    This is a nest of narrow pedestrianized streets chock full of shops, restaurants and bars.
  • Latin Quarter, 5e and 6e
    There are curious walking areas in every direction from the fountain of Saint Michel. Notice the throngs of tourists to the east. Check out the many bookstores downhill from Odéon. Stroll up past the Sorbonne to the Panthéon, then continue down to the charming old market street rue Mouffetard.
  • rue de Charonne, 11e
    This is a hip and slightly edgy area. Be sure to go up and down the side streets!
  • Montmartre, 18e
    Lots of tourists, but also lots of fun windy streets. Be sure to explore the north side of the hill as well as the busier south side.
  • Passy-Auteuil, 16e
    Yes, this is where the rich people live. And indeed there are sterile canyons of wealthy apartments. But some of those buildings are gorgeous, and there are some nice restaurants and bars there if you can put up with locals dripping with money and privilege (and English). Start at with a coffee at posh La Gare, at métro La Muette.

  I never worry much about safety in the daytime – you can basically go anywhere within the Peripherique highway (which you can’t cross without noticing!) At night you might want to ask your hotel if you plan to stray far from the touristy zones, but even in the dark much of the city feels quite safe. The type of crime you’re more likely to encounter is a pickpocket or mobile-snatcher on the métro, at a railroad station or in a crowded museum or other tourist area, though kids from the rougher suburbs are reputed to go in for street robberies now and then. There are also scams such as petitions, shell games, gold rings, etc. that you should just ignore. Paris is beefing up its police presence to reduce crime against tourists.

Day Trips Outside of Paris

In the unlikely event that you run out of things to do in Paris proper I am a big fan of the guidebook, An Hour From Paris. I’ve done a dozen day trips from it over my years in Paris, each accessible by train:

• Chantilly
• Château d’Écouen – Musée national de la Renaissance
• La Ferté-Milon and a 4-1/2 mile walk along the Canal de l’Ourcq (wonderful)
• The Jean-Jacques Rousseau museum in Montmorency
• Parc de Sceaux (only 15 minutes from Paris)
• Crécy-la-Chapelle (wonderful tho requires a train change)
• Conflans-Sainte-Honorine and Andrésy (wonderful)
• Champs-sur-Marne (where the château has now reopened)

Eating!

Last but not least, Paris is a paradise for food. My own forays have only scratched the surface but you can check out Dining Off (and On) the Beaten Path if you like. The TripAdvisor City Guide has suggestions and reviews. You might also like the The Fork site or app, which allows online reservations and also offers discounts.

Art, Science, Food and Pride

Tags

2014 Paris Gay Pride, art, blood alcohol, drinking, food porn, La Marche des Fiertés, Le Duplex, Marais, Mary Celeste, meals, Metropolitan Restaurant, Musée des Arts et Métiers, Musee d'Orsay, Paris, Raidd Bar

On Friday we visited the Musée d’Orsay, which I had seen with Jason in May (as well as in prior years). I was pleased, but not surprised, to find that the emotional charge of seeing the museum’s masterpieces was just as delicious a month later. At some point I can imagine becoming jaded — that old Cezanne again? — but two visits in one sojourn is nowhere close. My reaction resembled how I relate to the art works in my home in Cambridge: they give me pleasure each time I see them, even if that’s several times a day. Photography is prohibited in the museum now but here is a shot of tourists unconsciously echoing statues on the plaza.

Tourists unconsciously echoing statues on the plaza of the Musée d’Orsay.

As we got home we noticed loud music at a square two blocks from my apartment, so naturally we strolled over to have a look. It turned out to be the rehearsal for a fashion show planned for an hour later. This was my favorite of several snapshots.

A parade of models just down the street from my apartment.

Friday evening we had one of the best gourmet meals of my stay, at Métropolitan on rue Jouy just around the corner from my apartment. I’m delighted that Jaime’s visit occasioned me to try it, and just a bit sad that I didn’t know about it before. Our three-course meals, with a couple of drinks and coffee, were about $100 each, so it’s not for every day, but I would certainly have steered Jason there if I’d realized how good it is.

Jaime with his main course at Métropolitan, amidst an agreeable group of diners.

Bob blissfully contemplating his main course at Métropolitan.

Métropolitan, just around the corner from my 2014 Paris apartment.

After dinner we walked up to the haut Marais to see if we could get in to Candelaria, the hip bar that Alexis had introduced Jason and me to in May. It was full, but the doorman kindly pointed us to another cool place, Mary Celeste, a few blocks away. We had some stylish cocktails amidst a stylish crowd, then strolled over to my favorite gay bar, Le Duplex. It was crowded and convivial, although we didn’t get into any memorable conversations. Just for fun I bought a little pocket blood alcohol monitor, which reported me at .09 when I got home. That’s over the usual limit for driving in the U.S. but I wasn’t noticeably buzzed, nor did I have a hangover. (I haven’t had one in years, as a matter of fact.)

On Saturday we awoke (quite late) to a rainy day. We spent most of the day at the enormous and marvelous Musée des Arts et Métiers, which is a collection of scientific instruments and devices and technological artifacts that beggars description. I’ve previously posted a photo set, which I will augment with this years pics, but here are a few glimpses.

Jaime with a little statue of liberty at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, in a former abbey.

One of dozens of exhibit halls at the massive and marvelous Musée des Arts et Métiers.

Bob with the “Motorized Bat” in the musée des arts et métiers in Paris. (It never got off the ground.)

Saturday was Paris Pride (La Marche des Fierités) so after the museum we walked over to Place de la Républic, where we were pleased to catch the tail end of the parade, as well as being part of the moist but nevertheless festive crowd.

Bob with his new best friend at Paris Pride.

At the end of the 2014 Paris Pride Parade (La Marche des Fiertés), at Place de la République.

After dinner at a local place on rue Faidherbe (because we couldn’t get in to any of the upscale places that had been recommended by one of Jaime’s friends) we regrouped at home, then went out to Raidd Bar, famous for its nightly shower shows (recorded in an earlier post). It was a scene!

Raidd Bar on the evening of Paris Pride (La Marche des Fiertés).

Hélas, there was no shower show, but there were go-go dancers, and the mostly-attractive crowed in the absolutely jammed bar was a perfectly adequate substitute.

Mot du jour: mannequin. Model.

Quiet Days and Old Friends

Tags

Alan Walworth, Bar le Bonne Nouvelle, Bianco, Carolyn Walworth, coeurs de pigeon, Jared, Le musée des Arts et Métiers, meals, Montorgueil, Musée des Arts et Métiers, Oasis d'Aboukir, Philippe Auguste, place de l'Estrapade, quai du Seine, Rue Mouffetard, Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, Vélib

Wednesday was a recovery day. I spent the morning catching up on my blog and curating photos from the previous week. In the afternoon I finally got the haircut I have been wanting, at the place Alexis recommended on rue Saint Denis. It was 25 euros, which is more than twice what I usually pay in Boston, but it included a relaxing shampoo and lots of TLC so I didn’t begrudge it. The lowest price Alex and I spotted last week was 8 euros in a poor neighborhood, but I’m guessing that you would get what you paid for. With a touch of melancholy I made what will probably be my last big shopping trip of the year (just cross the street), including bottles of rosé and bubbly and Bordeaux that I hope will be put to good use.

Jared spent his afternoon at the Dynamo! exhibition that I recommended highly, after sorting out a slight confusion between the Palais-Royal and the Grand Palais. So many palaces! He loved the exhibition also, though the piece he liked best — a fog-filled immersion room — had been on the fritz when I visited.

At 7 pm I met up with my elementary school classmate Alan Walworth and his teenage daughter, Carolyn. This was their last night in Paris at the end of two weeks of traveling around France. I gave my usual tour of the quartier, spiced with fascinating (to me) historical nuggets, but Carolyn was just about at the end of her teenage rope with France, her dad, and his quirky old friend. Her mood improved markedly, however, after a nice dinner at Bianco.

We wrapped up the evening with a look out my rue Montorgueil windows, a glimpse of the Oasis d’Aboukir, and a bracing walk down to Châtelet to get them safely onto the 14.

My one piece of advice for Carolyn was to pay attention: to her perceptions and how she feels about them.

We got a late start on Thursday morning, but once we got underway Jared surprised me by whipping up a couple of delicious omelets, made with leeks and tasty coeurs de pigeon.

Thursday’s weather was cloudy with the ever-present possibility of rain. I have learned that in Paris “20% chance of rain” doesn’t mean 80% chance that it won’t rain; it means that it will rain about 20% of the time, and may be lovely the rest of the day. Jared needed to spend the morning finishing up a math paper so I set off to explore the 5e, starting at the southerly edge. Rue Mouffetard is indeed charming — and has more than a passing resemblance to rue Montorgueil — but I now find the former too touristy. Quite possibly rue Montorgueil will go the same route, but for the moment it still feels more French. At the top of the pedestrianized section I grabbed a Vélib’ and zipped over to the neighborhood of the Panthéon. I am conscious of the risk of riding without a helmet, and I try to stay on quiet streets or in bike lanes, but the thrill of being able to cycle somewhere whenever you want it is too tempting.

I stopped near a charming little square called the place de l’Estrapade, which I don’t recall from prior trips.

An afternoon snooze at the Place de l’Estrapade.

As I was eating my baguette sandwich from the adjacent boulangerie I read up on the history of the area. Rue l’Estrapade ran along the 12th century city wall of Philippe Auguste, like rue Tiquetonne in my own quartier: I seem irresistibly drawn to areas still inflected by the medieval street patterns.  But I was bemused to discover that this peaceful place was where many protestants had been tortured to death during the wars of religion, by hanging them with their dislocated arms behind their backs and weights on their feet. Much though I love Paris I try to keep in mind its long and grisly history of exploitation and brutality.

Resolutely secular though I am, I do enjoy elegant church architecture, such as L’église Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, adjacent to the Panthéon.

L’église Saint-Étienne-du-Mont

I strolled down to the Seine and liked this angle along the outside of the quai:

Then I grabbed yet another Vélib’ and rode home. Sadly, my fitbit has no way of logging bike rides, so it registered a mere 6 miles of walking for the day.

Both Jared R. and I had encouraged Jared W. to go to Le musée des Arts et Métiers just a few blocks from my apartment. We had both enjoyed it and we thought that Jared W., as a mathematician, would as well. The museum left Jared W. cold, however, because his interest is in the ideas underlying scientific instruments and mechanical devices, not in the objects themselves. The exhibit captions provided only limited information about underlying principles, and what there was often used unfamiliar vocabulary. I still recommend the museum for anyone who enjoys the beauty of functional objects, but mathematicians beware!

That evening Jared and I went to dinner at Lisa and Ali’s place, and I finally met “Lisa’s Geoff,” so called to distinguish him from “my Jeff” — newly-tenured Professor Jeff Redding.  Lisa — who appeared to have grown markedly over just the past two weeks — wisely decided to order in, but the meal was as delicious and convivial as if she had slaved over it all afternoon. As the only non-academic I struggled manfully to keep up with the sophisticated conversation!

To get us all into a photo I balanced my camera on an empty wine bottle — one of several to choose from. In retrospect this was uncharacteristically reckless, especially with Lisa’s Devil Cat on the prowl, but my camera survived and we all got in.

Jared, Bob, Lisa, Ali and Geoff at the end of a lovely meal chez Lisa and Ali.

After dinner Geoff introduced Jared and me to a cozy gay bar just down the street from my apartment. I had noticed last year that Bar le Bonne Nouvelle sometimes seemed to attract a crowd of interesting-looking men, but it wasn’t in the guidebooks because it had only opened recently. It was friendly, moderately busy and open to the street. At the end of the evening the owner — also a “Bob” — bid us a warm French au revoir.

Mot du jour: « coeurs de pigeon ». Literally, “pigeon hearts.”  Delicious!

Arts et Métiers, and Rafael Departs

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acrobats, machinery porn, Musée des Arts et Métiers, music

Our afternoon’s excursion on Saturday was the the musée des arts et métiers, which I had enjoyed last year as well. It’s a huge collection of scientific instruments, historical measuring devices, and machines of every type, including early powered vehicles. Here’s just a glimpse of the massive amounts of machinery porn on offer there:

Printing Press

Decimal Clock

Look closely at the clock and you’ll notice something interesting.  Decimal time was adopted in September, 1792, in the first flush of the French Revolution, then quietly abandoned in 1805.  I’ve posted more photos from the the musée des arts et métiers (both years) at this link.

There are some wonderful street performers in Paris (as well as some terrible ones). I got video clips for two of the best: (1) a short clip of the musician Klaïm, and (2) a longer clip showing some accomplished acrobats, along with the problem they have clearing a space on the street for their performance. My second souvenir of the trip was an audio disk of Klaïm’s music.

We got several of the predicted thunderstorms last night — accompanied by wet and noisy revelers!

Rafael picked up his father at the airport early on Sunday morning (after considerable drama with the RER) and they moved on to a hotel. They will be visiting a cousin in the country, then returning to Paris the same days I will be in Strasbourg with Jacques. After putting his dad on an airplane Rafael will spend one last night at my place on the 12th before heading home himself. Here’s a photo of Rafael and his father when they stopped by this morning to pick up Rafael’s luggage:

Rafael and his Dad

Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs and Musée des Arts et Métiers

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flying nun, meals, Musée des Arts et Métiers, Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs

It was cloudy and cold this morning so I checked my still-long list of indoor activities.  The Musée des Arts et Métiers wouldn’t have jumped out at me but a friend recommended it so I decided to stroll up there.

On the way I ran across a big old church, Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs.

Église Saint-Nicholas-des-champs, in the 3eme, was built in the 12th, 15th and 17th centuries.

In Boston this would be one of the most important buildings in the city but I’d never heard of it and it wasn’t in my guidebook. What struck me about the interior was a series of large religious paintings which seemed surprisingly good. Also a wonderful nun who surely would have taken off in a high wind:

Flying nun from Saint-Nicholas-des-champs.

When I stepped out of the church I noticed a triumphal arch at the end of the street, which seemed to call for a closer look.  It turned out to be at the spot of the ancient Porte Saint-Martin.

After a good lunch at L’Absinthe Café, which I remembered from our HGLC dinner, I finally made it to the Musée des Arts et Métiers.  It covers the history of science and technology through a gigantic collection of instruments, devices, machines and vehicles.

Arithmetical machine by Grillet, 1678.

The museum was completely renovated in 2000 and the presentation is mostly excellent, although the sheer quantity of stuff is a bit overwhelming.  The pièce de résistance is the chapel of a former abbey that has been converted into a display of historic vehicles, plus yet another statue of liberty.

The chapel at the musée des Arts et Métiers.

This evening I saw the film Le Fil.  It’s a coming-out story with two twists: it’s set in Tunisia and the hero marries a woman (but still lives happily ever after with his male lover).  I followed the story just fine even though it was a lot easier to read the French subtitles when people spoke in Arabic than it was to follow their spoken French.  The boys were very good looking so I didn’t much mind the made-for-tv plot.  It was value for money in any case since for some reason the local cinema is only charging 3,50 Euros this week.   So add that to the (short) list of things that are cheaper here: wine, cheese and mustard.