Friday, September 30

Yesterday, I was shopping at the La Vallee outlet just to the east of Paris - and just before Disneyland.  It was amazing shopping - all the labels were very high end - and it was one of the most "normal" outlet shopping places I have ever seen.  I managed to keep my VISA somewhat in check.

Last night, I tasted the ice cream that my cooking classmate had told me about - framboise a la rose - and it was wonderful - it really did taste like a rose.  My ice cream addiction is in full flight.

This morning, I discovered that I had been the victim of a crime .....  some ___________ stole my bicycle seat!  The fellow at the bicycle shop has assured me that it could not be taken off - and when I went to see him with this problem it appears that he neglected to add that this was so unless the thief had an allen key!!!  Anyway, I am back in the saddle, so to speak, after having paid to replace the seat - with hopefully a more secure locking system than before.

So, today was another day for exploring the city - it was hot and sunny today - I think a high of 29C.

First off - back to the park that I had earlier visited without my camera. 

It is called the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont and is located in the northeast - and hilly - sector of the city.  It is a former quarry and now is a great green space with lakes, waterfalls, footbridges and a Roman temple.  A lovely morning spent reading by the lake - with Canada geese near so it felt just like home!!

 

Off then to the Opera House - which Alan and I had visited some years ago - but I think we just had a peek inside.   I did the self guided tour and wow, is this building something else - Eyewitness Travel Guides are correct when they say that sometimes this building is compared to a giant wedding cake.  Apparently, there is a lake beneath the building. 

Below is a picture of the ceiling of the auditorium (painted by Chagall in 1964) and the Grand Foyer.  The interior of the building , for all its 1,900 seats, seemed like a fairly intimate setting.

After the Opera House, it was time for lunch.  This time, I took the recommendation of my friend, Kelly and went to the Cafe de la Paix, a grand looking cafe fitting to be next to the opera since it was designed by the same guy!

Also on my list for today was a visit to La Madeleine, which is something new for me.
This was built by Napoleon in the style of a Greco-Roman temple and was originally meant to be dedicated to military glory.  Anyway, it is now a church dedicated to, you guessed it, Mary Magdalene.

 
Last stop, Place Vendome which is a lovely square just to the north of the ritzy shopping areas on rue Rivoli and rue Saint-Honore near the Tuileries gardens further along the right bank.   Napoleon has a statue in this square - this guy is everywhere in this city!!

The famous Ritz Hotel is located in this square - and is the place from which Princess Diana got into the car which later crashed near the Pont D'Alma which killed her and Dodi Fayed.

It was a brutal commute home after Place Vendome.  No matter how I plan it, I always seem to need to go in the opposite direction of all these one way streets.  Rue Saint-Honore was wall to wall traffic - I suspect from people and goods being delivered for Paris Fashion week, which is starting around this time.   Lots of fashion shows in town - but impossible to get tickets unless you know someone or unless you are in the fashion industry.  I will just have to pick up some fashion tips from the numerous tall and skinny women who seem to everywhere now.  Only unfortunate thing - it seems like most of them smoke (like a lot of other people in this city) - which is too bad since beauty is already fleeting - assuming that they survive the lung cancer to see the results!!  

Wednesday, September 28

Today, I went to court - but in French style, at the Palais de Justice.  This is a massive building on Ile de la Cite which surrounds Sainte Chapelle (see previous blog).  It is a tribute to our old friend, Napoleon, who established - you guessed it, the Napoleonic Code - which still lives and breathes in our Quebec to this day.

The building is a large one - and I might add, makes Arthur Erickson's creation seems somewhat ... small and "new"!  I tried, with my poor French translation skills, to see some courtrooms in action.  I did succeed, after some poor gendarme took pity on me, in sitting in a couple of sessions - which were somewhat interesting given that I didn't understand 98% of what they were saying!!!  In one courtroom, two women were fighting over something in a typical "Judge Judy" style - and then an advocate spoke for one of them - and then the judge gave his decision.

In any event, the building is beautiful.  Here are some photos.

 

Cour d'Appel

The Court of Appeal - I couldn't get into the courtroom since it wasn't open, but the room looked amazing from the little I could see from the outside.

After a quick lunch in front of the wonderful statue in front of St. Eustache church, I was off to see the Edvard Munch exhibit at the Pompidou Centre - which wasn't yet up and running when Kathy and I had earlier visited the museum.  It was very interesting.  Below are two of the favourites pieces that I saw.



"Starry Night"




Equivalent of "Death Watch", which I believe was to refer to the death of his sister



Edvard was not what you would call a "cheery" guy - lots of his paintings had vampires, sick people, murders, fighting men, dead bodies, etc.  He suffered from depression and was hospitalized and apparently underwent there some sort of electrical therapy.

Unfortunately, his most famous paintings, The Scream from the early 1890s, (consistent with the less than happy approach) was not part of the exhibition - they are permanently on display in Oslo (where a number of the versions of this painting have been stolen and then recovered).

Another beautiful day in Paris - with temperatures in the high 20s.

Wine, cheese, etc.

No pictures to post today since I was busy cooking, eating and drinking.  This was my second cooking class with Paule Caillat - this time I skipped the market visit and just went directly to her home for the cooking for 10:30 am.

And more Americans to meet as my classmates - a mother/daughter and a fellow, all from Seattle, and a woman from L.A.  Again, we had a wonderful cheese tasting - with some two goat cheeses and three cow cheeses from various regions of France - with white wine, of course!!

Then followed by two mushroom dishes - a salad and a pate - and then lamb shanks with a citrus crust and carmelized carrots and then finished with an apple tart - with red wine, of course!!  Needless to say, it was all delicious.

I think these recipes, like the others, have the makings of another dinner party ....

Also, a bonus for my classmates from Seattle - with some restaurant recommendations for my next visit there - and also some restaurants here to try. 

It seems that my classmates have also discovered the beautiful ice cream on Ile St. Louis - the fellow from Seattle talked about a rose flavoured one which sounds interesting. And Paule recommended another ice cream place just by my apartment.  It seems that I am destined to enjoy the Parisien ice cream!
Home after to relax after my "gruelling" day - and time to plan for tomorrow. 

Post Kathy

After depositing Kathy at the Metro station on Sunday, Sept 25 - the question remained - what would I do with myself for the next 13 days?  I looked at my "to do" list and there are lots of things on it.

First up - another bike ride around the city.  This time to a wonderful park in the northeast - and I won't say the name - or post any pictures - because I forgot my camera!!!! ARGGGH!!!!  Anyway, I will be back to this park and report with pictures in hand.

In any event, I quiet evening at home after my bike ride - although I did sneak off to Ile St. Louis for some ice cream - I fear that it will beckon every night - and that I will succumb to my i/c addiction (it does run in the family!!)

Today, Monday Sept 27, a wondeful day in Paris - high of 25 and sunny and gorgeous.  I had another long bike ride - I must have covered about 20 miles or so.  Another visit to the department stores, Printemps and Lafayette - without success!  It just amazes me that even at 11 am, there are countless lineups - yes, I said lineups - at the little boutiques in these stores, for Prada, Louis Vuitton, Longchamps, etc.  Seems to be mostly visitors from the Asian countries.

After, I was on my fruitless journey to the BMW dealers of Paris to see if they had a model of my beloved M3 - alas, they did not!  Turns out that some guy on eBay has it for sale so that will probably be my next move - perhaps my birthday wish for next month.  If nothing else, the exercise was good.

I did stop at the Musee de l'Armee for another visit - with more time to enjoy the exhibits relating to WWII and in particular, the Normandy invasion. 


It was really informative - and made a great addition to our time in Normandy in early September.  Here is a brass eagle of the Third Reich which was part of the exhibit.






Another quiet evening at home - relaxing from my day.  I am off for my second cooking class tomorrow - so should be well fed with wonderful French food after that.

Just in case you are missing pictures of all those marvelous Parisien scenes, here is a picture of the Eiffel Tower shot some days ago in "nostalgia" mode.  Very fitting I think.

Saturday, September 24

Today, we split up - I toured around on my bike to do a little shopping - and Kathy visited the Opera which is a beautiful building.


And then we were off - to a show called Paradis Latin, which was located on the left bank just across the river in a gorgeous theatre which apparently was partially designed by Mr. Eiffel. 

We didn't manage to get tickets to see Moulin Rouge, but this show was rated a better by Trip Advisor in any event.

Here is Kathy enjoying her last Cuba Libre in France before the show - which she is now ordering without any difficulty and with true Parisien style!






It is hard to describe this show – part strip tease (lots of topless girls, which seems de riguer for these late night Paris shows), part burlesque, part Barnham & Bailey circus, part can-can dancers, some singing, lots of dancing, etc.  I have to note, however, that the shirtless men seemed to draw the most reaction from the (female) crowd.  We were seated with a Russian group to one side and, you guessed it, a couple from Toronto on the other.  Small world.

Anyway, it was an experience to be sure.  No pictures were allowed for the show but this is a picture of the theatre before the show began.

 

As at the time of the posting of this blog, Kathy had left the following day, September 25.  So, further posts will be me reporting on solo expeditions.

We walked home - across Ile St. Louis - envying all the ice cream being consumed but too full to partake. 

It was a lovely night - particularly with Notre Dame lit in the background.

Friday, September 23

Not much to report today - Kathy and I decided to take it somewhat easy.

First up - we arrived at the Place de la Concorde, where the picture below was taken (note the Eiffel Tower in the background).   Then, a morning stroll through the Tuileries, which is the wonderful garden just to the west of the Louvre - which was designed by the same fellow who did Versailles.  Again, very "French" gardens with some very different modern sculptures along the path.

My cooking teacher Paule had told me that the Palais Royal was fabulous - this is the former royal palace - which I believe now houses government offices.  The gardens are open to the public - which are lovely.

 

Next up - shopping - but not just any old shopping - this is shopping at Galleries Lafayette on rue Haussmann.  Anyway, the place was a zoo - I've never seen more people in a department store in my life - and I've been in quite a few.  Not much luck though - except for a scarf (more on that later).  The big fashion tip from Paris - FUR.  It appears that the sensibilities of North America have not reached these shores, or if they have, they don't care.  Lots of it.

We tried to also visit another department store, Samaritaine - but it appears to have closed permanently to build a hotel.  Too bad, because I liked to shop there.

Then on to BHV, another department store which doesn't specialize in fashion but has some - including the same scarf I just purchased from Lafayette - for less than the normal price and also 40% off!!!! I hate when that happens .....

Another great dinner in Paris - this time at a favourite Italian restaurant, Fuxia - where Alan and I went and also took Conor and Ben.  Wondeful food and great Italian wine.   Also another short visit to our now favourite Scottish bar, Auld Alliance where we did not have any Guinness, but enjoyed ourselves non the less!

After a lazy morning for me (Kathy went to the Aquarium, which for me is like selling ice to the Eskimos!), we commenced our assault on the most iconic of all Paris sites - the Eiffel Tower, or as the locals say, la Tour Eiffel.

It is hard to imagine that when it was constructed in 1889 it was only supposed to be a temporary structure for the World Fair.  It was also the world's tallest structure until 1931 when the Empire State Building was erected.  Another side story - the next world fair in Chicago in 1893 resulted in the Americans trying to "out-Eiffel Eiffel" which in turn led to another wonderful creation, a wheel of unimaginable proportions to carry people, engineered by Mr. Ferris!

Anyway, I digress ....   The Tower did not disappoint.  It is a thing of beauty - the steel structure, for all its strength, seems light and airy - and even elegant.  After dinner, we wandered back for some night scenes, which were beautiful.

To top it off, it seems that every hour, the lights on the Tower flicker - which is very Vegas style - but seemed to delight the crowds.  Below is a shot from the Trocadero, across the Seine on the west side.

We topped the night off with a drink at a Scottish pub that is only one block from my apartment - The Auld Alliance Scottish Pub - which seems to be very authentic given the haggis on the menu, the inebriated rugby players and the very extensive scotch available (around 100 types by my count!).  I can only guess that this is the type of pub which Alan, Conor and Ben encountered in Dublin and perhaps London.

Wedneday, September 22

Today was our expedition to Versailles, the grand chateaux of Louis XIV which was built in the 17th century.  I read an interesting back story about Versailles. There is a lovely little chateaux called Vaux-le-Vicomte which Louis' loyal subject, Fouquet, built in the late 1650s - after hiring some young and innovative professionals - an architect, landscape architect and interior designer.  He was so happy with his new estate that he invited Louis to visit.  Apparently, Louis was so enraged and jealous that he immediately threw Fouquet into jail for the rest of his life!!  And then he proceeded to snatch up the architects and interior designers and got them working on Versailles.  Lesson learned - do not to try outdo your sovereign when he has absolute power!!!

For those of you who have visited, you know that the scale and opulence of Versailles is breathtaking.  In comparison to Vaux-le-Vicomte's 100 acres - this has 1,975 acres.  It was the largest palace in Europe, housing 20,000 people.  The grounds include many manicured gardens and groves and a Grand Canal which is in the shape of a cross and must be about a kilometer long for each canal - which was used for boating parties.

Of course we toured the portions of the chateaux which were open, including the Hall of Mirrors, pictured above.   A picture of some of the grounds (not the Grand Canal) are below.

Grand Trianon



Pathway on way to Grand Trianon



We also visited (and this was a first for me) the other chateaux on the immense grounds.  The Grand Trianon was built so Louis could escape court life at Versailles and spend time with his mistress.  Then there was the Petit Trianon, built as another retreat and which eventually became the haven of Marie-Antoniette.

Grand Trianon





<>A picture of the famous Neptune fountain is below although unfortunately, none of the fountains were working the day we went. <>

Petit Trianon

As everyone knows, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were removed from Versailles by the revolutionary mob in 1789 and some years later were both beheaded in what is now the Place de la Concorde.  One of my questions was what happened to Versailles after that?  Well, the answer in part is that the revolutionaries then proceeded to auction off the contents.  An advertisement for what would of course have been some treasured items is below.  I don't what happened from there in terms of how they have recreated the interior rooms.

A trip to Paris would not be complete without a trip to another lovely church, this time the relatively new one built in 1914, Sacre Coeur.  It is atop the butte (hill) to the north of the City in the arty community of Montmartre and commands an imposing view.

Tuesday, September 20

Today, I went to school - cooking school, that is.  This was a half day course put on by Paule Caillot of Promenades Gourmandes.  The other participants were a couple from Chicago/North Carolina and three ladies from Seattle.

The day first consisted of a shopping trip to the wonderful shops on rue Montorgueil (Les Halles district), where we visited the patisserie (which was a historic site and very beautiful), boucherie, poissonerie et le boulangerie.  A very thorough explanation of market shopping followed.  I must say that I would recommend shopping here to the market on rue Mouffetard any day. 

Then off to Paule's house - in the Marais - where we cooked a fabulous meal - which consisted of a cheese tasting and then a vegetable terrine with a sauce vierge, two pork tenderloin dishes, pureed potato/celeriac, followed by a fruit tart - with some very nice wine, of course.  Very yummy!!!  The "class" ended around 3 pm after which I hopped on my bike.  The exercise was very much welcome to try to burn off some of those caloiries!!!  Below is a picture of Paule with the class.

 
I have lots of tip for French food shopping, cooking, eating, etc. which I will impart upon my return to anyone who wishes ....

Another quick trip the Notre Dame to pick up a statue of my favourite gargoyle and then home to rest!!!

Kathy and I decided (much later) to have dinner at a restaurant recommended by my friend, Kelly - Au Chien Qui Fume at 33 rue du Pont-Neuf, a restaurant with charming dog pictures, figurines, etc. in it (think those picture of dogs playing poker).  Dinner was good but Kathy did have some problems - she ordered the chicken fricasee but what appeared was a full plate of what looked like a lot of pork - together with a small casserole of a whole lot more of the same.  Well, after eating about 2/3 of what was on her plate, I managed to ask the waiter to confirm her order (ie. was it in fact chicken? - as Kathy thought it just might be some kind of different French chicken dish).  Well no, it was a mistake, upon which the whole thing was whisked away and a whole new plate and small casserole appeared - which chicken, voila!  It appears that Kathy has now perfected the art of the "fly in the soup" routine by essentially getting 2 1/2 meals out of this.  Anyway, it looks like we're having chicken leftovers for dinner tomorrow night.

Roddy has been asking for pictures of us together - having dinner or whatever - below is the best we could do tonight.

 



Monday, September 19

Today, Kathy and I were right back at it - first stop, the Musee de la Marine - which is a wonderful exhibit of France's great - past and current - maritime history.  Of particular note is Louis XIV's great Reale de France - from 1694 - which is spectacular.  Pictured here are some of the stern features (for you non boat people, that's the end or back of the boat)

and also, Napoleon's canot (canoe, I presume although it is something more than any canoe I've ever seen!) which presumably he used to arrive in the grand scale in which he was accustomed!

All of all, a great exhibit - including wonderful models of all the French fleet from the 1600s to the present time.  The only thing I didn't see was any explanation of the many expeditions of the French to the New World - only a brief reference to Champlain and his discovery of Quebec.

In any event, a very nice view of the Eiffel Tower from the west from the Trocadero.

So, we next ventured to la Tour Eiffel only to discover that there were hordes of tourists!!!!  After a (un)fruitful wait at the tower, we bailed and decided that it would be a better bet to be there early - which is a strange thing because it wasn't nearly as busy as this last Wednesday (see my earlier blog).

Next up was the pit stop of the Place de la Concorde - which was the horrendous roundabout that I braved during my first bike venture earlier in the week.  This was originally the Place de la Revolution and the scene of many beheadings under the guillotine.  In modern times it now graces the 3,200 year old obelisk from Luxor (Egypt) and leads to the Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe.

 

.... and then the Champs Elysees awaited.  And we were certainly hungry by the time we arrived - at which time we immediately ordered some pizza and refreshments.  At the end of the Champs Elysees is of course the Arc de Triomphe - which I visited earlier last week - but this time, we went to the top - which I had never done before.  Well worth it.  A panoramic view of Paris - which is wonderful.

Another day, another museum .....  I could get used to this.  The quality of these museums is truly amazing - and world class to say the least.

Home at last - and then a late dinner at a little bistro on Ile St. Louis - and then a final cocktail at a little Mexican bar.  A good day in all.

Tomorrow, I am off to my first day of cooking classes - Kathy is off to do more sightseeing - including a bus tour and boat cruise.