FRANCE Chapter 2
It’s Saturday in Paris and the people are outside enjoying this beautiful day. After a nice breakfast at Carrette, another boulangerie/cafe near our hotel, we rode the Metro to the Rodin Museum. It is housed in the beautiful mansion where the artist lived. The building displays many of his works and small studies along with a very informative video illustrating the process of bronze casting. Many of his monumental works are outside in the lovely garden, so one can see their full size and appreciate the emotion in the faces of the figures. We both ended our visit with a greater appreciation of the difficulty and challenges of this form of art!
After that we decided to head to St. Chapelle on Île de la Cité near Notre Dame. When we were here seven years ago we attended a concert of Vivaldi's Four Seasons in the chapel one night. We were so moved by the incredible stained glass windows that we wanted to return and see them in the daylight. It was well worth the return visit! The chapel looked a lot smaller without the chairs set up for the concert. It greatly increased the spectacle of the tall windows supported by narrow stone walls - truly walls of glass each telling a story!
We strolled along the Right Bank to the Tuileries Gardens, stopping for refreshments in a small garden cafe. We had just enough time to enter L’Orangerie before closing to enjoy the serenity of Monet’s Water Lillies.
The handy Metro took us back to our neighborhood. We boarded a boat at the foot of the Eiffel Tower for a sunset cruise along the Seine. It was a perfect way to see some of the monuments and great buildings from a different perspective. The evening was lovely: warm with a few clouds to create a nice sunset. There is a wonderful dome on the chapel at Les Invalides that is gilded in gold; we could see it best from the boat. The bridges over the Seine were created at different times, each unique and illustrating both the art and importance of the government of the time. The crowning glory is seeing the Eiffel Tower lit up at night, and the spectacle when for 5 minutes each hour the lights twinkle. It's beautiful, romantic, and purely Parisian.
We followed the cruise with a delicious dinner at Le Petit Retro, a small bistro that looks like a Paris Cafe of the 1920’s. The food was very traditional, fresh and well prepared. Warren had duck confit deboned in a cylinder shape with mashed potatoes on top; Pam had roasted pork with a mustard sauce. With a bottle of a 2014 Cote de Nuits it was a great way to end the day.
Sunday - We are excited to greet Greg and Todd upon their arrival this morning! First stop is breakfast at La Carrette - fueling ourselves for a busy day. We are off for our first stop at the Musse de Nature. It's a small but interesting place dedicated to man’s relationships with domesticated animals over time, with part of it covering hunting for game. They display many stuffed animals and birds, domestic and wild. It included a very impressive collection of antique rifles and shotguns, showing amazing engraving and detail of the workmanship from a 100s of years ago. From here we are off to the Picasso museum. While not as extensive as the Barcelona version we visited last year, it is always interesting to see his work and how it so dramatically changed over time. As jet lag set in on Greg and Todd they head back to have a massage and some rest before dinner. We elect to find a sidewalk cafe for a light lunch and watch the busy Sunday crowds. We strolled through the Marais district headed for a tea shop recommended by Warren's sisters. The Mariage Freres Shop was amazing and full of every imaginable type of tea in the world. After some more strolling we are ready to head back to the hotel, but only after a quick stop for some ice cream. Todd recommended a nearby bistro, Les Marches, for dinner and after a nice walk through Trocadero Park we are ready for another wonderful Paris meal. And wonderful it was! Starters included, escargot, artichoke, salad and the most perfect whole avocado any of us had tasted or seen. The meal was just as good: beef filets with Bernaise sauce, veal chop with mustard sauce, and a succulent ribeye steak. Dessert deserved by good eaters: best ever chocolate mousse and a lovely cake with cherries baked in it.
Monday morning Todd went to meet some client/vendors and travel to Montpellier to visit an antique market. Warren, Pam & Greg are on the town today and will meet Todd in Montpellier tomorrow. The Paris trio tackled the Metro to head to the historical Shakespeare bookstore on the Left Bank to browse. What a treat! This tiny place is jam packed with both new and old books of all types. The proprietors have played an important role in supporting writers and artists for a century, including sleeping lofts for aspiring writers. Purchases in hand, we visited the Cluny Museum to see the famous tapestries of the Lady and the Unicorn. Once again, we are in awe of the talent and perseverance of artists and craftsmen. The grand tapestries date from the Middle Ages and portray aristocratic life and the fanciful mythic unicorn. We had lunch en route to the Petit Palais to visit a perfume shop and a short stroll through its garden as we noted the nice shops surrounding the courtyard. Having once again “walked our legs off” the Metro was a nice assist to return to our hotel. After a rest we took Greg to one of our local favorites - Le Coincidence - for dinner. We enjoyed the food so much when we first dined here a few days ago, that Warren and Pam both ordered the same “plat” we ate before: duck magret and ribeye steak. Greg went for the duck too, trusting his Mom’s recommendation. We all shared a plate of fresh asparagus with boiled egg and a lovely big vegetable salad to start, then a great creme brûlée for dessert. Fortunately the restaurant had one remaining bottle of the fine Cotes du Rhone wine we had last time, so we obliged by finishing that too. A great meal for our last evening together in Paris. Tomorrow morning we board the TVG train to travel south to Montpellier, where we will meet Todd and continue our travels together.
Sue Southwell
2018-09-12
I felt like I was there with you! The food descriptions made me salivate. You trip reminds me of my travels to Paris and whets my appetite for my trip in June. Stopped by your house, All looks well. Miss you!
Ken
2018-09-12
It amazing there is so much Paris has to offer. We were there a week and didn’t see all the same thing you have. I guess we have to go back again.
Brad
2018-09-13
So wonderful! Wish we were with you!
Val
2018-09-15
Your delightful descriptions of your meals makes my mouth water. So glad you are having a wonderful time. Wish I was there with you. Love to all of you❤️