Paris Journal 2007

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White primrose in one of the gardens of the Parc André
Citroën.

 

One of the buildings that evoques the character of the
old Village of Grenelle, which is now in the lower part
of the 15th arrondissement.  This and the one below are
now part of the Université Pierre et Marie Curie.

 

 

Here’s a modern house that I like, tucked away on one
of the old Grenelle village streets called rue de Cauchy.
This street is named after a mathematician.  How often,
I ask you, are streets named after mathematicians in the
U.S.?

 

Friday, July 27

 

Dear friends John and Martha, who were here in France last summer, sent me an interesting book last week.  It is The Riches of Paris, by Maribeth Clemente.  It is subtitled “A shopping and touring guide,” which I suppose is accurate, except that the emphasis is really on shopping, and especially on the right bank.

 

That’s okay for me, because shopping in Paris is not something I known much about, because I don’t do it very much, and I certainly do not shop much on the right bank.

 

So, I’m learning a few things from this book.  I told Tom it would be a dangerous book in the hands of someone else, someone who likes to shop and spend money, like my old friend Myrna from Columbus.  But there isn’t much of a chance that this book will convince me to shop.  It is providing information, however, and if you want to come to Paris to shop, it is probably a good investment of your time and money.

 

The book is published by St. Martin’s Press, and the senior editor acknowledged in the very beginning is George Witte.  I wonder if this is the George Witte who was a high-school friend of my sister’s.  I’ll have to ask her when she arrives in Paris on Wednesday.

 

I’d recommend following only Ms. Clemente’s info about shopping, and not necessarily her other info about getting around in Paris.  For example, she claims on page 50 that a carnet of 10 Métro tickets costs €70.  No way.  The cost is much less.  It is €11.10.  See the RATP web site for more fare info.

 

Follow her advice and call ahead of time before setting out for a shopping destination.  For example, take the wonderful Trousselier shop for gorgeous silk flower arrangements that she describes on pages 81 and 82.  It is something I have admired at 73 boulevard Haussmann in prior years after trips to the FedEx office down the street.  But now it is gone.  Perhaps they have simply completely emptied the store for renovations.  I hope that is true, because its display windows were heavenly to look at.  The Trousselier web page at http://www.trousselier.com/planus.htm seems to indicate that the shop is still there, but it was most certainly empty when we went to FedEx earlier this week.

 

I know it isn’t shopping information, but I was surprised that Ms. Clemente did not even mention that the Trousselier shop is right next door to Square Louis XVI!  This small square contains the Chapelle Expiatoire and the mass grave of 3000 victims of the French Revolution.  If you don’t know about this awesome place, read this entry in Wikipedia.

 

Antiques are something Tom and I have been known to spend money on in the past, but we are beyond our acquisitive years.  Still, we do look.  There are places where we look but we’d never buy or recommend to others for buying because we see NOBODY actually shopping there when we stroll through.  One of these places is Le Louvre des Antiquaires, across from the Louvre.  Ms. Clemente claims that dealers from all over the world are known to buy there.  However, we’ve never seen them at any time when we’ve been there.  (Another place like this – lots of nice antiques and nobody buying -- is Villages Suisse, but it is on the left bank, out of Ms. Clemente’s range, I guess.)

 

She also mentions the Biennale des Antiquaires, a huge show that we’ve attended on two occasions.  Now there, it is true, we see real collectors and serious shoppers actually buying.  The show happened last year, so the next one is in 2008.  If you want to see some incredible antiques and buyers, this show is an absolute must.

 

I’m not sure why Ms. Clemente does not shop much on the left bank, but on page 96 she gives us a clue when she describes a shop called Chemins Blancs:  “This light and airy French label seems better suited to the Left Bank than the Right amid these high fashion boutiques, but I guess that just makes the shopping all the more interesting.”

 

High fashion is important to Ms. Clemente, and the Right Bank is indeed the place for most of that sort of thing.

 

I’m not finished with The Riches of Paris, so I’m sure I’ll be writing more on this topic of shopping.

 

Last night, I cooked dinner and then we went out for our long walk afterwards, a leisurely stroll through the 7th arrondissement.  No shopping involved.

 

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