Paris Journal 2008
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Yesterday we spent the entire day showing our friends Ellen and Murray the sights in the 5th and 6th arrondissements. On the metro on the way over to their hotel, we spied the headlines on someone’s newspaper. I nearly jumped out of my seat! Ingrid Betancourt has been freed! (See where I’ve written about Ingrid in the past – for example, July 8, 2003) That was a brilliant way for the day to start. (Yesterday, Ingrid was to fly to Paris so she could personally thank President Sarkozy for France’s efforts to protect and free her. We guess that she is also here for medical tests and care. Otherwise, she would not leave her family so immediately after her release.) Starting from the Hotel Recamier, we first showed Ellen and Murray the charming apartment on rue du Canivet where we stay in September. There we introduced them to Art and Joyce from Sanibel and Ron and Elisabeth, the apartment owners, from New York. (This evening, we will have dinner with those last four at Le Blavet.) Next we inspected the Roman baths at the Hotel de Cluny. Just yesterday, Jim and Maddy from Sanibel sent me a newsletter with a fascinating article about the Roman ruins in Paris. Check it out here. It seems that much was discovered when Baron Haussmann was creating the boulevards of Paris in the 19th century. After inspecting the Cluny’s gothic façade and courtyard, we walked down to the leafy and lively square in front of the Sorbonne’s famous entrance, and then down rue Racine past one of the old, art deco Chartier “bouillon” restaurants, and around the Odeon theatre. Next on the itinerary was the original location of Shakespeare & Company, Sylvia Beach’s former bookstore at number 12 rue Odeon. Like so many places in this area where bookstores used to exist, there is now a clothing store. At least this clothing store had adorned its apparel on display in the window with multiple photos of James Joyce hanging out in front of Shakespeare & Company. After a while, we decided to go in. The shopkeeper was nice and quietly talkative. She told us about an association she and others had formed in the Odeon neighborhood to host readings, etc., of the work of James Joyce (and perhaps others?). At that point, Tom said, “Let me introduce to you the president of the International James Joyce Society, Murray Beja. Yes, our friend Murray does have that lofty position. The shopkeeper was impressed. Tom asked Murray to give her one of his cards. I was wearing my Obama t-shirt. The shopkeeper made a point of telling me that this was a good choice (voting for Obama, not necessarily wearing a t-shirt, although I think this t-shirt is fashionable enough for Paris). We had been talking about living in the past, so at this point, Ellen said we wish we could erase the past (a political statement about the past seven and a half years). After talking with Jean-Pierre, the taxi driver, I have the impression that many French people are afraid of having a military-type person as the next US president. Can you blame them? That reminds me – I wore the Obama t-shirt the day before yesterday, too, when I went out to do errands, including getting a SIM card for my phone at the Orange phone shop around the corner from our apartment. I walked in, exchanged greetings with two of the young men working there. I know it was blazingly obvious that I’m American because of my t-shirt, but I thought I’d be funny and start off by explaining that I am an American and I have an American phone that I want to turn into a French phone. As soon as I had “je suis Americaine” out of my mouth, they were amused because I’d stated the obvious. I was happy to have entertained them. One of the young men then proceeded to get my SIM card for me, and he even installed it for me and activated the phone, which he did not have to do. He was very nice. So my phone now has a Parisian phone number, and I have the numbers for all of my favorite Parisian restaurants programmed into it. That same day at the wine store, there was a slight mix-up and the shopkeeper ended up giving me a sparkling rose instead of the blanc de blanc that I asked for. This was good, as it turned out, because Murray and Ellen came over for drinks that evening. Ellen loves kir royales, and this sparkling rose is much like a kir royale light. They both liked it. I did, too. That evening after drinks, we walked over to Le Blavet for
dinner. The three-course meal was, as
always, beautiful and delicious.
Murray and Ellen had paid the same amount for a lesser meal near Notre
Dame the night before, so they were absolutely delighted. If you go to Le Blavet, be sure to make a
reservation and order from the items on the blackboard – they are the
best. (Note: For addresses & phone numbers of
restaurants in this journal, click
here.) Back to our day yesterday – We walked by the Pantheon, which was plagued at the moment with large tour groups, so we did not go in. Then we spent some time inside the St. Etienne du Mont church, which I prefer to call by its earlier name, St. Genevieve. We had a late lunch at a place with continuous service, La Capannina Ristorante Italiano, 64 rue de la Montaigne Sainte Genevieve, tel. 01-43-26-07-42. We were surprised at how good and authentic the food is there. Their card explains that “the young chef Pietro Alati reserves for you one of the traditional Italian cuisines, the most authentic in the capital.” I had a fresh and light seafood salad, and Murray and Ellen had a huge salad with mozzarella, anti pasta, and a pizza, which they said was quite good. Tom had veal marsala, which he said was good, but the vegetables looked overcooked. I think we will have to try this place again sometime, because it might be a real find. Or it might not be. We’ll see. The ambiance looks good inside, and inside is where non-smokers should eat these days. We managed to eat outside for the late lunch because there weren’t many people there at that time – smoke was not an issue then. We showed Murray and Ellen the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles on rue Cardinal Lemoine, a three-star accommodation that has perhaps the most charming setting of any hotel in Paris. Then we strolled down past the worst place Hemingway ever lived in Paris, and on down the market street, rue Mouffetard. After touring the St. Medard church, we walked over to the Jardin des Plantes. Then the weather soured on us. The wind kicked up like I’ve never seen it in Paris, blowing all kinds of dust around. We had planned on going to the café in the park, but the weather would not let us. So we barely got down into the metro when it started raining. Upon exiting at Mabillon, it was raining, so we dashed into the Marche St. Germain and deposited ourselves at a table in the Nicolas wine shop/cafe. We consumed salads and wine, and Ellen had an interesting looking coconut tart with a raspberry sauce. That was it for the day. When we arrived home, footsore, the first
thing I did was soak my feet in soapy water.
The weather is now much cooler
than on Tuesday, when we arrived. The
sky promises us a lovely day today.
And tomorrow, voila! The start
of the Tour de France! |
Friday, July 4, 2008
Garden
at the Hotel Cluny.
Angel
carving on the Cluny.
Garden,
looking from the Cluny.
St.
Etienne du Mont Church – built on an ancient and important site in Paris, the
Montaigne Ste. Genevieve.
Murray,
Tom and Ellen walking around the Odeon theatre, which has been beautifully
restored.
The
clothing store at 12, rue Odeon, where Sylvia Beach’s bookstore, Shakespeare
& Co., once existed. The
photos on the window are of James Joyce at her shop. Note: For addresses & phone numbers of
restaurants in this journal, click
here. |
