Paris Journal 2007

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Grafitti inspired by the book Eats, Shoots & Leaves, on the Promenade Plantée. I’m still puzzling out this graffiti, found on the sidewalk on the avenue de la Motte-Picquet. If you can help decipher it, please sign my guestbook and let me know what you know. I guess the literal translation is “Obey, work, consume, and you are yours,” but I have no idea who the man in the picture would be, or what the historical or cultural significance would be. The École Militaire on the avenue de la Motte-Picquet on a gray, damp day. We’ve had many days like that this summer, and we love it because it is such a change from southwest Florida in the summer. Plus, I have not had to water the balcony plants so much. The plants are much happier without the blasted heat of past summers. Look on the bright side . . . .

Friday, August 24 Carol and Ron arrived from England on Wednesday evening. Carol had been up since 3AM to take Wendy to the airport, so we went over to meet them at their apartment and to have a dinner out over in that direction. The last thing they wanted to do, I’m sure, is to get on another train (the métro)! We had a quiet, good dinner at Le Seraphin (5, rue Mabillon, 6^th arrondissement, telephone 01-56-24-41-00). Then Carol’s daughter Holly arrived on Thursday, and last night the three of them came over our way. Earlier in the afternoon, I’d gone out for a walk and went by all of our favorite restaurants near here to see which might have re-opened after the summer vacation. Sure enough, Stephane Martin and L’Epopee were in deed in business once again. Because Holly is a vegetarian who eats fish, we chose L’Épopée because they always have a nice selection of fish on the main menu. At least three of us indulged in the ravioles langoustines (prawn ravioli, in a mild curry sauce) for a starter course. I knew our friends would love it, and indeed they did. Ron and I each had the canette (duckling), served on a pile of perfectly cooked, very thin slices of turnip. The duck breast was sliced and served with a fruit sauce on top of the turnips, and the duck leg came in a separate little bowl. The duck had been roasted, and I prefer the leg this way (better than cuisse de canard, which is stewed in its own juices). Madame Cargouet teased Tom by pretending to admonish him not to eat Ron’s duck leg. “That’s for him,” she said in French. “NOT for YOU.” We laughed. Tom must have been eyeing the duck leg a bit too much. Holly had the redfish (filets de rouget), and it looked superb. Tom and Holly each ordered the tarte fine aux pommes, an excellent apple tart that is made there in the house, with very, very thin slices of apple. L’Épopée is fairly highly rated in the new Michelin red guide, by the way. After dinner, we scampered up the rue de Lourmel to see the Eiffel Tower glittering. Holly loved it. She took many pictures of the tower, which is especially beautiful at night. We walked all the way up to and right under the tower so she could get one of those shots looking straight up. We lingered on the Champ de Mars long enough that the tower glittered for us again when we reached the end of the Champ. It was midnight, and our friends were concerned about when the last métro would be. I told them not to worry. That the last ones were somewhere between 1AM and 2AM, I thought. In fact, from the Motte-Picquet station, the last line 10 métro is at 12:59AM on most days, and on Saturday nights and the eves of holidays, it is 1:59AM. We had a fun, laughter-filled evening. We plan to see these friends again on Saturday evening. Speaking of friends, John and Linda from Sanibel are due to arrive in Paris today. I’m sure we’ll be hearing from them and seeing them, soon. And this morning, we heard from our German friends, Arnold and Mareen. They will be in Paris the weekend of September 7. And fellow Zontian Janice McNeal is arriving with several of her friends on September 7. I plan to get together with them for a drink that evening. Later in September, Sanibelians Rick & Arly and Jim and Maddy will be here. This is the first summer in Paris during which I’ve had to rely so much on my appointment calendar to keep all of these comings & goings straight. On the work front, Tom finally received another package from his publisher in New York, so we are fairly tied to the apartment during the daytime. But Paris and our friends are here for us in the evenings. This is a grand way to live. ←Previous Next→

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