Paris Journal 2015 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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Tom wanted to go to BHV as much as I had wanted to go to the crypt at Notre Dame. So we hopped on the metro line 8, switched to the line 1 at Concorde, and exited at the Hotel de Ville (City Hall) station. If we’d known, we could have exited the metro station right into the basement level of BHV. That basement contains the roots of this retail institution. BHV stands for “Bricolage Hotel de Ville,” but the store only uses its initials now because it has become so much more than “bricolage,” the French word for home improvement store or “do-it-yourself” store. Now BHV is a real department store for the masses, with the hardware confined to the basement. We entered on the ground level, and were immediately captivated by a “pop up” store for Louis Pion, Swatch, and other watches. “Pop up” stores seem to be the designation for temporary installations of other popular retail chains in the BHV space. These are installed at the invitation of BHV. Tom was still looking for a new Louis Pion watch, and sure enough, he found just the right one. He bought it, and then we descended to the basement level. We spent most of the time marveling at stylish bathroom fixtures, particularly ones that are suitable for small spaces like those found in Paris apartments. Just like in New York City (only maybe not so confining as that), apartments in Paris tend to be small. Tom wants to find a sign that says “ascenseur” (elevator) for our new house in Sanibel. We’d tried to find one at Zola Color, and we tried to find one at BHV, but no luck so far. Still, it was fun to wander around in the vast basement stuffed with stuff for the home. My sister would like that basement, I thought. We took the escalator up and explored each level, except for the level that was crammed with moms and kids shopping for back-to-school supplies. We skipped that mob scene. The top level of BHV has a café called La Kantine. We’d been there in the past. We went because we’d heard about the great view from the café windows. The view is still there, but a Starbucks has been added alongside the café. Starbucks are popping up everywhere! La Kantine is arranged cafeteria style, so it took Tom quite a while to pick out the refreshments he wanted for “tea time.” He decided on a chunk of Saint Nectaire cheese, a hard roll, and a slice of coconut pie. I had a glass of rosé and nibbled on the cheese and pie just a little bit. I took the camera around and discretely photographed the view from a few spots in the uncrowded café. I had selected a high-top table in the middle of the room so we could see everything. Most people clamored for normal-height seats right next to a window, but with the metal railing going around the catwalk outside, I didn’t think the view was so good there. In the foreground of the view to the south was most immediately the ornate Hotel de Ville – the headquarters for the city’s governmental offices. Way beyond it, we could see dome of the Panthéon, which is undergoing renovation. To the left (to the east), we saw the grand church of Saint Gervais overlooking the neighborhoods. It, too, is undergoing renovation, particularly of its bell tower. All around and in between these landmarks was that classic higgledy-piggledy Paris rooftop scenery that makes my heart skip a beat. After we lingered quite a while over our teatime refreshments and the view, we made our way over to the elevator and descended directly to the basement, where we found our way into the metro station. In the evening, our dinner was at La Table d’Hubert, all the way down at the far end of the avenue Félix Faure – a half-hour walk each way. Hubert and his assistant welcomed us and offered us our usual table in the front window. We were given a mis en bouche of homemade cheese biscuits, and a complimentary glass of kir. We shared a slice of savory onion quiche as a starter course. It was smooth and soothing – a real comfort food. I’d told Hubert I was trying to decide between the dorade royale (16 euros) and the steak (28 euros), and asked him for his recommendation. Without hesitation, he had said “la dorade.” He had good reason. The whole fish arrived looking sparkling, silver and gold, and slightly charred on the outside. Inside, it was perfect. Florida girl that I am, I deboned it myself, no problem. I noticed that Hubert deboned the dorade for the older lady sitting just outside on the terrace. Tom had the gambas (prawns), which also arrived in their entirety. He had fun removing the heads, etc., but he said that the prawns themselves were merely good. The dorade was the masterpiece of the dinner. Dessert for Tom was a simple apple pie. It was good, but not remarkable. The remarkable thing was the price for the entire dinner (including a generous glass of white wine and a bottle of sparkling water): only 39 euros! That was in part due to the Lafourchette.com discount of 40 percent. To eat this well on Sanibel Island is far more expensive than it is in Paris. But Sanibel is expensive. Wait – Paris is supposed to be expensive, too! The grocery store prices are far less here in Paris, too – particularly at Dia, the discount grocery. A few days ago, we went to Dia and absolutely filled our shopping trolley. The total? Only 56 euros. The receipt itemized a long list in which every item cost only 1, 2, or 3 euros and change. Nothing was 4 euros or more – including 2 bottles of good wine, some nice cheese, and a bottle of organic milk. Seasonal produce at Dia can be wonderful. Right now, we are working our way through a carton of peaches that are as sweet and juicy as can be. We also bought some pears that are almost as good. To accompany the pears, we bought a chunk of nice Roquefort cheese. Housing is expensive in Paris. But it isn’t as expensive as in New York City, and it is far less expensive than in London. It is still possible to buy a nice 2-bedroom apartment in a decent part of central Paris for $800,000. You can’t do that in New York or London. I hope that Paris can remain liveable and affordable. I have faith that the French can assure it.
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Saturday, August 29, 2015
View of
the Paris city hall and the Panthéon from the café
at the top of BHV on the rue de Rivoli.
The Saint
Gervais church as seen from the top level of BHV. (The dark tower to the
right of it, in the background, is Jussieu, a part
of the University of Paris’ science faculty headquarters.)
La dorade royale.
Prawns
with curry sauce. |
