PARIS, Part 2

A few shots of the city during our stay...

Just Julia
Julia Child's 3rd-floor apartment when she discovered French cooking - and a nice sample of a typical downtown Paris building. This one was in a prime location just across the Seine from the Place de la Concorde, so I'm guessing it's no longer within a diplomat's budget.

Place de la Concorde
The sprawling center of Paris with the obelisk (think Washington monument, shrunk) in the middle, where monsieur guillotine used to sit back when it was called the "Place de la Revolution." In the top photo, you can just see the Eiffel tower through the fog. In the middle, the Arc de Triomphe. At the bottom, the fountains and lots of pavement. The Place can of course be beautiful (even in a dark-and-stormy way), I'm just going for truth in advertising here...

Hotel Meurice
Emboldened by my triumph in walking through Chanel's original store, I lost my head and started to walk into the Hotel Meurice of "Is Paris Burning?" fame. One of the porters stepped up to ask me my business. (Mind you, I was not in Chanel, but I was not in rags either.) I said I'd read about the hotel's history... To which she replied, in French, "You just want to walk through? No, I'm sorry, it's not possible."

I can't help thinking the former Nazi headquarters could have a little more humility...but moving right along...

Notre Dame
Our requisite visit to the grand lady. The top (John the Baptist holding his head) and bottom ("knight" holding his sword) photos were especially for our boys; I carried their interests with me everywhere.

In the middle, Josh is eating a fresh-made crepe with "apple compote" on the bleachers facing the cathedral (odd, but useful). He was expecting Cracker-Barrel-esque baked apples; he got Motts-esque applesauce. #oops

Shakespeare & Co.
All the famous writers living in 1920s Paris (Stein, Hemingway, Pound, Fitzgerald) visited Shakespeare & Co. regularly to sit and read, then fold down a corner of a page and come back later to finish the book. The owner at the time was a patron and mentor. Today, I didn't spot any famous authors, but it has the winding little corridors, stacks at every odd angle, serendipity of a piano in one nook and chandelier in the other, and old-book smell that prove its worth.

                                                                                     Found this gem at the bookstore of all bookstores.

Ile Saint Louis
I had read about walking through the "medieval" little town of Ile St-Louis in the middle of Paris, so I was surprised to discover a distinctly 19th-century maze of mostly-quiet narrow streets. I found the hotel I'd want to stay in next time (Hotel Lutece), an adorable grocery store, and several fantastic-looking restaurants, but that's about it. It's like a little residential neighborhood in the middle of the tourist mecca.

Worst Dinner
This looks great! A romantic dinner at a cafe in Paris. White table cloths. Three courses. Surely the famously gourmet French who police their culture like we police violence would not allow objectively bad food to be served. I promise Josh's escargot tasted like the pond they came from (though I do tend to think that of all escargot) but then his bass did too, and that just ain't right. He spent the night tossing and turning, convinced we were gonna see that fish again.

My goat cheese & toast salad was fun (though soaking in dressing), but the oddly-crunchy cappuccino ice cream kept me awake, too. At least we got to toss and turn together, right?

Toilets
'Cause who else is gonna tell you about this? Two things to know:
1. If there are two buttons, push the smaller one to flush peepee. Push both for the other. If there are no buttons, pull the chain hanging from the ceiling.
2. If there's no seat (?? not uncommon), I don't recommend sitting. I just hope you don't have a little girl with you.

Champs Elysees

Our last morning we had time for a quick run in the rain past several Japanese tour groups and down the Champs Elysees, where Josh made a few big golden friends, thanks to Louis Vuitton.

The Bus

Months ago, I checked out the EuroStar 2-hour express train from Paris to London online. It leaves 2/hour and was less than $100, so I figured people just show up, buy a ticket, and board, as we've done for many other buses/trains.

I was wrong. Our last night in Paris, I found out the last-minute price is $250/person. The bus is only $65. It takes 8 hours, so we pretended we wanted a scenic tour of the countryside. We left Paris at 11am and arrived in London around 6pm. The bus was clean, roomy, comfy, and gave us a chance to see lots of green rolling hills with cows and windmills and graffiti (in France) and sheep (in England).

A little more yin (the windmills were cool) than yang...

The Chunnel
With one interesting bit in between: The Channel. The bus drove from Paris to Calais, then into a train, was carried (with us in it) through the Chunnel, then drove out of the train at Dover, and on to London.

The only plans it sacked: our dinner reservations at a highly-rated restaurant in London (Orrery), which we replaced with our 2nd worst meal of the trip...

For more, see KENSINGTON.

PARIS, Part 1

Planes, Trains, & Automobiles
Before we get to the City of Light, we must savor the flights that took us there. Quiet. Climate-controlled. Completely chore-free, kid-free, FREE TIME. We scarfed up airplane food (it's as pathetic as it looks, but somehow still fun because I did not make it), wrestled a crossword puzzle, read, watched Beautiful Creatures, and tried (and failed) to get a night's sleep. It was all lovely in that all-nighter-at-35-but-not-because-of-babies way...

On arrival, we spent several hours in our sleepless haze winding through customs, subways, and then

crisscrossing the giant Gare du Nord train station with all our luggage looking for a ticket booth only to discover that our subway tickets (in our pockets) were all we needed.

To their credit, we were approached by several strangers during our time in Paris who saw the lost-puppy looks on our faces and offered in broken English to help. The Parisians were overwhelmingly friendly. Unfortunately, their signs are not. The names of the Metro (subway) stops often don't match from one map (in your hands) to another (on the train), and the maps themselves are hard to come by - not to mention the Metro is enormous and confusing. Next time, I'd pick a hotel closer to Notre Dame so I don't have to spend so much time in transit.

That said, I was reminded on this rainy visit that I do love city buses which let you ride through and absorb the city in dry comfort for very little money. There is also something to be said for observing a cross-section of natives on the subway. Notably, I never saw a Parisian eating en route to anywhere (even on our 8-hour bus trip - more on that later). I'm not sure they understand the concept of fast food...which could explain a lot.

Our hotel (Champerret-Elysees) which was cheap, clean, quiet,
and connected (love me some fast WIFI), though a little too far north.

Musee D'Orsay
Mistake #2: Once we'd checked in, we headed straight to our top priority destination: The Musee D'Orsay, which had been closed during our last joint trip to Paris, and whose art we both adore. We were just in time for a guided tour by a charming Parisian whose explanation of the environment into which impressionism was born was helpful and (totally my fault) soporific. Jetlag hit with a bang. Josh caught me sleeping on a bench while the guide talked on. Glad we saw it, and I learned something...I think. But if you ask me about the art, my response may sound oddly dream-like.

No pictures are allowed of the paintings, but the interior decorating was worth a few on its own.

Best Dinner
We went straight home for a nap so we could enjoy our best meal of the trip: dinner at Ambassade d'Auvergne with some delightful Parisians Josh had gotten to know (through work) on his last trip.  It was my first time visiting with locals on an international trip (I don't have many opportunities to make friends with folks living on other continents), and it set me to scheming: Josh is now under orders to be very friendly with charming scientists who live in attractive vacation destinations.

If you're ever in the neighborhood, you must get: the mushroom-fig cassoulet, salmon and lentil appetizer, pork cheek in gravy, cheesy mashed potatoes ("aligot"), fresh bread with pate, roast duck, pots de creme (eaten counterclockwise) and a giant bowl of dark chocolate mousse (no resemblance to the gray cool whip we give that name).

Musee de l'Orangerie
The next day we tackled another impressionist museum: L'Orangerie. Which still makes me think it's full of oranges, event after I've been there and not seen a single orange. It was phenomenal. Probably because I was awake. The first two rooms look like this...

...designed by Monet for his water-lily frescoes, to provide a haven of peace during wartime (or life). As you turn in the room and relax your eyes, you can imagine you're in the middle of the never-ending pond as the light changes from sunrise to sunset. It's like the still-life version of performance art.

The lower galleries hold a manageable number of paintings that run the gamut from gorgeous (Renoir, whose peaches came the closest to upholding the museum name) to fun (Soutine - his chef below) to haunting (Chanel by Laurencin, bottom left) to repulsive (I'll spare you the Rousseau). 

We spent the rest of our time in Paris walking the rainy streets and notable sights of the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th arrondissements (neighborhoods)...

Eglise Saint-Severin

Found this little statuette in a random corner of a random church (St Severin) in the Latin Quarter, and he took my breath away. Such strength and gentleness. It's of St Vincent de Paul, a 16th century French priest who spent 60 years serving the poor. Based just on that info and this sculpture, I have to believe he was an inspiring (and magnetic) reflection of Christ. I prefer not to think about what has happened to his parish in the years since.

Pont de Solferino

Ever since we saw the movie Now You See Me, we knew we'd have to buy a lock, so we went through the ceremony of writing on it, locking it to the bridge, and throwing the key in the Seine. Then we kept walking along the Seine and discovered we'd actually done it on a different bridge. The original was getting too full, so some enterprising Parisians started it on a few others. Now, you can pretty much take your pick. #whoknew

***Travel Tip: If you see a wedding ring on a railing (for example, a bridge railing...), don't pick it up. It's a scam. #dodgedabullet

 Chanel

Coco Chanel's first store/home/studio (found in Forever Paris). Josh convinced me to walk inside despite the imposing bouncers at every door. I glanced at one $55k watch and $3500 little black dress, then left for our 10€ lunch in my $12 H&M dress...

Latin Quarter
In some ways, this is my favorite neighborhood in Paris. On the Left Bank of the Seine, it used to be the student district but has since been taken over by tourists. There are skeins of international shops, people, and restaurants with competing price fixe menus and outdoor seating.

Our very French 3-course late lunch at an outdoor cafe. Josh's turkey was delicious; my steak was inedible; the cafe de creme was dark and creamy; the atmosphere was relaxed and festive and...French. Not bad for 20€.

More to come in PARIS, Part 2.