Paris Journal 2010 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com

Photos and thoughts about Paris

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Yesterday afternoon, after I’d showered and run the dishwasher, our doorbell rang. Tom answered. Mr. B, who owns most of the apartments in the building, told him in rapidfire French that the water had been shut off in the building due to work being done. He gestured toward the one floor that is above ours a couple times. We went to dinner with friends, and when we returned, there was still no running water in the apartment. We were able to collect a couple pans of water from what was standing in the pipes. The guardienne and her family are always on vacation in Portugal for August, and an arrangement is made with the guardians across the street for them to come over and do the basics like sort and deliver the mail and clean the hallways and stairways once a week. But they don’t really have responsibility for the building. The leak is in the guardienne’s family quarters. Mr. B, by virtue of owning most of the apartments, is in control of the syndic, or “co-op,” as we would say in U.S. cities. Today, nothing is being done about the leak, and I think we are one of only three apartments currently occupied in the building. I think there is a reason why Mr. B is not handling the situation, and we do not want to get into the middle of that. Mr. B owns a number of apartments in the area, we believe. So we are muddling through without running water until we go to Munich on Saturday. We will go out and buy a lot of bottled water at Ed today, and we know how to use water from a bucket to flush the toilet. So it is as if we are camping in the middle of Paris. At least, we have electricity, and broadband, and the plants on the balcony were rained on for two days in a row. So, yesterday our friends Pat and Stanley left Paris and our English friends, Ron and Carol, arrived. We walked over to the 6^th arrondissement to welcome them, and then the four of us went to Bistrot de la Grille Saint Germain for dinner. Our server was a young man who’d lived in the U.S. for nine years, and he absolutely insisted on using English. I gave up, and we did speak English with him even when we ordered, and it was a strange sensation. He was ultra-casual, calling us “you guys” and when he bade farewell to Ron, he shook his hand and said “thanks, buddy.” This jarring informality is something I always have to get used to every Fall when we return to the U.S. It was strange to hear it here in Paris. Anyway, it was a nice dinner. I indulged in the terrine de la mere brazier again, and I told the server that it was the best terrine in all of Paris. He thought I was kidding. I said no, that I’d had it several times. He said, “here?” And I said yes. I think he just thought we were here for a one-time weeklong vacation. I did tell him we’re here for three months every year. That surprised him. I understand. That part of Paris is just overloaded with tourists. Carol had the fish special, a perch, and I ordered the duck breast which came with a very heavy serving of mashed potatoes with big mushrooms mixed in them. I just couldn’t really eat them, they were so heavy. But the duck and sauce were delicious. Tom and Ron each ordered different lamb dishes. Nobody noticed until they were almost finished that the two dishes had been switched. When we figured it out, we thought it was pretty funny. We shared a couple of crème brulées, which were not as good as usual. We lingered and talked after dinner, thoroughly enjoying each others’ company. After dinner, I wanted to walk home, but Tom wanted to take the métro. So we did that, and listened to the music of Ray Charles again. Today, in looking around to see what’s happening in this apartment building, Tom went upstairs to the floor above us, where the traditional chambres de bonnes (maids’ rooms) are located. A couple apartments have been created up there, and there are still nine doors! What a warren! There is one door, unlocked, in the middle. Inside, in a small but tall-ceilinged skylighted room, is a very ancient looking single cold-water spigot and basin, probably for filling buckets. Also in there are two doors. Beyond each door is a Turkish toilet! How quaint! Sign my guestbook. View my guestbook.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010 The blackboard and mirrored interior at Bistrot de la Grille Saint Germain. Statue at Place Joffre points down the Champ de Mars at the Eiffel Tower. ← Previous Next → Note: For addresses & phone numbers of restaurants in this journal, click here.