Paris Journal 2013 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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I finished
working before Tom did. When that
happens, I sometimes am anxious to go out walking, especially if the weather
is nice. I thought that would be the
case yesterday, but when I realized that the temperatures in the low 70s
would be ideal for sitting in the sunshine in the open French doors to the
balcony, I was okay with staying home for the afternoon. I settled into
a chair with book in hand and blooming balcony plants before me. Happily, I read for a couple hours. When 4:30PM rolled around, we were both
ready for a long walk. When we don’t
have a destination in mind, we naturally gravitate toward the Champ de Mars,
Eiffel Tower, and the Seine. Our
favorite way to the Seine, through the jungle/swamp/garden of the Musée du
Quai Branly, was closed off because that museum is closed on Mondays. Instead, we crossed the quai at the end of
the avenue de la Bourdonnais and down we went to the riverbank. At that spot,
there are many tourist boats – mostly Bateaux Parisiennes – along the Port de
la Bourdonnais and the Port de Suffren.
We wormed our way through the throngs of tourists and then we were
headed southwest along the riverbank, in a quiet, calm stretch where a number
of peniches (houseboats that are
like small barges), yachts, and other pleasure boats are moored. The only bad
thing about walking there are the places with the very rough
cobblestones. These make me feel like
I could sprain my ankle(s) at any moment so I must take care. Tom suggested I get high top shoes. I said “Yeah, right, like hiking
boots? I’m going to wear hiking boots
in Paris? I don’t think so.” In every other
regard, however, this is an ideal place to walk in Paris. The variety of boats is fascinating, and
the surprising number of trees make it quite pleasant. We walked all
the way from the Port de la Bourdonnais to the Pont Mirabeau. There, we walked back up to street level
and skirted around the cute little Javel RER train station. After we walked
for a few minutes up the avenue Émile Zola, we paused outside the restaurant
that formerly was Oh! Duo and will soon be Le Pario. While renovation work is clearly
continuing, much progress has been made.
Fresh white primer paint covers the wood parts of the façade, and
shiny new brass hardware has appeared here and there. Pretty spiffy. At the end of
the avenue, we turned into our favorite bakery which was still open, thank
heavens. Baguette in hand, we walked
toward our street but decided to pop in at Le Café du Commerce to reserve a
table for dinner. It was 7:15, and
dinnertime would be 8PM. Since our walk
was so long, we had an appetite. (The
baguette is for the next morning’s toast.)
Tom ordered the gambas
special (jumbo shrimp three nights in a row!) and I ordered the duckling
filet – both specials of the day. All
I can say is that must have been one very large duckling. Tom had to help me with my main course, and
we still didn’t finish it all. But first, we
started by sharing one of the regular menu appetizers, a moelleux de saumon. This
time, it was prettier than before.
There was more sauce drizzled decoratively on the plate, and the
“tulip” that held it looked more like an ark.
Maybe I’d been looking at too many boats that day. Tom insisted on
having the baba au rhum for dessert, and I jokingly said, “But NOTHING could
top that baba at Vin et Marée last night!”
He begged to differ, and I think he still prefers the baba a Le Café
du Commerce while I think the one at Vin et Marée is tops. We agree to
disagree. Today, I have
spent much time on emails regarding the problem of large, polluting water
releases from Lake Okeechobee. It is
a very complicated problem, and Big Sugar knows how to take advantage of
every complication. What a
headache. When we walked
by la frayère (spawning bed) that
has been made along the Seine, just past the tourist boat area, I paused to
look at the water in that shallow place.
The water was beautifully clear, and healthy water grasses swished
back and forth in it. Tom said, “The
Seine has come a long way.” Indeed, the
Seine was much more polluted than this in years past. I think it is still affected by
agricultural run-off, but maybe less so every year. Sometime in
2009, wild salmon returned to the Seine.
The Seine still has its problems with heavy metal contamination, and
once in a while, in overload situations, raw sewage from Paris can be
discharged directly into the river. In reading
about the Seine today, I found this interesting
article about the moving of thousands of artworks to protect them from a
possible flood in Paris. The action
took place in 2003 – the biggest relocation of artworks in France since World
War II! Hopefully, everything is in a
safe, dry place now. Water is an
awesome thing. |
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Eiffel
Tower and American Church steeple as seen from the right bank end of the Pont
Alexandre III.
The
Pont Alexandre III.
Statue
in the church of Saint-Germain-des-Pres.
Moelleux
de saumon at Le Café du
Commerce. |
