Paris Journal 2008
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After moving to the apartment in the 6th on Sunday, the 31st, we went back to the 15th in the evening to check for a couple items we forgot, and then we had a wonderful dinner at La Gauloise. Tom ate the filet au poivre with French fries, and I had the special of the day, a tasty, thick, moist and tender veal chop with sautéed potatoes and wild mushrooms. Tom’s steak came with a rich, dark sauce, and my chop came with a perfect, brown demi-glace sauce. We were given free saucisson slices as an hors d’oeuvre, and free delicious chocolate-chocolate chip cookies and dark chocolate drops with Tom’s coffee after dinner. They treat us so well at La Gauloise. We were given an excellent table near the front window. Seated in the front window were two old French ladies. They spoke pleasantly and loudly enough for me to hear just about everything they said, and I was able to understand them perfectly. I think they were speaking very good French, learned in good Catholic girls’ schools. They were even easier to understand than Jacques Chirac. I could probably understand Sarkozy better if he would just slow down a bit. Settling in yesterday was more of a chore than I realized it would be. Tom was so busy with work on the book that I had to make several forays out by myself, buying what we needed, and carrying it back to the apartment, as much as I could carry at a time. My arms were actually sore this morning, and that’s saying something because I normally do at least 30 push-ups every day. One of the trips I made involved a visit to FNAC Digitale, to buy a new mouse for Tom’s computer. I was pleased to see that this store has eliminated the bureaucratic system it used to have for making purchases. No longer do you have to find a sales person to enter a bunch of info in a computer first, then print out a couple of large forms, which you then have to take to the cashiers on the ground floor where you would wait in line to pay. Now, you just browse, find what you want, take it to the cashier right there on the first floor (second floor in American), pay, and that’s that. Simple and straightforward, just like in the US. I explored the Champion grocery store that Carol, Ron and Wendy like so much. I agree, it is better than FranPrix. I also shopped at Monoprix. What a zoo! Monoprix is more than a grocery – it has clothes, household goods, and, of course, school supplies for kids. Yesterday was the day before the schools started, and the store was mobbed with moms and kids and strollers. I struggled with getting the wireless connection going in the apartment, and we decided how we needed to re-arrange some furniture to accommodate two people slogging away at computers. Yesterday, finally, when work was done and we went for a lovely walk in the Luxembourg Gardens, then the Jardin Marco Polo, and then the boulevard Montparnasse. We discovered a new Relais de L’Entrecote on the boulevard, right next door to our favorite of the big old Hemingway brasseries, Le Select. Our server at Le Select was one who’d served us in the past, and I don’t think he remembered us, but he gave us a nice table and highly recommended the émincé de veau, one of the day’s specials. Just before that, I had asked him what grondin is, because grilled grondin was on the daily special list. It is a fish usually used in soups, not grilled, and I think he wanted to be sure I avoided it. So he made a different recommendation. I’m glad he did. The veal was so tender and moist, and it was served, unexpectedly, with pasta and some carrots in a thin, tomato and veal-stock based sauce. And it was NOT expensive: €15 for a generous portion. The server also told me about a sauvignon blanc that was available in a pichet, even though it was not listed on the menu. For that I was also grateful, because it was good, cold, and not expensive. This was the first time I’ve ever seen a pichet of wine served in a little ice bucket filled with icewater. What service! Our server, by the way, never attempted to speak any English with us. There was no need for it. For that, too, I am grateful. After dinner, Tom visited the restroom, which is down a set of stairs that you find by looking for the large photograph of a handsome cat. On his way back up, Tom encountered the cat in real life. We had a nice visit with the fine animal, and then the cat hopped up on a ledge near the bar and demanded, absolutely demanded, food from the bartender. If I didn’t know better, I’d say this cat had a few drinks in its fairly large belly. He was behaving just like many demanding drunks at bars throughout the world. He was behaving just like Hemingway probably behaved when he’d had a few too many at Le Select. Hemingway was not well liked in Paris. He had a way of insulting people, probably after he’d lost his inhibitions in a beer mug. That reminds me, as we started out on our walk toward the Luxembourg Gardens, I saw an English-speaking couple at the corner of rue Servandoni and rue de Vaugirard. They were puzzling over a map, so I asked if I could help them. They said they were looking for rue Dupin. I said yes, it is near Bon Marché, and I showed them the location on the map. Turns out that what they didn’t know is where they were at the moment. I showed them that on the map. I asked if they were going to the restaurant there (L’Epi Dupin). They looked mildly surprised and said “yes.” I told them it’s a very good restaurant. I asked if they have a reservation (a very good idea at L’Epi Dupin, if you want to get in), and they said yes, they’d made a reservation because they’d heard that it was needed. I was prepared, if they did not have a reservation, to pull out our cell phone and make one for them, because I have L’Epi Dupin’s number programmed into the phone (along with the phone numbers of dozens of other favorite places). L’Epi Dupin, by the way, is NOT open on weekends or Monday at lunchtime. The scenic route we recommended to the English couple was up rue de Ferou, where they could see the best place Hemingway ever lived in Paris, and then on to the square in front of Saint Sulpice, to see the beautifully restored fountain with its lions and bishops. Then down the rue Vieux Columbier, past the weird statue at the Carrefour de la Croix Rouge, and voila, they’d be in the neighborhood of the restaurant. |
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Juggler near Notre Dame.
Art being sold at the base of Thomas Jefferson’s statue
near the Passarelle Solferino.
The Back Leg Breakers playing near Notre Dame.
A view from Montmartre. |
