Paris Journal 2011 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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The glass-walled peace monument on the Champ de Mars finally is going to be removed. We’re pleased about that. It never did fit in properly in that location, and it detracts from the view along the length of the Champ de Mars, in both directions. The thing was put up originally without any construction permit, and was supposed to be temporary – a part of the year 2000 new millennium events. It has been a constant target of vandalism, and the mayor of the 7th arrondissement (in which the Champ de Mars is located), Rachida Dati, wants to have it relocated. Her favored alternative location is in the park at La Villette, on the northeast side of Paris. I think she’s right – the spacious park at La Villette has the kind of spots where this monument can be placed and will not mar vistas. The mayor of the 15th, Phillippe Goujon, also has a good idea: he thinks it should be placed in the Balard neighborhood, where the new French “Pentagon” is being constructed. He says, “Placing the Wall of Peace next to the Ministry of Defense would be a strong symbol.” I agree with that logic. Both Rachida Dati and Phillippe Gougon are of the same political party, the UMP, so I bet they’ll work something out. As far as I can tell, the main person fighting to keep the peace monument on the Champ de Mars is Marek Halter, the husband of one of the monument’s two designers, Clara Halter. How he has the power to have kept it there for so long, I do not understand. To answer Dati’s argument that the monument was supposed to be temporary, and should be removed, Halter says, “The Eiffel Tower has stayed in its temporary location for a hundred years!” Ah, come on, Halter. Do you really think this particular monument is in the same class as the Eiffel Tower? Let’s get real. Another argument he uses for keeping the peace monument on the Champ is that “it is in all the tourist guides.” As if tourist guidebooks should determine the permanent location? Nevertheless, the creators of the monument are ready for it to be moved. It just can’t be placed any old place, Marek Halter exclaims, “It is not a piece of furniture!” To try to get everyone to come to some agreement, the minister of Developpement Durable (sustainable development) called a meeting of all the affected leaders – including the minister of Culture and the director of the Parc de la Villette. I don’t think the peace wall ever really caught on. People who see it for the first time say, “What the heck is THAT?” So it really isn’t a very good symbol. It does not seem to be emblematic of “peace.” In fact, it has been a subject of discord and debate ever since its installation. Speaking of emblematic, there was an interesting page in Le Parisien the other day reporting on the results of a poll in which the French were asked what foods are most emblematic of French cuisine. Here are the results: Foie gras 48% Pot-au-feu 41% Blanquette de veau 31% Cassoulet 30% Côte de bœuf – frites 19% Sole meunière 10% Other 1% Non-specified 1% The poll was conducted for the Ministry of the Economy, Finances, and Industry last week. Pied de porc, tête de veau, and bouillabaisse did not even make the list! Shocking. Anyway, the poll was conducted in preparation for this weekend’s Fête de la gastronomie, which Tom and I won’t be exploring because we don’t have the time (Tom’s publisher’s deadlines), it is fattening, and quite frankly, we had enough of being tourists during Heritage Days last weekend. In fact, we both reached the point where if we saw just one more fabulous room in one more magnificent stately home last Sunday, we would have exploded. Going out to dinner will have to be enough. Part of the poll also included an opportunity for the French to name their favorite chef. The venerable, untouchable 85-year-old Paul Bocuse is still number one. Number two is a young man named Cyril Lignac who, like Julia Child, is good at cooking on TV. Third is Joël Robuchon, and fourth is Michel Guérard. I think it is a very difficult choice to make, naming the “best chef.” Like other kinds of artists, they are all so different, and they each make their own unique magic. Last night, after a lovely walk in the Luxembourg Gardens, we experienced the magic of the chef at L’Abri Cotier, on the boulevard Montparnasse. I wanted the Suprême de dorade in an aumonière, which was not part of any two- or three-course menu option, so I ordered it a la carte. Tom wanted the mignon de porc, which was on a three-course fixed price menu, so he ordered that and we shared the starter course and dessert. The starter (I wish I’d written the name of it down) was a fresh, light terrine with a layer of small shrimp in the middle, served with a homemade tartar sauce, tomato sauce drizzle, and a little pudding of cream and chives. My dorade (Mediterranean sea bream) was delicious, and the aumonière was impressively elegant. It came in a pool of savory lobster sauce. I reasoned that I might as well enjoy dorade while I can, because it is not available in Florida. But in Florida, I can enjoy pompano. Tom’s mignon de porc with a mustard cream sauce was great, and he had a few very interesting looking, round potato slices that were crispy on the outside, like good fries are, but these were ¼-inch thick disks. The dessert, pain perdu with poached pears and a caramel sauce, was excellent, comme d’habitude. The walk home after dinner was magical, too. We selected the colorful rue Bréa off of the boulevard Montparnasse, connected with the rue Vavin, which took us to the sidewalk alongside the great fence of the Luxembourg Gardens, where we could look across the street and into the windows of the elegant apartments on the other side of the rue Guynemer. We settled into a quiet evening of reading and listening to soft jazz. I don’t think we have turned the TV on since the Tour de France in July. And we haven’t driven cars since June. Are we weird or what? Sign
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Friday, September 23, 2011
The Medici
fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens.
The
restored north tower of the Saint Sulpice church.
The
beginning of dinner at L’Abri Cotier. We love this Orezza
sparkling water from Corsica, and the rose wines from Corsica are very
good. The shrimp terrine came with a
chive cream concoction, and a homemade tartar sauce as well as a couple
strips of tasty beets and salad.
The suprême de dorade (sea
bream) in an aumonière
of very thin pastry, above, and the mignon
de porc, below.
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