Paris Journal 2012 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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The mission: explore the streets to the west and south of the Place Saint Sulpice. This neighborhood has the advantage of being more-or-less on a grid system that is north-south-east-west in orientation. That’s unusual for Paris. But I grew up in a city that for the most part ignores the grid system (except for downtown), and is oriented around a bending river, the great Ohio. That city had the further complication of hills. That was Cincinnati. This is Paris, and it isn’t so difficult to navigate, in my opinion. My goal was to get to know these streets well, and to find a convenient bakery or two. Tom said he wanted to go along. He’d done enough work for the day. Reading page proofs is tedious. He had just sent several chapters’ worth of proofs back to New York city, and he was ready to be entertained. I had an itinerary, so all he had to do was tag along. No more thinking required! We crossed the southern edge of the Place Saint Sulpice and began with the rue de Mézières. We paused to admire the beautiful, big watch store at the corner of rue Madame and the rue de Mézières. It seems to specialize in the French brand Breguet, and it has a sizeable workshop in addition to its sizeable showroom. In the workshop, watchmakers toil away, and a woman works in a window, making leather watchbands in many different colors. A small, expensive, gourmet grocery called “Hé” is located on the rue de Mézières. “Hé” is short for Hédonie, but I wonder if the name is chosen because it is reminiscent of Hédiard. We already knew about Hé, so we walked on to the rue de Cassettes, and explored its full length from the rue de Vieux Colombier to the rue de Vaugirard, where it changes names to rue Jean Bart, and then on to the rue de Fleurus. I showed Tom the two groceries on rue Jean Bart, the Carrefour Express and the G20. He especially liked the looks of the G20, maybe because of the saucisson sec varieties hanging on a rack just inside the window. He spotted the Hotel Jean Bart across the street. Only a two-star hotel, this establishment has bargain rates for this part of town. The Hotel Jean Bart accepts no credit cards; it is a cash-only type of joint. Rue Jean Bart ends at the rue de Fleurus, where Gertrude Stein lived once upon a time. There we re-discovered Bread and Roses, a place that I’d thought of as a little breakfast café, but of course it is a bakery as well! We entered Bread and Roses (which also has a sign that says “Lemaire” on the façade’s corner; Lemaire is a well-known bakery in the 8th arrondissement) to examine its offerings. We bought a little loaf of brioche-like bread, a baguette, and a soft-pretzel-shaped concoction of black olive and tomato bread (not salted). Service was warm and friendly. The breads and pastries look delicious, and other quiche-like items are offered as well. Bread and Roses has tables outside on the sidewalk, and it sells beverages; a good place for a breakfast, snack, or light lunch. At the corner of rue Guynemer and the rue de Fleurus is a fascinating bookstore called Alde. On display in the rue de Fleurus side were odd shadow-box/dollhouse works of art by an artist named Marc Gia-Miniet. Alde specializes in conducting sales of old books, autograph collections, lithographs, photographs, etc. Turning up the rue Madame, we passed by a school, then at the corner of Madame and rue de Vaugirard, voila! Another bakery! A good one! And it is convenient enough. Mission accomplished. Tom went in and bought a box of thin, round almond cookies bent in the shape of ceramic roof tiles; so these cookies are called tuiles. I examined the windows of the restaurant next door, La Maison du Jardin. It looks promising. Caddy-corner across from the bakery, at the intersection of rue Madame and rue de Vaugirard was a bookstore with an utterly charming old façade, and whimsical window displays taking full advantage of the quaint setting. Tom liked the crocheted cat and mice displayed amongst the books in the window. I especially liked the old façade, which may have once featured a butcher shop. Continuing up the rue Madame, north of the rue de Vaugirard, we passed another watch and clock shop, but this one specialized in selling old, old clocks, and repairing them as well. The watchmaker’s tiny workshop was visible through one window, and other windows allowed us to see many beautiful old clocks on display in the creaky old showroom. Quaint. We found a little Italian restaurant called La Giara just before we reached the rue de Mézières. It also looked promising, especially for those evenings when we don’t want the fuss of a French dinner. La Giara had an authentic look, we thought. It was pleasantly decorated, and the pizza prices were even a bit lower than at the Commerce Café. The veal scaloppini dishes were numerous. Everything you’d expect on a Sicilian Italian menu was there. La Giara is off the beaten track; not a touristy place at all, but a place for locals. Back at “our” apartment building, we gave many of the tuiles to Elisabeth. We tasted a few of our purchases. We tended to emails, then Tom napped while I went out for an errand. In the evening, because we’d snacked, we didn’t want a two- or three-course French dinner, so we decided to give La Giara a try. I’d found one good, authentic review of the place. (By “authentic,” I mean that it clearly could not have been arranged/placed/written by one of the restaurateur’s friends or relatives.) A good, small Italian restaurant that caters to locals would probably fill up on a Friday night, we thought, so we arrived early, at about 7:30PM. Although La Giara opens at 7PM, we were the first to arrive. That didn’t bother me; I had a good feeling about this place. As soon as we walked in the door, the server leapt to his feet and greeted us. He gave us a nice little corner table. Tom decided on the veal scaloppini with mushroom sauce, and I decided on the veal scaloppini alla pizzaiola, which is a rich tomato-based sauce with black olives, anchovy paste, capers, and lots of garlic. We were both surprised at the large size of the piece of veal, which was not all that thin. The veal was moist and tender enough, and was expertly prepared. The presentation of the dishes wasn’t fussy at all. Tom said his mushrooms were excellent, as was the sauce. Each main course was 16.50, which seemed like good value given the quantity and quality. The scaloppini dishes come with either a green salad or pasta. By the time we left, the little Giara was full of happy French people eating Italian food. All of this sounds wonderful, I know, and it is wonderful. My friend Daphne recently commented to me that “You seem to be enjoying this summer in Paris more than ever – something about your tone sounds so alive and happy!” Daphne is right, but there is more to it than that. This journal, you see, is a positive creation. I don’t allow much of the negative into it at all, except when I cannot avoid it, like around the anniversary of the Vel d’Hiv roundup. Yes, this journal is positive. As I told Daphne, “I intentionally avoid the negative in this journal; it is bad karma.” I do believe that. But it does not mean that our lives have never been touched by bad things like mistreatment, murder, muggings, medical problems, and mayhem. Just remember what the theologian, poet, and orator George Herbert (1593-1633) said, “Living well is the best revenge.” May The Force be with you. |
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Clock
on the corner of rue Madame and rue de Mezieres. The shop sells Breguet
watches, as well as other brands. Breguet was a French brand, but it is now owned by SWATCH
and Breguet watches are now made in Switzerland.
Madonna
and child sculpture on a building on the rue Cassette/Jean Bart. |
