Paris Journal 2013 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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When we left the apartment
building, we were enveloped by hot, dry, heavy air. Even without air conditioning, we’d managed
to keep the apartment significantly cooler than the great outdoors. That feat is possible when a heat wave
lasts for only a day or two. But if it
goes on and on, the walls of the stone buildings heat all the way through,
and then it is hot indoors, too, no matter what you do. But we felt fine as we
slowly strolled down the rue du Commerce, which was busy with pedestrians,
but not with cars anymore. Since the
pedestrian amenities were added, the vehicular traffic is local only. Nobody wants to try to use the rue du
Commerce as a thoroughfare anymore. With the pedestrian
amenities came shops that were more chic, and more desirable for shoppers who
need to buy the latest fashion. When
Tom went out for bread at the bakery a few days ago, he saw a man on a corner
who looked just like Brad Pitt. Maybe
it was Brad Pitt. On the rue du
Commerce, that would not surprise me anymore. At the Saint John the
Baptist church of the old village of Grenelle, we walked down the left side
of the church and on for a few more blocks to a sharp corner around which we
found the restaurant Banani. The food is not as good at
Banani as it was when we first discovered it, years ago. But it is still a beautiful restaurant, and
the service is impeccable. And, most
importantly on days like yesterday, Banani is air conditioned. Next time I need a korma
fix, I would like to try Tandoori Nights.
It is a well-reviewed Indian restaurant on the rue Letelier, not far
from the apartment. Right now,
LaFourchette.com is offering a discount, too, as an incentive for people to
try the place. We walked past it late
one evening a couple days ago, and I liked the look of the place as well as
the people dining there. That night when we walked back
from there, we turned off the rue Letelier and onto the rue de la Croix
Nivert. On that corner, once upon a
time years ago, in one of our early dining experiences with very traditional,
country-style French cuisine, we ate sausage that was so authentic our
systems did not quite know what to do.
I think we’re better adapted now. But that old place is gone,
we notice. As if to make it perfectly
clear that the new operation which has replaced the old is absolutely
different from the old place, the new name is the Comptoir Moderne. It is a bar/brasserie now, populated by
young people. It even has a Facebook
page instead of a web site. The old place, the name of
which I’ve forgotten, was populated by large, older people. People are eating
differently, in general, than they did 15 years ago in Paris. For example, tête de veau, while still present, is more of a rare sight on a
restaurant menu. Parisians prefer a
more modern cuisine now, it seems. That’s okay with us. The very traditional French cuisine can get
to be boring after a month or so. Even the baguette is waning
in popularity, according to NYTimes “Paris Journal” columnist Elaine Sciolino. Elaine is prone to exaggerations and gross
generalizations, but I think she’s at least partially correct. She does cite statistics,
although she does not give the source.
Supposedly, “The average Frenchman these days eats only half a
baguette a day compared with almost a whole baguette in 1970 and more than
three in 1900. Women, still the main shoppers in most families, eat about a
third less than men, and young people almost 30 percent less than a decade
ago.” That describes our
consumption of baguettes fairly adequately:
Tom eats about half a baguette a day (sometimes more), and I eat
perhaps a quarter of a baguette (sometimes less). If you do the math, you realize that we are
throwing away some stale baguette bread on a regular basis. The French bread lobby is
now trying to convince us all that bread is health food, and will help keep
weight under control, according to Elaine.
Say what???? No matter what the French
bread lobby says, I know I must watch my carb intake. The rest of Elaine’s
article is devoted to describing the difference between an ordinary, cheaper
baguette, and the baguette de tradition
(la baguette de tradition francaise). There is a big difference; I like the baguette de tradition far, far better
than an ordinary, modern tasteless baguette. Last night we did not need
to concern ourselves about the types of French bread at dinner. Instead, we had to decide which kind of nan
to order. Tom ordered a plain nan (nature) and I ordered the cheese nan. The cheese nan was the
highlight of the dinner. Scrumptiously
delicious! And served piping hot. Speaking of food, today is
Friday, and so my friend Roniece is serving lunch to the needy at the
American Church over in the 7th arrondissement today. When she told me about this volunteer
activity of hers, I was so tempted to say I wanted to do that, too. But I know I have a
problem. I volunteer too much. I have a porcelain plaque in the living
room at home. Tom bought it for me. It says, “Stop me before I volunteer
again.” Even though I’d like to go
serve lunch at the American Church today, the reality is that I have plenty
of volunteer work to do right here. I
spent hours this morning putting together the newsletter for the Zonta Club of Sanibel-Captiva. I’ve also had much email to
digest regarding the Zonta Foundation of Southwest Florida, a board upon
which I serve. Then I have work piling up to
do for the technology committee at my church back home. (I make the video files of sermons from the
DVDs mailed to me, then post the videos on the church
YouTube site.) My biggest volunteer job is
that I’m president of a nonpartisan political
committee back home on Sanibel. Tom’s work has been
fun; he’s been reading a large number
of teachers’ reviews of his textbook, Back to the Lake. The reviews are so overwhelmingly positive
that he’s been in a very good mood lately. Also occupying our minds
and time is our real estate purchase: Cooley
Hammock, 3.6 acres of tropical hardwood hammock on Sanibel Island. The closing was Monday; on Tuesday I
applied for the exotic vegetation removal permit; on Wednesday I was granted
the permit; and now we have contractors starting to work on that task. On Thursday, I had a pleasant email
exchange with the our architect friend.
TGIF. So even with the hot
weather curtailing outdoor daytime activities, we have plenty to do. And it is all good. |
Friday, August 2, 2013
A
statue by C. Chauvel in the Jardin
de Reuilly.
The
Jardin de Reuilly has an
impeccable lawn that is popular for sunbathing.
The
dome of the Saint-Antoine des Quinze Vingts church.
The
church was constructed in 1902 or 1903 in neo-gothic style. Sorry for the blurriness, but I never use a
flash in a church. The low-light
feature of my camera (Nikon Coolpix S8100) kicks in when I take a shot like
this; it adds light, somehow.
The
avenue Ledru Rollin with the Saint-Antoine des Quinze Vingts church, as seen
from the Promenade Plantée. |
