Paris Day 4: Lazy-ish Sunday...Market & Shopping

Today was gorgeous! We wanted to hit a market so we got up and headed to the Bastille market, held Thursdays and Sundays at Place de la Bastille. Whoa! It was huge!! Mostly food, with some junkie stuff as well as some practical stuff...no arts/crafts. We walked through the first half and then I deposited Jill in a park (with some puzzles...sudoku addict!) to wait while I braved the crowds to get food for dinner some night before we go.

Oh, the choices! Cheese, bread, fish, olives, cheese, did I say cheese?, cheese, meats, fruits, veggies...it was so overwhelming! Not to mention, it's hard to cook in a kitchen not stocked with anything, though, we did get some staples: Butter, oil, eggs, salt/pepper, garlic, onion. Still...so, I grabbed some frenchie-veggies (fennel, zucchini, eggplant, leeks, green beans) and some fish (oh, I wanted the fresh Turbot, but alas, it only came in 1/2 fish pieces, the smallest of which weighed in at a $30 price tag and would've fed 4+ people, so I had to pass :( ). Picked up some melon, italian cured ham, olives, cheese and a baguette. It was so much fun, and thanks to earlier in the trip introducing Jill to sudoku, she was cheerfully occupied on a shady park bench. Sadly, I did manage to either lose about 50 Euros, or got pick-pocketed. Bummer...but in the realm of life, what can you do? When I realized it, I'd just been rung up for my cheese and didn't have enough to pay, and a nice American couple around my age gave me 5 Euro to pay for the rest of the bill. It's amazing the kindness you find all around you (not to be a cheeseball, no pun intended...).

After, Jill took a siesta and we separated for the first time on our trip. I went off and shopped - didn't buy anything - but re-wandered through areas I'd been; found a few new ones and just soaked up the Sunday afternoon people-watching. We met up at the fountain outside the Pompideu with the intent of going in...but it was so nice out we aborted that plan and opted to gallery peruse around Place des Vosges and grab dinner on lively Rue de Lappe. We had a lovely late-night stroll home through the Bastille walkway which landed us at Place de Republique, just two blocks from home. Again, despite trying to have a light walking day, we keep finding ourselves putting in the mileage, and our hamstrings are letting us know it!











Market shots galore!!

Paris Day 3: Rodin, the Left Bank & French Food

Rodin is a favorite of us both..so today we were off to Rodin Museum where we got to see and appreciate a load of scrumptious sculpture, both inside the museum and outside in the gardens. We had a little teaser the day before in the Orsay, but this place is the true mother-load. Jill, who has been studying drawing for about a year, was awed by his mastery of the human body, which after just taking figure drawing, she had a deep appreciation for the complexity of his work. As usual, I just can't get over the detail and beauty his pieces.

We had a lovely lunch at the museum cafe and sat outside in the garden while we ate. To this point - don't as me how - but I hadn't had a single bit of cheese! And I'm in France, for the love of pete...so, I got a cheese-laden open-faced sandwich and let's just say there was no skimping on the cheese. Whoa! No complaints here either :)

Next, we went on a little walk of the Left Bank area, peeking in some of the smaller galleries and visiting some places of historical (social) interest, such as Cafe Procope - the oldest contiuously running coffeeshop in Paris, where the likes of Voltaire, Rousseau, and Ben Franklin met up to discuss the world during their various times (not all at once, of course :). It was lovely, we had some tasty gelato and then headed home.

Now, a couple nights back we happened into the wine shop on our street only to fnd the owner, Rick, is an American whose lived here for about 20 years. He was ever-so-kind in helping us pick a bottle to kick'it with at home here; but also, on one of my ventures out for something I asked him which of the restaurants on our street he recommended. Well, note that Amis Louis is just a block away - this is where Bill Clinton, movie stars and others eat. We won't be making it in there. However, the place across the way looked lovely and came highly recommended by Rick, so we decided to go tonight on the early end of the French dinner time (7:30...around here, 10 p.m. is a good time to eat on the weekends).

(Warning: Foodie paragraph to follow....you can skip to the pics if you don't care about food details...but if you do, read on!)

When we got there, it was empty and the chef took us right in and, having lived in New York for six years at one point, kindly reviewed the menu with us in English. We were grateful and ended up having a fantastic dinner. We took a few risks, and also had a few things we love. It started with a sardine-spread of some sort (amuse bouche); Jill had an amazingly well-done cold almond creme soup; I had (cold) foie gras. Yum! For the main course, Jill had roasted leg of lamb (cooked for seven hours (l'agneau sept heure)!) and I had the veal steak (oh-so-frenchie-rare). On the side we asked for an order of escargot. I'd only had it once before, and Jill had never. The chef was quite pleased that we wanted to have them, and made us a very generous portion as a side dish. They came to us steaming hot, first cooked in broth, then pulled from their shells and sauteed with butter, nutmeg and other spices. We would've finished them if it wasn't for the giant plates of meat we were already working on! Additionally, Rick, across the way, features wine from southern France. The chef recommended a mid-range bottle that we both really liked and...uh, finished...after having champagne to start. Oh, the headaches that to come the next morning...but wow, what a great meal!















Rodin, dinner, walking...and this cat and Jill sharing the same stare...

Paris Day 2: The Orsay & Montmarte

Today we started out at the Orsay Museum. Last visit, Jill stood in line a couple times but ran out of time and didn't see it. I've been to this one on every Paris visit, making this my fourth time - but still - well worth it. Seeing the Impessionists is always a highlight - Picasso, Van Gogh, Renoir, Degas, Cezanne...oh my! It was fantastic.

We walked around the left bank a bit and had an Italian lunch - paninis - which we got to go and found a quiet little square to eat in. It was a big sandwich too! They don't mess around.

From there, we headed to Montmarte for another guided walk - we called it "our lesson" :) It was well-done as was the first; we walked the area that all of the Orsay artists we'd just seen actually lived and worked. It was a happy accident that we did things in things in this order. The tour ended up at Sacre Coeur where we grabbed a drink and a snack (in the form of crepe #2) before heading home for a respite...and a quiet night. Again, we walked for eons and despite having a goal of going out, after a breather we just couldn't quite make it!



















Art, food, art, food....

Paris Day 1: Walking 'til we dropped!

Our first day in Paris we went to Notre Dame in the morning, and then walked around some of the surrounding areas before grabbing our first crepe on Ile Saint-Louis. From there, we opted to take a walking tour of the Marais - our neighborhood. We liked the guided tour in London, so we went with the sister company, Paris Walks. The tour covered the colorful Marais - including the Jewish history here (not pretty) and their resilience; how the French government has acted and continue to act as pawn broker for its people; as well as some simple little tidbits of interest. We sampled some amazing falafel, Jill busted out not one but two lactaid and we shared a slice of Eastern European cheesecake (whoa! yum!).

From there, we bummed around the Marais a bit more and grabbed a simple dinner at a tapas place, located on a square housing a dance school. From our spot, we watch a flamenco class which was quite fun! We walked a load today - 8 miles or so...and are pooped! It was a great first day in Paris, a little overcast, not too hot and easy to get around.
























Lots of photos in no particular order!