Tag / Paris

Shopping is medicinal, and today we found Sherie’s prescription. After our morning pastries, we started off mere steps from our apartment. Vanessa Bruno. Surface to Air. Sherie felt reborn.

Lunch at the Café Beaubourg. Strong coffee and a heavenly croque Madame. Perfect to fuel the rest of the already waning day. Time to divide and conquer before things closed for New Years Eve.

Sherie and Paolo hopped in a cab to do some shopping at Galerie Lafayette. Jeff and I headed to the Hotel de Ville for a must-see Brassai exhibit. We were met with a typical museum line, but endured the 90 minute wait to see a photographer who’s work we had heard so much about. We have seen Brassai’s images frequently in our photo class, and it was truly inspiring to see them up close and personal. There were hundreds of images, many focused on night scenes of Paris. Although we take low light photography for granted today, it’s easy to see how Brassai pushed the boundaries of photography in his day.

We made our way slowly back to the apartment, stopping to pick up some last minute items for our New Years Eve party. Hard and soft cheeses. Sliced salami and prosciutto. Crackers. Soda and lime to mix with Paolo’s vodka. In addition to their glamorous Louis Vuitton purchases, Paolo and Sherie returned with gourmet delights from the Galerie: champagne, olives, anchovies, and a glorious hard sausage. Oh and let’s not forget the fantastic Bouche Noel for desert. What a perfect spread for a festive pre-New Years celebration.

As the clock passed 11, we headed out under cloudy-but-dry skies and walked towards the Seine. We made our way to the Pont Neuf with a view of the Eiffel Tower and awaited midnight with throngs of revelers.

As the clock struck midnight, the Eiffel Tower sparkled and the crowds cheered. Hugs kisses and selfies ensued. We attempted a celebratory drink along our return route, but bars were surprisingly closed. A few clubs with lines and cover charges dotted our route, but we chose to return to the apartment for our own Champagne.

Happy New Year!!

Sherie’s nagging cold–we will henceforth call it The Black Plague–kept her out of commission today 🙁 So, we left her to mend with food, water, and warm blankets and headed out under threatening skies.

We plotted a route past the Louvre, the surrounding Tuileries gardens and eventually along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. An ambitious route, thumbing a nose at the inevitable rain and sure to be teeming with people. But a day walking in Paris is simply irresistible.

We passed several shops along the way to the Louvre designed to tempt the taste buds. The patisserie with its colorful macaroons and shiny glazed apricot tarts. The savory shop with foie gras and escargot in many unexpected forms. The dreamy chocolate shop.

As expected, the iconic pyramid courtyard at the Louvre was jam-packed with visitors queued up before the Louvre closed for two days. We passed on by and headed below the courtyard to the shops below…a nice break from the cold, but not a fun place to stay for long…even more people down there!!

Escaping the throngs, we continued on into the Tuileries Gardens. Chilly statues stood watch over sleeping flower beds. The circular fountain reflected the gray clouds above. Long, orderly rows of leafless trees housed resting birds.

At the Plaza du Concorde, a giant Ferris wheel turned slowly, half-filled with brave tourists. Beyond the plaza, we reached the narrow beginnings of the Champs-Élysées. This park-lined portion housed a winter festival, with lines of white wooden kiosks broken up with occasional kids play areas. We couldn’t resist the cold-weather treats, and stopped periodically for hot mulled wine, a creamy mushroom soup, fresh crepes, sausages, and a sinful potato-cheese-and-bacon concoction.

The drizzle turned to rain as we left the winter festival and continued along the Champs-Élysées’ famous shopping area. Crowded sidewalks made vibrant by pops of color from freshly opened umbrellas.

Our symbolic turn-around destination was the iconic flagship for Louis Vuitton. Apparently on the map for others because there was a sizeable line out front. Ick. A line to shop seemed a bit silly on a rainy day, so we ventured on.

The rain picked up significantly as our return route took us down the equally fashionable Rue Saint Honoré. Many more flagships for fashion icons. Hermes. Yves St. Laurent. Longchamp. Goyard. At the Place de Vendome, we joined Paolo in vault-like Rolex in futile search of a leather watch strap.

For dinner, we tried the sit-down version of our cravable lunch spot King Falafel Palace. Platters of grilled meats, salads, and bread made for a hearty dinner to ward off the rain.

We awoke to welcomed blue skies and a text message from Sherie announcing that she had made it in from LA and that her taxi was making good time from CDG. Hugs and laughs before heading out to grab some breakfast pastries. The roulé du chocolate was a repeat favorite 🙂

After breakfast, we took a short walk in the late morning sun and sipped coffees–hot and iced–with Maarten and Kristof at a cafe next to the Pompidou Center. We bid M&K adieu as they headed back to Brussels. We turned towards the Seine for some window shopping.

Eventually, we crossed the Seine onto the Île de la Cité and into the historic Conciergerie–the former royal palace and prison where Marie Antoinette was held before her beheading. The historic prison section of the museum provided a short-but-interesting glimpse into the workings of the prison and a replica of Marie Antoinette’s cell. The remainder of the museum holds special exhibits–currently a dark, often-disturbing collection of modern works exploring various aspects of human imprisonment. Elderly wax figures in self-propelled, motorized wheel chairs added to the creepiness factor.

Back into the fading daylight, we headed to Notre Dame for a few fresh ham and cheese crepes from the stands nearby. The crepe making devices were fascinating: long heated plates (a meter long?) with a sliding batter dispenser…I want one of these!! Mmmmm, the cheesy goodness was intoxicating. Warm from our snack, we crossed to the Île Saint-Louis. In spite of the post-sunset chill, the central shopping street was teeming with pedestrians. Even gelato was selling on this chilly night. We walked the length of the island before re-crossing the Seine.

We wound our way back towards the apartment, stopping in the Marais for happy hour drinks at Freedj. Bubbly vodka drinks all around. As we were leaving, the staff changed and the new bar tender walked in in a baby diaper with pacifier. Um. Time to move along. Haha.

Sherie stayed at the apartment to re-set her internal clock with some zzzzzzz’s. For the rest of us, dinner was at Le Dôme du Marais, with it’s cozy circular dining room beneath it’s namesake dome. A rich and creamy pumpkin soup with crème fraîche. Savory chicken with crispy skin and morel mushrooms paired with tender baby potatoes. A decadent take on tiramisu and a super-lemony tart for desert. A luscious Medoc red tied all of the courses together nicely 🙂

The streets were still on our return to the apartment.

As any good Parisian would do, we began our day with a visit to the local patiserie. Delightful flaky pastries with chocolate. Perhaps some fruity ones as well. All buttery and delicious.

Today, we left Paolo so that he could visit with his friend Maarten, visiting from Brussels for the day. We headed to the heart of Paris–the Île de la Cité–to visit some favorites from past visits. On the way, we spotted a historic tower on the edge of the Marais that had eluded us on all of our previous visits. The Saint-Jacques Tower–an impressive Gothic remainder of a 16th century church–has been clad in scaffolding and protective tarps for years and finally we were able to see what we had been missing!

Crossing the Seine, we circled the Île de la Cité, making our way to always-impressive Notre Dame. Extraordinary lines outside the Cathedral diverted us to the fascinating archeological crypt museum, literally beneath the feet of the same tourists waiting for Notre Dame. This simple museum is one of our favorites, because it exposes the Roman foundations of Paris from its founding as Lutecia. Interactive displays bring silent stone artifacts to life.

For lunch, we grabbed a seat at a cafe next to Notre Dame. We knew that we could find 1) warm croque monsieurs and 2) clean bathrooms. In a city where food is plentiful but bathrooms are not, it was a toss-up as to which was more important 🙂

Freshly fueled, we decided to brave the lines and go into Notre Dame. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the lines moved quite rapidly (free entry sped the process up). In no time, we entered the imposing Cathedral. Silent and vast, Notre Dame impresses no matter how many times you visit. As crowds shuffled quickly around the perimeter, we seated ourselves quietly in the center…the perfect place to tip our heads upwards and get lost in thought. Christmas nativity scenes filled cozy side-chapels, dimly lit by late-afternoon sun through ornate stained glass.

We joined up with Paolo for dinner with Maarten and fellow Belgian-visitor Kristof. Pink Flamingo Pizza offer us variety to suit every taste. Creative fusion pizzas hit the spot and sparked conversation. La Che went Cuban with chorizo and pantains. La Basquiat fused French and Italian flavors with savory cured ham and the bite of gorgonzola and delightful sweetness of figs. Wine-a-plenty to go around the table a few times.

Drinks in the Marais at the ever-popular Open Cafe, followed by Tango–a tucked-away dance club. American line dancing mixed with French-pop free style. Quite a site at 2am in the morning.

Weary from a long day of walking, eating, and drinking, we fell into bed.

We awoke in Muskegon to snow. Deep snow. Fluffy White Christmas snow added to the ice-covered snow already on the ground. But soon after piling into our trusty, frosty Ford Focus rental–heated seats fully engaged–we quickly left the snow behind on our drive to Chicago.

Arrived at ORD on a sleepy Thursday afternoon and easily navigated our way through The Process. With a slight delay, we boarded our aging 767 and headed non-stop to Paris, anxious to satisfy a seemingly insatiable wanderlust. We landed under cloudy skies at Charles de Gaulle airport, and taxied to the grey pillbox bunker that is Terminal 1. We adeptly navigated the concrete layer cake, through passport control, baggage claim, and customs, and popped out in the arrivals area. Easy signage pointed us to the inter-terminal tram, and we soon found ourselves at sprawling Terminal 2 where we awaited Paolo’s delayed arrival on American Airlines.

In no time, we piled luggage into a cozy cab and zipped through traffic-free late morning streets to our apartment in the stylish Marais neighborhood (3rd A.) of central Paris.

The daughter of our Airbnb host met us at the apartment, greeting us in perfect French 🙂 Jeff’s broken French and Paolo’s and my exceptional English worked our way through a short orientation.

The charming third floor apartment (second floor in European numbering) is the primary residence of its owner, a painter named Paola. Although a bit quirky and with a few deferred maintenance items typical of a historic building, the apartment was just perfect for our stay. Multiple sleeping areas–which will come in handy next week when Sherie arrives–gave us plenty of space to rest and spread out a bit. A triangular bookshelf dividing the main room into a living and sleeping space was trimmed in strings of tiny white Christmas lights.

Our inaugural walk led us to a small nearby museum in the Marais–the Musée Cognacq-Jay. The free museum was housed in a historic mansion, and contained an accessible 18th century collection of paintings and other collectible, displayed in a series of rooms containing pieces of historic furniture.

Our walk continued to the 17th century Place des Vosges–the oldest planned square in Paris– and eventually back to the apartment. We popped into a nearby grocery store to stock up on water, juice and nibbles. Definitely one of the big benefits of apartment stays.

The short European winter day faded quickly to night. We crossed the Seine to the Île Saint-Louis for dinner. We returned to a favorite restaurant that Jeff took me to on my 40th birthday. The Auberge do la Reine Blanche is small and intimate, with a menu to match. Classic French dishes seemed the perfect way to kick off our visit. French onion soup. Coq au vin. Boeuf bourguignon. A creamy chicken and mushroom dish. Fantastic French red. And profiteroles au chocolat to finish. Fantastic!

We crashed easily and hard, travel weary but full of life.