Paris: Week Two, Day One
After a week of lounging in our flat trying to rid ourselves of colds, Reece and I decided we needed a plan to get out of the flat. I had originally considered researching one thing (at least!) in each of the arrondisements that we could go in search for … a scavenger hunt of sorts. Which is still a great idea. But what we really needed were some French macarons, so will go in search of those instead.
I did a Google search and came up with several hits: World of Wanderlust, Girls Guide to Paris, and Hungry Hoss all had great suggestions but I ended up clicking on this article to help us in our quest. To the point and straightforward. Plus there were addresses that I could copy and paste directly into Google Maps to get a walking route to where we needed to go.
After searching out the location of each bakery listed, we decided that our first stop would be Fauchon. Located in the 8th arrondisement, Fauchon happened to be the closest walk for us from our present location in the 18th arrondisement … clocking in at 2.9 km (1.8 miles) for about 36 minutes of walking – one way. We certainly didn’t want to overdo it after not having done much of anything for a full week. No chance of that.
We headed out in the rain but we had an umbrella. And we made our way past some interesting things.
When we turned the corner, there was a storefront with the name Fauchon blazed on the exterior and it was just across the street. And it was very obviously closed – of course. But when we glanced up and to our left we found the actual Fauchon that we had been searching for. We had arrived at our destination! I am not sure what the other storefront was or used to be. And now it didn’t matter.
We purchased an even dozen … that’s four each … and managed to wait until we got back to the apartment to sample.
Then after lunch, we sampled another.
We are trying to save the remaining two for a late night snack. They’ll just go stale anyway so no point in saving them. And then Keith informed us that he didn’t want his because his taste buds weren’t working due to his cold. I did make him eat the raspberry one because it had a lot of flavor. And then Reece and I each got one of the Keith’s remaining two. Caramel for me, vanilla for Reece.
They were of course, delicious, but truly I haven’t sampled enough macrons to know what constitutes a good one and a not so good one. These were each delicately flavored with a fair amount of filling. They looked pretty and were, at first bite, crunchy and then chewy. It takes every ounce of my being not to pop the entire thing into my mouth in one fell swoop. Reece and I both quite liked the Early Grey and the vanilla. I didn’t care for the raspberry … the curd was too jam like for me. But if that was the only choice in front of me, I would be hard pressed not to eat one. Of course, caramel is also a favorite of mine … a flavor that can’t go wrong.
Naturally, upon consuming my five cookies, I became obsessed with making them. No … I will not be attempting that in our tiny little apartment kitchen, though it’s outfitted in such a manner that it would be a very possible endeavor to undertake. But, no. Instead, I will just get very familiar with the process by watching YouTube videos and wait anxiously for our return to Juneau so I can give it a try. Until then, I will try to figure out what combination of flavors I want to try for my first batch! You’ll have to stay tuned for the results … check back with me in about 8 weeks!
Paris: Week Two, Day Two
Our first real day out was a success and today’s event included a concert at L’Eglise Madeleine … which, incidentally, we came across yesterday on our trek to find macarons. How convenient! The weather actually cleared up and after spending most of the day around the flat attending to daily chores … and figuring out the best way to get to where we needed to go and the time we needed to leave in order to get there.
Keith was feeling better and to tell you the truth we were all in dire need of some exercise. Some of us more than others! Prior to getting sick, we were walking at least 15,000 steps on a daily basis so we decided to walk and it was really a lovely evening. And also very busy being that is was Saturday and people were out and about celebrating … the weekend, I guess.
It was a beautiful concert. The quintet played a few pieces, one of which was Pachabel’s Canon in D. That was played when I walked down the stairs at my wedding to Keith. It has always been a favorite. There was also a soprano soloist who did several pieces, one of which was Ave Maria. And there was a violin soloist who performed several works as well, one of which was Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, all four movements. It was really a joy to be able to witness beautiful music being made in the City of Light.
Paris: Week Two, Day Three
Another rainy day. I am not homesick at all … we’re having Juneau spring weather right here in Paris!
Paris has a lot of museums … many of them are free of charge to visit. All are free of charge on the first Sunday of the month. We had considered going to The Louver but for many reasons, opted NOT to do that and went to the Musee d’Orsay instead. This museum has the largest collection of Impressionist art and post-Impressionist art in the world. That’s impressive. We figured it was early March, and probably not a ton of tourists so we’d try our luck. We braved the Metro for the first time … that was fun. And easy.
Well … there was a line at the Musee d’Orsay, but we decided to brave it anyway since we were there. Eventually we would get inside and out of the rain. And we did … an hour later. But okay … it could have been worse. At least we had an umbrella that we could huddle underneath and keep from getting completely drenched. That would have been miserable.
There were cool bronze statues of animals in the museums courtyard. I haven’t been able to locate much information about these animal sculptures but they were amazing.
The museum itself is pretty impressive. It is housed in the former Gare de Orsay … a railway station that was built between 1898 and 1900. So not all that old, by Paris standards, but so, so beautiful. By 1939, its short platforms were no longer able to service the longer trains so it was used for suburban service and then in 1970 it was going to be demolished to make way for a hotel. With opposition from Jacques Duhamel, who was the Minister for Cultural Affairs, it was eventually added to the Historic Monuments registry in 1978. The idea to turn it into a museum stemmed from the desire to bridge the gap of time in art history between the works housed in The Louver and those housed in the National Museum of Modern Art.
And then we went to see some art. And it was amazing. They had quite an exhibit of Monet … one of my favorites that dates back to my college days when the only posters you could purchase at the SOSC bookstore were Monet prints and/or girls in swimsuits. My taste may have developed out of few choices but what isn’t to love about Monet? Nothing, I say.
And we saw some other amazing art from other genius artists.
And then it was closing time so we headed out and back to the Metro. We wandered by these magnificent bronze statues on our way out. They were created for the Exposition Univeselle and are an allegorical take on the six regions of the world.
Paris: Week Two, Day Four
What a beautiful day today turned out to be. We decided to make our way to Eiffel Tower to see what was up. We figured out the Metro … basically we took it to the same stop we had the day before and then walked along the River Seine to the iconic site.
And we basked in the sunshine as we made our way and finally we could see it in the distance.
And then we were there.
And then we waited in a very short line to climb to the top.
And we paid for Reece to go all the way to the summit!
What an amazing day and definitely a highlight of our trip to Paris … regardless of how “touristy” and typical visiting the Eiffel Tower may be. It is amazing to be in the presence of something so iconic and now we can say “we’ve been there!”
Paris: Week Two, Day Five
It was a quiet day of homework, clean up, laundry, blogging and research. After spending most of the day inside, at about 5 p.m. we headed out to the Notre Dame Cathedral to catch an organ concert celebrating the 150 anniversary of the Cathedral. We left a bit early and do some exploring. It was quite warm out today … a balmy 58 degrees. Not sure how long that will last.
I had discovered that one of the 10 best bakeries in which to find macarons (according to this blog)was about a 15 minute walk from our metro stop. Since the restaurant we were planning to have dinner at didn’t open until 6:30 p.m., we decided to track it down and eat our dessert first. Do we know how to live it up, or what? The bakery is called Gerard Mulot and we found it fairly easily considering that my Google Maps reloaded at some point and I no longer had the route to consult. Keith is decidedly NOT a fan of macarons so he opted to wait to choose a dessert for after dinner at the restaurant. I confess sometimes I don’t get him. Reece and I chose six, three apiece … we each chose rose since it is an iconic and unusual flavor, my remaining two were vanilla and citron; Reece chose chocolate and coco passion fruit. Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos. But Reece observed that they were awful looking … or actually she said they weren’t the prettiest ones she has seen. They looked okay to me but she said the “foot” (that is the part at the bottom of the cookie that looks like a ledge or a ridge) was too big. I noticed that they WERE pretty stingy with the filling. But that didn’t stop us from eating them. Let’s just say, if these were the only ones available to me, I would still definitely eat them.
We didn’t find the restaurant we had planned to go to … again, a result of the Google Maps reload. Oh well … there were plenty to choose from. We stopped off at a little one near Notre Dame and had a delicious dinner … Reece had the roasted chicken, I had the Salde Poule and Keith had … wait for it … a burger. It was all good and filling, though more expensive than any other country we have visited but I’ve heard that is typical for Paris.
After dinner, we made the short trek straight down the street to wait in line to gain entrance into the cathedral. It had started raining just as we entered the restaurant but had stopped by the time we finished and were ready to go. The Catherdral is particularly beautiful at night with the lights …
Notre-Dame de Paris, or Our Lady of Paris, is one of the largest and best known cathedrals in Paris and in the world. It is located in the 4th arrondissement in Paris and is one of the best examples of French Gothic Architecture. Work on the cathedral commenced in 1163 and was fully completed in 1345.
We entered without a hitch, found seats and admired the architecture from within until the start of the concert.
The concert featured organ music on the historic Notre-Dame organ in celebration of the 150th anniversary of its dedication. My research indicates that it was dedicated in 1868 … after being rebuilt from the original pipework of former instruments. The current instrument has 115 stops and more than 8,000 pipes! There were 6 artists, playing 9 different pieces and because the organ is high up in the loft and the audience was below in the sanctuary, there were numerous screens that broadcast the musicians, from different angles, that was a sight to behold. Truly … an organ is SO much more than a piano. LOTS of pedals, multiple keyboards and all those stops. It is amazing. That being said … it is decidedly NOT my instrument of choice in which to listen. It may have helped had some of the pieces been recognizable. But they weren’t. Frankly, it didn’t sound much different than I imagine it would if a two year old climbed up there and started banging away. The only difference is a toddler isn’t likely to reach to the pedals or any of the upper keyboards.
That being said, Keith said he enjoyed it. I will take him at his word. Or maybe he didn’t want to admit that he made a poor choice. I caught him, no less than three times, with his eyes closed for MUCH longer than a blink. Listening to the music? Maybe. Maybe not. Reece was not impressed though the musician in her was able to find some appreciation for the musicians and the difficulty of the instrument. It wasn’t easy.
An hour and a half later and we were on our way “home” … a rather late night for us. But a good one … all things considered.
Paris: Week Two, Day Six
Not much on the agenda today but we had to get out of the flat. After an epic hailstorm, the sky cleared and Reece and I headed out in search of our next sample of macarons.
We walked 4.1 kilometers and basically followed the rain along the way. But then the skies cleared and we arrived at the Champs-Elysees, glimpsing the Arc de Triomphe in the distance. We might have to go visit that again. We found Laduree, a Paris landmark, a luxury baker and sweets maker established in 1862.
While it was still nice, we decided to take the metro home and save ourselves 45 minutes. It was getting close to dinner time and another 4.1 kilometers wasn’t in us. We found the nearest metro station while we ate our remaining macarons. We studied the map, figured out where we needed to go, where to get off and where to switch trains … and proceeded to get on the train … heading the wrong direction. We figured it out quickly, got off at the very next stop and were unable to cross over to the other side. We were required to exit the station, thus rendering our tickets null and void, and enter again from the outside, using two new tickets. Okay. Lesson learned. Later on, as I thought about this, I realized that some metro stops are just that … stops only. If you want to be able to transfer over or switch trains, you need to do so at stop that serves multiple lines. Had we realized this at the time, we would have A.) stayed on the train until we came to a stop that allowed us to transfer or B.) waited there and caught the next train going in the same wrong direction and rode it to the next stop servicing multiple lines. Though I am quite sure we had it figured accurately and I am quite unsure how we went wrong. But we got going again, headed in the right direction, even making our transfer. There was something definitely going on with the train … it was taking quite a long time between stops. There was an announcement made but, of course, we couldn’t understand it, so we were thinking it was just some sort of delay. Finally, we arrive at a station and they told us, we assume, that everyone needed to get off. At least, I am pretty sure that is what they announced as everyone got off … and we followed the herd. There was a woman who looked to be in some official capacity with a 2-way radio that wouldn’t let anyone back on. It was odd … the first time we have experienced anything like it. We decided not to take our chances and we just walked back to the flat from there … thank goodness for GPS and Google maps. We stopped off for a bottle of wine and some empanadas to have for dinner, which were delicious. We’ll have those again before we leave, I am sure. However, one thing I am still not sure about is exactly what happened on the metro … I was too afraid to ask but we were glad to be home.
Paris: Week Two, Day Seven
We have been in Paris for two weeks and have two weeks left of our “down” time here. The weather has been very spring-like which is to say it has been gray, overcast and raining a fair amount. Today we had planned to follow along the Rick Steves’ walking tour Keith found in his Paris Guide in our apartment … a tour of the area surrounding our little flat in the 18th arrondissement. But first, we decided to get some lunch at the local haunt, Le Café Botak, that our host recommended. Apparently, Paris, the city known for its fine cuisine has been moving away from freshly made meals and many establishments are resorting to serving frozen foods and foods prepared in bulk. Some numbers indicate that this is the norm in 70% of restaurants. There is a new law that requires restaurants to display the “fait-maison” logo that indicates the food is made fresh on the premises.
The image depicts a house rooftop hovering over a saucepan. In my own research, I came across the HiP Paris Blog and they go into a little detail about this subject here. At any rate, Le Cafe Botak is supposed to be a rarity in that it prepares meals from fresh and locally sourced, raw products … and we decided to give it a try.
We had to guess at the menu … our French hasn’t evolved that much. Even without knowing what was what, Reece was fully prepared to get either the Chef’s specialty or the Plate of the Day. One was veal served with a carrot curry risotto. The other was pan-fried lamb served with grilled, in-season vegetables. We ordered one of each.
It was mine and Reece’s first time trying both veal and lamb. It was all quite delicious. Keith opted for the Soup de Jour, vegetable, as he didn’t have much of an appetite. His loss.
Our intention to take a 2-hour walking tour after lunch was sidelined by rain. We may be Juneau-ites but we are fair weather explorers. And with only one umbrella between the three of us, it would have been tough to stay dry. Keith went back to the flat. Reece and I went to pick up groceries. But we stopped by a little Pop-Up store that featured the handmade items of 20 artists. Reece had been wanting to stop … mentioning it every time we walked by. We saw several things that we liked … and that wouldn’t take up much room … or weight … in our luggage. A pair of earrings for me, a musical pendant for Reece as small reminders of our stay in Paris.
Tomorrow we are headed to the Louvre … maybe will see some grand and famous pieces of art! I’ve heard there are a couple of famous women in residence there.
Cheers!
Teresa