Paris continues to tug at my heartstrings; it always will. Each time I arrive in Paris, I think that I will see many old favorites and be very happy doing so. Naturally, this time we did just that, and some new things too — and we had friends Jennifer and Patrick with us to share the beauty.
Something Old.
We went to our favorite markets (Marché de la Bastille and Rue de Nil); in the pictures, you can see me focused on shopping and menu planning based on what was available, seasonal, and fresh. The Bastille market is in the central promenade of Boulevard Richard-Lenoir and is several Parisian blocks long. It Is a traditional street market (Thursdays and Sundays) and has everything you need — food, clothing, kitchen gadgets, flowers, and gifts.
At the other extreme is Rue de Nil — once an entrance to the Cour des Miracles — a tiny street with a Michelin-starred restaurant and a group of shops under the name Terroirs d’Avenir (land of the future). These include a crèmerie, poissonnerie, boucherie, chocolaterie, boulangerie/charcuterie, and premier-epicure (grocer). There is only one of each, but the selection is superior and everything is from organic farms dedicated to sustainable agriculture. We especially enjoyed the crèmerie, where we bought cheeses several times.
We revisited Père Lachaise Cemetery and, this time, found Jim Morrison. We posed on the Colonnes de Buren at the Palais Royal, strolled through the Jardin des Plantes, braved the crowds at Giverny, rode the funicular up to Montmartre, took selfies below the Tour Eiffel and Arc de Triomphe.
Twice we visited Saint-Eustache and the nearby kitchen supply store, E. Dehillerin (I bought a whisk for my cocoa). We bought timed tickets to visit Sainte-Chapelle and were thrilled that they use the ticketing to limit the number of people inside. We were amazed how they disguised the interior restoration scaffolding in front of one of the great windows using smoke and mirrors, minus the smoke.
And, of course, we gathered with friends — our friend Marie-Lise had us to her home for apéro, and we had her to dinner at our apartment.
Something New.
Our friends Jennifer and Pat suggested doing several things new to us. The first was a boat tour. Rather than take the super-crowded Bateau Mouche, we sought out a tour on the Canal Saint-Martin. We picked up the boat at La Villette, on the north side of Paris, where the canal meets the Canal Saint-Denis. The boat puttered south and the narration alternated between French and English, with occasional lapses because the narrator was also our bartender. The weather was glorious and the banks were draped with people sunning themselves, picnicking, reading, and strolling. The tender spring foliage of the chestnut, linden, and sycamore trees cast a dappled shade over all.
We passed through nine locks before entering the long tunnel underneath Boulevard Richard-Lenoir. It was fascinating and fun to see how it was constructed and operated, and illumined through oculi overhead, through which we could glimpse tree and gardens in the promenade above. Mark enjoyed it for the engineering and history, and we both enjoyed this stretch especially because it figures in the movie Under Paris. (Note: this film is not one of the great works of western civilization.) Once the boat entered the Seine, it turned westward/downstream past the Île Saint-Louis, Notre-Dame, the Conciergerie, the Louvre, and finished up in front of the Musée d’Orsay. (You can also start the tour there and head back up to La Villette.) Check out Paris Canal for more information.
Another suggestion our friends made was to do an after hours tour of the Palais Garnier, the grand opera house known to theater-goers as the setting for the fictional Phantom of the Opera. Sadly, we couldn’t go into the auditorium because there was a rehearsal in progress. Our tour guide was William, who has a PhD from a university in the Netherlands. His dissertation was on the spread and acceptance of French opera in other countries. He was incredibly animated and watching him was a theater performance in itself. The interior of the building is dazzling. I hadn’t been inside since 1980 when I attended a performance of Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette. Visit the Opéra National de Paris for more information. (Don’t you love he little silhouettes in the Opéra Métro station?)
One morning, Mark and I were up early and ready to go, so we decided to walk to Place des Vosges to visit the Maison de Victor Hugo. I have been wanting to go to this museum as it is richly decorated, and was fascinated to learn that much of the decoration was done by Hugo himself. The museum had a special exhibition on the first floor about Victor Hugo as a decorator and visual artist — it included paintings, drawings, and sketches for his homes. The second floor was his living spaces with rich, fanciful wall coverings (wood, silks, and wallpaper), a considerable porcelain collection in a chinoiserie room, and a lot of paintings and sculptures… many of him. It was truly beautiful.
The house was especially interesting to Mark, who has read Notre Dame de Paris (the Hunchback of Notre-Dame) in its entirety (spoiler alert: by the end, almost everyone is dead; it ain’t Disney), Mark has also encountered a good deal about Hugo’s very active political life during the rocky decades of revolts, revolutions and coups d’états. We hadn’t known that he was exiled for several years for political speech. (Hugo called Napoleon III a traitor against his country when the latter overthrew the government, abolished universal (male) suffrage, and declared himself emperor). For more information on touring the house, click the link above.
One day, while Jennifer and Pat were off strolling along the quaies of the Rive Gauche, we headed off to La Madeleine, The Church of Saint Mary Magdalene, originally planned and started by Louis XV in 1763, it is a Roman, temple-style church that avoided the problem of modern windows by using ceiling oculi. Due to redesign, then the revolution, work stopped with only the huge foundations and classical portico finished. Markipedia says it is odd for a portico to be built first rather than last, and he surmises this was because Louis wanted the church to be a grand terminus to the view up his new grand Rue Royale. In 1806, Napoleon I approved a new design with classical columns all the way around, which required removing all the previous work (foundations included) except the front portico; they began anew. After the fall of Napoleon I in 1815, Louis XVIII had work resume and it was mostly finished by 1848. This is the kind of detail that makes Markipedia geek out. Check out La Madeleine for information, should you wish to visit or hear a concert.
Fashion! Fashion! Paris has long been known as a hub for elegant vestments, raiment, and finery from head to toe. Worth, Chanel, Dior, Cardin, Sant Laurent, Givenchy, Gaultier, Louboutin. These are household names that carry weight. But there is one name mostly known only to the cognoscenti — Azzadine Alaïa, a Tunisian man born to farmers in 1935. Friends and neighbors saw his raw talent and encouraged him. At age 21, he went to Paris and worked in several ateliers before securing an internship with Christian Dior. After four months, he was fired. But his career continued and he worked in many studios along the way. He dressed many of the greats: Greta Garbo, Marie-Hélène de Rothschild, Tina Turner, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Michelle Obama, Carla Bruni. He was considered the “supermodel whisperer,” dressing Naomi Campbell, Stephanie Seymour, and Linda Evangelista. His work is stunning and can be seen — as well as his actual studio — at the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa in the Marais. We were lucky to see a side-by-side exhibition of his works alongside those of Dior, whose work he continued to admire and collect.
If, after days of touring, you just don’t have it in you to battle the hoards at Versailles, yet still want some sparkling glamour, I have the perfect recommendation for you: the recently-opened museum of L’Hôtel de la Marine, the 18th-century manager of the king’s furniture and treasures (ceremonial arms, etc.). Somehow that office was assigned to the Navy, whence “Marine.” We went through the dazzling early 19th-century neoclassical-era suite of rooms that was used for occasional public display of some of these treasures, and also for balls that marked important occasions like coronations. Our visit included the loggia overlooking the Place de la Concorde, a long handsome mirrored corridor, and the grand marble stairs. On another visit we will tour the 18th-century rooms that were residence of the official in charge. For us, this was a really worthwhile, last-minute, let’s-do-it decision.
And, if all the hustle and bustle is just way too much after a week or so in Paris, try spending an hour or two on the Promenade Plantée, formally known as the Coulée Verte René-Dumont. Opened in 1993, this obsolete elevated railway line-turned spectacular green space is just east of the Place de la Bastille. It is almost three miles long and is beautifully planted with trees, shrubs, and flowers, and is dotted with many alcoves with seating for enjoying the beauty.
Getting hungry just thinking about two weeks in Paris? Here are a few places we enjoyed while there. Note: get reservations either online, by phone, or in person. Small bistros fill up quickly.
Thanks to Markipedia and Jennifer for contributing some photos.
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