A Month in Paris – March 2009
The time has finally arrived. We are going to spend a month in Paris, a dream of many years. We have rented an apartment on the fourth floor of an older building for the month of March. Well it is the fourth floor by French standards but the fifth floor by American count. So each time we go or come we have 82 steps to maneuver. Remember this is an old building with high ceilings. But it is in the Marais and so is convenient to many sights and good transportation.
Sat-Sun Feb 28 – March 1.
But let’s start at the beginning. On our way to Paris from Baltimore, we stopped in Newton, MA to spend a few days with a dear friend and had a wonderful time while there. After enjoying the visit, eating at some favorite restaurants and spending a morning at the Museum of Fine Arts, we set off for the airport. As usual. We were several hours early and spent the time waiting for our Air France flight to CDG reading and browsing the shops. The plane was a Boeing 747, huge and packed. We had reserved our favorite sitting arrangement, aisle seats across from each other so neither of us was stuck in the middle seat. The flight left promptly at 5:30PM and a while later, we were served dinner. We had taken advantage of the ability to pre-order our dinner, seafood for both of us, and were soon enjoying some very good food along with a small bottle of red wine. Service on Air France sure beats any US airline we have ridden lately. Then came the attempt to doze for a short time because a light breakfast was served about three hours later.
We arrived at CDG earlier than scheduled and, as is normal for an early arrival, had to wait a while for a gate. But once landed we got through immigration rapidly and then went to get our baggage – a very long process. It seemed like the baggage handlers were having a mini-strike because our bags did not show up for almost two hours. But they did arrive and so we were lucky. At this point we were lugging three suitcases of varying sizes, all on wheels, plus a backpack. Going through customs was a breeze; the officers barely looked at us as we left the baggage area.
Now it was time to figure out how to get a monthly metro/bus pass and tickets on the RER to the center of Paris. Luckily the first line I tried was the correct one and a lovely and most helpful young woman sold us passes for transportation throughout the city of Paris plus the requisite tickets on the RER and told me what lines to take on both the RER and the metro to reach our street. We were off to the RER which provided express service to Gare du Nord, a lengthy walk underground to the desired metro line and a one stop ride to our street. Since I knew only the street address of our apartment, we ended up far from our destination and had to make a long walk with all the luggage to find the place. But this was the easy part. Hardest was pulling our bags up the stairs at our final metro stop. With luck a very helpful man carried two of the bags up part of the way.
And so we finally got to the correct building. Now to figure out how to get in. Step one was to enter a code on a keypad to get through door #1. Whoo, that worked. Now repeat for door number 2. An expert now, that too worked. Now to find the keys to the apartment which were to be in an electric box – but where was the electric box. So we tried the two electric boxes in the entry hall – no hall light and no keys appeared to the touch. So I climbed to our apartment toting some of the luggage as I went. It took a few rest stops on the way up to catch my breath but I finally made it and, voila, there was an electric box by the door in which I found the keys. I opened the door, dragged in what I had brought up and returned downstairs. Now Harley made a trip up with a small suitcase and I began moving things from the largest suitcase to a large plastic bag and a couple of canvas bags we had brought for shopping. Then I started carrying things up, one landing at a time to bring the suitcase and the three filled bags upward. I got everything to the third floor when Harley reappeared and we got it all into the apartment where we promptly collapsed on the sofa. After a few minutes of catching our breath and making a quick survey of the apartment, the unpacking process began. Before I could settle in, everything had to find its proper place. As soon as that was over, a nap was in order and it turned into a very long nap. After all, we had had no naps on Saturday and hardly slept Saturday night.
Finally, toward about 3:00 PM local time, we decided to go out and find a restaurant for a meal. This is a very old and thus very confusing quarter. Streets are narrow and go every which way. So we ended up going in the opposite direction than the one intended and found a good brasserie with the most amazing salads – huge and very good plus a good quiche, bread, wine. An excellent first meal in Paris.
The next step was to make a brief shopping excursion for breakfast food for the next day. Across from our apartment we found a tiny grocery store where we picked up eggs, orange juice, apples and clementines. That would do until we had the energy for a more extensive shopping trip for other necessities on Monday.
Finally we returned to the apartment, climbed up the long staircase and went very early to bed. Must have been asleep by 7:00 PM. And what is more astounding, we slept until 8:00 in the morning, catching up on just about all of the lost sleep. Who says you should try to stay up and get on the correct schedule immediately. This large amount of sleep the first day and night wiped out just about all of our jet lag.
Monday – March 2
Feeling very Parisian, the first thing in the morning required a trip out for a newspaper and fresh bread. As I noted above, it is easy to get lost in the Marais as no streets are parallel or perpendicular to each other and get lost I did. At last I found the requisite International Herald Tribune (IHT) and two delicious baguettes and found my way back to the apartment where we made our first meal in the apartment. After reading the paper we wandered the local streets enjoying the ambiance. Wonderful architecture is everywhere with those great huge doors sprinkled about. These lead into large courtyards that in earlier days provided access for horses and carriages. Fun to peer inside when the doors are open.
After breakfast, it was time for some more shopping for food and other necessities. We found a supermarket not too far away and stocked up on corn flakes, oatmeal, milk and staples such as laundry soap, soup and olive oil. We also found a very pleasant Italian food shop on rue de Bretagne where we couldn’t resist the delicious looking eggplant salad, olives, cheese from Sicily and red wine as well as pasta and pasta sauce.
We returned laden with packages and had lunch based on the goodies from the Italian grocery. Food and wine encouraged us to take another long nap. Supper was also created with our finds of the morning and we went to sleep early to finally make up for our loss of sleep. Getting older necessitates lots of sleep, especially after jet lag sets in.
Tuesday – March 3, 2009
So far the weather has been lovely so after breakfast today we went walking in the neighborhood to discover more about it and to visit the Marche des Enfants Rouge, one of the many farmer’s markets in Paris. It is quite near our place and was recommended by a friend of Deb’s who owns an apartment not too far from here. It is a small market with beautiful vegetable and fruit stands and a number of stands that sell prepared foods that can be eaten there or taken home with you. Everything looked delicious - Morroccan food, Middle Eastern food, African food, Italian and Organic food. We bought a bagful of fruits and vegetables to better stock the refrigerator including a huge cauliflower which we cooked for lunch. We also visited a butcher shop which had chickens on a rotisserie out front. We decided that would contribute to two or three good lunches. While in the shop we were tempted by a pate which we looked forward to having for supper. We also found a nice wine store and brought home 2 bottles, a Cote du Rhone and a Sancerre. Gotta be prepared remembering that it is necessary to carry heavy things up the stairs a few pieces at a time.
While we were out on our morning jaunt, we visited a watch repair atelier which we had found listed in the yellow pages. Harley’s pocket watch had suddenly gone a bit wild, and was marking time at a very rapid rate. The man who checked the watch indicated that it had become magnetized, probably from being too close to credit cards; he demagnetized it and it seems to be working well. Then began a most pleasant conversation with the gentleman speaking the usual rapid French that is so common in Paris. I think I got about 75% of the content which covered interesting things to do in Paris, a trip he had made to national parks in the western US, and a visit he had just completed to an island south of Madagascar. He recommended that we get a book which describes the private gardens of Paris. Haven’t done it yet but it is another thing to try.
Time to eat lunch. It is fun to prepare meals from all of the wonderful food which is everywhere you look. And the dishwasher in the apartment is certainly a plus. Wish we had room for a dishwasher at home. It surely cuts down on the clean-up problem.
After lunch I went in search of the bakery I had found on Monday morning but couldn’t find earlier in the day. Their poppy seed baguette was awesome. I decided to just go up and down every street in the neighborhood until I found it and, voila, there it was on a small side street. Trouble is that describes the majority of the nearby streets. At the same time I got some freshly ground coffee and some coarse ground pepper which I like very much. We’ll try the coffee tomorrow and see if it lives up to expectations.
At dinner we enjoyed the pate with a salad, good bread and wine with apple and cheese for dessert. Another great day.
Wednesday – March 4
Today I got lost again going for the paper but found my way. It just meant a very long walk first thing which is better than sitting still. During the walk I spotted one of the “green” men of Paris who, with their green brooms, sweep the streets. They keep things in order and quite clean without resorting to huge street cleaning trucks necessitating alternate side parking on specified days. Does seem an advantage as it also provides jobs. Another thing that struck me is that hallways in apartment buildings are not kept lit all the time. To get light you press a switch and the lights come on for a specified period of time after which they automatically turn off. Seems like a good idea in these energy deficient times. Wonder why the US doesn’t adapt that system.
This was a quiet morning during which we caught up on computer chores and reading the paper. Also figured out how to heat food in the micro so we used this new found knowledge to heat up some of yesterday’s leftover chicken and cauliflower. Made some couscous which I found in the cabinet. Good lunch again with figs, clementines and bananas for desert.
Just as we were about to go to the Picasso Museum the phone rang which produced a short panic moment while I wondered how to answer it. Turned out all that was necessary was to pick the phone up out of the charger where it normally resides. It was Emilie who was in Paris. So instead of visiting Picasso’s art, we waited for Emilie to arrive and then took a walk to the Place des Vosges. We hadn’t seen Emily since January when she returned from her job in Washington as an au pair to her home outside of Paris.
Every new street we walk down produces interesting shops and architecture. It is always a treat. And then to top it all, we walked all around the Place de Vosges which is a magnificent square with gardens in the center and fabulous buildings encircling it completely. Many of the buildings now house art galleries which will be worth returning to for a more leisurely examination.
On our way back to the apartment, we stopped into the Musee Carnavalet, a huge and elegant building from 1544 with wonderful gardens. It was once a private palace and is beyond belief in its size and elegance. Now it is a museum with displays depicting aspects of the history of France. One of the characteristics which I found most interesting was the leaded windows in several of the rooms of the palace. Each room contained windows made up of small glass panes but the design of the windows in each room was different from that in any other room.
After returning to rue Vieille du Temple, we stopped at a very nice creperie across the street from our apartment, Café Breizh, which was written up in our restaurant guide to the 102 best restaurants of Paris. We all enjoyed excellent buckwheat crepes along with a bottle of Brittany cider, the traditional drink with crepes from Brittany. The dessert crepes looked and sounded delicious, but the savory crepes were so filling we decided to leave that for another day. But they are a must before we return to the real world,
Thursday – March 5
Time for another adventure today. First though it was necessary to get the newspaper and stock up on bread. I now knew the whereabouts of my favorite bakery and was tempted by a baguette sprinkled with poppy seeds, which we had before and liked a lot, a whole wheat bread (pain complet) and a baguette containing seeds in the dough.
Then, the adventure. After analyzing maps we set out for the Marche Richard Lenoir. We walked for quite a way and then took the metro the rest of the distance. It proved we knew how to use our metro pass and also allowed us to warm up a bit because the morning was quite chilly. When we got to the Bastille, which is where the market begins, we were surprised by the large size and amount of activity we found. The market runs for several blocks, has 3 major aisles and carries not only food products but clothing and household goods.
The number of fruit and vegetable stands and their quality was mind boggling. There were also flower stands, cheese stands, butchers, fish stands and takeaway food stands of various ethnicities. Since hunger was setting in from seeing so much delicious food, we treated ourselves to a plain buckwheat crepe as a snack. (Plain but with a bit of butter spread on it.) It was delicious. You can get the crepes to take away. They would make a wonderful meal with a filling of cheese and/or mushrooms or a lot of other things.
We returned home with loaded shopping bags – mache, clementines, haricots verts, fish (rascasse, a fish from the Mediterranean which is an important ingredient of boulliabasse), cheeses, eggs, olives (which were delicious flavored with garlic and thyme), pruneaux d’agen which reminded us of earlier visits to le Temple sur Lot which is in the region where these plums are grown, and mushrooms. If it seems like this trip revolves around food, you are so right.
We pan fried the fish for lunch and they were delicious.
Friday – March 6, 2009
I didn’t get lost today when going for the newspaper and I discovered a more direct route to the paper stand. I also took the opportunity this morning to acquire a bottle of calvados which reminds me of an earlier trip to Normandy when we visited a place where they produced calvados, a brandy made with apples.
Today was the day to branch out, leaving the Marais and taking the metro to another arrondissment. After lunch we took the metro to the 13th starting at the Place d'Italie to take ParisWalks #34 described in our deck of Paris walks. This walk is in the 13th arrondissement and centers on La Butte Aux Cailles. It was a beautiful day for moving about. There were some interesting small attached houses in one area which appeared to be a housing development of an earlier era. We also stopped in a shop which carried many different kinds of honey and soap. We bought some buckwheat honey which is one of our favorites. We also found a bakery which had such delicious looking bread in the window that we felt impelled to purchase a round loaf of poppy seed (la graine de pavot) bread. We had some for dinner and it proved to be a wise decision.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
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