Raclette - Tuesday, 21 June

I was in the mood for meat and potatoes and melted cheese tonight.  This spells Raclette!  There's a decent spot in the Latin Quarter that serves fondue and raclette (as well as other typical offerings).  But go there hungry!  One order is enough to feed a family of five.  Want to join me there sometime so I don't have to leave so much on my plate?  La Luge - 19, rue Saint-Séverin http://www.laluge.fr/index2.htm .

Surprise Concert at Saint-Severin - Tuesday, 21 June

I was walking through the Latin Quarter this afternoon and needed a break from the crowds, so I popped into one of my favorite churches, Eglise Saint-Severin, for some calm and beauty.  And bonus: a quite fine young chorus from Texas was there giving a concert; they were singing some Vivaldi when I arrived.  It was towards the end of their concert since they sang just three more pieces (one contemporary, one spiritual, one African) - I was bummed that I didn't get there earlier!  But thanks to them for bringing their music to Paris.

Go Green, Get a Pedichauffeur - Tuesday, 21 June

Feet sore from walking?  Tired of climbing in and out of stuffed-full buses that get caught up in traffic anyway?  Had it with the endless stairways and tunnels in the Metro?  Then give a pedichauffeur a try for touring the city!  I think these are supposed to seat just one or two, but today I saw three people cramped into one (not the one in this photo); they were, obviously, a very close family!

Power to the Bureaucracy! - Tuesday, 21 June

One final update on my two-day power outage.

I went out for a bite of breakfast this morning and a little while after I returned, my next-door neighbor knocked on my door to see if my power was still out.  She had just called the power company and learned that the city inspector had approved the work the electrician did yesterday, but that the power company's worker had to enter each apartment to reconnect the power, that he would arrive "sometime today," and that the owner needed to let them into the apartment to do the work.  Hmmm.  Perhaps a day of catching up on my reading!

Helpful Neighbor

Another Helpful Neighbor!

A bit later I heard some voices in the hallway.  The worker was there, and my neighbor's power had just been restored.  But the next hurdle was that I couldn't authorize the restoration of power for my apartment, the owner had to call the company to do so.  Just then an upstairs neighbor came down the stairs; she offered to call the owners on her mobile.  Happily, she reached them right away, they called the power company, and the worker got the word from his "chef" ("boss") that he could enter the door I was holding open for him!  He just needed to look at some numbers on the fusebox, then go back into the hall and flip a switch.  And, voila, I had power! 

And then there was light in the staircase.  And then the elevator was working!  What luxury!  When I said I was going to camp out in Paris for a week I didn't mean it literally.

I think it's kind of strange that there seems to be no system for notifying owners of problems, status, next steps, etc.  If my next-door neighbor hadn't called the power company and I hadn't happened to be here when she received an update, I'd still be sitting here in the dark.  So thanks to my very helpful neighbors!

Wowie Zowie Dinner at "Ze" - Monday, 20 June

In brief: "Zoom to 'Ze' for zum zippy zuppin'!"  Or: "Ze Kitchen Galerie at 4, rue des Grands-Augustins in Paris' Sixth Arrondissement serves memorable, perfectly crafted and delicious dishes and menus that are imaginative and modern but firmly based in classical French tradition and technique."  http://www.zekitchengalerie.fr/

(Don't worry, Dale and Mimi, it wasn't a l'Ambrosie experience, but it was very very good!)

The building itself is rather unprepossessing - it's almost hard to find the restaurant's name (snob appeal?!?) - it's just a few yards from the intersection with the quai right next to the Seine.  And it's right next door to Guy Savoy's "Les Bouquinistes."





The interior is also fairly humble.  Nice clean lines, picture windows to the outside (and to the kitchen!), simple and modern tableware, spotlights rather than chandeliers.  Usually seven cooks were visible in the kitchen.  A couple were women, a couple were Asian.  Chef William Ledeuil could be seen from time to time, checking and approving plates before they went out.  The restuarant was first awarded its one Michelin star in 2008.

A welcoming dish of olives, with my Kir Royale (Champagne and Creme de Cassis - robust flavor, almost a sense of raspberry, fairly sweet, really nice!) and my favorite mineral water, Badoit, in a fancy bottle!  The restaurant seats about 60, and it was full by 8:15.

 "Ze Menu" pages 1 and 2 (you should be able to click on the pictures to get a closeup view).  I ordered the tasting menu and - this was a first for me - the waiter asked me if I liked everything; I said "yes" and he took away my menu, explaining that the chef would select my courses for me.  It's almost as if I was in his home!  (Well, almost.)  I guess if you're a vegetarian or can't eat shellfish or whatever, you can let them know and they'll bring you only the things you can eat.  Pretty cool.  Of course, being an omnivore, I said "bring it on!" (or something like that).  First I got a basket of fabulous perfectly crispy baguette slices.  Then five courses plus two desserts.  Read on!

My first course: slightly preserved sardines on a bed of soft sweet cooked eggplant with thin slices of pickled ginger, papaya coulis, a nice crunchy and zippy red pepper ring, a grilled crouton, herbs and herb flowers.  It was a wonderfully sweet and slightly astringent combination, herby, toothsome and almost whimsical.

My second course: fabulously aromatic and intense warm pea soup with chorizo, bacon, crispy hazelnuts, peas, a perfectly poached egg (it oozed into the soup when I cut it) and salty sauteed tiny chanterelles.  The aroma just blew me away when the bowl was set in front of me.  Brilliant contrasts, earthy, just fatty enough, a slightly astringent note in some of the herbs (possibly tarragon).  WOW!

My third course: pasta "candele" (two green long hollow pasta tubes) with intense pistou sauce (parsley, tarragon, chive, mint, basil), parmesan cream, ribbons of zucchini and a blanched-then-slightly-grilled artichoke (the grilling brought out some really nice sweet flavors).  Fabulously herby and intense flavors yet wonderfully gentle and easy-to-digest.  And I could eat that parmesan cream all day!

My fourth course: holy mackerel!  A lightly poached mackerel filet, beautifully oily but not intensely fishy, with black sesame, cauliflower, poached baby fennel, okra (I think) and kumquats, rounded out with a balancing fish stock and lime reduction.  Slightly peppery and deeeeelicious, it left a (long) lingering sense of herbaceousness even though there weren't a ton of herbs on the dish.

My fifth course:  a cube of seared Wagyu beef (it's in the lower center of this photo) with broccoli rabe, white asparagus, a beef and potato fritter, a couple dollops of warm pea puree, all on a pool of perfect veal stock reduction.  Now I "get" this beef - it's very restrained, almost herby, almost as mild as veal but wonderfully fatty and satisfying.

My dessert #1: move over, strawberry-rhubarb pie!  This was so brilliant and delicious and refreshing.  A scoop of not-too-sweet and fabulously silky strawberry sorbet (there must have been a little liqueur in it) on a bed of sweet rhubarb compote, surrounded by fresh strawberries swimming in strawberry coulis, sprinkled with gingersnap crumbles and topped with a crunchy tuile cookie.  Took my breath away! 

My dessert #2: white chocolate ice cream in a pool of THICK reduced raspberry coulis, topped with meringue wafers and sprinkled with some cookie crumbles.  Very good but almost anti-climactic after dessert #1! 

A nice cup of espresso with a couple chocolate-hazelnut candies from chocolatier Jean-Paul Hevin finished the meal.  And oh, yes, I had a very nice glass of Bordeaux (Pessac-Leognan) with the meal.  All I can add is "Happy Birthday to me!"  It is such a blessing to be able to return regularly to a city that I know so well and enjoy so much.  The older I get, the harder it is to get around, but it's absolutely worth it!

Here's a shot from the other end of rue des Grands Augustins, where it intersects with rue Saint-Andre-des-Arts (a fun and lively street in the Latin Quarter, where my parents and I stayed at Hotel Eugenie decades ago) - the restaurant would be just a little bit beyond the curve in the road.  This street is only about three blocks long.

And just one more bit of trivia/history: Picasso had a studio on this street, in which he apparently painted "Guernica."

Still Powerless! - Monday, 20 June

21 June UPDATE!  Power finally restored at about noon on Tuesday, 21 June.  That's two days+.  Will write more about this "...so that's what it's really like to be a Parisian..." story soon......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

20 June update:  5:00 p.m. and I'm still powerless!  They say the electrician is working on it right now and it will be fixed today.  We'll see!  Back to the restaurant down the street for a quick laptop and mobile charge-up and access to their wi-fi.

But tonight I'm expecting all irritation to vanish when I have dinner at Ze Kitchen Galerie (an odd name, but a very highly regarded resto in the 5th arrondissement).  Check it out at http://www.zekitchengalerie.fr/ and stay tuned for my personal review!

An Adventurous Day! - Sunday, 19 June

I'll never say that I've encountered everything, but today's adventure sure goes into the "who woudda thunk" book!  And it did leave me feeling a bit "powerless."

At around 9:00 this morning I heard some guys going through the building, banging on each of the three or four doors on each floor (including mine).  This is a quite well-secured building, but I guess it's possible for someone to sneak in behind a resident while the door is open.  They didn't identify themselves, and it was kind of early, so I didn't answer the door.  I took a shower, got ready for church, threw a load of laundry in the machine, and - surprise - at about 10:00 the power went out in the whole building (including for the elevator).  Just a bit irritating.

So I felt my way down the fairly dark stairway.  I'm on the second floor (which would be the third in the U.S.), and when I got to the first floor water was slowly oozing out of one apartment and the carpet was all wet.  Aha.  That's probably why they had to turn off the power. 

I returned late in the afternoon to find the power still out and the outside doors propped open so that people could get in and out of the building (all the doors have power locks).  The wi-fi in the apartment was still working, so I sent an email to the owners asking what they knew.  They hadn't been informed of the incident but got on the phone with the caretaker right away and learned that the flooding problem has been fixed but the power won't be restored until tomorrow morning.  Yikes!

The owners did connect me with a restaurant down the street.  I'm sitting there now, recharging my laptop and mobile phone and using their wi-fi.  Happily it's light until very late (and again very early) in these northern climes, but I need to get back to the apartment soon and climb up those dark stairs once more.  This time I'll use the flashlight on my mobile!

The real big bummer is that by the time I understood what was happening it was too late to go to the "Paris by Mouth" picnic.  Oh, well.  Maybe they'll have a "second annual" next year!

Marché aux Fleurs (and birds and bunnies) - Sunday, 19 June

The Marche aux Fleurs, just two blocks from the apartment, was built in 1808.  It's the largest flower market in Paris (and a bit run-down, but if you were 200 years old you might be a little run-down too!)  Four long glass-roofed sheds house vendors who daily sell seeds, flowers (garden variety plus orchids), bedding plants, trees, gardening supplies, garden decor, etc.  On Sundays it expands to include birds (from exotic to homing pigeons), bunnies, gerbils, etc.  Sing along now: "you can get anything you want...."

Gardening hooks and signs
(zoom in on the doggie "NO" sign
for a chuckle)



A rainbow collection of birdies



Cute bunnies!

Fountain outside
one of the sheds

Something old, something new,
something tacky, something oooooh





Plants and trees for your
garden or balcony

Fancy Lamposts by the Police Station - Saturday, 18 June

I didn't expect to see fancy lamposts next to the Police station, but hey...this is Paris.

Rollerblade Art - Saturday, 18 June

Rollerblades: invented in Minneapolis, made an artform in Paris.  It made this Minneapolitan feel proud (not that I had anything to do with it, of course, but hey.....). 

This very skilled "blader" set up a course for himself on one of the traffic-free bridges and provided some great entertainment for the crowd.  I've rarely seen such fancy footwork in rollerblading or figure skating.  Tiny figures, turning on one wheel, skating backwards, crouching on one foot, spinning, you name it.  We chuckled, we "oooh'd" and "aaah'd," we "oh'd" (the very few times he knocked over one of the cups), we applauded.  Great free light-hearted entertainment (as far as I could see, he didn't have a basket for contributions).

I was half way back to the apartment when I remembered that I have a movie mode on my camera.  DUH!  Made this Minneapolitan feel stupid!  So the best I can give you is a snapshot.  Sorry......

Save a Tree, Buy a Padlock - Saturday, 18 June

One of the hottest new trends here is to express your undying love by writing a message to your sweetie on a ribbon, attaching it to a padlock on which you have written or engraved your initials (preferably inside of a heart, bien sur) and attaching that lock to a bridge railing.  Hmmm.  Saves a few trees, I suppose, but I hope the love lasts longer than the lock!

A Bridge Over the River Seine - Friday, 17 June

The bridge linking Ile de la Cité with Ile Saint-Louis is called "Pont Saint-Louis."  It's always a happenin' place, and today was no exception.

First, especially for my nieces Brenna and Lydia, I snapped this shot of two handsome police horses.  The policemen weren't bad looking either, but you really can't tell from this shot!

Second, a movie was being shot on the bridge.  They had clearly been on location for a while when I first crossed the bridge (and saw the horses), and I saw the actors being pampered with rain ponchos and nice dry seats in cars while the crews were getting things ready.  A couple hours later when I crossed the bridge again, they were doing multiple "takes" of a scene that seemed to be "two guys fighting outside a cab driven by a gorgeous female cabbie."  While they were filming these scenes the pedestrians stood behind red striped police tape.  I don't think that any of us got in the shots.  And I didn't recognize any of the actors or directors. 



In the fine butcher shops,
some plumage and heads and feet
are left on the birds so you can
identify them.

Kir vin blanc - white wine
with cassis

Between coming and going across the bridge, I wandered the Ile Saint-Louis, did some shopping, admired some file poultry in a butcher shop, made dinner reservations for Saturday, relaxed with a kir vin blanc, and took a shot of my apartment building.  Do I live a wild life, or what?!?


Looking towards Ile de la Cité from Pont Saint-Louis -
my building is the white one at the far end of the row

Wowzer! "Dîner en Blanc" - Thursday, 16 June

OK, so I'm walking back to the apartment after supper.  I stop on the bridge by Notre Dame to take another shot of this astonishing church and its setting right on the river.  Another typical evening in paradise.

UNTIL, that is, I get to the top of the bridge and come across 3,500 people (according to one article I read) in fancy white dress having dinner with wine and champagne and candleabras and gifts and what-not on the plaza in front of the church.  Yikes!  What was this, a huge wedding reception???  Nope, it was apparently a "Dîner en Blanc" (or "White Dinner"), held every year at a different locale in Paris.  Another 6,500 people were at the Cour Carrée du Louvre (apparently there wasn't a venue large enough to accomodate all 10,000).  Participants are required to dress in white and bring their own food, cutlery, dinnerware and wine to the event.  The invited guests board buses at pre-announced (only to them) locations/times and aren't told the venue of the event until en route, just before they arrive, but the event planned about six months in advance by a very small group of people and the venue is kept secret from the authorities until the very last minute.  What began as a chic picnic among a small group of friends twenty-three years ago is now an annual event in Paris, Montreal, Quebec, Hamburg, and soon in New York.  I need to find out how one gets on the guest list!

And what a concept!!!!!  Wonder if it would work in Minneapolis, assuming that an appropriate venue could be found and the city statutes wouldn't prohibit such a thing.  (Not that one would have to ask permission, of course.)  I must work on it. Anyone out there want to help???

Toasting the Memory of Stauter - Thursday, 16 June

Pizza Regina - tomatoes, ham,
mushrooms, olives, mozzarella

Dinner my first night in Paris is usually pizza.  I'm not entirely sure how I got into this habit, but after taking a nap to recover (somewhat) from a long day of travel, it seems to hit the spot.  And a fairly decent pizza can be found in most neighborhoods, so one doesn't have to wander far from "home."

Great espresso with 3 kinds of sugar
and a yummy spice cookie

The view from my table, about 8 p.m.,
Notre Dame in the background
against a pale blue sky.

Tonight I was meandering through the Latin Quarter and decided to grab a 'za right in the Place Saint-Michel, on a corner that has had a pasta/pizza resto ever since my first trip here, almost 25 years ago.  My friend Robert Louis Stauter ("Dr. Blue Eyes") planned and coordinated that 2-week trip through France (only 27 hours of which was in Paris!) for four of us, sharing his love for this country, its people and food and wine and culture and customs and art and history.  (I sure caught the bug!)  I can remember Jan Lindquist, one of my fellow travelers (who had known Robert from her surgical residency days), and Robert and I having crème caramel at the resto on this corner - can't remember if we had pizza, but I do remember the crème caramel!  Robert pronounced it "good."  And so it was!  So tonight I raised a toast to the memory of "Stauter" (as he called himself), who died in the 1998 Swissair crash over Nova Scotia.  What a loss to the world.

Some folks had organized a private wine tasting at the restaurant - tables were set up into a long rectangle, several bottles of wine were delivered to the table with multiple glasses per guest, and the apparent expert (the guy in white at the head of the table) took them through the tasting process.  I haven't seen a wine tasting in this format before - quite cool, and the nice wide sidewalk provided a wonderful venue for it, and it was interesting to see hoardes of people stream by this busy corner without paying any attention to the event at all!

The River is the Life of the City - Thursday, 16 June

I could sit on my nice grey leather loveseat all day and watch the barges and yachts go up and down the river.  Tour barges, hop-on-hop-off transportation barges, private yachts, yachts-for-hire-for-business-meetings, working barges, wooden speedboats (going slowly of course), dinner cruise boats, construction-barges-with-cranes, travel barges (with staterooms and diningrooms and everything), marine patrol boats - it's a regular parade out there, day and night!  (And at night the tour barges have big spotlights to shine on buildings such as mine as they tell folks all about the history of this island and city.)  I'll try to have my camera close to the window so that I can take snapshots throughout the week, and then post a photo parade for you before I leave!

I heard the clip-clop of horses' hooves but didn't grab my camera in time to get a "coming" version of this scene - so you get just the "going" version - mounted police patrolling the 'hood, a tour barge cruising by, pedestrians and motorists and cyclists all over the place, sunlight sparkling off the water, bridges and buildings and sky and trees reflected in the water.  Aaahhhhh...life in the big city...doesn't get much better than this for me!

Parisii coins, 1st cent. BC

The earliest evidence of human habitation in this area is dated at around 7600 B.C.  But in the 3rd century B.C. Gauls of the Parisii tribe settled here, right on this island and the banks of the Seine where my building sits.  The river became a strategic resource for shipping and commerce.  By the time the Romans arrived in the 1st century B.C. the Parisii were wealthy and organized enough to have their own gold coinage.  Battles for this area ensued and this time the Romans won (later this week post some photos of Roman ruins that sit just a few blocks from my apartment), and it's been the place to see and be seen and buy and sell and make art and eat and drink and govern and relax and love and study and worship and serve and live the joie de vivre ever since!

Practicin' Up and Rockin' On! - Wednesday, 15 June

I wouldn't go so far as to suggest that traveling is glamorous again, as it was in the really good ol' days, but I am happy to report that one can steel oneself for the journey (I intensely dislike the actual traveling part of vacation) and do a bit of "training" for meals-to-come with a pretty darn good lunch at Surdyk's Flights at MSP airport!  Service at the tables can be pretty slow, but the little patio out in the middle of the main concourse actually provides a nice place to sit and eat and read and recharge your laptop.

Surdyk's cheese shop in "Nordeast" is one of my favorite spots in town - cheeses, olives, sausages, groceries, prepared foods and sandwiches are spot-on!  This sandwich of salami, mozzarella, roasted peppers and arugula on crispy chibatta was very good; a nice serving of roasted beets, some cornichon and a couple herbed olives topped it off nicely.  And a nice dry Barbera tied it all together.  OK.  Ready to board.

First leg of the journey: Minneapolis to Cincinnati.  Not too bad other than the fact that I had to depart from distant gate A2.  Who knew MSP had gates in Iowa!

Second leg: Cincinnati to Paris.  A bit of a zoo!  Not an empty seat on the plane, and huge numbers of families with small kids (including the cutest one-year-old twin boys I have ever seen - wish I had gotten a picture of them) and teenager school groups (guess the economy isn't THAT bad in some areas).  I sat next to two rock musicians (of the heavy metal variety I think, but I really wouldn't know) who were on their way to some festival in France.  An aging rocker from another band saw them and recognized them and kept stopping by for a chat and for party planning (booze, drugs, etc.) to the point that my row-mates were getting embarassed and started ignoring him.  My guys were chattering almost the whole flight, recounting their prior shared adventures to each other ("remember the time when ..."  "I was wearing a light blue t-shirt with a skull..." "oh, yeah, I remember that shirt..."  "that chick 'x' just wouldn't leave me alone..."  "you were really wasted that night..."  bla bla bla).  I got glimpses of some creepy-looking magazines and tatoos.  Gotta say I got an education!  And that I'm really thankful for the fairly civilized conversations I have with my classical musician friends!