Well, that was Dumb! - Sunday, 24 April

“I have good news, and I have bad news, and it’s the same news” is one of my favorite forms of humor.  So today must have been hilarious.  Or….

To enter the U.S., one must provide a negative result from a Covid test that was taken within the prior 24 hours.  So on Saturday I went to the pharmacy at the end of my block for a test.  I had overheard a conversation a couple of days earlier wherein a tour director was telling her companion that in Paris, about 25% of the tests come back positive.  So I was bracing myself for that possibility and starting to think what I would do if I had to self-isolate for a few days.  (Actually, I was fantasizing about taking up Kevin and Todd on their offer to use Ma Maison Miron for a few days - see that story here:   http://mariellen-musing.blogspot.com/2022/04/ive-gone-medieval-wednesday-20-april.html

Well, good or bad, my test came back negative.  So, since I needed to pay the private shuttle service in cash, I headed to the cash machine to stock up.  

Then I emailed the shuttle service with the details of my flight, requested pickup time, etc.  Crickets from them, making me a bit nervous!

Late Saturday night, the apartment manager Joseph called on the apartment phone to tell me that I had contacted them too late and they had no drivers available 7 hours later at my requested 6:30 pickup time.  Grrrr.  Kinda late for getting back to me, and on the apartment phone (without a voicemail service that I had practiced) at I time that I should have been asleep (luckily, I was awake).  I explained that I really couldn't contact them until I had my Covid test result, but in any case I'm not using this shuttle service again!

But then really, not a big problem because I could reserve a ride with G7 taxi service online.  Done.  The only hiccup was that I really wouldn’t need the cash I had withdrawn since my account with G7 requires credit card payment.  But then on the other hand, the exchange rate is favorable right now, so it wouldn’t be all that horrible to come home with a chunk of cash.

So, G7 shows up right on time Sunday morning and I’m ready to go and it should be smooth sailing to the airport.  Traffic was very light (it being a Sunday), so we were making good time when …

… when about 3/4 of the way to the airport, I realized that I had left my wallet, car keys, house keys and various papers in the apartment.  EEK - HOW STUPID!

So I told my driver that I would probably need to head back to the apartment.  I quickly grabbed my phone to call Joseph.  I explained my situation and he replied, “but I’m in bed” and asked if he couldn’t send me my stuff later.  Nope, I really needed my keys, driver’s license, etc.  “But I’m in bed” (and he lives in a suburb, not in the center of Paris).  I said we could be back at the apartment in 25 minutes, and could he please meet us there then and again, I'm terribly sorry.  He said that he would head out, but I’d have to pay him 50 euros for this extra service.  No problem ‘cause, ya know, I had cash!

So my driver turned around, and we made it back to the apartment in 25 minutes (only because there is little traffic on a Sunday morning), turning the corner just as Joseph was walking up rue Marie Stuart.  Whew!  Got my stuff and paid Joseph 60 euros, and back in the taxi to zip back to Charles de Gaulle.

My driver was very friendly and helpful.  He asked me how long my flight would be and where I was heading, and after a couple amusing back-and-forths I learned that his daughter taught French in Edina for three years and lived a couple miles from my house.  So he knew all about Minneapolis!  I said he should tell his daughter about the crazy Minneapolitan who stupidly left important stuff in a rental apartment.  He told me that whenever he travels, he takes a special pouch for all of the “home” papers, keys, etc. and as soon as he unpacks, he puts that pouch into the suitcase, leaving it there until it’s time to return home.  DUH!  Why haven’t I thought of that?  

So, a smooth trip, just under the speed limit, back to the airport in plenty of time (a bit less than the three hours recommended by Delta, but I registered for wheelchair service from my phone in the taxi, which whipped me through passport control and baggage security in record time).  Sure, I had to pay almost three times the regular fare, but it was a small price to pay, and I did even have some extra cash for a tip to my nice driver!

I thought that I was golden now, but wouldn’t ya know, I was randomly selected for extra screening at the gate, including taking off my shoes for inspection/scanning, which I can only do sitting down and they didn’t have a chair at the extra screening station.  (They did eventually go and find a wheelchair for me to sit on for this process.)

The flight was absolutely packed, and we had a bit of turbulence, and the woman sitting next to me was terrified, but the final good news is that I’m back home safe and sound!

Lessons learned for my next trip to be sure!  À la prochaine, Paris!

Miscellany from the Week - Saturday, 23 April

“Paris is loath to surrender itself to people who are in a hurry; it belongs to the dreamers, to those capable of amusing themselves in its streets without regard to time when urgent business requires their presence elsewhere … waste time … experience the faint distress that comes from thinking you have lost your way."  Julien Green, Paris

There are giants among us!  This façade on rue du Louvre was pretty arresting!

For lunch one day, chicken paillard (chicken breasts pounded flat and quickly grilled to be slightly charred and crispy on the outside while still juicy inside) served with a big lemon wedge, arugula, and a tasty uncooked tomato-shallot-herb-vinegar salsa, fries, and a beer at Café Étienne Marcel.  Very tasty, and there must have been five paillards here - could have easily fed a family with them!

I’m usually a beer or wine person for the afternoon “break” but one day I thought I’d try one of Le Compas’ signature cocktails - the “I Love Paris” - strawberry juice, Champagne and the elderflower liqueur St-Germain.  Tasty, but hoo boy, it went to my head right away!  Good thing I was just about 20 yards from my front door!  That brown bottle on the table is hand sanitizer - you’ll see them on the tables of many cafés and restos.

Many Paris streets, gardens, and squares are named after artists, writers, musicians, royalty, religious - a few are named after business persons or politicians, but happily, not many!  Just for you music fans, here’s a tiny (and overgrown) small square in the 6th named after Francis Poulenc.

Loved the metal “lace” fences outside the Haute École de Joaillerie (jewelry-making school) on rue du Louvre

It’s a bit hard to see, but this bicycle courier was delivering an Amazon box to the building across the rue Marie Stuart from my door.  I have always seen lots of deliveries via bicycle, but the volume seems to be increasing.  Also, with more and more streets being carved up to add a bicycle lane and remove some vehicle lanes, more and more commuters are on rental bicycles.  The bicyclists and pedestrians have the right-of-way, so if you hit one, the driver is liable.  There are still a lot of accidents, though.  But my drivers were all very cautious, so no accidents this trip! 

I should have thought to explore the other direction on rue Tiquetonne earlier. Perfect fish & chips, not strictly French of course, but SO yummy! 

And, my latest heartthrob….

It started pouring with rain one afternoon, so I *had to* seek shelter under the awning of a sidewalk café!

There's this cool little shop of "stuff" in the Passage du Grand Cerf at the end of my block, and I always try to stop by when I'm in town to find something odd & interesting to bring home.  This time I really wished I could pop this, um, stationary bicycle exercise stool (?) or one of these cool cabinets in my suitcase!   For more of their stuff, check out their website:   https://www.rickshaw.fr/en

A Tempest in my Travels - Saturday, 23 April

“Things change, you know.”  That was maybe the one true and helpful thing that one of the worst bosses I ever had (and no, I’m not going to reveal the name!) used to say.  One does need to learn how to adapt and adjust in life!

I booked this relatively short trip to take advantage of a production called “Tempest Project” by the legendary 97-year-old Peter Brook at my favorite venue, Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord.  I could swear that, when I booked my ticket for the show back in October, their website said that the production was in French with English supertitles.  Groovy!  So I found a performance that could work in my schedule (this afternoon) and a few free days around it, and booked a rental apartment and my airfare.  

Well, last month I discovered that the website no longer referenced the English supertitles, but it was too late to cancel my arrangements.  And anyway, April in Paris - I mean, really, one can think of things to do!  I called the theater today to confirm that the production really was only in French and was subtitle-absent, and they confirmed.  Bummer!  They would have given me credit for my ticket towards a future performance of the same show, but that wouldn’t do me any good.  And they said they couldn’t re-sell my ticket.  So bummer all around.   https://www.bouffesdunord.com/fr/la-saison/tempest-project

Well, I saw SOME of the Gaudí Exhibit! - Friday, 22 April

This morning I visited the Musée d’Orsay for their Gaudí exhibit.  I am pleased to report that I got there in one piece!  Usually taxi drivers, especially ones who work for G7, are fabulously capable, alert and helpful.  But my driver today seemed to be having vision problems - eek!  After he picked me up at the apartment he pulled over to the side and took off his glasses and squinted at his phone/map device for a couple of minutes, then put his glasses back on and drove for a bit, very gingerly working his way through a crowd on rue Montorgueil as if he had a hard time seeing people clearly, then putting the glasses on and off a few more times before we got to the d’Orsay.  But we made it and no pedestrians were injured.  Phew!

It must be at least 10 years since I was at d'Orsay - gotta say it’s as gorgeous as ever, and even more popular!  But wow - huge crowds and tour groups for a Friday morning!  I could handle only about half of the exhibit because the crowds were making me feel a bit claustrophobic (and not everyone was wearing a facemask).  I did get to see several objects of furniture and other practical household (or mansion-hold, to be exact) items that I loved - one of my favorite things is to see practical objects and implements taken to a very high artistic standard.  And of course, Gaudí fit that bill (as well as several others)!   https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/exhibitions/gaudi-213307

Read more about the exhibit on their Facebook page:   https://www.facebook.com/170924542917905/posts/5514532755223697/?d=n

I thought about taking a peek at an Aristide Maillol exhibit and an Yves Saint-Laurent exhibit, as well as some of the permanent collection, but I wimped out given the crowds.  

https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/exhibitions/yves-saint-laurent-museums-201146

https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/exhibitions/aristide-maillol-1861-1944-quest-harmony-201198

Pionnières Creating Beauty and Doing What Needed to be Done - Thursday, 21 April

So this afternoon I headed down to the Musée du Luxembourg to see their recently-opened exhibit of works by Parisian female artists of the Roaring ‘20s - mostly paintings, but also works of sculpture, architecture, literature and design.  

As you entered the exhibit you encountered videos from the late 19-teens of women performing what were formerly men’s jobs before they went off to war - in factories, on railroads and trams, on roadways (including devising fulcrums and levers to get trucks out of muddy ruts), assembling and packing munitions, sweeping chimneys, lighting streetlamps, etc. - many of the snippets were quite amusing.  

Another video presentation, though, was the most affecting for me - you saw women artists and craftspersons creating masks for soldiers who lost parts of their faces in WW1 - measuring the portions of the faces that should be covered, forming the masks, fitting them, painting them to look realistic, calculating and attaching straps that allowed the masks to stay in place without being too obvious, all while obviously interacting with the wounded men in a very caring and sensitive manner.  It was moving and heartwarming and inspiring.

Ya, the artwork was great (although there were a few too many nudes for my taste), but the video glimpses into the century-ago world of clever and hard-working women at work was most rewarding.  

https://museeduluxembourg.fr/en/agenda/evenement/pionnieres

I took a walk in the gardens after viewing the exhibit.  The spring bulb flowers have gone kinda wild and are on their last legs, but they’re still beautiful. Perhaps a lesson for us all!

Only a Few Months Old, but Rock Solid - Granite! - Thursday, 21 April

30-year-old Chef Tom Meyer opened his first Paris resto, Granite, late last year.  It is getting rave reviews, and it just received its first Michelin star in record time!  It’s in the 1st arrondissement, in the former Spring Restaurant space on rue Bailleul.  Chef Meyer previously worked as sous-chef to Anne-Sophie Pic (whose food I ate yesterday!) at her Michelin three-star restaurant in Valence, and was the runner-up finalist in the Bocuse d’Or cooking competition in Lyon in 2019.  I add my voice to the praise chorus after today’s lunch at Granite!

The open 4-sided kitchen looks pretty much the same as Daniel Rose brilliantly designed it for Spring - work stations in the center and on three sides, with a couple of stools and the reservation/host desk on the fourth side.  (I had a wonderful time chatting with Chef Daniel Rose, a Chicago native, about Al Franken when I sat on one of those stools during my first visit to Spring in 2010!  Deets of that meal here:  https://mariellen-musing.blogspot.com/2010/11/spring-in-fall-wednesday-3-november.html ).  At times, six cooks were working in the kitchen simultaneously - a delightful circus to watch!  Granite’s furniture, décor and tableware are new, but the exciting vibe remains.

They offer a 3-course lunch menu, but you can also order the evening 5-course or 7-course menu.  I went for the lunch menu this time around. 

For today’s aperitif, a Rosé Champagne by Elise Dechannes that was 100% Pinot Noir - dry, with the essence of strawberry, cherry and tarragon expressed with tiny bubbles.

Three amuse bouche:

White bean purée with smoked clams, served in a clam shell, covered with seawater foam - salty, earthy, smoky, what more could you ask for?!?

A crispy (just-shy-of-burnt) fluted pastry cup with smoked mackerel purée, diced dried yellow pepper, herbs, and ginger 

Absolutely pure, delicious, finely diced beef tartar topped with slightly sharp teriyaki gelée (clever!) and toasted sesame - wow!

Their spectacular bread basket!  And the bread ain't bad, either.

For my first course, a cube of brioche French toast set in a just-under-room-temperature orange and carrot juice sauce, with marigold oil and sea urchin.  Sweet, comforting, vegetal, fruity, herbal, with a hint of the sea.  My goodness.  The cleverness and refinement blew me away.

With the first course, a 2020 Cab Franc Domaine des Closiers Saumur-Champigny from the Loire region - floral and black fruit on the nose, and a bit more peppery and flinty on the palate.  Something you might normally pair with meat, but it really worked here!  

Next, suckling lamb that tasted like the herbs and grasses in which it frolicked in its short life!  There really wasn’t much of a crust on it, yet the surface was perfectly salty. Next to it, a chickpea puree with strawberries, fingerling potatoes and pickled onions.  Surrounding it, a very light herby lamb stock.  

On a second plate, confit lamb shoulder with black olive and garlic broth.  

And on a third plate, deeply caramelized Jerusalem artichokes with slices of braised but slightly crunchy parsnip and coffee & malted barley sabayon. 

With these courses they served two wines - a 2020 Beaujolais Gamay from Domaine Grégoire Hoppenot to accompany the lamb and a 2020 Loire Pinot Noir from Domaine Denizot to accompany the vegetables.  They were right, of course!  I tried switching back and forth, but the partnerships they recommended balanced things out perfectly.

In addition to the three courses, they offered an optional cheese course.  When have I ever turned down a cheese course?  (OK, maybe once or twice, but rarely!)  This one was very interesting - crumbles of a bleu from the Pyrenees over a disc of iced (almost frozen) goat cheese in a pool of rhubarb jus with watery julienne of celery and a disc of mellow and sweet jelée (I can’t remember if they said what it was made from).  This was very refreshing!

With the cheese, a 2017 Pino Gris from the Valentin Zusslin Estate in Alsace.  The wine was terrific, but it seemed like it hit all the same notes as the cheese.

My pre-dessert was a quenelle of vanilla ice cream on chocolate crumbles with nuts and a squiggle of beer jelly caramel.  Yup, that’s what they called it (unless of course my auditory capacities were failing me at that point!).  I have no idea how you would make beer jelly caramel. 

For dessert, a shell of crispy sweet rice paper ribbons encasing French kiwi, yellow Chartreuse gel, crème fraiche and sable cookie crumbles.  I asked my server about the rice paper since I have never tasted a sweet version like this - she told me that rice was cooked down until it was very mushy, then honey was added, then it was spread out almost microscopically thin, then dried - genius!

With dessert, a sparkling pear cider from Eric Bordelet - very refined and refreshing, it cut through the cream and beautifully emphasized the kiwi.

For your espresso you could select from a couple styles/sources of beans.  I went with one from Peru that had been aged in wooden casks - it was complex and smooth, and maybe it was my imagination, but I could taste the wood as well.  Two mignardise with the coffee - a chilled white chocolate shell containing lime gel, and a chocolate truffle with hazelnut crème.

Brilliant food and drink, a comfortable and beautiful setting, gracious service, an entertaining kitchen circus to watch, an opportunity to experience the work of a rising superstar - what more could a girl ask for?!?  You can bet I’ll be back!  I get to have three favorite restos, right?

Granite - 6, rue Bailleul, https://granite.paris/

I've Gone Medieval! - Wednesday, 20 April

Many of you know that I’ve dreamt of having an apartment in Paris for decades and that I bought a “fractional ownership” share of an apartment last summer - an arrangement in which I owned 1/13 of the apartment, which allowed me to use it for two 2-week blocks a year.  But I was too optimistic about my ability to handle the stairs in the no-elevator building, so I sold my share last fall.  (For more info, see this blog post:   https://mariellen-musing.blogspot.com/2021/09/locked-in-staircase-eek-tuesday-21.html )

Well, as it happens, this February, the owners of one share of a different apartment decided to sell their share so that they could buy a share in a larger apartment.  The one they were selling is a studio in a 14th century building with an elevator.  Yup, you guessed it - I jumped at the chance to buy it.  You can read about the apartment and see photos here:   https://adrianleeds.com/explore-properties-for-sale/fractional-ownership/shared-property/ma-maison-miron/  

I also found an article about the building in a little book I picked up this trip, Paris - a Short History of Architecture.  It says, "In 1967, a meticulous restoration campaign restored [the building] to [its] original appearance.  The picturesque décor of the houses is reasonably representative of medieval civil architecture."  "After the great fire of London in 1666, the construction of half-timber houses was forbidden to prevent a similar disaster, while existing timber-framed houses were covered with plaster and lime."

My first usage period begins at the end of September this year, but I decided to contact the share owners who are occupying the apartment this week to see if they might be willing to let me in and show me around.  They most graciously agreed to meet up!  So I spent a couple of delightful hours hanging out with Kevin and Todd in the apartment this afternoon, talking about the property, the neighborhood, spending time in France, careers & interests, etc.  They live in Atlanta and are both IT guys and, of course, are big Paris fans.  They just acquired a property in Nice and are heading down there this Saturday.  They offered to let me use the Paris apartment next week since they won’t be here, but I’ll be back in Minneapolis by then.  What a beautiful gesture, though!

(Here I am, "fake cooking" in the kitchen - I just couldn't pass up the photo opp!  But I do plan to actually hit the markets and cook there in just a few months!)

The 13 owners of Ma Maison Miron have a private Facebook page where they share info, questions, offers, etc., and they also meet yearly via Zoom as an owners’ association.  From what I’ve seen so far, they’re a lively and interesting group.  Even if we’ve all gone medieval!