Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Nielsen and a 19-Year-Old Phenom! - Friday, 30 September

Tonight, an Orchestre de Paris concert at the Philharmonie.  Paavo Järvi conducted them in Grieg’s Peer Gynt Prelude to Act I and Suite No.1, Nielsen’s Symphony No.2 (“The Four Temperaments”) and the Tchaikovsky violin concerto with 19-year-old Spanish phenom María Dueñas.  

The place was packed (I took this picture about 10 minutes before the downbeat).  As you can see, I was up in the nosebleed section!  (Search my blog for several other articles about this unusual building, which opened in 2015 - the first one is here: https://mariellen-musing.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-new-philharmonie-de-paris-imagined.html )

I haven’t heard the Grieg Prelude to Act I very often, and it was a wonderful surprise.  The principal viola really rocked the Hardanger fiddle style dance tune solo, complete with thumping and stomping!  Then the Suite No.1 was beautifully executed.  Audiences here don’t have any problem with applauding between movements, especially when they end loud!  But they also don’t seem to need to give standing ovations even though they clearly loved the performance.  I like this - in the U.S. we seem to stand for almost anything!

Next up, the Tchaikovsky concerto.  I haven’t heard of this 19-year-old violinist María Dueñas before, but apparently her awards, recordings and career are skyrocketing!  Read about her here:  https://www.mariaduenasviolin.com/en/bio   I thought her tone was a bit harsh in places in the first movement, and there were some attack and pitch slips, and a few balance problems.  But hey, she’s 19!!!  And that second movement - absolutely meltingly gorgeous, with wonderful dialogs with the wind soloists.  And the third movement, quite the romp!  She definitely has the technical skills.  After her first bows, two curtain calls, then an encore (sorry, I don’t know what it was, very bird-like and peaceful), then two more curtain calls.  And again no standing ovation.  

I brought my wrinkles
and double chin and all!

Then the Nielsen “Four Temperaments” Symphony No.2 (choleric, phlegmatic, melancholic, and sanguine).  Loved it!  Really don’t hear this enough.  Wonderful themes, energy, moods, subtleties, lilting rhythms, performances.  Hey, Thomas Søndergård and the MN Orchestra, how about programming this soon?!?  It should be right in your wheelhouse!

Upon arriving home at 11:20 (traffic is always bad in Paris!), my driver had to drop me at the corner because the street was barricaded and a fire truck was right in front of my building.  They were just packing up their hoses and gear, so I seem to have missed the main event!  I didn’t smell any smoke, so hopefully it was just a small fire somewhere.  The firemen wear shiny silver rounded helmets - love it!

Things Ya Learn the Hard Way… - Friday, 30 September

 …are the things that stick (hopefully!).

I had a reservation for lunch at Accents Table Bourse, one of my absolute faves, today.  And it was the only reservation I could get this trip because they’re closed for the month of October.  https://accents-restaurant.com/

So about 30 minutes before my reservation I requested a G7 taxi (they’re all over Paris, have great drivers/cars, have an app where you can enter your departure and arrival addresses, have GPS tracking, and have an automatic credit card payment mechanism if you have an account with them).  Normally this is no problem, but I got a message that no cars were available on the regular service, would I like the slightly more expensive “Zen” service.  Well, I needed to get there so OK.  After their service searched for an available car for a few minutes, I got a “sorry, busy period, no cars available, please try again” message.  So I waited a few minutes, but same result.  So I jumped over to the Uber app.  It found a car, but it would be a 14 minute wait.  Oh, well, I ordered it and meanwhile I jumped back to the G7 app a couple times but still no cars.  Then the Uber app said my car would arrive in 3 minutes, and after another 10 minutes that guy canceled the trip (and, to add insult to injury, charged me 7.2 euros!).  Taxis were driving down rue François Miron, but the green “available” light was conspicuous in its absence!  I had to give up on lunch at Accents.  I emailed them; happily there was no charge for my no-show reservation, and they said they’d be happy to see me again when I’m back in town in January (I have been there several times!).

So, LESSON LEARNED!  If you need a taxi at some particular time from some particular location to another, ORDER IT IN ADVANCE to secure a car.  You can do it on the G7 app.  Duh!

The good news is that I toddled over to Don Giovanni about 10 yards down the street and they had an empty table!  Breadsticks were delivered, along with a plate of Parmesan shavings and sausage slices, when I ordered a tasty Kir vin blanc (Crème de Cassis with an Italian white wine – just on the sweet side, nicely balanced, a bit walnut-y).  

My ravioli with Gorgonzola and finely-chopped walnuts was OK, warm and comforting, but I could barely taste the Gorgonzola in the filling (it was mixed with some starch – breadcrumbs? – and cream).  And the sauce was too heavy.  But that shaved Parm and sausage saved the day!  

For dessert the “black” chocolate mousse with a baton of bittersweet chocolate was great (they also offer a white chocolate version – no thanks!).  

Then a very fine espresso served with a side of grapes (that’s a first!).  All in, 31 euros.  Not bad.  And one more lesson: don't depend completely on credit cards!  Their WiFi was down, so the credit card reader didn't work.  Happily, I had cash on me but yikes - it would have been a scramble to hit a cash machine if I didn't!

But it wasn't Accents Table Bourse.  😞

Suffering in Paris (not!) - Thursday, 29 September

I had to chill for a couple hours while my apartment was being cleaned.  So I headed across the street to Au Bourguignon du Marais for lunch. I could learn to live like this!

Poached salmon and halibut, sautéed shrimp, boiled turned (“tournée”) potatoes and carrots
in a saffron - beurre blanc - fish stock sauce with a delicate puff pastry biscuit and watercress.
 Wowzer!

A pear poached in red wine, peppercorns, cinnamon and allspice with a lovely crispy crumble.
Wowzer again.

Café macchiato with a little square of chocolate. Excellent!

The lunch specials. 22 euros for the food (about the same in dollars these days).
Plus wine (a lovely Saint-Bris) and coffee. Unbeatable.

The view from my table. That 14th-century half-timbered double building
 (see the two roof lines) a short block away on the right
contains my apartment.  My windows are three floors up on the right side.

It was just a bit chilly would have been perfect if there had been a heater over my head, but alas, they were banned by the city earlier this year.  I love eating outside, but sigh, guess I need to give up something for the environment!

"I Think This Is The Beginning Of A Beautiful Friendship." - Thursday, 29 September

So yup, finally, today I moved into "my" new Paris apartment (OK, OK, I own only 1/13 of it, but still...)  It's at 11, rue François Miron, in the 4th arrondissement, Rive Droite, just a couple blocks from the Seine and the western tip of L'île Saint-Louis (from which it’s just another short bridge to the back garden of Notre Dame).  Ma Maison Miron.  Couldn’t be more central!  

It’s a 14th-century building, one of the three oldest in Paris, and I kid you not, there is a steady stream of school groups and tour-groups-led-by-a-guy-with-a-flag and random tourists stopping in front of the building to gawk and to read the historical plaque.  You can find a bunch more info and photos on the apartment’s listing:  https://adrianleeds.com/explore-properties-for-sale/fractional-ownership/shared-property/ma-maison-miron/   

Here are a few more pictures of my own:

 

A small but efficient kitchen!

The "right-sized" fridge

A tiny kitchen sink, 
BUT HEY, it's marble!

Short and tall drawers containing
various tools and implements 

A washer-dryer!  Such luxury!

Plenty of plates, cups, serving dishes

Behind the "antique Paris map"
wall lies a host of cabinets and shelves...

...and even a giant air conditioner 
(don't need it this month!)

The view from the bed looking up
at the beams - the giant beam in the
 bottom third of the picture
 is about 12x12 inches

A giant shower with a 
nice low threshold

The view from my window.  
I often hear the clop-clop-clop 
of mounted police sauntering down 
the street - will try to snap a photo
of them one of these days!

It’s a beaut, all 200 sq.ft. of it!  Great for one person or two (if they’re very friendly!).  Cozy, comfy.  And in the heart of Paris!  What more could a girl ask for?!?