Barricades - Sunday, 17 November

 

This morning I headed off to The American Church in Paris, my favorite Sunday morning haunt (a beautiful site on the banks of the Seine at 65, quai d’Orsay https://www.acparis.org/ ).  Normally the iron gates at the main entrance are swung to the inside so that I can use the little curved railing along the steps and then grab onto the gate post to get up to the courtyard.  But today only one section of the gate on each side was swung in, meaning I would have to shimmy on the penultimate step.  Why?  Who knows?  Heightened security for some reason?   I'm not up for shimmying today, but there is a scissors lift off to the right, and a button to push for an intercom to have someone in the office activate the lift, and then a button to call the lift.  But nothing worked.  The usher/security guy at the door was busy with other people so I gave up and took a taxi to the Passage des Panoramas, where I intended to have lunch.  

But another barricade!  Just one block of rue du Louvre was blocked off between rue de Rivoli and rue Saint-Honoré (for no apparent reason), causing a huge traffic jam.  Also, there were giant tour buses all over the place near the Louvre, and masses of (mostly Japanese) tourists around the Louvre.  My driver complained about how terrible Paris has become (not sure what in particular he was referencing), stores and restos closing, etc.  He tried to go a couple blocks westward on rue de Rivoli without any progress and then turned around in the middle of the street to take a big detour via blvd de Sebastopol several blocks to the east.  

Eagerly anticipating my favorite confit de canard at Canard & Champagne in Passage des Panoramas (it’s been many years), I didn’t mind getting there early.   They weren’t open quite yet, but they said it was OK to shift my 1:00 reservation to noon, so I just had to cool my jets for 10 minutes.  Quite a few shops seem to have closed in this Passage, it was chilly & dirtier than I remember, and there seemed to be a few cracks or holes in the floor with light underneath.  Hmmm.  I thought the surface was stone and tile on the ground.  Perhaps there’s a lower level.  In any case, it was kind of creepy!

So back to Champagne & Canard at noon.  Sadly, in their interior space the only seating option was tall tables with stools and a high banquette.  I thought that I would try the banquette, but there was really no easy way to hoist myself up onto it.  And it was cold and windy at the regular tables out in the Passage.  So a virtual barricade.  So I left.  https://www.frenchparadox.paris/

Kind of hungry at this point, though, so I walked down the street to a café.  There was a table on the terrace under a heat lamp (I thought that those had been outlawed!) so I grabbed it!  Ordered an adequate ham, mushroom and olive pizza.  They are usually served with a carafe of spicy oil in Paris (with peppers, herbs, and garlic infusing in the oil); here they brought little ketchup-sized packets of spicy oil.  I couldn’t eat all the pizza, but I’ve started carrying a small plastic bag in my backpack, so I was able to bring a couple slices home to satisfy future munchies! 

Alas! A Slightly Dim Week - Thursday, 14 November

Upon my arrival last Friday, I found that the primary light fixture above my table was burned out.  Alas, but no worries, I thought, as a responsible homeowner I can deal with that!  But alas (again), I couldn’t find a spare bulb in the apartment.  So I “WhatsApp’d” our apartment manager, Luz, who said it was working on Thursday when the apartment was cleaned and I should be able to find a spare bulb in the storage boxes up high over the cabinets.  Alas (again), short people can’t reach those boxes.  Luz would be able to help but alas (again), she was on her way out of town for a long weekend, returning Tuesday.  She advised that I could find this style bulb at Franprix a couple blocks away.

So I went to unscrew the bulb but alas (again) it came apart – the glass and “guts” in my hand with the receptacle/connector remaining in the fixture.  

I looked at the circuit breaker box but couldn’t tell which one was for that fixture, and I didn’t want to get electrocuted (that would have been too big of an ALAS!), and I didn’t want to turn off the master circuit, and I didn’t have the pliers needed to remove the connector anyway, so I decided to wait.   I found a lamp that I could clip on to the edge of the table so that I wasn’t in TOO much darkness in the evening.  

Alas (again) a slight delay – Luz couldn’t stop by until this morning.  She asked for photos so that she could buy the right bulb, but when she looked at them she realized that she’d better send the handyman instead.  He advised “don’t touch anything!”  Ya, I had already figured that out!

So, just after noon the nice Jean Michel knocked on my door.  He couldn’t decide which circuit was for the fixture so decided to switch off the main.  And he had the equipment for removing the connector.  Presto, in about five minutes he was able to fix the problem and install the new bulb.  He stayed long enough to confirm that everything was back up and running (including the internet service).  And he left a spare bulb.  And I am enlightened again!

Whew!  No more alasses, just time for this lass to head out and find new adventures for the day!

Maybe Not So Charming! - Wednesday, 13 November

There's a really cute tile facade on a building a couple blocks from my apartment.  Its story and history might not be quite as charming!  

"The former horse butcher's shop at the crossroads of Vieille-du-Temple and Roi-de-Sicile streets has retained a remarkable mosaic façade. This red, orange and gold decoration, with a rearing horse motif, created between 1930 and 1946, corresponds to the colour code that specifically indicated horse butcher's shops, thus distinguishing them from traditional butcher's shops. The corner ground floor of the Hôtel de Vibraye is entirely covered with the vermilion fresco, executed using the so-called broken tile technique. The horse-eating business has now been replaced by a sock shop."

I might need to buy some socks "just because!"  

For more of the story, check out this website...it's in French, but on your browser you might have a "translate to English" function.  https://www.parisladouce.com/2021/05/ancienne-boucherie-chevaline-rue.html

A Very Short Trip to Burgundy - Saturday, 9 November

Tonight, a big ‘ol’ cauldron of steaming Bœuf bourguignon, the specialty of the house at Au Bourguignon du Marais, less than a block from my apartment.  Big chunks of succulent beef, carrots, small potatoes, onions, lardons (bacon), rich silky deep sauce.  Slices of baguette.  I couldn’t eat the whole thing.  A rich fruity Bourgogne Côtes Chalonnaises Rouge Domaine Venot.  Espresso with a small bittersweet chocolate.  Only €38 (about $40).

It’s 52 degrees F. but I still love eating outside whenever I can.  Especially when the food is so warming.

And I hear the giant bells of Notre Dame ringing from just a few blocks away (they returned to service this week!).  Aahhh, gradual restoration of the spirit and body continues.

https://aubourguignondumarais.fr/

Gotta Maintain these 14th Century Relics! - Saturday, 9 November

Old relics need to be maintained. For this old relic, it primarily (and happily) means enough sleep and time with legs elevated (which usually leads to sleep!).

The 14th century building containing my apartment also needs help from time to time!  This notice is on our security door - basically, it says that maintenance on the courtyard side begins on the 16th and people need to remove any furniture and greenery from their windowsills and balconies.  My windows are on the street side, so no worries for me (although the entry might be a bit messy for a while!).

Delta Has Me Feeling a Little Paranoid! - Friday, 8 November

When we landed at Charles de Gaulle this morning, the crew announced that we were parking at a satellite location and passengers would have to descend to the tarmac via stairs and then take a bus to Terminal 2.  Furthermore, passengers were advised to be very careful on the stairs because the first one was very steep.

Whew, I thought!  Sure glad that requested wheelchair service from the plane through the terminal!

The view from my
window in the
"human cargo transport!"  

But it happened again.  When I gave the CDG "accessibility services agent" my name for admission to the cool cargo-like box that would lower us handicapped folks from the plane down to the tarmac, he said "What?  I don't have you on my list."  (This happened a year+ ago, to an even more dramatic extent.  See the story here:  https://mariellen-musing.blogspot.com/2023/07/going-and-coming-thursday-20-july.html ).  Happily, this time a Delta employee was able to send a text to someone and get it straightened out, so I didn't have to leave the other 14 people hanging around TOO long!  After being lowered down to the ground, we were loaded onto a couple small shuttles so didn't have to deal with the hoards on big buses (the flight was packed to the gills).

CDG is to be commended for their cool system for providing safe access for those of us with mobility issues.  But gosh, I'm getting a little paranoid that Delta keeps forgetting me!

And remember - just because you're paranoid, it does not mean that they are NOT out to get you!

Stay Forever? - Thursday, 7 November

Over the past few weeks I've been telling people that, given my next trip to Paris would be two days after the election, I would either have to miss all of the parties or figure out some way to just stay there.  I was kind of joking, of course, and as an introvert the prospect of missing parties (as I was pretty confident would be the case) wasn't really that bad.  

But now Trump's very-likely-emboldened pal Putin is probably salivating over the thought of annexing more of eastern Europe.  And can western Europe, including France, be far behind?  

No place is actually "safe," of course, and the prospect of uprooting one's life is pretty daunting.  For now I'll take it just a day at a time, enjoying unparalleled beauty in food, art, culture, environment, people, ....  

Just in case you're wondering about the weather, here ya go: