Ah, the Restorative Powers... - Wednesday, 26 July

My afternoon “coffee” break (actually more of a restoration break!).  French fries, Belgian beer, American ketchup (those are Heinz packets).  Just call me a citizen of the world!

Jetlag Won :-( - Tuesday, 19 April

Gotta start adding one more day of jetlag recovery to the front of my trips.  Tonight I had a ticket for an 8:30 recital by the legendary Russian/Austrian pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja, playing works by Schubert at the Philharmonie de Paris.  It’s a long haul to the Philharmonie (of course I’d take a taxi, but it is handily accessible by the métro as well), but it’s still a bit of a walk from the taxi drop-off/pick-up location into the hall, and my legs were just too swollen and weak for it to be prudent, so I blew it off.  If you’re interested, you can see her recital program here:   https://philharmoniedeparis.fr/en/activity/recital-piano/22910-elisabeth-leonskaja  She seems to be a regular featured artist, so maybe next time!

The Philharmonie does have a livestreaming app, but they don’t post all of their concerts there (hey, they do have to fill the hall to make money!), and they did not post this recital.  Bummer!  The livestreams have excellent production values, and you get to see the inside and outside of this amazing hall, so check it out!  And for you real orchestra geeks out there, take a look at the (free) stream of the Orchestre de Paris’ March 23 concert featuring their amazing new conductor, the 26-year-old Finn, Klaus Mäkelä!  He is most pleasant to watch indeed!  You can also find it in the web here:  https://philharmoniedeparis.fr/en/live/1138171-orchestre-de-paris-klaus-makela-khatia-buniatishvili-tchaikovski-debussy-ravel-falla

If you want to know more about the hall, just search for “Philharmonie” on this blog - I've written about it several times.  And/or read my first post about it here:  https://mariellen-musing.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-new-philharmonie-de-paris-imagined.html   

Anyhoo, lesson learned.  This is a short trip and I just tried to cram in too many things!  Next time, I’ll give myself a couple days to recover before venturing to the outer ring arrondissements!

That's One Small Step for a Woman, ... - Wednesday, 22 September

A Paris website/FB/Insta that I follow (Secrets of Paris) reported that there was one location in town that would convert a U.S vaccination card to the French Passe Sanitaire.  It wasn’t a walkable distance, so I took a taxi to & from the Pharmacie on Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire and paid 20 euro for the “permanent” Passe Sanitaire.  I brought my passport and my physical vaccination card – it was quick & easy once I got there.  Now I don’t have to have a Q-tip stuck up my nose for an antigen test every three days at 25 euro a pop!  And I stopped at a café for a San Pellegrino “Aranciata” (like Orangina but less sweet) before heading home - they scanned my Passe and it worked.  Victory!  Phew!

Update Tuesday, 28 September:  The Passe Sanitaire for which I submitted an online request on the 2nd arrived today.  So that was 26 days rather than the 14 days they projected.  The good news is the system works.  They just need plenty of time.  With more and more people scheduling trips now it's likely to get worse.  Again, the site for requesting yours is:

https://www.demarches-simplifiees.fr/commencer/passe-sanitaire-etrangers?locale=en

Intimidating? Incapable? Incapacitated? Me??? - Sunday, 19 September

So what’s the deal?  Do I look exceptionally intimidating or incapable or incapacitated? Why do restos not ask for my Passe Sanitaire?  It happened again this afternoon.

Pizza Momo beckoned me.  They had my favorite ‘za on the menu, the Quatre Saisons (just a bit of crushed tomatoes spread on the crust, then topped with ham, mushrooms, artichokes, olives and cheese, with some capers thrown in for good measure).  

So I sat down on one of their sturdy, wide-enough-for-my-butt, cushioned chairs.  The table didn’t wobble.  The host immediately brought me little bowls containing green olives and peanuts and a menu.  I’m not a complainer when the circumstances are otherwise, but I do like my comfort!  

Lots of other good-lookin’ stuff on the menu too.  This place could become habit-forming, and it's just a few blocks from the apartment.  But why didn’t they want to see if I was Covid-safe?  The mystery deepens.

Pizza Momo, 105 rue Saint-Antoine 75004, just steps from the Saint-Paul Metro.  https://pizzamomo.fr/en

And BTW, this sweet carousel is at the Metro exit!

A Very Short Trip to Burgundy! - Saturday, 18 September

Au Bourguignon du Marais sits at 52, rue François Miron, 1/2 block from my apartment.  It always seems to be bustling, so I thought I’d try it for supper tonight.  They specialize in foodstuffs, preparations and wines from Burgundy.  There seemed to be a few open tables, but apparently they were reserved since the host pointed to the one table available and asked if it was OK.  “Oui, merci!” was my reply.

For an amuse bouche they brought some little toasted baguette slices with a dish of cool crème fraiche with dill to spread/dip.  Very refreshing, but not something I traditionally associate with Burgundy.

Mi cuit (half cooked) foie gras terrine was available as a starter, so of course I had to go for it!  Two decent slices, a nice fig/strawberry pressed conserve, a swirl of pomegranate balsamic, great crusty bread, and lightly dressed salad greens were terrific.

I kept smelling the Beef Bourguignon that adjacent tables had ordered, so I just had to try it for my main course!  It came in a cute little cocotte and tasted as good as it smelled!  The big chunks of beef were fall-apart, melt-in-your-mouth tender, just slightly more gamey than you’d get in the U.S.  There were some small potatoes, peas, carrots, and cèpes (mushrooms, like our creminis or porcinis but more dense and deeply flavored), all swimming in a very tasty beef demi-glace, but this was primarily a beef beef and more beef show.  I thought it needed a bit more zing, so I added a little of that crème fraîche sauce from the amuse bouche, and voila!, I made Stroganoff!  (OK, slightly far afield, but nice, and it saved me from taking a trip to Russia!)  If I hadn't had the foie gras first, I might have been able to eat all of the Bourguignon, but I just became too stuffed halfway through.  I should have asked for the leftovers to take home.

To go with it all, I ordered a glass of their Domaine Ragot Vieilles Vignes Givry.  It’s a nicely drinkable pinot noir - a bit of cherry, currant and dry straw on the nose and red fruits on the palate, slightly dry.

The only disappointment was that, after all my efforts in the afternoon (see my previous post), they didn’t ask to see my Passe Sanitaire! 

Passe Sanitaire (with Bonus Anxiety!) - Saturday, 18 September

For this afternoon’s excitement-tinged-with-anxiety: obtaining my Passe Sanitaire (or a temporary one anyway).

So, to get into a resto, store, theater, concert hall, movie house, sport venue, shopping center, zoo, gym, monument (like the Eiffel Tower), etc. in Paris you need to show your “Passe Sanitaire” (health pass).  It’s given to you when you’ve been vaccinated (or, to a limited degree, when you test negative for the virus).  If you’re traveling to France you can fill out an online form and upload a copy of your vaccination card, and they’ll convert the data into a Passe Sanitaire.  You can then print out your pass or download the associated QR Code to your phone to display on entry to pretty much any establishment.  https://www.demarches-simplifiees.fr/commencer/passe-sanitaire-etrangers?locale=en

Another alternative is to go to one of the testing centers they have all over the place and get an antigen test.  Results are ready in 20 minutes.  They give you a QR Code that’s good for 72 hours.  It costs 25 euro for foreigners.  How hard could that be?!?

I submitted the online form for my Passe on September 2, and they say it will take about 16 days to receive it (via email), but mine hasn’t come yet.  So far I’ve been able to get onto the terraces of cafés and restos by showing my U.S. vaccination card, but to be safe I decided to get an antigen test.

So today I trudged down to the Pharmacie du Marais a couple blocks from my apartment to get it.  No worries, right?  I just entered, told them what I wanted, showed them my passport so I didn’t have to spell out my name, and paid my 25 euro.  They gave me a receipt to take to the testing technician - just go out the door, take a right, and enter a courtyard where the technician has an office, they said.

This is where it stopped being easy peasy!  

Unfortunately, this courtyard was one of the old ones, paved with a variety of boulders, some relatively flat and some really rounded (inviting my ankle to twist), with big gaps in between (inviting me to trip).  And the technician’s office was maybe 100 feet down the courtyard.  Nothing to do but to pluck up my courage and start shambling down the courtyard, looking for the flattest stones to step on like a little old lady (c’est moi!).  A snail could have beat me.  I made it in and back out without incident (other than some slightly frayed nerves).  

Happily, there were several cafés and bars right next to the pharmacie.  And I had to wait 20 minutes for my results.  So I figured I deserved an Affligem!

With any luck, before 72 hours expire I’ll have my official long-term Passe Sanitaire.  If not, I just might have to find a different testing center!