This time, however, was completely different. All I can figure is that A) I was traveling with Mike, and the stars just usually align for him; and B) the remnants of his high school French were just enough to charm people, and then to get whatever it was we were asking for. That, combined with the coincidental presence of one of our friends from Boulder and the positively relentless beauty of the city, made it downright enchanting. Cold, yes, but enchanting.
Day one: fly into Paris in the afternoon, then spend an interminable amount of time riding the train into the city. (That airport is NOT convenient, by any stretch of the imagination!) Checked into the hotel, then went to find Notre Dame. It's purty.
They happened to be installing the Christmas tree that day.
Interior.
Be still, my heart. Gargoyles!!
Those flying buttresses are insane.
Then went to Hotel Costas [disclaimer: I take no responsibility for whatever photos/video they use on their website...last time I looked it was some rather topless women...] to meet Mike's friend--also Mike--and his expat girlfriend, Carolyn, an American who's lived in Paris for 15 years, for dinner. We sat in this very cool outdoor courtyard that they cover with canvas awnings and keep pleasantly warm in the wintertime. The champagne and our dinners were not cheap, but what a neat place to grab a bite. (Mike had fancy schmancy chicken spring rolls and escargot--who knew it was so delicious??--and I had a creamy veggie curry that was delicious and actually a little spicy. Dessert was house-made vanilla bean ice cream with the most fantastic hot, liquid-chocolate-filled gateau. YUMMMMM.)
Other photos from that evening:
Faces on Pont Neuf.
View over the Seine to the Eiffel Tower.
Place Vendome, just around the corner from dinner. With Christmas lights.
Day 2: Coffee at Cafeotheque, supposedly some of the best in Paris. Then a quick jaunt over to the Eiffel Tower (but not to the top...way too cloudy!), find some lunch, find the catacombs. Which, by the way, are NOT WELL MARKED. Turns out, they're directly across the street from the Metro entrance, but we didn't know that. So we promptly spent more time than necessary trying to find the entrance. But back to lunch, briefly: we ate at Cafe du Rendez-vous, right around the corner from the catacombs. Certainly nothing fancy, but solidly good food and a really nice waitress. Plus, one thing I love about Parisian cafes: they take the sidewalk portion of the cafe and throw some giant space heaters out there, and it's actually warm enough to eat outside in the winter! And so we did. Comfortably. We split some French onion soup, whereupon I learned that this may be one of man's greatest inventions--so cheesy! so delicious!--and I discovered the delights of the Croque Madame, a fancified open-faced ham sandwich topped with heaps of cheese and a fried egg. Yesssss. And Mike, due some previous advice from his friend Steve, opted for a cheeseburger, which did turn out to be truly exceptional. (I was skeptical, but it was really good. Good pommes frites, too.) We closed out the meal by splitting an order of profiteroles, which was RIDICULOUSLY HUGE (and consisted of puff pastry sandwiched around caramel ice cream and topped with loads of whipped cream, for those of you uninitiated into the profiterole club). (Which I was, prior to this.)
Anyway. The catacombs. In a nutshell, they were created in the late 18th century when the city's massive communal burial grounds began collapsing and the decomposing bodies therein created enough aboveground stench and underground pollution to cause illness and pollute the groundwater. The catacombs were constructed within the city's old limestone quarry, several stories underground, and contain the bones of roughly 6 million people and miles of underground walkways (of which only a tiny fraction are open to the public and contain bones). What's truly unique about it is the fact that the bones are all jumbled together and are arranged in rather decorative patterns (hearts, crosses, linear patterns). One does not encounter the bones upon first entering the catacombs: you have to walk a bit first. Past a couple of small rooms dedicated to the history of the place, an underground well, and these amazing and weird little scenes carved into the quarry walls by a laborer who'd been held prisoner by the English army.
He reproduced by memory buildings on the island where he'd been held prisoner (Port Mahon).
Another carving.
And now...the ossuary.
Skulls and femurs arranged around the sign containing the name of the cemetery from which the bones were moved. There were also stone signs scattered throughout containing quotes from the Bible and classical literature.
Lots of bones. It was really dimly lit and we weren't supposed to use a flash, so we don't have that many terrific photos. Suffice it to say, a ridiculously interesting--and slightly macabre--place to visit.
Then, off to the hotel to clean up--the catacombs were fairly damp and puddle-y--and then to eat Thanksgiving dinner with a truly miscellaneous group of Parisian expats and visitors. Carolyn's friend Lila hosted the dinner and she cooked a LOT. It was a really nice evening and lovely to have some traditional Thanksgiving food, even if it was in a room full of people we didn't know. They all turned out to be really interesting and pleasant people, and I actually recognized one guy as a frequent customer from my Starbucks days. SMALL WORLD. Also, did I mention that both Carolyn and Lila live in a neighborhood from which you can see both Les Invalides and the Eiffel Tower...? It was seriously unreal.
Day 3: the Louvre! Sleep in late, eat lunch at the Brasserie du Louvre. French onion soup starter, followed by risotto with fresh peas and crawfish tails for me, and tiger prawns in curry coconut broth followed by entrecote with red wine sauce for Mike. Pricey, but tasty. We had bought museum tickets online and promptly skipped the line for the museum in its entirety (yes, there was a line at the Louvre in November: there are never not tourists in Paris). My highlights:
The pyramid. Still controversial, but iconic.
Botticelli frescoes!
The Mona Lisa. Now in a gallery that can accommodate the crowds! Yes, I could get closer, but seriously. People were ridiculous.
Far more interesting to me was this painting: Veronese's Wedding of Cana (1562-3). The Louvre's largest painting, and really incredible.
Always liked Arcimboldo, the guy who painted faces composed of fruits, veggies, and/or plants.
Michelangelo's Rebellious Slave.
Corinthian helmet.
So most of my photos of the palace which actually contains the Louvre didn't come out that well...once again, dimly lit, no flash allowed, and we had no tripod...but the building itself is pretty outlandish and fantastic. This is just a stairwell.
How amazing is this: a lowrider in the Louvre. Right under the pyramid. I do love the color...
For having spent around three hours there--Mike and I both have a tendency to get museum-ed out, after that much time--we covered a lot of ground and saw plenty of incredible art (a 1937 Buick, the Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, a Holbein or two, the entire Egyptian collection, the palace itself!). I guess there's a reason it's one of the world's foremost art collections.
Post-Louvre we went to check out the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees.
Yup, it's pretty impressive. But now they charge you just to go stand underneath it. Laaaaaaame.
Champs Elysees with Christmas lights.
Stopped for a quick aperitif at the brasserie Le President (around the corner from the Champs Elysees), then went dinner at Le Petit Pontoise, which came recommended for good and reasonably-priced food and did not disappoint. I started with the gratinated camembert, which was gigantic and came with a delicious little side salad, then had a whole bone-in fish (which Mike was kind enough to filet for me) with carrots, green beans, and pesto, and finished off with the world's fluffiest souffle (containing a splash of Grand Marnier). Mike had the pot of snails (I kid you not...this is what you call them when they've been removed from the shells!), followed by entrecote, and finally creme brulee. We washed it all down with some delicious, and surprisingly affordable, Medoc (a red wine from Bordeaux). That's one nice thing about visiting countries that produce good wines: they're WAY more affordable there than in Zürich.
Day 4: Took a quick jaunt past the Opera, then to Illy Cafe for coffee. It was quite good, and they had this ricotta-filled ravioli with fava beans and speck that I wanted to try, but we were on a mission to find crepes! After a quick trip up to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur, anyway.
The Paris Opera. Wow.
Sacre Coeur. Also wow. (Sorry...no photos inside. Believe me when I say that that dome is way up there.)
Art market at Montmartre. Some really lovely stuff and some truly awful.
And then there were crepes. There is actually a street in Montparnasse that is lined with creperies. (I imagine there's also one of those streets in heaven.) The place we were planning to go had a huge line, so we went across the street to the adorable La Creperie Bretonne. We each had a savory crepe with ham, eggs, and cheese, but Mike's also had mushrooms and mine had caramelized onions. We split a bottle of house-made cider and finished up with a chocolate-and-banana crepe (which was delicious, but not what we'd ordered: we wanted one that had apples and was on fire).
Next, back to the Eiffel Tower, to hopefully ride to the top and meet up with Mike-from-Boulder again! Except that it was a sunny day and the lines were silly long, so we skipped the tower and went to the Musee du Quai Branly. Wanted to go to the Musee d'Orsee, but it was almost closing time, so we stayed in the neighborhood, and it paid off! Quai Branly is a gorgeous modern building with incredible permanent artifact collections from Asia, Oceania, Africa, and the Americas, as well as fantastic visiting exhibits (like the one we didn't want to stand in line for: Samurai...!). Once again, 3 hours or less, but really a great museum and a pleasant surprise.
La Tour Eiffel after sunset.
Oceanian masks of some variety. I was far too overwhelmed by the immense coolness of this museum to actually note the details of where they came from, how old they are, etc., etc.
Yeah...I don't remember where these guys came from, either, but they were MASSIVE, and the one on the left reminds me of Jack from the Muppets. (I wanna go to Hollywood!)
Probably the only moa I'll ever see in real life. Sigh.
One last dinner in Paris with Mike and Carolyn at Le Vauban, which is directly in front of Les Invalides (Napoleon's tomb). Fairly dramatic scenery, if you ask me! Despite the fact that we were eating dinner no earlier than 10:00 PM, Mike and I both decided to go with the full 3-course menu. Which started with a kir royale (something bubbly with a bit of cassis, YUM!!). I had the goat cheese-and-leek quiche (ALSO YUM!), followed by three fish fillets with curry sauce and noodles (which was decent, but I should have gone with my first instinct and gotten the salmon with lentils...oh well...), and the most fantastic apple tart (not too sour! not too sweet! perfect seasoning and texture!). We've both forgotten Mike's starter, but he tried out the duck confit and finished with creme brulee. It was a bit heavy for the time of night, but a perfectly nice meal with good company and a great way to finish out our last evening in Paris.
Day 5: quick return trip to Cafeotheque for a homemade cupcake (Mike's was raspberry, mine was lemon poppyseed) and a final cappuccino, then back to Charles de Gaulle on a much less crowded express train (thank goodness). The verdict: Paris, this time, was phenomenal and fantastic experience, and I can absolutely see why everyone loves it. I will only ever go there during cold weather, as the hordes of tourists seem to be smaller then...but being so close, WE ARE GOING BACK. FOR SURE.
And on that note, this is my last post of the year: thanks for bearing with me. I'm having a good time with this, and I can only hope that you are too. Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and I'll be back in the new year.
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