Saturday, May 12
Aimez-vous les tartes? A cette question, personne jamais ne m'a repondu negativement. So begins Meg's new tart book, purchased today at Dehillerin along with all necessary tarte tins. Soon lucky friends can rejoice at dinner chez Meg and Jason to dine on tartes of all types, sucree and salee. Building on her past success at the famous Marion's Pie Shop on the Cape, I predict there will be minimal time necessary for recipe translation from the French and a bit of practice before Meg can be pestered for invitations. Just tell her, pour les bonheur des votres, faites des tartes! Again it was a beautiful sunny day looking down the street from the apartment toward the market at Place Maubert with Meg and Jason waiting impatiently for me to catch up and get started on our tarte trip.
posted by Judy at 12:32 PM|link
Friday, May 11
Today was a day for strolling and for simply being outside. At last, the Paris weather has turned into the spring that I'd been imagining since the start of my visit. And it was glorious everywhere. After taking the RER up to Pont D'Alma, I meandered back along the Seine, past the woods-like gardens tucked unexpectedly up next to the Grand Palais, eventually crossing the always busy Place de la Concorde. After admiring the Roue de Paris, the huge ferris wheel set up right there at the start of the Tuileries, I made up my mind to come back when I had someone to ride with me. Sticking to the shady side of the gardens, I stopped numerous times to admire the plantings and sculptures, as you see in the photo, and to shake the pebbles out of my new, and by this time very dusty, sandals. From the Louvre I continued along the quai, stopping only to purchase a small purple flowering plant. From there it was a fairly straight walk back home to see if Meg and Jason had returned from Antwerp.
posted by Judy at 1:42 PM|link
Thursday, May 10
On a warm day like today, one of the favorite things to do is hang out the window and watch the scene below. This woman has a prime spot, right on the corner of rue de Seine and rue de Buci, which was absolutely buzzing when I passed by around quarter of seven. Today was also an errand day but of a more personal nature. I explored a new neighborhood along the rue d'Alesia and my quest for some great French shoes was satisified with the purchase of not one, but two, wonderful pairs. And one pair was even a bargain.
posted by Judy at 4:12 PM|link
Wednesday, May 9
Today was a day for a little house cleaning and for doing some errands. The crucial errand was to find a replacement for the plastic cutting board which I unfortunately left on top of the hot plate while one of the burners was on. And not just for a moment or two but for quite some time, so that there was a nice little half-round melted out of the cutting board and onto the hotplate. At first I thought I was going to have to replace the hotplate as well but fortunately the plastic scraped off leaving only a trace of the accident and a bit of a funny smell. Monsieur Delauney will not be fooled however, because the only replacement I could find is bright orange instead of white like the original cutting board. But it does brighten up the kitchen. Since I was not out and about by any other interesting buildings to photograph, I took a picture of the door to my apartment, always a happy site after a long day of walking.
posted by Judy at 2:27 PM|link
Tuesday, May 8
From the front of the Pantheon you can see right across the top of the Luxembourg Gardens all the way to the Eiffel Tower and you can see that finally the weather has relented and provided some blue sky and sun. Unfortunately Jason and Meg left midday for Antwerp, a city known as the Seattle of Europe in regard to its weather, so I'm really hoping that today was the harbinger of Spring finally coming to Paris and it will continue when they return. I walked up and around the streets between the Pantheon and Luxembourg Gardens before finally joining tout Paris sitting and sunning everywhere. What's the story anyway, is everyone on sabbatical? There wasn't an empty chair to be had, but not all the grass was off-limits so that's where I ended up. And tonight it was back to eating in, after many wonderful meals while I had people around with whom to share restaurant visits. Just as well though for both budget and belly. Even just buying food and cooking up something like an asparagus omelet, ends up tasting much better here anyway.
posted by Judy at 3:25 PM|link
Monday, May 7
I'm afraid I'm falling a bit behind with my posts due to spending more evenings out with my latest companions. So this is back to Saturday night and the wonderful meal Meg and Jason had at Maison Blanche on Avenue de Montaigne. Recommended by Uncle Jay, the restaurant, and the evening, were a great success. The meal began with an amuse de bouche, a small but very good cup of vichyssoise. Appetizers followed, consisting of salade de haricot vert avec oeuf, where a soft boiled egg with its top trimmed off, was centered over the green beans, and an asparagus extravaganza with the bottom layer containing chopped up oysters and asparagus in a sauce, topped with smoked salmon and then surrounded by more asparagus. Meg's main course was fillet de turbot en sauce de beurre topped with whole baby artichokes, roasted red peppers and a sardine, along with a fritter which also had roasted red peppers and a sardine inside it. Meg pronounced it excellent but for the sardine, especially the one hidden inside the fritter. Jason's entree was une piece de boeuf <> with some sort of delicate green, perhaps parsley sauce not normally served with beef but even better because of the unusual association. Along with the beef were mashed potatoes exceptionelle, really potato flavored, capturing the essence of potatoes so often lost in mashed potatoes found elsewhere. The wine, a fruity Bourgogne Catherine, though a bit lacking in maturity, made a splash on everything it touched, which was quite a lot since Meg unfortunately tipped over a full glass before taking even the first taste. Not to worry though, the waiter was there immediately with napkins to hide the stain on the tablecloth and to whisk away the asparagus with huitres and replace it with a brand new one. Meg's dessert finale was tarte fine des pommes avec glace des ananas et ananas chip, rated tres magnifique with the puff pastry light and airy as puff pastry should be. Jason's biscuit chaud de chocolate was trop grand and a bit overwhelming but superbe nevertheless. Their early arrival, actually during the waiters' pep talk, momentarily disrupted the ambiance of the restaurant but it was restored as the evening continued. The service was especially accomodating when the wine was spilled and the French was flubbed, with the view of the golden dome of Les Invalides and, around the corner, the sparkling Eiffel Tower overshadowing any sense of discomfort. All in all, a special Paris treat. (Note - this post contains actual quotes from the meal participants.)
posted by Judy at 1:34 PM|link
Sunday, May 6
What amazes me is how, even on the grayest day, stained glass windows can still bring so much light into a church. It's not for nothing that inside, people are sitting and kneeling in reflection, pausing for a few moments of contemplation during their day. We spent time here at St. Gervais, on our afternoon walk behind Notre Dame, across the Ile St-Louis and over into the Marais. Splitting up later in the day I walked on to the Bastille to meet Gilles, Joseph and Jody for dinner at Chez Paul, while Meg and Jason headed back to the apartment to get dressed for their dinner at Maison Blanche.
posted by Judy at 1:58 PM|link