Rites of Spring and the Broken Dishwasher
It broke cold today, the kind of cold that turns your bones to into weathervanes and ears into china cup handles. Gayle kept bemoaning not wearing her “cuddle duds”. But we were on a mission to locate and report on our Associate Pastor’s hotel room and neighborhood, take a book guided walk in the Latin Quarter, and locate the best baguette in Paris. Ralph’s hotel is 50 feet from the starting point of our walk into the past and thus is abundant with charm and history.
After we noted the area, read about the ups and downs of the Seine we came to a little park that was loaded with people. A closer inspection found it full of adults and living paper flowers and trees. Some quick French identified the event as a kindergarten school outing where the kids dress up as spring and bring little helium balloons with their name and information about them to be returned by a lucky recipient when the balloons are freed. Our pictures captured these tender moments, harried teachers, lovingly frigid parents, and tiny dynamos of flower power. When you think about it these were not French families, just families full of love and hopefully a quick thaw!
We continued our walk which eventually lead us to the queue for the bakery. I must have made a terrible error in judgment by photographing the bakery. I got a waving finger and “non photo” from a lady bread clerk. Doesn’t she know that I am a blog journalist?
We went home to defrost and consume our bread and prepare some ravioli we bought from an Italian street vendor. We topped our meal with a splash of Bordeaux and we feasted like Mimi and Rodolfo in La Boheme.
After lunch we went to the Saturday outside art market. Gayle got into a lively discussion with a French artist who turned out to be Italian. I’m not sure about what all was said, but who cares as my ravioli’s were still emitting waves of pleasant warmth.
Our walk brought us by several more churches, the Hotel Sully courtyard, and what trip could be ended without another “puggy” (doggy that is) in the window.
When we finally returned to our retreat I warned Gayle that the dishwasher was broken. She handed me a green scrubby and a drying towel and said, “Voila it’s fixed!” This is very fast action for a French repairperson!
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Candid Moment
Fashion Crisis
In a book we read prior to coming to Paris, we learned the importance Parisian’s place on looking good. I suppose that is true of all top tiered cities such as New York or London. To avoid any such faux pa, I signed us up for a free fashion show at Galleries Lawfayette. When the lights dimmed and the first series of models arrived I learned, “Gayle doesn’t wear anything like that and if she did I couldn’t afford the tab.” You see, prior to the show while walking through this grand store I examined the price of a hideous woman’s night-shirt, square cotton with a handful of unremarkable flowers on it. It had Penny’s outlet written all over it. Price, over $50. No wonder nearly half of all the people on the streets wear jeans and a form of tennis type shoe.
Alas, I settled with giving the models our business card and telling them in broken French that if they ever come to Sequim that I would set them up with my designer line of enamel jewelry.
Our pictures do some justice in revealing the grandeur of this euro recovery machine, Galleries Layfette.
Creature Comforts
When we left the Les Halles metro we walked into a mall maze complete with comfort food and even more important, a free toilet. Let’s hear it for MacDonalds! (it’s counter is shown in one of our pictures). Later we dropped by a French version of the Nature Store and found some adorable mouton back rubs.
Finally we rested our tired dogs during a mass for John Paul II at St. Eustache Church. We were hoping to hear the famous organ and we certainly did. Here are a few details of the organ itself:
The new organ has five manual divisions of 61 notes and a Pedal of 32 notes. The Specification is exceptionally rich. The Positif has 18 stops, the Grand-Orgue 16 stops, the Récit Expressif 17 stops, the Grand-Choeur 19 stops, the Solo 11 stops and the Pedal 20 stops, altogether 101 stops, 147 ranks and 8,000 pipes. (That was for you, Dave B.)
When the organist pulled out all the stops, the walls as well as our bodies shook. The last number filled us with awe and wonder! I haven’t felt like that since we stood at a corner in San Francisco and a booming, slow moving, Chevy turned the corner. Boom, Boom, Boom!
Footnote: On our return trip via the metro subway, a French woman tapped me on the rim of my floppy blue rain hat and told Gayle she has one just like it and she approved of my choice! Fashion crisis averted thanks to moi!
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Lost and Found
Lost and Found
Bill Bryson in his fun-tastic novel “A Walk In The Woods” really awakens the lost and found in all travels of adventure. Today we struck out to master the largest park in Paris, the Bois de Boulogne. Armed with my trusty compass, and with help of passing sojourners , we were able to walk in endless circles (never finding the Bagatelle Gardens with their spring display of Tulips!) until our bladders beckoned us to find a toilet and do what we do best, find something to eat!
Voila, we found a scrumptious market street, Rue Poncelet, where the best coffee and cheese shops are according to Patricia Wells(“Food Lovers Guide to Paris”). Note the pictures of Gayle really conversing with the coffee lady. As we arrived, Gayle looked in her book and I could see the lady sigh, “another food quest tourist.” A few French words and coffee loving gestures later and, we were old friends (Imaginez donc!). Gayle also thought the wine steward was helpful and very good looking!
Our ears became like nuzzling puppies during our evening concert as we drank in the sights and sounds of an evening concert in St Chapelle. We sat next to a mother/daughter team from San Diego. At one point the mother whispered to me, “is this summer, winter, or what season of Vivaldi?” In shock I whispered, “it’s Mozart!”. No more hanging out with Californians until Provence.
Cold Impressions (Next Day)
Between cold showers we hung out at the Tulleries, where we fell into perfectly contoured seats and watched fellow sojourners find their way… or not. Sometimes it’s so cold your ears seem to lose all form and just become splashes of light. Ask Van Gogh, he really got that ear thing down.
We then entered the sanctuary of light and expressions of color: the Orsay museum. For Gayle and I this is a special place. The architecture, Rodin Sculptures, and the daring artists who said, “enough of this rehashing of the classical and romantic painting. Out of the studios and into the light!” For those of us from Sequim it’s “away from the TV and into the sunshine and attack those weeds”!
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Where’s the Beef?
If you’re one of our friends, you’re old enough to remember that fast food commercial from the 80’s (or was it the 70’s?) where the little old lady is complaining about not being able to find the meat in her hamburger. Well, today we definitely found some! As we were exploring the Marais District after finishing off our lunchtime falafel sandwiches, we passed a Charcuterie that was receiving a shipment of beef (see pictures). It was definitely a site you wouldn’t see very often in the U.S., if at all! By the way, the Falafel’s are to die for. We all queue up like the soup Nazi in that famous Seinfield episode.
The Beef isn’t the only unusual thing we encountered on our adventures…let’s see:
There’s the tiniest spiral staircase in the world at the Falafel Shop where we bought lunch. We squeezed our bodies up it to use the “toilette” and then weren’t sure our big feet would allow us to come back down!
As we walked along the St. Martin Canal we noticed a pigeon (they’re everywhere in Paris) disappear into a hole in the wall… then a small flock came to entertain us further.
Walls That Strut—what can I say when a picture is worth a thousand words? Definitely the most unusual building we’ve seen so far. It’s Michelangelo meets Frank Lloyd Wright!
My favorite song as a young child was: “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?” (the one with the waggily tail…) And there he was, in the window of the glass blower’s gallery below the promenade de plantee! (what would a day in Paris be without a few great dog sightings?) Beneath the promenade was nearly 2 miles of artist shops, painters, sculptures and more exotic art restores, fine ceramic painters to name a few.
Tomorrow we have decided to visit the best of French Cuisine Stores as named in a book. We are striving for The best coffee, The best cheeses, The Best bread ala Poline Bread and more. Then we are going to a Mozart concert at St Chapelle where the king use to worship. He even had a little view slot cut into the wall so he could attend church in his PJ’s. Below is a grouping of themed pictures from our daily travels:
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Day of the Dead
It was a grim and dark day-- one at home to roguish hounds that haunt the dingy streets of outer Paris. The kind of day that always requires a double look, caution driven tension felt by every fiber, every hair on your body.
Did I get your attention? We decided on this overcast and typical Northwest overcast type of day to visit the famous cemetery in Paris, home of such big names as Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, Chopin, Rossini, and Jim Morrison. One of the pictures included via the link below includes a tombstone being swallowed up by a tree. This reinforces the saying that “there is no rest for the wicked.”
After some drizzle we took off for the covered passages of Paris (Verdeau). We found several lovely shops and a gloriously lit passageway that drops sunbeams among footsteps.
Later after some detective work, we located the rental agency that Kimball and Marilyn are using. They showed us the little car that they have reserved for them. Gayle sets it of nicely (see picture on link)? Just joking, these are called Smart cars and can be seen locally.
Finally, we took a walk up the Montergueil market street. What a lively place to visit. The young man operating the Olive store was a pleasure to shop with and indulged Gayle as she tried out her very best Francais. Naturally the highlight to any Selby experience is buying food or foodstuffs. I hear Gayle calling with tasty treats, so I need to eat along! Ciao!
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The Selbys go to Market (and other misadventures)
Our apartment just happens to be a few blocks from the largest Open Aire Market in Paris... and they aren't kidding! We slept in this Sunday after staying out until 11:30 p.m. last night! (those who know Bob well, will be amazed!) I think I just might get him on the Parisian schedule, yet! Anyway we were out late because we decided we wanted to get a nutella crepe on the Rue Cler (all the way across town)and while we were there, we just HAD to walk over to la tour Eiffel! Just as we arrived beneath it, the glittery lights started up! It was "magnifique"!
Now, more about market day.... We arrived at the market only to discover that neither of us brought any money!!!! So, I volunteered to run back to the Apt. while Bob took pictures! (adventure #1) The market is incredible: there is a bit of almost any kind of food you can imagine, as well as household goods, toys, clothing, etc. Just as we entered, there was a man demonstrating some sort of "vegematic" (kind of like watching QVC, only in French). I can tell you that Bob wasn't as impressed as I with the HUGE pot of Paella at one of the booths. We stocked up on salad ingredients, olives, babaganoush, and were "chastised" by the man who sold us 6 clementines (I think he wanted us to buy more!).. C'est la vie!
On our way back to the apt., we stopped by our favorite boulangerie to buy a traditional baguette. Bob suggested I take a "short cut" (adventure #2) back to the apt.... well, if I didn't know he loved me so, I would have thought he was trying to get rid of me! I did exactly as he said and I became totally LOST! (without a map, without any euros, but only with my wits and meager French!) I ended up walking about a mile out of the way, but managed to find the larger street that our apt. is near, before I resorted to my French! To his credit, he went out looking for me and was gone when I returned! From now on, I don't take off without a map!
After market, we decided to go to the Tuilleries, our favorite park near the Louvre. Well, 1/2 of Paris was there as well and there was not a bench or chair to be found! We walked through and enjoyed the blooming tulips, people promenading through, and the children sailing their boats in the pond. Then we went over to the Palais Royal (another park mentioned in "Almost French"). THere were a FEW seats left and so many cute children playing their games (see pictures).
From there we made our way to the American Church for a classical concert. The chamber group played pieces by Vivaldi, Bach, and Mendolhsonn and it was soooo beautiful! The musicians appeared to be no older than 30 and sooo talented! The ovation went on so long, that they were pressed to play an encore, for which I don't think they were prepared (not sure since all was communicated in French-- at the AMERICAN church, no less). It was a wonderful conclusion to another perfect day.
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