Le Louvre Encore

 Bon jour, mes amies,

I had a much better experience.  I got there early, and there was already a longish line, which grew exponentially behind me.  But once they open the Louvre folks are efficient at getting visitors in.  I got to see most of what I wanted, and I didn't need to be in a hurry because the stage of the Giro starts later today.

I had determined that I was going to hit the highlights, and years of teaching Art History have given me the knowledge and eye to pick out the best.  There are a LOT of art works of all kinds in the Louvre, so one needs to direct one's attention wisely.  This meant climbing a lot of stairs.

I went to look at the the Venus de Milo.  I don't like the way she's exhibited.  When I first saw her she was at ground level, and I found the statue to be strikingly beautiful.  I'd seen photos, of course, but seeing her in person like that made me realize why she is so famous.  Now she's up on a pedestal, and I don't think the viewing angle is as effective.

Then off to the paintings.  The galleries were crowded, but they are also spacious, so it wasn't so bad.  Of course, everyone (but me) wants to see Mona, and I guess you have to at least once because it is a truly great painting  I tell people that they really need to see works of art in person because the photos do not convey the subtleties and power of the works, but I make an exception for the Mona Lisa.  The painting is small, you can't get close to it, and you're better off studying a high quality plate.  Also in the main gallery you can find Leonardos you can actually get a good look at like Virgin of the Rocks, St. John, the Virgin and St. Anne, and La Belle Ferronniere.

I'm not going to make a list of all the goodies I got to see, but I was satisfied and not too worn out and even had the gumption to visit the small Asian collection.

I came home via the fancy bakery on Rue St. Honore.  I wish to be a good and proper guest in whatever country I have the privilege to visit.  Here I am in Paris, and it's just plain rude not to eat pastry.  Now one good effect of the Pandemic is that it kept me away from sugar, and in previous visits I would have already been knee deep in macarons and chocolate.  It seems like there's a patisserie on every corner, so there's lots of temptation, but I managed to resist.  But I got a tartlette citron to have for desert because it's the polite and respectful thing to do.

I mean to have said tartlette for desert, but let's have a bite, so you can envy my tastebuds.  Mmmmmm.  There's a thin, sweet, buttery crust, and then the lemon custard filling so rich and creamy.

In other news, I was lucky to get foie gras when I did.  France has been swept by an epidemic of bird flu, which has killed a lot of geese and ducks.  I imagine the shortages will soon become evident.  Michelin starred restaurants are already responding to the crisis.  Only in France, I suppose.

Musee Eugene Delacroix

 Bon jour, mes amies,

I'm back early for two reasons. One, I thought I deserved an easy day, and two, I wanted to be back for the bike race because Il Giro d'Italia starts today--in Hungary even though it's the Tour of Italy, but they'll end up in Italy next week.  I have not been able to watch this race for years, so I'm excited.  I am a major cycling fan and know the terms in five languages.  If I seem distracted while composing the blog you'll know why.

I mostly like Eugene Delacroix's work, and I thought that a visit to his old house would be easy and fun, and it's on the museum card.  I consulted google maps and worked out a route.  Being me, I missed my turn and took the long way around.  Also being me and a woman of my age, I sometimes develop an urgent need for facilities.  In the United States finding them is easy, but this is Paris.  I ended up going into a nice looking hotel and asking humbly, and I was directed very kindly to what I needed.  Parisians can be very gracious.

The Musee Eugene Delacroix is not very imposing.  It sits in a corner of  pleasant quiet square, and the artist lived and worked there for many years.  After his death, his friends had to move fast to keep the house from being torn down.  The museum is not very large because he lived in a smallish house with a garden.  One enters into a courtyard and then into the house.  The visit starts up stairs and from there one goes outside to his small studio and then the lovely garden full of roses, which was designed and planted by Delacroix himself.

His grand works are in other places.  I'll be seeing some tomorrow at the Louvre if all works out.  What is mostly on display are works he did for fun or to develop some techniques.  He was a tremendously skilled artist, so even his scribblings have a life and power to them.  I would not mind having any of them on my wall at home.  He was also fascinated or even obsessed with tigers and other big cats.

Evidently they want to encourage visitors, so even if you don't have a museum pass, your admission to the Louvre also includes this museum.

I got back in plenty of time to drink water, make some green tea (research suggests it bolsters the immune system, and I'll take all the help I can get), and take my shoes and contact lenses off.  For apero I have a hard cooked egg and some olives to go with my kir royale.  I'll have tuna for dinner.

Ok. Citadines needed to test their alarm system.  When I looked outside, a very nice young man reassured me everything was ok.

The Latin Quarter and Luxembourg Gardens

 Bon jour, mes amies,

It's starting to cloud over, and now that I'm back home getting ready for apero, I'd love it if it would rain.  But the forecast says there's only a miniscule chance.

I'm getting used to the cool mornings. This May so far has not been very warm, but I guess the walking does me good.  I set out for the Pantheon, and I got there with no problem, it being a fairly straight shot across the river--although I did have to climb a hill.  And the Pantheon is impossible to miss.  It's huge!

First some history because it's my blog, and you know you are going to get some.  The Patron Saint of Paris is St. Genevieve, a visionary teenager who is credited with saving Paris from the plague and Attilla the Hun with her prayers.  A church/monastery dedicated to her was built on this site and massively rebuilt in the Eighteenth Century.  But during the French Revolution like many other churches, the building was secularized, renamed the Pantheon, and repurposed to be a memorial to distinguished or heroic Frenchman (and later French Women as well).  The building is in the monumental Neo Classical style and is more or less a cruciform centrally planned  interior with a huge dome capping the whole business.

Now what I remembered and wanted to see were the frescoed panels by Pierre Puvis de Chavanne with scenes from the life of St. Genevieve.  I'd forgotten how big and glittering the place was.  There are a lot of patriotic paintings and sculptures.  There are also some (in my opinion bizzare) art installations.  I mean who needs raggedy clothes or a bunch of rusted out bicycles?

Downstairs is the crypt reserved for the most distinguished of corpses.  Being buried in the Pantheon is a Very Big Deal and a very rare honor.  For example, we find Voltaire, Victor Hugo, and Emile Zola.  Louis Braille is nearby.  If you had a geiger counter you could find the radio active bodies of Marie and Pierre Curie.  I don't want to forget the American Josephine Baker.  She wasn't just an entertainer.  The French revere her as a heroine of the resistance to German Occupation.  Up stairs Foucault's Pendulum hangs from the dome.  You can also find it at Arts and Metiers.

Leaving the Pantheon I set out down Rue Cujas and eventually made my way to the Luxembourg Gardens. This is a lovely green space in which to stroll around, or sit and contemplate life, or picnic.  The park originated as a pleasure palace and grounds created by the Queen and Regent Marie de Medici. At the southern end sits the beautiful building used by the Senate of the French Republic, and the Medici Fountain, a pond where you could rent a toy sail boat and play with it.  I did not do this.  Instead I walked for a while under the chestnut trees, and then I could hear the cheese calling me, so I headed for home.

Apero is more of that lovely cheese I got yesterday along with some olives and rose wine.  The cheese stinks up my fridge, but oh does it taste good!  By the way, never eat cold cheese.  I take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature.  It's worth the wait. If the truth were told, I come to France to eat high quality saturated fat.  I tell myself that all the walking makes up for it.

A demain

Musee de Rodin

 Bon jour, mes amies,

You can see by the title of this post that I made it. It took some doing, but it was worth it and a very satisfying day out.

This time I was prepared.  I used google maps to work out a route from Place de Concorde.  As I surmised it was a reasonable walk.  The snag was that the street that google maps wanted me to take once I'd crossed the river seemingly didn't exist.  Instead I fetched up at the Esplanade des Invalides and found a sign directing me to the Musee Rodin.  I found it with no problem and got in right away using my museum pass.

To my delight the museum had been refurbished and the gardens expanded.  Mes amies, it's worth it to come for the garden alone, but you will also find examples of the artist's wonderful works.  He's one of my favorites.  You can find The Thinker among the roses, and further along is the monumental figure of Balzac (google him!).  I had a lovely wander in this green and flowery site with its meandering paths punctuated by works of art. In Art History Rodin is classified as a Post Impressionist, but he was classically trained, and one can see the traces of classicism in some of his works.  He began with conventional works, but he soon threw that off, and his art became much more powerful and expressive.  There's a great exhibit inside as well.  I did the gardens first, but it's your choice.  I especially like Walking Man (yeah, google it) and the Kiss.

Then I had to make my way back to the Place de Concorde.  I came upon my bank's international partner and obtained some cash.  I got on the metro and came back, but I had developed a yen for fromage, so instead of coming straight home I attended Rue Montorgueil and found a fromagerie that had exactly what I wanted.  A tasting will follow.

But first.  Is Paris water magic?  I wear my mask every day for hours on end, and yet I do not have the maskne I had at home.  Speaking of masks.  They are required on public transit, and people wear them.  I cannot promise that everyone wears the mask correctly.  I see nostrils.  I do not like this.  And moreover, do you know what the predominant litter is in Paris these days?  It used to be cigarette butts, but the city mounted a campaign against this.  Now in these days of Covid 19 what you will find on the streets are discarded masks.  They are everywhere!

Stop messing around, Pil, and get to the cheese.

I got some more Valencay because I like it so much, and goat cheese is easier on my aging digestive system.  It really has a distinctive flavor I cannot describe.  You'll need to come and taste it for yourselves.  The other cheese I got was some raw milk (lait cru) Livarot.  Raw milk cheese that has not been aged for sixty days is illegal in the United States.  The stuff I got is AOP, and we are in stinky territory.  This is a cows milk cheese from Normandy, and it's soooooo goooood.

A demain

When Both Plans A and B Come to Naught

 Bon jour, mes amies,

Do you like reading about how I deal with the frustrations of foreign travel?  You have certainly come to the right place with this blog.  I have a new museum pass.  I had plans.  Ha ha ha ha ha.  Of course, I should have taken my map.  That would have helped.

I wanted to visit Musee Rodin, and it was a bit far to walk, so I decided to take the metro.  I'd have to change to another line, but no big deal--until we got to the stop before mine and were asked to leave the train.  There are repairs going on and the line past that point is shut down.

Fine, I thought, climbing to the street, I'm out here already, I'll just walk the rest of the way.  I walked across the Place de Concorde and found a bridge and guessed.  Wrongly.  After a while I realized this, but no problem, because the Musee de Eugene Delacroix was up ahead.  I remembered seeing signs on my way to the d'Orsay.  And it was a pleasant day and few people were smoking on the streets.  Things were fine.  I saw the sign and turned up Rue Bonaparte and walked a long way.  I passed a lot of interesting art galleries, the kind that sell art, so that was fun to look at.At length there was another sign, but I could not find the street named in it.  Well, phooey.

To console myself I walked back a bit to visit St. Germain des Pres because I just love Romanesque churches, and this is the only one in Paris.  The rest are Gothic or Baroque--or in the case of Sacre Coeur--eclectic.   Even St. Germain is not pure Romanesque.  There are many Gothic.  It's a beautiful church gorgeously decorated with frescos, paintings, and statuary.  All the visitors remained silent as requested, so it was a peaceful and beautiful place to spend some time.

I actually could have metroed back from St. Germain, but I'm walking myself into fitness and it was a nice day, so I proceeded down Blvd. St Germain with a few short detours looking mostly at food shops.  I was tempted but did not buy having treats at home.   Like the rest of the foie gras.  The French eat it as an appetizer, but I'm guessing not very often.  It is an indulgence.  And pain Polaine goes with everything.  A simple, but perfect apero. Dinner was a Breton galette with ham and cheese.

You don't need to feel sorry for me.  I got to walk around Paris and the city itself is a sight and experience.

A demain.

A Wander Around the Ile de la Cite and the Left Bank

 Bon jour, mes amies,

I'm refreshing myself with some green tea.  There's no bike race today, but there's a Big One coming up next Friday.

I didn't go to any museums today, but I did do something slightly underhanded in regard to my next visit to the Louvre.  My old museum pass ran out, and I now have a new one, but this morning before I went out to purchase the new pass, I reserved a time at the Louvre.  I'm getting in Saturday morning at opening, and I'm hoping for a better experience.

My morning routine includes an earlier breakfast than the French would consider proper.  I scope out museum openings, use google maps, check the weather, do my dishes and straighten up the place.  I went to the grocery store where once again I triumphed over the automatic check out machine.  Who says you can't teach an old Pil new tricks?  I will discuss a purchase below

Then I made my way down to the Hotel de Ville and the tourist office. Having made my purchase I crossed the Seine, first stopping to note that the H de V will be hosting a food festival at some point soon.  Hmm.  Admission is free, but I'm sure one has to pay for any food and drink.

I wanted to have a closer look at Notre Dame.  Of course, one cannot get close to the site--it's too dangerous, but one can see quite a bit of the work, and the City of Paris has provided a very informative exhibition on the kind and extent of the damage, what they were able to salvage, and the details of the restoration work.  It is truly on a massive scale.  The original construction of these gothic cathedrals appears something like a miracle to begin with.  Now with modern technology and materials, it is still amazing work.  Giant cranes loom over the site.  The flying buttresses have been reenforced with wooden frames.  I saw a guy climbing around on the side of the building.  He looked like a human fly, but I had no idea what he was doing.

There was some kind of Fete de Police going on, so some of the streets were blocked off, but I still strolled Boulevard St. Michel, which is terribly touristy, and just walked around at random seeing some sights and enjoying the pleasant day.  But after a while I get citied out, so I turned for home although I took a round about way.  I was stopped and asked for directions.  The young man was very polite and spoke English, so I could help him.  He was looking for the Pantheon and going the wrong direction.

I bought some more eggs, and they are sitting out on my counter European fashion.  I used to look for eggs in refrigerated sections, but now I know better.  European eggs don't get washed and they can stand to sit out for a bit.  I do put them in the fridge when I hard cook them.

I am having an especially luxurious apero this afternoon, but if foie gras offends you, skip to the next paragraph,  This isn't even pate.  I got a slice of foie gras de canard entier--in other words an unprocessed slice of the duck liver, which is the gold standard of foie gras.  I happen to prefer duck liver, but a real connoisseur goes for goose.  It was a bit expensive--nearly six euro for a small slice, but I wanted to try it.  One serves the stuff lightly chilled on (in my case) a slice of pain Polaine and some cremant.  You'll want a wine with some acidity that can cut through the fatty taste of the liver.  This is very good indeed.  It has a rich, rather nutty flavor.  I cut the already small slice in half, so I'm indulging but not to excess.

For dinner I am having another galette. This time it's with goat cheese and bacon bits, and it's good, but I liked the other one better.

A demain

A Trip on the Metro

 Bon jour mes amis,

Happy May Day!

Please join me for un petite dejeuner.  Now usually I eat a fairly healthful breakfast of pain Polaine and hummus.  But it's Sunday morning and this time I'm going more French, except I have my breakfast far earlier than they do.  I've thawed my croissant and have butter and jam to go with it, and a hard boiled egg to provide some protein.  The croissant smells wonderful--right out of the oven fresh, and it's so flakey and good.  Even in the best bakeries they offer croissants and other flakey pastries made with (gasp) margarine.  You can specify croissant de beurre or look for straight croissants.  That's right the actual crescent shaped ones are non traditional, and are, in my opinion, to be avoided.  This is one major reason why I come to France in general and Paris in particular.  It may seem like overkill to spread butter on a croissant made with butter, but the butter comes from Pascal Beillevaire,  It's the demi sel raw milk butter, and it is divine!  A thin spread of strawberry preserve sends breakfast into the Empyrean. 

It's later, and I'm coming to you from downstairs as my room is not yet ready, but I hope it will be soon because the bike race is early today, and it's the last stage of the race.  I nipped up to check, and when I saw my unmade bed, I grabbed my laptop and came back down.

I had determined to take the metro . . . somewhere, and I figured it couldn't be too bad on Sunday morning.  I chose to go to the Chateau de Vincennes, which was a straight shot on line 1.  The first trick was actually getting to the metro.  Les Halles was locked up tight, but there is an elevator in front of my place, so I took it down.  Underneath the Les Halles area is a gigantic transport hub, and it used to be an underground city with market stalls, but may be the Pandemic cleaned these out?  I feel very sorry for anyone trying to make a transfer from the RER to the Metro at Chatelet-Les Halles.  It's like being in an airport--moving sidewalks and all.  But I found line 1 and got my ticket and got on the train.  A new feature is glass walls separating the voyager from the tracks.  When the train arrives the gates open and one can enter the train.  Line 1 is pretty spiffy.  The cars were clean and the upholstery bright and in good condition.  On some lines the trains are sad looking rattletraps.

Unfortunately the beggars were out in force.  I see a lot of homeless men in my neighborhood, but they just lie around and don't beg.  France, like the rest of the EU has strong social support, and no one ever needs to beg to be homeless, but if they entered the social services, they would have to dry out so . . .

I emerged with the Chateau right in front of me.  Funny.  It was time for the place to be open, but I saw no signs of life.  I finally attracted someones attention and was told rather rudely the Chateau was closed.  Ok, but maybe mention that on the website so we tourists would not make futile trips.  But I was there, and the day was nice, so I decided to walk around.  I circumnavigated the Chateau.  Vincennes is on the edge of Paris and is famous for its parkland.  I got a nice walk in the woods.  The trees are in full leaf, and there were wild flowers and chirping insects and birds.  No traffic noise.  No one smoking.  I did meet Parisians jogging or walking their dogs.  All that green did me good.

Then the metro trip home.  I had to hunt around for a working exit from Les Halles, but I got lucky.  When I emerged I found a street market in full cry.  It was mostly food.  There were a couple of cheese places, fish mongers and butchers offering an astonishing variety of goods.  There were also some Asian food stands, and I confess I was tempted, but right now I have plenty at home.  But I think I need to wait a bit more until I can get back there.

You may wonder why I just don't go to a cafe for a cup of tea or something.  Well, I used to only I would stop for ice cream.  With the Pandemic still on, I don't care to eat or drink in public.  It's helpful renting an apartment for that reason, and I also save money on food and drink.

And I did get back inside in good time for apero and the bike race.

A demain