Saturday, March 29, 2008

Today, I visited the Musee Baccarat in the 16eme arrondissement. They had a special expo on the 1920's full of perfume bottles, glasses, and vases. The creator of this museum wanted it to make you feel as though you were Alice in Wonderland and I think he accomplished his goal. You are welcomed into the building by a red carpet lined with little lights that goes all the way up the staircase. There are extravagant chandeliers everywhere, glittering away. At the base of the center staircase, is a giant chair made with fabric and pieces of crystal. I had to resist jumping up on it and sitting. I am definitely going to have to go back to their restaurant, where everything sparkles!


Can you guess where in the museum this photo was taken??

This is the restroom. I don't even know what style to call it. The sinks are very modern. You have to press on a button with your toe and the water comes out of that very long spout into a silver tray. Crazy!

On another note, I finished reading The Count of Monte Cristo earlier this month - Absolutely fantastic. It was interesting to have been reading that book and seen the movie Sweeney Todd at the same time. Two very different takes on revenge. Now, I am turning my attention to Proust and his A la Recherche du Temps Perdu. Yes, I am taking on 2,000 plus pages again. Wish me luck!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Read This

Accurate article about zee French life:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/23/weekinreview/23sciolino.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ex=1207281600

Journal Entry

Britt and Robert came for a visit the 20th to the 23rd. They had been in Ireland for a bit for Saint Patrick’s Day. They arrived in the afternoon of the 20th, totally exhausted from their St.Patty’s celebrations and dancing nights in Dublin . We went to the Crêperie de Josselin on rue du Montparnasse where we ate delicious crêpes and drank Cider, the classic accompaniment with crêpes. I recommend the flambéed Calavados crêpe with a side of whipped cream. Stuffed we went to an English pub near metro Maubert-Mutualité. We drank a few beers and played a bit of pool. Convinced that we were all miserable at pool, we ventured into the cold and went to an Irish pub on rue St. André des Arts. We sat in “bullshit corner” and talked and laughed the night away. Having missed the last metro, we decided to rent some Vélib’ and ride home even if it was drizzling and quite cold. We had a blast, riding along the empty streets of Paris in the middle of the night.

After having lunch at a little restaurant on the passage by Boulevard St. Germain, we walked across the Seine to the 72 bus that took us to Trocadero and the Tour Eiffel. A fierce, frigid wind blew at our backs as we stood under the tower waiting to climb its stairs. The sun was shining, but we were freezing! We still climbed all 668 steps to the second floor. Unfortunately, they weren’t allowing people to the top because of the high winds. Due to the high winds, though, the skies were beautiful and full of puffy white clouds. We walked back down the tower and went to a car rally that Robert spotted from the tower. There were all sorts of old cars, race cars, new cars - quite a sight to see underneath the tower. To warm up a bit, we returned to the apartment. Warmed up and rested we went to dinner at a pizza place on rue St.Honoré and then dessert at Café Ruc near the Palais Royal. Robert had a tiramisu, I had a chocolate cake, and Britt had a crème brulée. Café Ruc is a posh, young place on the big boulevard that leads to the Opéra Garnier – great people watching place. We sat outside and resisted the cold under the heat lamps. We then metro-ed over to St.Michel, got caught under the rain, and ran to Caveau des Oubliettes to listen to live music in a cave from 1421. Ears filled with music we left the club after a few hours and took a taxi home.

Once again a late start, we went to lunch at a Thai place called Les 3 Eléphants. It turned out to be quite a delicious restaurant. One tip though – ignore the elevator music. It’s dreadful. In the rain, we strolled along rue Montorgueil and stopped into the Stroher Patisserie where we met the head chef. He spoke English with a thick French accent and loved San Diego . We bought an incredible looking sampler of mini desserts and took tons of photos. The rain coming down strong and the freezing wind blowing we continued on our way, strolling through little side streets and passageways. We found ourselves a bench at the park near Les Halles and huddled together around our box of mini desserts. One by one we enjoyed each little sweet, sharing each piece and shivering with each gust. We all decided that it’s really the little things in life that make life so wonderful – and that includes mini chocolate éclairs! On our way to Notre Dame, we did a little window shopping. As we crossed the Seine , it started to rain and then the hail started. We only had one umbrella, so we 3 huddled under it against a wall till it passed. Frozen, we decided that we should have some tea. Mariages Fréres came to mind and everyone seemed delighted with the choice. We each studied the 600 teas, chose one, and some scones and proceeded to spend quite a long time enjoying our afternoon tea-time. After purchasing some tea for ourselves, we returned to the apartment to rest up. A few hours later, we were off again! We had a very late dinner around 10:30 at a restaurant near the Pantheon. Britt had a boeuf Bourgignon. Robert enjoyed a beautiful steak. I had duck. The night air was freezing cold and wet, but we still walked to the Violon Dingue, recommended by my niece. The Violon Dingue is a great pub, with a great atmosphere and a dance club underneath it! The club doesn’t even open till 1 a.m.. We danced our night away, till real early, and walked home. It’s a good 30 minute walk, but Paris is so wonderful in the night, all calm, that we didn’t seem to mind all that much.

On Easter Sunday, we took it real easy, and ate croissants and watched French tv shows instead of going to Notre Dame for Easter mass. Britt and Robert left in the afternoon, looking rested and cheery, but quite reluctant to return to real life.

I certainly enjoyed having them here and just wandering around Paris together, soaking it all in.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Chocolate Galore!

Happy Easter!