Nous Sommes Ici!

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And so we are well installed in our Marais apartment which we’ve found to be even more charming than in its website photos (if that is possible). Our welcome was made even warmer on the cool and drizzly Paris morning we arrived when we found that our host Hans had provided us with a most generous care package of fruit, milk, juice, brioche and jams, cheese and wine, Nespresso coffee maker plus capsules and all capped off with a miniature Eiffel Tower. The apartment absolutely ticks all the boxes – light and airy, on a quiet street, with a boulangerie a few doors down, and across from that a café (Les Temps du Cerise) with a zinc topped bar, the Seine at one end of the street, and the Rue San Antoine (with fruit shops, traiteurs, bottle shops, boulangeries, supermarkets and other smart shops ) at the other, and all of this within a stone’s throw (fortunately not in the May 1968 sense) of the Place de la Bastille. There is a danger that one could very comfortably spend a long time here without ever really needing to go more than a few hundred metres from the front door; fortunately we have not been seduced into that trap.

Our initial few days (in the spirit of the flâneur) have been spent wandering locally to get reacquainted with the immediate area (the Marais and Bastille), and to explore some nearby areas that we glanced over last time (Haut Marais and Charonne). Predictably we have been found haunting the markets, although there is a practical element here of needing to buy some provisions to ensure that we don’t starve (yes, right, good luck with even attempting to starve in this town!). Within 15 minutes’ walk we have Bastille (local), d’Aligre (Charonne) and Enfants Rouge (Haut Marais) markets, each with their own particular character, both in the market and in their surrounding neighbourhoods. Since our previous visit in 2005 things certainly seem to have picked up in all three of these areas despite the GFC. Smart boutiques and cafes abound in the Marais (even more than before) and some very chi-chi restaurants and bars seem to be popping up in the 11^th arrondissement. Taking advantage of the proximity of these markets we have been knocking up some fine feeds at our apartment, embracing the “farm to table” concept (with a bit of “nose to tail” eating thrown in for good measure). Sunday’s dinner, courtesy of the Bastille market, was salmon with wild asparagus, sautéed potatoes and a mixed leaf salad, accompanied by a 1^st cru Alsace pinot gris and candlelight (bien sûr). Total cost of ingredients 35 euro; the experience – priceless.

To put the record straight, it hasn’t all been about food. We have taken in a couple of local museums that we didn’t visit last time –the Carnavalet Paris history museum (a funky cabinet of curiosities indeed), and the Cognacq-Jay, the private art collection of the founder of the Samaritaine department store - and ventured further afield, although still on foot, to explore the left bank, and of course pausing for Dianne to have one of her “Yes, I’m really in Paris” moments to view Notre Dame from the Seine. Our left bank visits have given us an opportunity to swing by the Jardin du Luxembourg to catch some pretty intense action on the boule pitches there (gallic posturing as an art form during these matches), visit the Le Bon Marche store and its Grand Epicerie annexe, “stumble” upon (by chance or design??) the patisserie shop of japanese born Sadaharu Aoki, visit the Cluny museum of the middle ages (fabulous collection of high art religious artefacts), and maintain our strength with a delicious and pocket friendly prix-fixe lunch at Guy Savoy’s Les Bouquinistes restaurant.

So as we edge towards the end of our first week in Paris, we are left to ponder the true meaning of the concept store, of which there are many especially in the Haut Marais (it’s enough to want you to cry for Merci), marvel at the French capacity for protein driven meals (how do they survive it??), continue our quest to find the best patisserie (more on this later), and maintain our embrace of the flâneur spirit.

A tout-a-l’huere nos amis

Peter & Dianne O’C

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Photos

Nous Sommes Ici!
.. where ever we go, there we are

Bienvenue a Paris
arrival care package compliments of our generous host Hans.

La Vue de La Rue
.... a Chez Nous

Boules in the Jardin du Luxembourg
.... it's more than a game.

En Repose
Dianne takes in some sun and flowers in the Jardin du Luxembourg

Le Repas est Servi
... from Bastille Marche to our dining table.

Dianne knows she is in Paris when
.... Notre Dame and river barge from the Pont de Sully

Comments

[GemB]

Vive la patisserie!
Hey P&D Oh to be a Flâneur in the city of love! (Insert sigh, swoon, wistful glance here). I can only imagine what a genuine Parisian croissant tastes like, what a delight! My folks are over in gay Paris right now too (their first O/S trip!), so if you see them say "bonjour". In fact, their neighbour is convinced they'll come home pregnant, so can you just check that they're 'being careful' for me? I don't think I could handle being a middle child at this point in my life...