pianomd

To my shock, when I checked in with Air France I discovered that we were ticketed not for Friday but for Thursday! What a shock. I had to scramble to pack and close up the apartment. Fortunately our reservations for dinner at the Ferrandi school of cooking were on Wednesday- as it turned out our last night in Paris. I have a few photos to share of that dinner.

Over three hours- which was way too long especially since we wanted to get home to finish be packing- we were served 5 courses. Our waiter was the nicest young man who spoke perfect English. He was in his first year training in hospitality.

Enjoy the rest of the spring and summer – with our wonderful Cape fresh air and good food. No matter where we go, it’s a win!!

We leave in a few days – the suitcases are open and I’ve already started filling. That said- we still have some nice plans in the next two days including dinner tomorrow night at the Ferrandi Paris cooking school. I’ll let you know how it was but later.

Right now there are some things I’ve left out which I want to show you and there was, of course, today’s activity.

A few weeks ago we went to Hugguette- the fish restaurant with that great Pavlova dessert. Well- dinner had a vegetable that I’d never seen. Ii looked it up and turns out it is a variety of asparagus from the woods or asperge des bois.

And just so I don’t forget — here is a version of pavlova made by a friend- a meringue is topped with whipped cream and berries.

There were a few photos I didn’t send of Calder’s works which I want to add here. His circus scenes especially which were delicate and charming and totally fun.

Today we did a wine tasting at a place I noticed while walking in our neighborhood on our last trip. I passed a door and on it was written “Secret Wine Door”. I googled it and discovered it was a wine tasting venue conducted in English. So – I made a reservation last week for 12:00 noon today.

So much has happened since I last wrote that I’m not quite sure where to start. Looking through my photos it occurred to me that I hadn’t sent any of the great desserts we’ve encountered- which we haven’t always eaten but simply admired almost like a great work of art.

We went to one of our favorite fish restaurants on Rue de Seine, Huguette, not just for the fish but for their version of a pavlova. Here it is—

The Louis Vuitton Fondation opened another wonderful exhibit in their Frank Gehry museum – this time of Calder marking the 100th anniversary of his arrival in Paris in 1926. I never appreciated the artistry of Calder as I do now after seeing how he changed and developed his art. He started with simple wire making hanging sculptures later named “mobiles” by the artist Marcel DuChamp. The exhibit traces his development from these simple sculptures to the massive works we all know so well.

Overall it is an exhibit that puts a smile on your face and makes you happy. We all left feeling a bit lighthearted and gay.

In a very different style we saw a small exhibit of the artist Juliana Wildner below.

And- A visit to a museum not too far from us- one of Paris’ many small museums – hidden gem with amazing gardens. Musee Bourdelle.

Another spectacular day both the weather and our trip to our first exhibition. The Grand Palais was build between 1897 -1900 for the what was a Worlds Fair. It is a huge structure with several areas for exhibitions of all types – huge cultural events, horse shows, skating exhibitions and of course art exhibitions. Since most of you know Matisse no explanation is necessary. I’m just going to post the photos I took without explanation except for the paragraph written on the wall at the opening of the show.

There were so many people here that it was often difficult to get a good straight shot at a work- this some are off center. Couldn’t be helped.

And a few more……

And one more….

I was surprised that his famous dancers which are both at the Barnes and at the Museum of Modern Art, Paris were not included. I guess there is only so much one can fit on a wall when you are a great.

One last comment- Matisse as you read above , reinvented himself at age 80. Now that’s impressive!

It is now 19 years we’ve been coming to Paris thanks to our good friends, Steve and Melody Karian who invited us to join them on a trip here 20 years ago. They had just purchased an apartment in Paris and thought it would be great if George and I did the same. Steve spoke French having gone to medical school here, but we didn’t have that ability and so hesitated — but not for long. Steve said it didn’t matter and as it turned out, it really didn’t though had one of us been fluent it would have made some things easier. As we soon learned, there were lots of people willing to help us get over some of the rough patches of ‘home’ ownership in Paris. Steve had introduced us to a wonderful young American woman who was living and working in Paris, finding apartments for Americans and helping them get settled here. She not only found our apartment three months after our first trip here, but helped us to move in, get settled, and even better, has been a close and dear friend ever since.

That’s how it all started. Since then we’ve been coming 2-3 times a year, staying various lengths of time– up to 2 months sometimes. As we think back we are feeling very lucky. Do I need to list the ways? Hardly — it’s all self evident. Now, we are wondering if each trip will be the last. Although we are more comfortable here in Paris than I think we’d be in Boston or New York, there are certain considerations which give us pause. All that said — I know that once we go back to the Cape and a few months pass, we’ll look at each other and say, “I miss Paris…” and start to plan the next trip.

Over the years we’ve walked every corner of this city – never takng a taxi or Uber — always on a bus or in the metro – or preferably –on foot. But, over the past two years given difficulties with mobility (to put it nicely) we only take Ubers or taxis and hardly walk anywhere. I even took a taxi coming back from Picard’s the other day. (Without shame!)

Through one contact or another, we have the good fortune to have a cadre of Parisian friends — both French and Armenian — who enrich our experience here. We socialize with them, go to dinner or lunch, and go to exhibits or sometimes to the ballet or an opera. Interestingly though, life here for everyone is getting busier and it is hard sometimes to find the time to get together. But over the course of a couple of weeks we manage, just like tonight when we have invited two couples who are neighbors to come for a glass of champagne. The appetizers are ready and the champagne, which we bought from La Grande Epicerie last week, is chilling. We had a lively evening.

Finally we are out and thoroughly enjoying this fabulous day. There is so much to write about that I don’t quite know where to start. Yesterday we went to a special mass held at Notre Dame by the Armenian Catholic Church of France to commemorate of the 111th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. It was impressive. The entire central area of the church was filled- estimating maybe 2000 Armenians were present.

After the service we walked to a garden close by and then had a bit of lunch. The area was jammed-packed with tourists. The season has started.

The weather is absolutely gorgeous – just what the song April in Paris promised – temperature in mid 60s, sunny, a light breeze- simply wonderful.

We are having guests for drinks tonight and so I headed to the market early to buy a few more nibbles to add to what I already have from Picards- the famous frozen food store found all over France.

I knew exactly what I wanted and so headed first to the bread man and then to the Italian vendor who has the best small onions marinated in balsamic vinegar and oil

I headed over to the fish vendor for a slab of smoked salmon and saw these small shell fish that I didn’t buy but might next week just to see what they are.

Yesterday we went to our local brassiere for an early dinner. The proprietor and waitress are accustomed now to seeing us early and know we have come “pour manger” (to eat) and don’t even ask any more. As you know the French don’t eat dinner until 7:30 or 8:00pm.

We arrived a week ago and it has taken all this time for us to wake up. Jet lag has been crazy. Nevertheless we’ve managed to do a few things as spring is definitely ushering in warmer days.

We’ve got a couple of art exhibitions lined up but haven’t been to any yet. The only thing we have done so far is eat!

All that requires cooking at home which is definitely against my principles in Paris but sometimes there is no choice.

This afternoon we went to a new restaurant for lunch- Le Troquet. It was excellent. George and I ordered the same things- starting with a salmon dish followed by skate. The whole wing was served perfectly cooked – probably steamed – as there was no hint of oil or butter on it. I made up for that by ordering the soufflé which was served with a side of current jam.

The weeks seem to have flown by – with only a few days left until we return. The weather has suddenly turned a crisp cold and today for the first time I wore my long winter coat which, much to my chagrin, was hard hard to button up. Bread, cheese, desserts and wine have all left their mark!

A few days ago we went to the Grand Palais exhibit of works by two artists we’d never heard of- Nikki de Saint Phalle and JeanTingeley. The Grand Palais is just that- a magnificent structure built for exhibitions in the late 1800s ( I think it was for a worlds fair). There are three major entrances to each of the exhibition areas. Unfortunately our uber driver dropped us off at the wrong entrance which meant we had a long walk to our venue. As we approached still at a distance I could see wheelchairs lined up at the entrance. What a relief! (Wheelchairs are now available at all museums. )

Included in the exhibit were some of the large moving machines Tingueley fabricated.

Our street market this week was huge and I’m told will get bigger and bigger as Christmas approaches. Below are scallops- the largest I’ve ever seen.

Paris is now lit up with even more lights for Christmas. Below is the interior of the Bon Marche department store.

Unlike other trips I’ve not had the time or quite truthfully, the energy, to do a blog. In addition, taking photos while walking with a cane is almost impossible. But- I’ve managed some and thought I’d send off a little summary of what we’ve done in these 2 1/2 weeks.

The trip started off with a terrific dinner at Locolino, an Italian restaurant in the 6th. We sat at the small counter facing the cooks so we could watch them cooking. And of course could chat with them and the wait staff.

A few nights later we celebrated George’s 94th birthday at the Opera Bastille – an all Balanchine program with a performance of the spectacular American in Paris – music by Gershwin. Here we are drinking champagne toasts before entering the hall.

We went to a couple of terrific exhibitions: a retrospective of Richter at the Frank Gehry designed museum, art deco at the Museum of Decoratif Arts and a perfume exhibit at the Palais de Tokyo. I don’t have any photos of that except to say it was the girls afternoon out and we had a blast.

Art Deco- Cartier’s jewelry was spectacular only to be outdone by replicas of the Orient Express trains.

Friends, food and lots of good cheer. We’ve had some friends visiting, we’ve visited with diners at home and out. The weather has been agreeable just getting cold now. The front of our apartment house became the background for Chanel’s fall campaign- seen below.

And not to be outdone- friends found the largest croissant I’ve ever seen.

The days continue to be sunny with a cool breezes that make being outside (or in) wonderful. Winter is definitely over. I wasn’t going to write today since yesterday we had a rare bad restaurant experience – mediocre food and awful service- at a place close by which we were hoping would become a regular haunt. But- no-it is crossed off the list, sadly. (Of course the day overall was a win-win politically speaking. I got up in the middle of the night to check the election results👏👏👏)

Thus we started out in a great mood and the day didn’t disappoint. We had tickets to the Musée du Luxembourg to see the Fernand Léger exhibit followed by lunch at Angelina’s; I just had to share the experience with you.

First, another wheelchair story. Our friends recommended I inquire about a wheelchair at the museum. I wrote an email as directed on the museum’s website making the inquiry and received a very polite email back informing me that a wheelchair was reserved as requested. I was instructed what to do upon arrival to get it. I did and the guard I approached brightened and asked me to wait while he got the wheelchair. All so easy.

There was a room dedicated to a playful aspect of his work- street scenes, circus, and music.

Art didn’t stop at the exit of the museum. Next door is a well-known cafe and lunch place- Angelina’s – most famous for their hot chocolate. You can imagine how surprised I was when the avocado toast I ordered arrived. A masterpiece in culinary art!

That’s a sliced avocado on a toast with chèvre, chopped red onion, tiny purple broccoli, radishes and hazelnuts. It was delicious.