Today was a day for walking and exploring though not new places. Part of the fun of being in Paris is that there is always something new to discover even in the most familiar places. It makes walking around adventuresome, even through the streets and around the sites we know well. Just like the day about a year ago when we stumbled over the magnificent statue of Komidas, the revered Armenian composer buried here in Paris. The statue is close to the Seine on the Right Bank, on Avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt . It is close to where we wait for our bus, the #28 when we come out of an exhibition at the Grand Palais or the Petit Palais. How could we not have seen this?

On that day of the discovery, we were walking in a slightly different path, coming up from the river after having finished a tour boat trip along the Seine with our Aunt Hassie. George starting walking toward the the statue when he saw it, thinking “this statue has an Armenian style….” and sure enough, it was. So, we never hesitate to revisit an area we think we know.

After lunch at home, we took the metro, made a few changes and arrived at the stop ‘Madeleine’. Here in this large square, the church, Eglise Ste-Marie-Madeleine – in the style of Roman temple according to the guide books dominates. All around the square are elegant shops and all along the streets approaching and leaving the square. Baccarat, Fauchon, Ralph Lauren, Hédiard, and Caviar Kaspia, just to name a few.

It was a sunny 60 F. plus some-degree day, in February. We started walking around he square noting Baccarat’s window which is always done with exquisite taste, and then stopped to read the menu at the wine bar, L’Ecluse. People filled the outdoor area, finishing up what looked like delicious lunches. We’ll have to try it some day!

Hédiard’s is a favorite food shop we like to poke into to look around – one of the best purveyors of food and drink in Paris, and the only place we can find Crème de Pêche de Vigne de Bourgogne (the best pêche liquor) except in Bourgogne itself. Added to white wine (a “kir”) or champagne (“kir royale”) it makes a wonderful aperitif. The store is a food-lover’s paradise their displays tantalizing to the eye and stomach! And with Valentine’s Day approaching, the displays were even more beautiful with candies, fruits, and wines decorated with hearts. In the center of the store there is a large machine for processing coffee beans to guarantee freshness. (Hopefully you can make it out in the photos below). We bought two bottles of the liquor, and headed out before we gave into the temptation to buy anything else.

We decided to walk home window shopping all the way. First, we headed down rue Royal, passing Dior, Chanel, Gucci and then Maxim’s, the famous Paris restaurant of yore, just before entering the Place de la Concorde. We crossed, passed the ferrous wheel just at this end of the Jardin de Tuillaries, and crossed the bridge over the Seine to the Left Bank.

There were tourists everywhere – busloads, and on foot, taking photos, sitting around, buying cotton candy, riding the great wheel, and riding the tour boats of the Seine. What a day!

On the Left Bank, we were in area of the General Assembly, rue de L’ Université, where Julia Child’s lived while in Paris. We looked for her apartment, but couldn’t find it. (George thought it was #71, but it is #81 – and now I realize that we walked right by it.)

We continued walking, looking for shade as much as possible, up rue de Bourgogne where several art galleries we had visited before were sadly now closed – as if for good. We passed our favorite lunch spot, a second floor restaurant aptly called, L’Assemblée. If you don’t know it is there, you’d never find it.
The husband and wife team of own the restaurant, M. and Mme Viala, run the Tabac on the ground floor, along with a bistro in addition to the restaurant.

We’ve never had a bad meal here and usually get there once on every trip, but haven’t this time. Last time, the friendly, chubby, elderly woman who greets always greets the patrons, seats them and takes orders all while chatting away in a most pleasant way, slipped and fell. There was a call for a doctor, and so I took a look. Her wrist seemed to be badly sprained, but not broken (but it is hard to tell – I gave what I hope turned out to be appropriate instructions.)

Rue de Bourgogne leads to Varenne and to the Musée Rodin, and from there we continued to head southwest, past Les Invalides (Napoleon’s Tomb) and home.

We were exhausted, not by the length of the walk, but by the heat of the day. It is easier to walk in cold weather than in warm weather – we discovered that today.

Komidas Statue, Yerevan Park, Paris

La Madeleine

Baccarat and Fauchon above, and two photos of Hediard including their coffee processing machine. Me — Another chocolate specialty shop with a beautiful Valentine’s Day windowMaxim’s Restaurant — never been there either! and, the busy Place de la Concorde below.Crossing the Seine…. at the end of this shot you can see Notre-Dame.