Paris, France, April 28 and 29

Sunday, April 28

Today we did the Big L.  The Louvre. We were glad once again to have the Museum Pass, as we did not have to wait in that long line, and got right in.  Though we decided to focus on French art, we were waylaid by the Greek sculpture gallery, where we had an almost private viewing of Venus de Milo.  An hour later, it would have been a mob, as it was later in the day when we passed the Winged Victory.  The crowd around the Mona Lisa was remarkable; our getting up early paid off.

We enjoyed seeing what Joan called memories of Art History 101:  Corot, Watteau, Fragonard, David, Ingres, and the Dutch and Italian masters, Michelangelo, Hals, Vermeer, Leonardo and Rembrandt.  The Louvre can cause visual overload; we timed out around 1 pm.  Neither of us lost our wallets to pickpockets – there were plenty of signs warning us, and apparently it is a growing problem in Paris, even merchants, in giving us our change warned us to be careful.

Now about lunch. We were not too far from Au Pied du Cochon, a well-known restaurant near Les Halles we had passed the other day and the menu checked out well. The place looked “fancy tourist”  but we were the only non-French within view or hearing.  We shared a starter of salmon and sardine rillettes with toast. 

The plat du jour was a trout – very nicely prepared, and we also had a fancy variant of their classic pied du cochon, sans bone, like rillettes encased in pate then coated and fried.  The tiny, tiny mushrooms and asparagus in the sauce were delicious too!  We passed on dessert, for we had visions of a particular pastry shop spinning in our heads for later.

Having rested, the dogs were no longer barking, and our stomachs no longer rumbling, we set off for the Conciergie, one of France’s early palaces that became better known during the revolution as a prison. Marie Antoinette was its most famous guest and we saw a recreation of her cell, as well as the guillotine blade that made her a foot shorter. 

Next stop Sainte-Chapelle.  We will be going to an evening concert here on the first of May, but wanted to see it in full sun.  Sainte-Chapelle is all about stained glass, an architectural marvel for its time, because the delicate Gothic masonry structure made way for a burst of stained glass..  1,113 scenes depicted on 15 tall slender panels to be exact.  The stained glass is undergoing a multi-year restoration program, and the before and after comparison is stunning.  We saw a video showing the restoration and conservation process that was excellent.    From there we strolled past the Marche aux Fleurs on Ile de la Cite, which, because it was Sunday, included birds.  Charming doves cooing, canaries chirping and chickens cock-a doodle do-ing!

We strolled along the streets back to the Pompidou Center to see the Stravinsky Fountain close up.

Then we stumbled upon the lovely Tour Saint-Jacques.  That's what we love about travel-the unexpected finds. 

Our mid-sections were now issuing reports of neglect, and our next order of business was to head once again to rue Montorgueil, famous for its fine food shops.  We had a quick drink at one of the cafes, then returned to Stohrer pastry shop to lay in some pates for our supper and croissants for tomorrow’s breakfast.  We hit it off with our clerk, who really warmed up when he learned we spoke French, and gave a nice price on one item and threw in some other treats – it was the end of the day, and we were glad to assist in cleaning up some of his left-overs.  We may become regulars here – oh my, but what a way to end our day. 

Monday, April 29

A sunny day!  Because many museums are closed on Monday and Tuesday, and our Museum passes expire at the end of Tuesday, we strategized to figure out how to best use our remaining two days.  Because Versailles is closed on Monday, we have planned to "save the best for last" and visit it tomorrow.  That left today for our final Paris visits.  Of course the Arch de Triomphe was a "don't miss", as was L'Orangerie, and we thought we'd also visit the Louvre's museum of decorative arts.  A busy day in store, we got up early as usual and were at the Museum of Decorative Arts a few minutes after nine am, only to be told that it is closed on Monday.  Drat, we should have paid more attention.  Oh well, a sunny morning, early, and the Jardin des Tuileries right there, so a stroll was in order.  Beautiful flowers, fountains and views. 

The 17th Century geometry of the garden is a delight, as are the water basins, and dramatic horseshoe-shaped ramps. 

After strolling through the garden, we found ourselves at L'Orangerie, where we flashed our Museum passes for the first (and only, it was to be) time of the day, to enjoy both Monet's Water Lilies, eight huge canvasses he painted particularly for the location, and the less-well-known but equally enjoyable Walter-Guillaume collection of Renoirs, Picassos, Soutines and other modern masters.

From there, we walked along the Seine, enjoying the view of the houseboats, the Pont Alexandre III and the Eiffel Tower in the background.  We thought we might visit the Petit Palais, but alas it is closed Mondays too.  Thank heavens we have many more days of our visit remaining, as there's so much we want to see and do (and eat!)  Dane got this great detail shot of the Grand Palais:

We strolled along the posh Avenue Montaigne, wondering who the gaggle of young women were waiting to see outside the Plaza Athenee Hotel. 

We didn't wait around to find out, but instead found the shop Fouquet, where we admired the caramels and chocolates.

The sun went behind a cloud, so we stopped for a coffee at Bar des Theatres, right around the corner from the Theatre de Champs-Elysees.  Then it was on to the majestic Boulevard itself. 

It wasn't too far a stroll before we came to the famous Laduree, a Belle Epoque tea salon that has been serving the best macarons in Paris since 1872. 

Well, we didn't start with the macarons, though we did end up with them!  First it was ris de veau or sweetbreads, with celeriac puree and braised celery for Joan and poached salmon with seaweed pasta and garnish for Dane. 

Then came the macaroons-Joan chose salted caramel (which turned out to be her favorite), orange flower water, rose petal and lemon flavors. Dane had a mango crème tart with fresh raspberries on top. The macarons are delicious, but probably worth their weight in gold! Two regular bites or six little nibbles to make them last longer.  Found a great blog with a recipe for the macarons, so am looking forward to trying it when we get home:  http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/2012/02/macarons-framboise-ladurees-recipe.html
Update:  Made them.  Delish.  Hard!  Have to find the proper almond flour next time, and good food coloring to get the brilliant pink.  But totally worth the work. 

And of course a pot of Laduree tea in a flavor he remembers from a visit 20 years ago: Jardin Blu Royal.  Check out the paper cozy to insulate the hot teapot handle!

Then we had to walk it off, of course, so headed to the Arch de Triomphe.  Traffic on the Champs Elysees was terrible, and we discovered why as we got closer to the Arch-the Etoile roundabout the Arch was completely closed to pedestrians (us!) and cars.

Apparently there had been a bomb threat and after everyone had been evacuated, while we had been sipping our tea at Laduree, sniffer dogs were brought in to search the area.  We decided not to linger to see if the area would open up so we could visit the Arch, but we did get a once-in-a-lifetime picture of the Arch without people or cars!

With no more plans for the afternoon, we turned back down the Champs Elysees, but the hordes of pedestrians made us decide to go over to the Rue du Faubourg St. Honore, where we walked all the way back to Chatelet, our Metro stop home.  It took a couple of hours, mostly because of the many windows we "shopped" and stores we visited.  Not having yet been in a church today, Joan spotted La Madeleine (it's hard to miss with 52 Corinthian capped columns) so we went in for a quick look-see.  Very dark, but with a spectacular sculpture behind the altar. 

Then we discovered the all around Place de la Madeline is a gourmand's delight, as it is lined with epicieres,  specialty food shops, featuring Maile for mustard, La Maison de la Truffe for truffles, Kaspia for caviar, and Faucon and Hediard, where the fruits were beautifully displayed, for everything! 

A couple of croissants from Faucon await us for tomorrow's breakfast!

The Metro entrance at Palais Royal