Oh La La! We Are In Paris... Our Day Eight... by Montreal photographer Hera Bell and her husband Anthony

Another day, another pastry fix.  We are settling into a routine with our 2 croissants.  With it, Hera had the cream brioche, while I tried their equivalent of an apple turnover.  Of course it was delicious.

Today we were off to the Champs Elysees.  If there ever was an iconic grand boulevard, the Champs Elysees is it.

 

We decided to start off at the Arc de Triomphe.  Larger than any Roman triumphal arch it is a grand structure with several boulevards radiating outwards, which gives the impression of a star.  The climb up, almost 300 steps, is well worth the view.  You get an impressive view of the Champ Elysees, lined up with the Obelisk of Place de la Concorde (where the guillotine once stood), the Tuileries Gardens and then the Louvre.  

 

 

Looking the other way along the same axis is the large rectangular Grande Arche de la Defense amid the skyscrapers.  In a sense, history is played out along this axis.  The ancien regime of the Louvre decapitated by the revolution (place de la Concorde), the growth and exuberance of the French Empire (Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe) and continuing to the future with La Defense (business).  Or politically, Monarchy superseded by democracy that is now being superseded by high finance.  

Back on street level, we started to walk the Champs Elysees.  Not a shopper myself, one still cannot help but be impressed.  The stores are magnificent. and the crowds of people add a vibrant energy.  We took our time and wandered in and out of many establishments, including quick peeks into two wonderfully elegant cafes,  Fouquet's  and Laduree.  Perhaps we will drop by again for a dessert one day.

 

 

The shopping ends at Round Point, which then leads to a set of gardens laid out centuries ago by Maria de Medici with the Grand and Petit Palaces within it.  Continuing onward is the Place de la Concorde, with the 3000 year old Egyptian obelisk.  It is sobering to imagine this area packed with eager onlookers watching so many lose their heads here.

 

Crossing over, we enter the lovely Tuileries Gardens.   We found a couple of chairs and rested like so many others at the large round pool.  We chatted and people watched, then got up and continued on our way.

 

 

Soon we were facing the pyramids in the inner courtyard of the Louvre.  We made our way out of a side entrance, and wandered along a few streets until we settled on a place to relax and enjoy a nice cold beer.  Yes, we ought to drink wine in France, but on a nice long hot day, a cold refreshing beer is just perfect.

 

 

Rehydrated, we continued our walk.  We had planned on trying a restaurant near our apartment, but  Carpe Diem Cafe  caught our fancy and we decided to give it a try.

 

 

 

We shared a Salmon Tartare, that was excellent.  Hera again had her steak tartare, while I tried their Duck Magret.  This time, my duck magret was wonderful.  The black cherry sauce was delicate and slightly sweet, and I could taste the perfectly cooked duck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had originally planned on having dessert, but we were quite full by the end of our meal.  A delightful find.

Soon we were back on rue St. Denis, the southern end this time.  A lively street full of people and various restaurants.  But one can only eat so much.  So we enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the neighborhood as we got closer to home.

Oh La La! We Are In Paris... Our Day Seven... by Montreal photographer Hera Bell and her husband Anthony

 

 

We started our day by going over to our adopted neighborhood bakery.  We ordered two croissants, two pain-au-chocolat, and “deux comme ca.”  I forget their names and that is how Hera ordered them, which caused a little chuckle from the sales girl.   

 

 

 

 

The “deux comme ca” we had were about a half inch in diameter, and an inch high.  It looked syrupy and sweet.  To our surprise, they were not overly sweet, and quite chewy with a hint of cinnamon.

 

With our pastry fix done, we headed off to Montmartre.  Montmartre used to be a separate city walled off from Paris.  It was a mining town where gypsum was mined (plaster of Paris fame) with an ancient vineyard.  Wine was taxed in Paris at the time, and thus the wall, with taxes collected for anything that crossed into Paris.  When the wall did come down, the first boulevard was created.  The word boulevard is French derived from the Dutch word bolwark meaning bastion.

 

 

 

Climbing up the stairs gives great views of the skyscape of Paris behind us, while Sacre Coeur looms high above.  Sacre Coeur is a relatively new church, built  just over a century ago.   It was built as an act of penance for the presumed sins that they must have committed.  How else could they explain how the glorious French Empire ushered in by Napoleon be so humiliated just over a generation later by the Prussians.  To this day, there is always at least one person praying day and night, 365 days a year asking for forgiveness.

 

The Church itself is lovely and worth a visit.  While classic, the interiour is not overly garnished, giving a clean and welcoming feeling.  This coming Sunday a relic of St. John Paul II will be brought here.

 

 

 

 

 

Right next to the Sacre Coeur is the much older Church of St. Pierre de Montmartre.  It is actually one of the oldest in Paris.  The Church was founded by King Louis VI and his wife Adelaide.  Her tombstone can be found on the left side wall inside the church.  Adelaide also went on to found the sprawling abbey of Benedictine monks and nuns.  She also planted the nearby vineyard which now hold some of the oldest vines.  The Abbey and vineyard was the original claim to fame for Montmartre.

 

 

 

 

The story goes that a bishop, soon to be St. Denis, was going to be executed by the Romans for preaching Christianity.  On the way up the hill, the soldiers got tired, and decided to chop off his head early.  St. Dennis picked up his head and carried on up the hill where he finally died.

 

 

Montmartre, or Mont of Martyrs is really Mont of Mars from Roman times.  Within the Church of St. Pierre de Montmartre you can see four of the original columns from the Temple of Mars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

While both churches are worth a visit, the real beauty of Montmartre is the winding little streets of this town.  Do take your time to walk up and down a few streets, giving lovely views one after the other.  

 

 

This is where Edith Piaf was discovered, where Renoir painted Bal de Moulin de la Galette   (visit the link and you will recognize the painting).  Picasso and van Gogh were here, and of course Toulouse-Lautrec was just down the block, along with a host of others.

 

 

 

 

Not too far is the Lapin Agile Cabaret, where they would all congregate, drink, listens to poetry and discuss whatever struck their fancy.  One night, they tied a paint brush on a donkey’s tail, and called the painting Sunset Over The Adriatic   (Again follow our link to view the painting.)  

 

 

 

 

 

They entered it as an abstract painting at the Salon.  Of course the academics who were still red faced for missing the boat with “Impressionism,” gave the donkey’s painting critical acclaim and it sold for a good amount.  I wonder how they felt when the finally did meet the artist.

 

 

The French word “bistro” was coined here too.  Apparently when Russian soldiers were here, they rushed the waiters shouting out “bystro” which means quickly.

 

 



 

 

For those who enjoyed the film “Amelie,” she worked at the Cafe des Deux Moulins as you walk down the street towards the world famous, Le Moulin Rouge.  (I would suggest watching both the film “Amelie” as well as Nicole Kidman’s “Le Moulin Rouge” as they will give you two different, but satisfying impressions of the neighborhood.)

 

 

 

 

Walking along Boulevard de Clichy to the Pigalle is a bit seedy, but worth the stroll to get a different feel.  It has been cleaned up a bit, but not sanitized as New York’s Times Square.  We walked a bit past the Pigalle, and headed down the colorful market street of rue des Martyrs.
 

 

 

 

I had thought we would stop somewhere here to eat, but while the shops were a delight, there were not many places to eat.  So we ended up eating at a Restaurant on the corner with Boulevard Haussmann.  Hera again had a delicious steak tartare while I had the Magret de Canard (Duck breast) served with a pepper sauce which was good but I felt overpowered the duck.

 

 

 

Boulevard Haussmann is a lovely place to stroll, although the name keeps changing every few blocks.  One delightful discovery this time was the glass covered passageway Jouffroy to the north, and the passageway Panorama to the South.  Exploring the passageways and its shops, we retraced our steps back onto the Boulevard and continued East towards home.

 

 

We took St. Denis south, and while a bit seedy at first, with older working girls manning the corners.  A bit further down the ways, and the street starts to get more gentrified, but remnants of its past can be seen in some of the boutiques that still exist.

 

 

Soon the Pompidou could be seen, meaning we were getting close to home.   

 

 



Oh La La! We Are In Paris... Our Day Six... by Montreal photographer Hera Bell and her husband Anthony

Today is a Holiday in France, Ascension day (May 29), so we too took it a bit slower as well.

We slept in, and then made our way to what we will adopt as our neighborhood bakery.  We each had a wonderfully flakey and buttery croissant, and shared a pain-au-chocolat for a friend back home.  It is hard to beat a properly made croissant that was recently baked.  No topping necessary, just pure enjoyment.  The pain-au-chocolat was equally flakey, with just enough chocolate but not overly sweet.  Of the two, I think I prefer the croissant.

 

We walked our neighborhood around the Pompidou Centre, and then headed towards the Seine where we were going to catch our # 69 bus, but this time in the opposite direction.

 

It was a longer wait than usual, perhaps because today was a National Holiday, but the bus finally came, and we took our seats.  We enjoyed the views as we travelled east, around the Bastille, our old neighborhood from our last trip, and continued onward.

Today we were going to visit Pere Lachaise cemetery.  We finally saw it, and quickly hopped off the buss.  Only to realize that we got off too soon.  Ideally, you should take the # 69 bus to the end, and get in by the other gate.  So we walked more or less uphill through the center of the cemetery until we got to the other entrance.

 

There are maps posted in the cemetery, and there are shops that will sell more detailed maps.  We used Rick Steves’ guidebook to Paris, and followed his path for the cemetery which was more than adequate.

 

 

 

From Jim Morrison (the most visited grave site) to Chopin (another heavily visited site) with other luminaries along the way like Oscar Wild.  The oldest inhabitants, Abelard & Heloise   rest there as well.  Do yourself a favor, and do a follow the link we give for “Abelard and Heloise.”  Living almost a thousand years ago, their love, love letters, and inspirational lives affected most Europeans for centuries.  A pity that today’s curriculum spends so little time on good history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taking the # 69 back home, we got off a few stops early.  As we walked, we wandered into a few stores, and by chance came across what was Hera’s favorite bakery on our last trip.  We bought a pain-au-chocolat to compare with the one we had this morning, along with a torsade de chocolat, 2 macarons and a baguette to go with our supper.

 

They were all delicious, but I think our neighborhood bakery is still better.  Perhaps we need to go back to Pain au Sucre and try their croissants and pain-au-chocolat?

For not having a sweet tooth, I have had more sweets in the past few days than in the past year.  But it is heavenly!