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!

 

 

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

Tomorrow is Ascension Day, a national holiday in France.  So we made sure we did some grocery shopping picking up essentials like more wine and cheese.  We also picked up some other food as well.

We tried out the other neighborhood bakery,  Topaze , that was closed yesterday.  We had a heavenly croissant, along with a delicious cream brioche.  Their chocolate brioche was good, and their savory blue cheese bun also very good.  

 

We then tried their macarons.  Perhaps these were the best I have had thus far.  You could taste the butter, and were more chewy than yesterdays, but not as heavy in butter and mouth feel as the Pain de Sucre.  
 

Today we were off towards the Eiffel Tower.  While most of all the tourist sites are within walking distance, some distances are large.  And why get tired at the start.  So we decided to use the transit system to get there.

I mentioned the options on transit fare in my previous post.  One also has options in the two major types of transit.  Above ground bus or Metro (subway).  In Montreal we use the term Metro as well, and I was never sure where the term came from.  If I am not mistaken, it is the shortened version for “Metropolitan” that we see on signs for some of their Metro stations.

If you are in a rush or need to get somewhere quick, the Metro is probably your best option.  But if you have some time, the above ground bus is great as you get a visual tour of Paris as you ride.

Bus # 69 which we took is particularly pretty as it rides along the Louvre, enters the Louvre through an extremely narrow archway with views of the interior gardens and pyramids, then rides along the left bank to the Orsay Museum.  It doubles back in, and then towards the Rodin Museum, goes past Les Invalides and then the Ecole Militaire and ends on the Champs de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower.

We will probably take an equally scenic route one day going the other day as we plan on using Bus # 69 to go to Pere Lachaise Cemetery.

I am sure many other routes will be quite scenic as well.  So if you are not in a rush, and do not want to walk, why not use the bus?  

Unfortunately there is a tennis tournament going on, so there are tennis courts and a huge TV screen on the Champs de Mars grounds.  As an added distraction, there is construction work on the Eiffel tower as well, but it is still grand and spectacular.

We walked slowly along the Champs de Mars, watching the Eiffel tower loom ever closer, until we were finally underneath it.  Considered an eyesore when it was built, what other image conjures Paris better than the Eiffel tower?

 

Crossing the Seine, we walked into the Trocadero Gardens.  The fountains and Palais de Chaillot add a completely different perspective to the tower.  Tour buses seem to drop tourists off at either end.  I think the best way to appreciate the Eiffel Tower is to take one’s time and stroll about, preferably more than once.

Having our fill of the tower, we doubled back through Trocadero Gardens, under the Tower, and along the Champs de Mars.

 

Just a few blocks is rue Cler, our next destination.  Paris should be thought of as a group of villages that became neighborhoods that coalesced into a city.  Rue Cler typifies this neighborhood.  Still Parisienne to some extent, it is lined with bustling food stores that locals still visit almost daily for food.  Parisians have small fridges, and equally small kitchens, so they tend to shop almost daily.  This also ensures their food is fresh and delicious.  They do eat and dine well.

A little chalkboard summed it up well.  “A meal without wine is breakfast.  Breakfast without champagne is not breakfast.”

 

We decided to stop at  Cafe Du Marche .  Hera ordered the steak tartare while I had the duck confit.  Both were excellent.  To accompany it, we ordered a half bottle of the house wine which was superb.  By the way, a cheeseburger goes for the same price, so please do opt for the local fare.

Our dinner over, we took our time to savour our wine as we watched people on the street.

Leaving Cafe du Marche, we looked over at the offering at a Bakery across the street, but seeing macarons in a bakery window further down the street, we had to enter.  At  Francois Pralus , we bought two macarons, a cassis and chocolate noir.  They were good.  The butter taste was there, and there was enough chewiness, but I think this morning’s were a bit better.

Most days, we probably would have continued walking.  But we have had some long days, and I had awoken to a sore throat and some aches, so we decided to head back home.

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

We intended to try out another nearby bakery for their take on macarons.  Around the corner and perhaps and a block away, we found it, but alas it is closed on Tuesdays.  We’ll give it a try another day.

Since we arrived, for some reason Hera’s cell and tablet would not connect in our apartment.  She had no problem with her cell in various cafes and bistros that all offer free Wi-Fi (pronounced “wee-fee” in France).  This had perturbed the friendly and very helpful Landlady,  and since she could not resolve it, she said she would call in a technician today for us.  So we did not venture too far.

 

A bit hungry, Hera felt like having a Falafel at what is reputedly the best falafel joint in Paris called  L'As du Fallafel .  We had been here in our last visit and the there is always a line up, reminiscent of Schwartz's in Montreal.   Today we were lucky, only a few people ahead of us.  The place is hustling and bustling, but the staff are friendly and courteous.

 

 

 

 

 

 



The Falafel was excellent.  Is it the best I ever had?  We Montrealers are indeed spoiled.  This is the oldest falafel place in Paris opening in 1979, and it has only been in the past 15 years or so have so many falafel and shawarma joints opened up in Paris.  So much so that we almost did not recognize the old Paris on our last visit in 2005.

 

Well fed, we walked the streets of the Marais, and were soon at Place des Vosges.  On our second day, we had been here and sampled a piece of a macaron that a salesgirl was offering.  So we decided to head over to Cafe Pouchkine.

 

 

While definitely French, it seems that macarons have become so popular everywhere.  Weddings are using the tasty treats as decorative items, and shops everywhere here are now selling them.
 

We decided on three different ones, and headed over to a park bench in Place des Vosges to sample our treats.  Once again, they were delicious.  I prefer these, which seemed lighter and not as sweet.  But I can see that at connoisseur might disagree.  The other was very buttery and filling, probably how an excellent macaron should be.  But our North American palate does have a preference for lighter fare.

 

 

On our way again we continued walking eastward and arrived at our once familiar landmark, Place de la Bastille.  In 2005 our apartment was just a block away.  We spied a Brasserie that we had adopted back then as a watering hole, the streets where we did our groceries, when soon our telephone rang.  The Landlady’s technician might be early, so we headed back home.

 

While we did get Hera’s cell and tablet to finally connect, it is still puzzling why there was the problem in the first place.  

 

 

Heading back out, we walked along some of the grand boulevards in the general direction of the Opera House.  Paris has many quiet park areas, that is sorely missed in Montreal.  Seeing the entrance to the Palace Royal grounds, I sat at a fountain while Hera scampered about taking photos.

 

 

 

 

After a short break we were back on our way.  Many streets have very obvious names.  We turned left onto Avenue de l’Opera, and of course up in the distance we could see the gorgeous Opera House looming in the distance like a jewel.

 

 

 

It was late, and it was closed, but we will most likely return to enter it again as it is a gorgeous building.

 

 

But not to be disappointed, Les Galeries Lafayette is just around the corner and it was open.  Even if you do not want to buy a designer item, even I feel it is worth a visit.  Walk towards the center and the ceiling opens up to a huge spectacular cupola.  

 

We ended up doing a bit of shopping in the area, and then started to head back home.  We started on our way, then decided to take the Metro instead.

I have mentioned this in previous trips, it is always essential to learn and feel comfortable with the local transit system.  A tourist in Paris has two major choices.  Simply buy a carnet of 10 tickets, or buy a weekly pass.  You can take photos conveniently for your passes at many Metro stations, and we actually brought our own photos from home.  But in the end we decided not to buy a weekly pass, and simply use a ticket when needed.

Hopping onto the metro, a quick transfer to a second line, and soon we exited just half a block away from our apartment.  We were home.  Time to relax with some wine and food.