Thursday, September 8, 2011

Les Halles Area

We got a late start today, so headed to the Bastille market to replenish our fruits and vegetables and then stopped for lunch.  Leon de Bruxelles is a Belgian chain restaurant specializing in mussels.  We had mussels au gratin with marinara sauce  and mussels au gratin with escargot.  The wines were Muscadet and Alsatian.


We brought our produce home, and then set out on a walking tour of the Les Halles area.  St. Eustache church is where Richelieu, Moliere, and Madame de Pompadour were baptized.  They have a Keith Haring altarpiece similar to one I saw at an Episcopalian church in San Francisco.


There is also a modern sculpture by a British artist showing the market vendors from the former Les Halles market packing up for the last time.


The market street Rue Montorgeuil still retains some of the flavor of the former market area.  Most of this area, however, has been converted to a huge mall.

The tower of Fearless John was built by a man who had murdered the king's brother and feared for his life.  He built the tower so he could sleep in a small chamber at the top while his guards slept below.


Today's cheeses:  Brie de Meaux, St. Marcellin and Epoisses

1 comment:

  1. Your mussels and frites look AMAZING!

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