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Bad-Mouthing Paris: Eight Things I Don't Like

2011-10-31T02:39:00.000-04:00

For the last two months you’ve heard me go on (and on) about how beautiful and interesting and quirky Paris is. Do I think I’ve died and gone to heaven? Well, no. There are at least eight things I don’t like about Paris, and that’s what this entry is about.

1) Paris is expensive. It’s a challenge to spend less than 30 euros for lunch for two people, and 30 euros equals about $42. We limited our restaurant meals to one per day, usually lunch. We ate cereal and yogurt at our apartment for breakfast and usually had bread, cheese, and fruit in the evenings. Sometimes we bought a rotisserie chicken and vegetables at a market and had that instead of a restaurant lunch.

Having said that, it’s very easy and reasonable to buy delicious bread in Paris. And, if you don’t mind being without a car, transportation is reasonably priced. Health care costs are also reasonable. Our French teacher cut her finger while in the U.S., and had to have a few stitches. She went to a clinic in Germany to have the stitches removed, and they charged her 16 euros (about $23). Unfortunately, they overlooked one stitch, and it began to get infected. When she returned to Paris, her mother’s doctor made a house call to remove the offending stitch, and charged her only 33 euros (about $47). And these are the charges for a non-resident. I’ve known people in the United States who removed their own stitches because they couldn’t afford to go to a doctor.

2) Cobblestones Sure they’re beautiful and atmospheric, but they’re also a twisted ankle waiting to happen. Cobblestones are treacherous for anyone on horseback, on a bicycle, or wearing fashionable shoes. Plus they’re painful to walk on. After a short period of time walking on cobblestones, your feet hurt and your legs and hips ache.

Hey, Paris, have you ever considered asphalt? I know it’s not beautiful, in fact, it’s downright ugly, but it’s safe and it’s forgiving to walk on. Sometimes aesthetics are out-weighed by safety and comfort.

3) Pigeons To re-punctuate Gertrude Stein, “Pigeons on the grass - Alas.” Alas, indeed! There are way too many pigeons in Paris. They swarm in parks and around cafes. I’ve even seen them walking inside cafes. They swoop down toward you within inches of your face. Once in a park I looked down to see bird shit on my shirt. I can’t swear that a pigeon was responsible, but given the ratio of pigeons to other birds, it seems extremely likely.

4) The Métro is a great way to get around, but it can be crowded, hot, and smelly. I realize this is true of any large city, but that doesn’t make it easier to tolerate when you’re tired after a long day of sightseeing.

5) The streets are filthy by the end of the day. There are plenty of trash receptacles, but a large number of people seem to ignore them. Once, in a residential area, a rat ran across my path. On the other hand, a large percentage of workers are civil servants, and apparently a large percentage of them work in public sanitation. In the morning you wake up to clean streets, and city workers are washing down the gutters.

6) The city can be too crowded and noisy, especially tourist areas and central gathering points like Place de la République or Place de la Bastille. However, Paris has a huge number of parks and quiet courtyards and passages, so if the crowds and noise are beginning to bother you, it’s not difficult to find a quiet uncongested area nearby.

7) The beggars in Paris seem to be more pathetic and desperate than panhandlers in American cities. Many of them have babies or dogs. This trip I saw one beggar with a rabbit and one with a chicken! Once on the Métro I saw a woman, perhaps a gypsy, wearing a long dress. One of her legs appeared to be at a right angle to the other. She was walking the aisles of the train barefoot, asking for money. American politicians are always talking disdainfully about France as a socialist country. What happened to the social safety net?

Nevertheless, I didn’t notice as many beggars kneeling submissively on the sidewalks or Métro walkways as I had in past visits.

8) And finally, the city seems to be designed only for the able-bodied. I saw very few people in wheelchairs and the Métro would probably be impossible to navigate in a wheelchair. I remember only a couple of restaurants whose restrooms were on the ground floor. The typical restroom is either up or down a narrow, winding, poorly lit stairway without handrails.

Having made these complaints, do I recommend Paris as a vacation destination? Of course. Just don’t expect everything to be exactly like it is in the U.S. Expect to be annoyed occasionally, but also expect to be wonderstruck at the beauty, fascinated by the history, and amused by the quirkiness of the city.

The Back Door of Balzac's House

2011-10-30T12:45:00.000-04:00

We had two items of unfinished business for our last day in Paris. First was to see the back door of Balzac's house. Balzac was a prodigious writer, but apparently had some money management problems because he was besieged by creditors. He rented his house (now the Balzac museum) under an alias and had a secret password for visitors. The house is built into a hill, with the front door at the top of the hill and the back door at the bottom. When creditors did manage to track Balzac down, he sneaked out the back door. The back door faces Rue Berton, a charming cobblestoned street. Today it is hemmed in by the Turkish embassy.

The last thing on our To-Do list was to see the apiary at Luxembourg Gardens. It's connected with a school that teaches people how to manage apiaries.

Today's cheese: None

Gustave Moreau Museum

2011-10-29T12:30:00.001-04:00

Our first destination today was Passage Brady, a 2-block long passage filled with inexpensive Indian restaurants. As you walked past, the restaurant employees gave you a sales pitch to get you to eat at their restaurants. It actually convinced me that I didn't want to eat at an Indian restaurant today.

After lunch at a café, we went to the Gustave Moreau museum. Moreau was a symbolist painter who created his own museum. He lived on the first floor of the building in small rooms crowded with paintings and bric-a-brac. The top two floors are large and well-lit to show off his dark paintings to their best advantage. They are connected by a graceful spiral staircase.

Many of the Paris beggars have animals, usually dogs or cats, which presumably increase contributions. Apparently not everybody approves of this (and I'm one of those who doesn't approve). Near the Moreau Museum we saw this sign stenciled on the sidewalk.

"Animal Beggar - Animal Slave."

Today's Cheese: Comté

Arago Plaques

2011-10-28T12:44:00.002-04:00

The French seem to give more recognition to their scientists and intellectuals than Americans do. François Arago was an astronomer and politician who worked on the project to complete the meridian arc. His statue was re-smelted by the Germans when they occupied Paris, so in 1987 the City of Paris decided to create a new monument to Arago. This monument took the form of 135 4.7 inch bronze medallions placed along the 12 kilometer north-south meridian (so-called Rose Line) of Paris. Today we found five of them. They all look exactly alike, so I'll show you only one.

Here's the kind of restaurant we don't go to. The menu is from l'Arpege, reportedly the most expensive restaurant in Paris. The autumn menu is 120 euros.

And last, La Pagode is a Japanese pagoda built in 1896 as a gift from the owner of Bon Marché department store to his wife. It's completely out of character with the surrounding traditional Haussmann style buildings. It was saved from demolition in 1970 and is now used as a movie theater. It's a tall building with a wall and lots of trees nearby and lots of restoration work going on in the roof area, so it's very difficult to take a photo that captures its character. Here's a picture of the ornate exterior wall.

Today's cheese: None

Fountain Project Completed

2011-10-27T13:21:00.000-04:00

Today we finished up the project of seeing some of the most interesting Paris fountains. We saw the Fountain of the Four Seasons on Rue de Grenelle. It's huge and imposing. I wasn't able to get them in the picture, but on the sides of the fountain are 4 very pretty sculptures of cherubs performing the work of each season.

The final fountain was Fontaine du Fellah, which depicts an Egyptian worker. It's on Rue de Sevres and was built in 1806 to commemorate Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign.

Then it was on to Belleville where we saw the building where Edith Piaf was born. As you can see, there's a historical marker above the door.

Because we'll be going home soon, we treated ourselves to another lunch at La Boulangerie, the Belleville restaurant we enjoyed so much a couple of weeks ago. We were not disappointed. I had roast veal with lentils and Bill had duck and pureed parsnips.

We recently realized that when we went to the Carnavalet Museum (the Museum of Paris) several weeks ago, we had neglected to see Marcel Proust's bedroom. It looks to me like he should have replaced the mattress and had some of the furniture reupholstered.

We had also neglected to photograph the beautiful Art Nouveau jewelry shop of Georges Fouquet.

Today's cheeses: Salers Tradition 2009, Brie de Melun, and Coeur Camembert Calvados

Fountains

2011-10-26T12:23:00.000-04:00

Today was a great day for fountains. First we found the dragon fountain near Gare d'Austerlitz. It seems to rise out of and then descend back into the pavement of Place Augusta Holmes. It's an artwork rather than a drinking fountain.

In Jardin de Reuilly there's a fountain that dispenses both chilled and sparkling waters. Only in France! It's built into a gardening shed.

And we found the two remaining types of Wallace fountains. Sir Richard Wallace was a philanthropist who financed the construction of a large number of cast iron drinking fountains that have become a symbol of the city of Paris. This happened in the 1870's when Paris was rebuilding after the Franco-Prussian War and the Commune episode. He developed four models of the drinking fountains. Today, 67 large model fountains, 9 small model fountains, 2 colonnaded fountains, and one applied model remain. You'll remember that I've already showed you photos of the large model Wallace fountain and the applied model Wallace fountain. On the Promenade Plantée we saw two of the small model Wallace fountains.

And in Place Pierre Demours, we saw one of the two remaining colonnaded Wallace fountains.

My lunch today was a duck breast salad with mushrooms and pears. Very tasty!

Today's cheese: None

Parc Montsouris and Rue Mouffetard Neighborhoods

2011-10-25T12:32:00.000-04:00

Today we saw another very charming Paris neighborhood, this one near Parc Montsouris in the southern part of the city. Every time I see one of these neighborhoods I change my mind about where I would live if I could afford to live anywhere in Paris.

Next on the list was Cité Fleurie, a development of about 30 studios and living quarters for artists. Some very famous artists have lived and worked here, including Gauguin and Modigliani.

From Cité Fleurie, we went to Rue Mouffetard, a very popular market street. One of the fromageries is in a beautiful building.

St-Medard is the church for the Rue Mouffetard neighborhood. In 1727 a Jansenist deacon with a saintly reputation died and was buried in the St-Medard cemetery. This attracted sick Jansenists to flock to the area with claims of miraculous cures and led to scenes of massive hysteria. In 1732 Louis XV decreed an end to the demonstrations and a sign was installed which said: " By order of the King, let God perform no miracles in this place."

Today's cheeses: Beaufort d'Alpage, Cantal Entre-Deux, and Roquefort Coulet, 14 months

Beginning of the Last Week in Paris

2011-10-24T13:23:00.001-04:00

We return home a week from today, so are trying to finish up the things on our "To Do" list. I had seen lots of the grafitti by Invader, but hadn't yet photographed it. He's been installing tile pictures of characters from "Space Invaders" and other 70's video games in Paris and many other cities throughout the world since the mid 1990's. He was featured in the movie "Exit Through the Gift Shop." We came across 2 of his works today. This one was near the Alésia Métro stop.

We haven't eaten any onion soup yet, so today was the day for that. We've read that onion soup is targeted toward tourists rather than regular French people, and it's true that it seems to be found in restaurants which offer an English translation of their menus. Nevertheless, we had some for lunch. It was good, but not as good as the version my daughter-in-law makes.

Yesterday we saw a large model version of a Wallace fountain, so today we looked for an "applied" model. We found the only remaining one near the Jardin des Plantes. These fountains formerly had attached cups, but in the 1950's the cups were removed for hygienic reasons.

We've noticed the almond shaped candies below in candy shops, and decided to try them today. They're from Aix-en-Provence and they're called calissons. They're a paste of candied fruit (especially melons and oranges) and almonds, topped with a thin layer of royal icing. They're said to protect you from the plague, so I guess they can be considered preventive medicine. They're okay, but not addictive.

Today's cheese: None.

Butte-aux-Cailles

2011-10-24T03:34:00.001-04:00

Butte-aux-Cailles, in southeastern Paris, is a traditionally left-leaning neighborhood that has a bit of a village feel. Mixed in with modern apartment buildings are small houses that look like they could be in a village miles away from Paris.

There's lots of grafitti art in the neighborhood, particularly by the artist Miss-Tic.

We saw a Wallace fountain in the neighborhood. These drinking fountains were installed in the late 1800's and provided potable water to the poor. They still do that, being an important resource for the homeless. They are also appreciated by thirsty tourists.

Today's cheeses: Comté, Tomme fermiére, Tomme de chevre, Mont d'Or

Provins

2011-10-22T14:33:00.000-04:00

Provins is a town about 50 miles southeast of Paris which, due to the vagaries of history, has managed to maintain much of its medieval architecture. In fact, it's a UNESCO heritage site. We took the train there today.

A large part of the 13th century rampart is still standing. It has narrow slits out of which you can shoot arrows without exposing yourself to the enemy.

They also have half-timbered houses.

Caesar's Tower, built in the twelfth century, has been used as a prison, watch tower, and bell tower.

It has extremely narrow steep steps and picturesquely thatched roofed turrets.

Even the more modern part of town is picturesque.

Today's cheese: None because by the time we got back to Paris the fromageries were closed.

Nissim Camondo Museum

2011-10-21T13:45:00.000-04:00

Moïse de Camondo was a wealthy banker who lived from 1860 to 1935, but had a fondness for 18th century buildings, art, and furnishing. He amassed an impressive collection of 18th century furniture and art, and built a large 18th century style house on Rue Monceau to house these treasures. He had enough sense to forgo an 18th century style bathroom and kitchen. Those rooms have the early 20th century amenities.

His life contained a series of tragedies. His marriage failed when his wife ran off with the horse trainer. His beloved son Nissim, a pilot, died in combat in World War I. Because his daughter Beatrice had little interest in his collection, he bequeathed it and the house to France as a memorial to Nissim. Although the family was Jewish, Beatrice thought her French citizenship would protect her and her family from the Nazis and remained in France after the German invasion. Less than 10 years after Moïse's death, Beatrice, her husband, and her two children were deported to Auschwitz where they died.

Today's Cheeses: Coulommiers, Maroilles fermier, and Vieux Berger Roquefort

Salon du Chocolat

2011-10-20T14:28:00.000-04:00

Today we walked over to the Marché des Enfants Rouge for a North African lunch. Here's a shot of the flowering cabbages they were selling at the flower shop.

And here's a picture of my lamb tagine.

After lunch, we went to Porte des Versailles for the Salon du Chocolat. This is a trade show open to the public with lots of chocolate vendors and lots of free samples. There was a chocolate Eiffel Tower.

And there were chocolate hedgehogs.

There was a chocolate Arc de Triomphe.

You could get chocolate samples from mimes.

And there was a chocolate fashion show.

We ate lots and lots of chocolate samples and even bought some to bring home with us. What fun!

Today's cheese: None. We had no appetite after all that chocolate.

Back to Belleville and the Balzac Museum

2011-10-19T12:06:00.000-04:00

We took care of a little unfinished business in Belleville today. The Paris tourist guide recommends visiting the Jourdain neighborhood, so we did. It wasn't particularly interesting except for a few buildings with alcoves for statues and an attractive door.

What was interesting in Belleville was our lunch at a restaurant called La Boulangerie. My roast lamb with carrots and fennel was delicious, and so was Bill's squid stuffed with Mediterranean vegetables.

This meal was a little more expensive than our usual lunches, but very enjoyable.

We went to the Balzac Museum, which wasn't all that exciting. A special exhibit on the grisette took up most of the exhibit space and the signs were entirely in French - and not easy to understand French. We did see the desk where Balzac wrote when he lived in this house and some pages he had proofread.

Today was a very good day for patisserie windows. The middle photo is from a shop that specializes in meringues, and we bought a couple of individual sized meringues to take home for dessert.

Here's a photo of the individual-sized meringues.

Today's cheeses: Camembert, Munster fermier, and Salers

The Quai Branly Museum

2011-10-18T15:14:00.001-04:00

It was rainy today, so we decided to go to a museum. But first, we went to lunch at a neighborhood restaurant. Our desserts were an eclair and Nutella flavored creme brulee. Nutella in creme brulee - what a great idea!

We went to the Quai Branly Museum, a museum dedicated to non-western objects. It's centered around Oceania, Asia, Africa, and the Americas and has lots of very interesting artifacts from these regions.

On the way home we stopped at the boulangerie and along with our bread, picked up some niflettes. Niflettes are a regional pastry from Provins (about 60 miles from Paris). It's made by taking a small square of puff pastry, making an indentation in it, and filling the indentation with orangewater flavored pastry cream. This would be very simple to make, and I plan to try it when I get home.

Today's cheese: None. It was too rainy to go traipsing around to fromageries.

Belleville

2011-10-17T15:22:00.000-04:00

We spent today in gritty, working-class Belleville, in the eastern part of Paris. First we visited the Quartier de la Mouzaïa, housing that was developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for workers who could not afford the housing in Paris. These charming homes are now highly desirable.

We stopped to take a look at the Russian Orthodox Church, Eglise Saint-Serge. Unfortunately it was not open to visitors at the time we were there.

Where do you think we stopped for this afternoon snack?

If you answered "an expensive café on the Champs Elysées," you're wrong. We got the macarons and Viennese hot chocolate at a McDonalds in Belleville.

Today's cheese: None. We have lots of small pieces that we're trying to use up.

Parc Monceau Neighborhood

2011-10-17T03:06:00.000-04:00

We got a late start today, and immediately headed for lunch near Place de la République. We went to an Alsatian restaurant where I had flammenkuche, a German version of pizza, but with creme fraiche, bacon, and onions.

Then it was on to our next self-guided walking tour, in the Parc Monceau neighborhood. This is a well-to-do neighborhood and the park was full of joggers and families with children. It has some interesting sculptures, some of which appear to be ruins, much older than they actually are. Here's the homage to Guy de Maupassant and the colonnade.

I saw this architectural detail on a building near the park.

Today's cheeses: Comté and Brie de Meaux

Vaux le Vicomte - Versailles Wannabe?

2011-10-16T02:28:00.000-04:00

It looks like a Versailles Wannabe, but actually the chateau Vaux le Vicomte preceded and inspired Versailles. Louis XIV, while building Versailles, used many of the same designers Nicholas Fouquet had used in planning Vaux le Vicomte. The chateau is a half hour train ride from Paris near the town of Melun. I was able to get a little knitting done on the train. After you arrive in Melun, it's a 10-minute bus ride to the chateau.

The chateau's exterior is imposing.

And the interior, while not as over the top as Versaille's, is impressive. Here's Fouquet's bedchamber.

He liked painted ceilings, especially of mythological subjects.

And he wasn't afraid to spend money on his gardens.

We had lunch at the cafeteria located in the outbuildings of the chateau. I had steak (with a sauce I think was Bernaise sauce) and roasted potatoes, and they were quite good.

Today's cheeses: Brie de Provins and Munster with cumin

Rodin Museum Garden

2011-10-14T13:00:00.001-04:00

The goal for today was to see the Rodin Museum garden, located near Les Invalides. The roses are still in pretty good shape in the garden, and of course there are lots of sculptures, including The Thinker and The Gates of Hell.

We're planning to eat at a restaurant, suggested to us by our French teacher, called Polidor. It serves traditional French food, at communal tables, with reasonable prices. It's featured in the Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris in the scene where Owen Wilson's character meets Hemingway. We got a late start this morning and couldn't get there during the lunch hour, but we went to take a look at it.

We're fortunate enough to be within walking distance of a highly regarded boulangerie, Des Pain et des Idées (Some Bread and Some Ideas). When we return home for the day, anytime between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m., we usually stop by and pick up one of their most popular breads, Pain des Amis (Friends Bread). At that time of day, it's still warm from the oven. It's a rustic, brown, nutty flavored bread and tastes delicious with butter from Brittany.

Today's cheese: Roquefort

Art Exhibit and Back to the 16th Arrondissement

2011-10-13T13:59:00.000-04:00

Today was our day to see Matisse, Cezanne Picasso, the show about the art collected by Gertrude Stein and her brothers. You'll remember that several weeks ago I bought tickets for this show at FNAC. Anyway, we really enjoyed the show. It's amazing that three people managed to collect such a large amount of important work. The documentary photographs and movies showing the Stein apartments were very interesting too. We couldn't take photos in the exhibit, but here's the poster.

In the Métro station on the way to lunch we saw this ad for chevre wraps at McDonalds. Somehow, I don't think they'll be offering that in the United States anytime soon.

Also on the way to lunch we noticed this decorative giant beehive on the corner of a building near Les Halles.

Our mission today was to find the artesian well in Passy (the expensive 16th arrondissement) which has been providing water to Parisians since the 1850's. The current incarnation doesn't look all that old.

We passed by a candy shop that had a beautiful display of marzipan (almond paste) shaped like mushrooms and another display that I believe is supposed to be bugs of some sort.

Today's cheese: Castelviel

Regarde de la Lanterne

2011-10-12T13:30:00.002-04:00

Today's mission was to locate the small building that served to protect the water collected in the aqueducts which provided Paris with water during the Middle Ages. It's called the Regarde de la Lanterne and looks like a home for gnomes. It's located up in the 19th arrondissement, far from the tourist attractions.

Next was a long hike to Square de la Roquette. It's now an attractive park, but during World War II it housed 4000 Resistance fighters captured by the Germans. There's a plaque commemorating the liberation of these prisoners at the entrance to the park. There are so many plaques in Paris recording where Resistance fighters were shot and killed, that I was actually a little surprised to see that so many were taken prisoner.

Fromageries primarily sell cheese, but they also sell butter, cream, yogurt, and eggs. The sign on this fromagerie near Pere Lachaise Cemetery proclaims that their eggs are produced by happy chickens who eat vegetables and live in open fields.

We finally got back to the bakery that sells the cream puffs and stocked up. Aren't they pretty? Remember, these are mini-cream puffs - less than 2 inches in diameter. We're self indulgent, but there are limits.

Today's cheeses: Bleu de Gex and Bleu de Basques

Cour de Rohan

2011-10-12T07:05:00.000-04:00

Let's start this entry with a challenge. Do you know what this street furniture is and what it was used for? It's a little over 2 1/2 feet tall and we found it in a courtyard. The answer will be at the end of this blog entry.

Yesterday we found a very interesting and beautiful courtyard, Cour de Rohan, in an old part of the city. In fact, one end of the three connected courtyards opens onto the Cour du Commerce Saint-André where Procope, the oldest restaurant in Paris is located. Also in the Cour du Commerce is the building where Marat published his newspaper and Dr. Guillotine did his experiments to develop a "humane" way to practice capital punishment. The Cour du Commerce is very busy and touristy, but we were more attracted by the very quiet Cour de Rohan, which we were fortunate enough to find unlocked.

Here are a few photos of the Cour de Rohan.

We also saw the oldest tree in Paris, located in Square Rene Viviani, not far from the famous English language bookstore, Shakespeare and Company. As you can see, it's been through some difficult times. It's supported on three sides, and the side showing in this photo has what appears to be a concrete patch.

We met our French teacher for a pleasant dinner last night at Leon de Bruxelles, a well-known mussels restaurant. She returns to the U.S. tomorrow after a brief visit with her mother. Here's a (slightly blurry) picture of my mussels Provencale.

And we completed our 10 Best Baguettes project by buying baguettes from Boulangerie number 2 (and deservedly so) on the list.

So - have you figured out what the device in the first photo is? It's called a "pas de mule" (not a mule) and was used to help mount a horse or get into a carriage. The one in Cour de Rohan may be the last one remaining in Paris.

Yesterday's cheeses: Beaufort de Chalet d'Arpage Arecle and Comte Fruite

Best (and Most Expensive) Lunch Yet

2011-10-10T13:11:00.000-04:00

Some of the chefs at high end French restaurants like to open smaller, more casual, bistro-style restaurants, and that's the kind of place we went to today, Les Cocottes de Christian Constant. Many of their dishes were served in Staub cocottes, similar to Le Creuset cookware. I had crispy lamb in a carrot sauce, and it was delicious. Actually, the lamb wasn't crispy at all; it was very tender roast lamb wrapped in a packet of phyllo dough and it was the phyllo that was crispy. Bill was very happy with his cod and lentils.

For dessert we had a chocolate tart and clafouti, fresh cherries or plums baked in a pancake-type batter. The restaurant seating was primarily at the bar, with only a few high tables. It was a little dressier than the places we usually go to, and the customers seemed to be wearing more expensive shoes than we were, but the service was very friendly.

The damage? 59 euros, about $85, the most we've spent for a meal so far. I wish we could afford to eat like this all the time.

After lunch we wandered over to Rue du Bac to see a taxidermy store. They had some beautiful examples of taxidermy, all animals that had died of natural causes, of course.

Today's cheeses: Brie de Meaux and Comté Fruitè

Architecture Walk

2011-10-08T13:25:00.002-04:00

It's back to the self-guided walking tours - today was the 16th arrondissement, a well-to-do neighborhood known for its Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and modern architecture. The first building on the tour was the best - an Art Nouveau building by architect Hector Guimard. Here's the door.

And here's the side of the building with the seahorse decorations. These are also on the front of the building, but that photo didn't turn out well.

After a salad lunch at Place de la Republique, we went to a concert of classical music at the church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. We've been going to free concerts in churches each Saturday afternoon since we arrived.

Then it was time to shop for the evening. We bought cheese, of course.

And we tried to buy pastries at Popelini, a shop noted for its choux (think eclairs and cream puffs) pastries, but they had a "fermeture exceptionelle" (unscheduled closing) today, so they're near the top of our list for tomorrow. Our last purchase was baguettes to serve with the cheese.

Today's cheeses: Picodon de l'Arbèdie, Crottin Fort, St-Marcellin Fermier, and Comté Vieux

Montmartre Wine Festival

2011-10-07T12:01:00.000-04:00

There's only one tiny vineyard in Paris, located in Montmartre, and early every October they celebrate the grape harvest with a festival featuring food and wine vendors from all over France. They have a woman dressed in early 20th century garb playing an accordion.

They have a booth selling olives.

They also have several booths selling oysters.

There were people wearing costumes that I didn't understand. Many of them appeared to be dressed for the graduation ceremony at an Ivy League or British university.

Lunch was festival food, eaten standing up, and I didn't take pictures, but I had a sausage and onion sandwich (on a baguette) and Bill had melted Mont d'Or cheese with boiled potatoes.

After the festival we went to Notre Dame Cathedral to see the Crown of Thorns, which is displayed on the First Friday of every month. It was carried through the church by a group of what appeared to be about a dozen priests. The photo I took was of such poor quality that I'm not going to use it, but if you're curious about this subject, you can find more information here.

This relic would be so easy to fake, that I'm quite skeptical about its authenticity. However, the history of it is quite interesting, and it was amazing to see the large group of people who showed up to see it.

Moving from the sacred to the not-so-sacred, on Rue de Rivoli, at a MAC cosmetics store, we saw two artists decorating this woman in the shop window.

Today's cheese: Comté (purchased at the festival)

Another Plan B Day

2011-10-06T13:24:00.000-04:00

It's a good thing we always have an alternate plan for the day because we frequently have to use it. First on today's agenda was a falafel lunch in the Marais. Falafel with hummus for me, and with hummus and a selection of salads for Bill.

Plan A was to visit the Balzac Museum, a small house near the Eiffel Tower where he lived and worked for about 7 years. Here's what it looks like from the outside.

When we got there we saw a sign saying the museum was closed until October 14 while a new temporary exhibit is installed. Plan B was to see the door that Fodor's guidebook calls the most ornate door in Paris. It's in a beautiful Art Noveau building designed by Jules Lavirotte.

Today's cheeses: Tome du Jura and Pont Lévêque

Today's baguette: Number 6 in the 2011 contest. It was warm, so we bought two of them. We have only one more to buy to complete the project.

Calling in Sick

2011-10-05T11:33:00.002-04:00

I've managed to come down with a cold, so left the house only to have lunch at a Thai restaurant near our apartment. I'm glad I did. Here's a photo of my shrimp curry.

Sometimes even the signs in English are incomprehensible. This sign is on the ground floor of the building directly across from our living room.

A Google search reveals that Legsline is a shoe distributor and that Mustang is one of their lines of shoes.

Today's cheeses: Epoisses and St-Nicolas

No Theme Day

2011-10-04T12:14:00.001-04:00

We got a late start today and had no very specific purpose in our travels. When I went out to buy our morning baguette I saw these concrete and wire insects in a shop window.

In addition to the baguette, I also picked up a small fresh fig tart.

We stopped at the pizza restaurant on the corner for a salad lunch - artichokes, ham, and ricotta cheese on mine, octopus on Bill's.

After lunch we set out to buy cheese and (still more) pastries. We went to the lower Marais area, Bastille, and the Place d'Aligre market area, all on foot. We bought a small packet of madeleines and a chocolate fondant (dense chocolate cake with a thick liquid chocolate filling). Unfortunately, there are no photos because we ate these goodies in the park across the street from the bakery. But here's a photo of the window of another pastry shop that we did not patronize.

And here's a shop sign that caught my eye - the shop sells olive oil from Provence.

Today's cheeses: Saint Nectaire and Morbier

St-Denis Basilica and American Transit Outlaws

2011-10-03T13:23:00.000-04:00

Our original plan today was to go to Melun, famous for its Brie cheese and for the chateau Vaux le Vicomte, which inspired the building of the Versailles palace. We went to Gare de Lyon to buy train tickets, but due to a misunderstanding about where to buy them, were unable to purchase them in time. Plan B was to visit the Basilica of St. Denis, in the outskirts of Paris, so that's what we did. The basilica is one of the earliest examples of Gothic architecture in northern France and is where 42 kings, 32 queens, and 63 princes and princesses were interred.

It has lots of funerary sculpture. My favorites are the ones that include the deceased person's dogs.

The stained glass in the basilica is quite nice, too.

They have some good relics. The reliquary below contains the wrist of St. Louis.

They also have the bones of Sts. Denis, Rustique, and Eleuthère. The reason the basilica is named for St. Denis is because after he was beheaded in Montmartre, he picked up his head and walked the 10 kilometers to St. Denis (it was called something else at the time) because that's where he wanted to be buried.

In addition to these relics, the basilica also contains the heart of King Louis XVII, who became king at the age of 8 after his parents were executed in the Revolution. He died of illness at the age of 10.

No lunch photos today because we had croque monsieur and an omelette and I've already published photos of those dishes. It's difficult not to repeat a menu when you're trying to keep your dining expenses at a moderate level.

And now for a confession. Our transit pass, the Passe Navigo, allows us to ride on any Métro train but restricts us from using buses or trams outside of Zones 1 & 2. Zones 1 & 2 include all of the major tourist areas in Paris and most of the rest of the city, and it isn't exactly clear when Zone 2 ends and Zone 3 begins. Anyway, we took the Métro to St-Denis, and I believe that that was perfectly legal. There's a tram that stops in St-Denis and travels around the outskirts of the city. Because we hadn't used the tram yet, we decided to take it to the next Métro stop and then hop on the Métro. When we entered the tram and scanned our Passe Navigos, we heard a buzzing sound and saw a brief message on the screen. After the tram had started we realized that the message had said that we were outside of our zone. Therefore, we were riding illegally and could be fined if the transit police decided to check that passengers were valid. The next Métro stop was about 8 tram stops away. We decided to take our chances that we wouldn't be checked by the transit police and go to that next Métro stop. However, after about 4 tram stops, our tram was involved in a very minor accident with a truck. We were at a standstill for about 10 minutes. Then the tram moved on to the next tram stop, but the conductor announced that everybody had to get off at this stop because of the accident. We got off and it was completely chaotic on the platform because there were so many people on it.

Then we had a moral dilemma. Should we get on the next tram illegally and hope to not get caught, or should we buy a valid ticket on the platform? It was so crowded and crazy on the platform that we decided to do neither of these things, and instead we walked to the next Métro stop by following the tram tracks. Fortunately it wasn't too far, probably a little more than half a mile.

Today's Cheese: Roquefort
Today's Baguette was Number 4 in the best Paris Bagette of 2011 contest. It was warm and delicious.

Marais on a Sunday

2011-10-02T13:15:00.001-04:00

We got a late start today, and first headed over to the Grand Boulevards area for some wandering around. In one of the Passages, we saw a store called Fell Off a Truck, which was selling various unrelated items. They managed to make these items appear related by the display on their back wall.

When we got hungry, we went to Tartine, a wine bar we've enjoyed in the past, and had a charcuterie and fromage plate (meats and cheeses) with wine.

Then it was off to the Marais, a very old Jewish neighborhood that is bustling all the time, but is particularly popular on Sundays. We hadn't bought any candy or pastries in several days, and this was an excellent area for indulgence. We picked up some candy, a piece of cheesecake, a piece of apple strudel, nut strudel, and rugelach.

Here's a photo of the exterior of one of the bakeries in the area.

Today's cheeses: St. Marcellin, Pont L'Évêque, and Camembert

Canal St-Martin and Nuit Blanche

2011-10-02T05:28:00.000-04:00

Canal St-Martin runs from the Seine near Place de la Bastille to Parc de la Villette in the northeast corner of Paris. It's about 3 miles long, with about a mile of it underground. It has 9 locks, a number of passarelles or pedestrian bridges, as well as bridges that swing open or lift up. Yesterday we decided to take the 2 1/2 hour canal boat tour. Here's the boat entering a lock with a passarelle overhead.

And here's the boat in a lock that is filling with water.

The canal tour sounds much more interesting than it actually is. The 2 1/2 hour length was way too long. We could have walked the entire distance and back again, even allowing for traffic, in that time.

Nuit Blanche (white night) is an idiom meaning "sleepless night" in French. The first Saturday in October it also means a huge art event with 118 exhibits scattered throughout the city, starting at 7:00 p.m. and lasting until 7:00 a.m. We focused on the exhibits in the Montmartre-Pigalle area. "Black Cloud" was an installation of 30,000 black paper butterflies attached to the large arcade of a school near the Anvers Métro stop.

And "Barbed Salt Lamps" was installed in the nave of a church near the Abbesses Métro stop. It's made with salt from the Dead Sea.

Moving Day and a New Neighborhood

2011-09-30T12:45:00.000-04:00

Today we moved from our September apartment to the October apartment, about a mile away in the Canal St-Martin neighborhood. Because it would have required two subway lines to move by Métro, and that would have meant hauling luggage up and down several flights of stairs, we walked to the new apartment with our luggage.

Like the September apartment, this one is small, but I think it's more attractive. The kitchen is much larger and better furnished than the September kitchen. There's actually a small table and two chairs. The September apartment had a fold-up table and chairs.

As in most Paris apartments, the toilet in is a separate tiny cabine.

There's a window box with geraniums at the living room window.

The bedroom is almost completely filled by the bed. There are two small nightstands and the closet is in the living room.

The living room is comfortable.

After unpacking, we set off to explore the neighborhood. There's an interesting looking cabaret a few blocks away.

We had lunch at a raclette restaurant. Raclette is a Swiss dish somewhat similar to fondue. You melt cheese over the burner built into the table (see the upper left-hand portion of the picture) and then scrape the melted cheese over the meats and potato. It's typically served with cornichons (tiny tart pickles).

On rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud we saw this sign painted on the sidewalk.

The purpose of the sign is to remind dog owners to take their dogs to the gutter to relieve themselves. The signs are disappearing because in 2002 a law was passed requiring dog owners to clean up after their pets under threat of a 35 euro fine. In my experience, this law is not being effectively enforced. I got this information from the blog "Invisible Paris."

Today's cheese: Petit Reblochon

I Don't Get It

2011-09-29T13:05:00.000-04:00

Today was one of those days when we ran into several things that didn't totally make sense. But before I get to that, let's get lunch out of the way. We went to an old restaurant in the Les Halles area, Le Cochon à l'oreille. It's decor hasn't changed much in the last hundred years. It has beautiful tile murals on the walls.

The decor was more impressive than the food. They serve traditional bistro food, and my braised beef was good, but I'm not a fan of canned vegetables.

We planned to do a walking tour of the Opéra area, and when we got out of the Métro there was a huge traffic jam. We started walking down the street and came upon a large crowd on both sides of the sidewalk. There was a bus that appeared to belong to a French sports team stopped across from a hotel and there were lots of people taking photos. On the other side of the street the crowd seemed to be made up of people wearing chefs' hats. We couldn't figure out if this event was about celebrity athletes arriving at the hotel or celebrity chefs. On the chef side of the street, which was in front of a chocolate shop and patisserie, were tables where they were giving out samples of pastries. We finally decided that we were seeing two events. One was a sports team arriving at the hotel and being photographed by the media and fans, and the other event was part of a patisserie festival. We're going to try to see if we can find other events associated with the patisserie festival. I apologize for the quality of the photo. It was crowded and I wasn't actually sure what I was taking a picture of.

After we waded through the crowd, we returned to our walking tour itinerary. On rue de Capucines I saw this architectural detail over a door.

Place Vendôme is a large plaza where the Hotel Ritz and many expensive jewelry and clothing stores are located. When we got there we stumbled upon an auto show. Here's the Town and Country.

Right next to the auto show was a band playing. They were in military uniforms and mounted on horses. Once again, we weren't sure if the auto show and the band were related or were separate random events.

No cheese today because we move to another apartment tomorrow and don't want to be hauling groceries with us.

Parc de Bagatelle

2011-09-28T14:59:00.000-04:00

Paris has been having a warm spell, with temperatures in the high seventies and low eighties. So today's outing was to another park. Parc de Bagatelle shares a boundary with the larger Bois du Boulogne. We decided to take the bus rather than the Métro, and the bus ride was certainly more interesting. However, it took us an hour to get from Gare du Nord to the Parc while the Métro would have been much faster. Parc de Bagatelle was a chateau built in the time of Marie Antoinette. The chateau is still there, but not open to visitors. However, the gardens are beautiful, and we saw most, but not all of them.

The park is on the far edge of the city and it was quite a hike to the Métro stop when we were done. We got back to the city at about 5:00, which was too late for lunch and too early for dinner. So we stopped at an Italian place where I had grilled marinated vegetables and Bill had a Caesar salad. My meal was more photogenic, so that's the one I'll show you.

After stops for baguette, cheese, and pastries, we returned to our apartment.

Today's cheeses: Laguiole and Bleu d'Auvergne

Parc de Bercy

2011-09-27T13:10:00.001-04:00

Parc de Bercy was created in 1995 in an neighborhood of wine warehouses, and is absolutely beautiful. We hadn't been here before, so it was all new to us.

We had a great lunch. Salad with smoked salmon and goat cheese for me and roast chicken and fries for Bills. The fries were delicious and suffered several incursions from me.

After lunch we went to Montparnasse to get baguette number 10 in the 2011 contest. I saw this interesting looking public bathhouse.

Today's Cheese: Munster Géromé
Today's Bread: Number 10 in the 2011 contest

An Errand Day

2011-09-26T12:54:00.000-04:00

We used today for a few errands. I had some flavored syrups for my daughter-in-law and thought I'd be clever and ship them to her via UPS. However, that didn't work because UPS doesn't ship liquids. This meant that we had to schlep these cans of syrups with us for the rest of the day.

We stopped for a salad lunch on Rue Montorgeuil.

We saw a tempting chocolate shop.

We went to the department store Bon Marché where I resolved a minor knitting crisis by buying a couple balls of sock yarn. While I was there I noticed an interesting architectural detail in the stairway.

And while we were on our way to buy today's baguette, I noticed an interesting archway which I think was on Rue de Grenelle.

I've been having a problem with a blister on my left foot, and needed to buy some more Band-Aids. Band-Aids are Band-Aids, right? Apparently not. The Band-Aids we got at the pharmacy are about 4 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide. They have a gauze strip down the center and tape on both sides of the gauze strip. You cut the Band-Aid to fit. It's actually a pretty good way to do it, because you can customize the size to a certain extent.

Today's Cheeses: Munster and Brebis

And More Miscellanea

2011-09-25T05:10:00.002-04:00

The last time we saw Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, the agronomist popularizer of the potato, was at Pere Lachaise Cemetery - his grave. He also has a street named after him and a Métro stop on that street. On the platform of the Métro stop is a statue of Parmentier giving potatoes to a poor man. Also on the platform are signs detailing the history of the potato.

A grisette is a working class woman, often a flirtatious working class woman who might receive financial support from a wealthy male. Yesterday on the canal, near Rue du Faubourg du Temple, I saw this statue of a grisette. She's carrying a basket of flowers.

Also near the canal is the pizza restaurant where we had lunch. We'll be staying on the same block as this restaurant in October and it will be difficult to stay away from these delicious pizzas.

The Métro stop Arts et Metiers is near the museum of arts and crafts for which it's named. In 1994 the Métro stop was redecorated in a steampunk style, reminiscent of Jules Verne.

Yesterday's cheese: Morbier

Miscellanea

2011-09-23T05:16:00.000-04:00

Top Ten Baguette Project

So far we've had baguettes from 6 of the top 10 winners. We still need to get baguettes from numbers 2, 4, 6, and 10, but that shouldn't be a problem.

Does this street name mean what I think it means?

The former street name is Rue de la Femme Sans Teste. I've sent out a request to my official translator to verify what that means.

Heloise and Abelard lived here (in 1349).

We saw this sign on a building on Île de la Cité yesterday.

Dinner at Creperie Beaubourg

Today is Janet and John's last evening in Paris, so we had dinner at a crepe restaurant we've enjoyed in the past. My crepe had goat cheese and cooked apples, Janet's had veggies and an egg, John's had Roquefort cheese and veggies, and Bill's had chicken and veggies.

We had dessert crepes too. Mine had chestnut cream, Janet's had chocolate mint ice cream with whipped cream, John's had bananas, raisins, and coconut in a chocolate sauce, and Bill's had a dense chocolate cake with chocolate sauce. Yum!

Today's Cheeses: Brie de Melun, Roquefort, and Fougerus (Delicious!)

Chartres

2011-09-23T04:13:00.001-04:00

The train ride to Chartres takes about an hour and I managed to get some knitting done on the train.

The cathedral in Chartres is famous for it's stained glass windows, particularly the blue colors.

They have an important relic - a piece of fabric that I've seen variously described as the Blessed Mother's tunic, camisole, and veil. At any rate, it was something she wore. I believe that this relic generated so many pilgrims it was necessary to build the cathedral to accommodate them.

We had a pizza lunch at a very pleasant square in the town. They were huge thin-crust pizzas. Janet's had potatoes and John's had various meats and an egg.

When we returned home we stopped at the cafe on the corner for dessert: tarte tatin for Janet and John, and chocolate cake with creme Anglais for Bill and me.

Yesterday's cheese: Morbier

Île St-Louis, St-Sulpice, and a Mystery

2011-09-21T13:32:00.001-04:00

Île St-Louis is the island Notre Dame is not on. That's Île de la Cité. Today's self-guided walking tour focused on this tiny island famous for ice cream. real estate, and being the long-time home of Marie Curie.

In France to ensure that the purchaser knows what kind of poultry she is purchasing, the butcher shops often leave on the head, the feet, or some feathers, or some combination of these three.

On a sidestreet we saw this drainpipe shaped like a fish.

The church of St-Louis had this pretty little angel holy water font.

After Île St-Louis we headed over to St-Sulpice on the Left Bank. This church is the setting for a key scene in Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code. Here's the famous transept with the rose line leading to it.

For lunch we went to a noodle restaurant where they were making fresh noodles in the back. My photo of the noodle maker isn't very good because of glare from the glass wall he stood behind, but here's a photo of our lunches.

Now for the mystery. The Pont des Arts is famous as a bridge on which lovers lock a padlock inscribed with their names and throw the key into the river. This happens on Pont de l'Archevèché too, but on that bridge they also tie plastic bags, pieces of fabric, etc. Here's a photo.

I have no idea what this means. So, I'm holding a contest. The first person who posts a comment explaining the correct significance of the plastic bags (including documentation so I know you didn't make up the answer) will win one of the Miraculous Medals I purchased last week at the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal.

Here's a photo of today's market purchases:

Today's cheese: Specialité Bourgogne

Versailles

2011-09-20T14:18:00.002-04:00

I went to Versailles today with Janet and John. We took the suburban train - it took about 40 minutes to get there. Versailles is so over-the-top ornate it makes you wonder why the revolution didn't occur earlier. Here's the canopy over Marie Antoinette's bed. Do you think they used enough gold in this bedroom?

The gardens are huge and spectacular. It must cost a fortune to maintain them.

Sorry, folks, but lunch wasn't particularly French or particularly interesting. We got baked potatoes from a street vendor just outside the Grand Trianon. I had smoked salmon and creme fraiche on mine, Janet had a plain potato, and John had one with chili. There were no tables, but we managed to eat them sitting on a park bench.

Today's cheeses: Munster and Camembert

Banon Cheese and Canal St. Martin

2011-09-20T14:08:00.000-04:00

Banon cheese is produced in Provence from goat milk and a small amount of cow's milk. The cheese is wrapped in chestnut leaves and tied with raffia. When the chestnut leaves turn brown, the cheese is ready to eat. There's a photo above.

Last evening we walked over to Canal St-Martin, which goes from the Seine up to the northeast edge of the city. It's becoming a very popular neighborhood.

Licking the Windows

2011-09-19T11:55:00.001-04:00

Since Janet and John were planning to do things Bill and I have done often in the past (ascend the Eiffel Tower, see Notre Dame and Place de la Concorde), we went on another of our self-guided walking tours. This one was in the area of the church of the Madeleine. This classic building was originally planned by Napoleon as a temple to fame, but he changed his mind and had it commissioned as a church.

Our lunch was a mushroom omelette with salad and fries for me and a salade Nicoise for Bill.

The Madeleine is in a pricey shopping area and there are lots of food specialty shops. The French idiom for window shopping is "licking the windows," and that's what we did.

Here's a candy display at Fauchon, for only 160 euros (about $240).

And here's another candy display in the front window.

Today's cheeses: Mont d'Or, Brie de Meau, and Banon

Cemetery Tour

2011-09-18T14:52:00.001-04:00

My sister and her husband arrived from Michigan this morning, and the first thing we did was go to the bakery for pastries - pain au chocolate and pain au raisin, still slightly warm from the oven. Then it was off to Bastille market to buy food for lunch. We opted for another rotisserie chicken with potatoes and green beans. We had melon, macarons, and cheese for dessert. It was delicious.

Our apartment is only about 3 blocks from Pere Lachaise Cemetery, so we decided to visit that in the afternoon. We saw the grave of Antoine-Auguste Parmentier, an agronomist who popularized the potato in France. Notice the potatoes on his tombstone. My source says that potatoes are planted around his grave, but I saw only begonias and geraniums.

Magician Gaspard Robertson has a tombstone decorated with winged skulls. They're difficult to see in the photo.

The most popular grave appeared to be that of Allan Kardec, the father of spiritism. Think transmigration of souls. He had lots of flower offerings.

We've been to this huge cemetery a couple of times in the past, so didn't bother with Oscar Wilde or Gertrude Stein, and took only a quick look at Jim Morrison's grave.

After that it was off to Montmartre to ride the funicular up to Sacre Coeur, a bit of a disappointment, actually. We walked around Montmartre a bit, stopping for ice cream at Amorino, then headed home so Janet and John could get some much needed sleep.

Today's Cheese: Epoisse

The Incorruptible

2011-09-17T13:35:00.000-04:00

As an ex-Catholic I'm fascinated by miracles and relics. That's why I had to go to the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal to see the body of St. Catherine Laboure, the saint who created the Miraculous Medal at the urging of the Virgin Mary. When she was exhumed, 57 years after her burial, her body was found to be "incorrupt" and supple. It looks pretty waxy to me. However the chapel is quite pretty and appears to be very popular.

Lunch today was pizza and salad, but I forgot to take the photo until halfway through the meal.

We got this in a very touristy area near Pompidou Centre, but it was delicious. Afterword, we stopped for gelato.

I got date and pistachio, while Bill got fig raisin and coffee.

We were in the Pompidou Centre neighborhood to attend a free concert by a vocalist singing a Bach cantata at St-Merri.

Today's cheeses: Camembert and Selles-sur-Cher

Southwest Food Festival

2011-09-16T14:45:00.001-04:00

Today was the first day of the southwest France food festival. It was held on the left bank of the Seine, not far from Notre Dame. There was a marching band, 2 boats serving lunches and tapas, free samples of southwest France products, and plenty of booths selling those products.

Turns out that southwest France is famous for fois gras, other duck products, prunes, spice cake, and grapes. Who knew? We had our cheapest lunch yet, a ham sandwich and a goat cheese sandwich.

We bought some prunes and a slice of spice cake to take home - old peoples' snacks.

There's a region in France (not the southwest) that makes this wonderful soft nougat candy filled with nuts and fruit. I had been looking for some, but the place in Montmartre where we purchased it in 2009 was now selling only pre-packaged bags and I wanted to buy the large slices we had bought before. An Internet search led me to believe we'd find some in the 20th arrondisement, so we went up there, but the store was closed. There was a sign saying something about the city closing the place.

Then we went to buy a baguette from the 3rd place winner of the 2011 best baguette contest. It was also in the 20th, but farther afield than the disappearing nougat shop. This trip was the equivalent of living in northeast Detroit and going to Auburn Hills to buy your baguette. However, the availability of the métro made it seem not quite that crazy. We arrived at the boulangerie at about 5:00 pm and the cashier told us the baguettes de tradition would be ready in about 15 minutes. We wandered around the neighborhood for awhile, and returned to buy baguettes still warm from the oven. They were delicious. You can see from the photo that we munched on one of them before returning home.

Still searching for nougat, we went back to the Marais district, where purportedly there was a shop selling it. However, that store too was closed. So, for our sweets we returned to Laricol, a self-service (very unusual in Paris) chocolate shop. Here's a photo of their macaron display.

My sister and her husband arrive Sunday, so we bought a few macarons to have when they get here as well as some candy.

Today's cheese: None purchased. We have to finish up what's in the refrigerator
Today's bread: Third place in the 2011 best baguette contest

Rue Montorgeuil and Montmartre

2011-09-15T13:07:00.003-04:00

Today we were determined to get our tickets to the Stein exhibit, so went to FNAC (a store somewhat like a Virgin megastore) at Les Halles and easily bought them (entirely in French!). We went to nearby Rue Montorgueil for lunch, steak with potatoes for me and fish with spinach for Bill.

Here's the sign for the restaurant Escargots.

After a little grocery shopping we went to Montmartre where we bought a baguette and some chicken and rabbit sausage. Here's one of the windmills remaining in Montmartre.

Today's cheeses: Langres Vachera, Munster Fermier, Brie, and St. Marcellin.

Today's baguette: From the winner of 5th place in the 2011 competition

Market Day and Champs Elysées

2011-09-14T14:56:00.002-04:00

Our goal for today was to buy some fresh fruit and buy tickets for the exhibit of art collected by Gertrude Stein and her brothers that opens in October. We had success with the fresh fruit plan. We went to Place Monge which has a Wednesday Market.

Here's what we bought. The strawberries were as delicious as they looked.

For lunch I had a Croque Monsieur (grilled ham and cheese) with tomato and Bill had a warm chevre salad and a fish plate.

Unfortunately we weren't so successful with our attempt to buy the art show tickets. We went to the Grand Palais, but were unable to find where to purchase the tickets. We'll be trying the Internet later. Then we did our walking tour of the day which was in the area of Champs Elysées. Since we've been to Paris several times in the past, we skipped much of the Champs Elysées. However, we hadn't seen the expensive shopping street, Avenue Montaigne, in the past, so that was a new experience.

We treated ourselves to expensive but delicious African hot chocolate at Angelina, a somewhat intimidating tea shop on Rue de Rivoli. The hot chocolate comes with a little pot of whipped cream. I'm not going to tell you how much we paid for two hot chocolates. Okay, I will. It was 14 euros (about $20), something I would never do in the United States.

Today's Cheeses: Brie de Meau (lait cru), and Pont L'Évêque (lait cru)

Montparnasse

2011-09-13T14:02:00.001-04:00

Today's walking tour was in Montparnasse, one of the areas we've spent the least time in. We didn't go the the Montparnasse Museum, but the courtyard leading to it was very pretty.

The museum we did visit was the French Resistance Museum. It was heavy on things to read, and light on things to see, but it was free.

We got introduced to Basque food at lunch. I had a Salade Compléte with ham, cheese, fried potatoes, and a sunny-side-up egg. Bill had Basque style tuna with a tomato and pepper sauce. It came with fried potatoes and salad.

The Montparnasse Cemetery contains the tombs of Sartre, Beauvoir, and other luminaries, but I liked the tomb of the Pigeon family. They are in bed - fully dressed.

Today's cheeses: Brebis Artisinal and Livarot
Today's baguette: First prize in the 2011 Paris baguette contest. Excellent crust, but I have to say that all the baguettes de tradition that we've had have been good.

A Trip to the Suburbs and a Tour of the Invalides Area

2011-09-12T10:31:00.001-04:00

Yesterday we visited our daughter-in-law's sister and her family in Longueville, about 60 miles southeast of Paris. It was a very nice train ride and a very pleasant visit. Unfortunately, I was focusing so much on speaking and understanding French that I neglected to take any photos.

Today we visited Invalides and saw Napoleon's tomb.

The gardens were very pretty.

We saw a chocolate shop selling chocolate shoes.

Lunch was salmon brochette and roast chicken.

Here's a picture of today's cheeses:

Today's Cheeses: Camembert, Morbier, Maroilles, St. Félicen Tentation, and Bress Bleu

Disappointment Assuaged and Tour of the Louvre Area

2011-09-10T13:57:00.002-04:00

First on today's agenda was to find the exterminator. He has a delightful window display. I am no longer disappointed.

I stopped to take a picture of Bad Boys Street for grandson Niepa.

Mexican food in Paris? It's very trendy right now. I had two carnitas tacos and one mushroom taco. The carnitas looked and tasted like ham, but it was good. Bill had a salad and pinto beans.

St. Roche, the patron saint of plague victims, is always portrayed with a wounded leg and his dog, who brought him sustenance.

We've been to the Louvre in the past, and I'm not a huge fan of classical art, so we didn't visit the museum today. But here's the inverted pyramid in the shopping area beneath the Louvre.

There's a charming holy water font at St-Germain-l'Auxerrois.

Today's cheeses: None, but don't worry, we've got plenty left over from previous purchases
Today's baguette: From the corner bakery and not one of the prize winners. However, it was warm, so it won the coveted Margaret Westerman prize for baguette of the day.

Pompidou Area, a Disappointment, and a Surprise

2011-09-09T11:52:00.004-04:00

Today's self-guided walking tour, centered around the Pompidou Center area, included a great lunch, a disappointment, and a surprise discovery.

The neighborhood used to be down at the heels. The nearby Church of St. Merri was frequented by the neighborhood prostitutes and has a side chapel dedicated to Mary the Egyptian, the patron saint of prostitutes.

On rue de la Ferronerie the coat of arms of Henri IV is embossed in the pavement to mark the spot where he was murdered. His carriage got stuck in a traffic jam due to an accident, he got out to look at the situation, and a monk stabbed him. I think it was a political act (or perhaps related to mental illness) rather than a road rage incident.

The square of the Innocents was a former graveyard, but it had to be relocated due to congestion. The fountain in the square, a gift from the king, was used by the local prostitutes for washing and bathing.

Now for the disappointment. I had hoped to see this, the window of an exterminator's business decorated with rats killed since the shop's 1872 opening. However, I got confused about the address and found a cafe where I expected the exterminator to be. I was afraid the shop had been gentrified out of existence. Have to go back tomorrow and look for the rats.

Lunch, however, was no disappointment. We had an ocean salad (with salmon) and a tuna steak with lots of vegetables. The wines were Sancerre and Pouilly (?) something.

The oldest house in Paris is now (what else?) a restaurant. It was once inhabited by Nicolas Flamel, a possible alchemist who figures in one of the Harry Potter books.

On our way to see the Bourse (the stock exchange, which has a beautiful painted ceiling but does not allow photos), we came across a couple of picturesque passages which we hadn't seen before. The passages are shopping arcades and were quite fashionable until the large department stores opened. There was a yarn shop in one of them which carried Debbie Bliss and Bouton d'Or yarns.

We returned to the pastry shop where we'd been a few days ago to buy more Kouign Amann and candy.

Today's Baguette: Winner of 7th Place in the 2011 Best Baguette Contest
Today's Cheese: Fourme d'Ambert

Les Halles Area

2011-09-08T13:35:00.001-04:00

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

Belleville and the Search for the Best Baguette

2011-09-07T11:45:00.002-04:00

We got a late start this morning, so stopped for lunch across the street from Pere Lachaise. I forgot to take the photo until we were well into the lunch, so the plates aren't as full as they should be. We had salads again - Nicoise and warm goat cheese.

Today's walk is not from our book of walking tours, so was far less structured than the earlier walks. We went up to Belleville, north of our apartment. We expected to find a Chinatown, but there were actually many more Algerian, Tunisian, and Turkish restaurants than Asian.

We came across a graffiti covered sidestreet.

We also went to Parc de Belleville, which required a steep climb, but offered a good view of the city. You can see the Eiffel Tower in the background of the photo below.

I like projects, so one of our projects on this trip is to eat a baguette from each of the top ten finishers of the 2011 Best Baguette in Paris contest. Today we bought baguettes from numbers 8 and 9.

Today's cheeses: raw milk Camembert, Brie de Melun, and Auvergne

Walking Tour of Upper Marais

2011-09-06T14:36:00.001-04:00

Today's self-guided walking tour reversed the route in our book because we started at lunchtime and the planned lunch was near the end of the walk. It began at the Square du Temple, an attractive park, and from there we went directly to Marché des Enfants Rouges (the Market of the Red Children) on the former site of an orphanage whose children wore red uniforms. It's now a market that sells fruits, vegetables, and lots of prepared foods that can be consumed on the premises.

We bought from the Japanese vendor and had fried chicken and grilled sardine bento boxes.

The building housing the National Archives was built for a mistress of Louis XIV. Very impressive!

Equally impressive is the Musée Carnavalet, the museum of the City of Paris. It has a beautiful garden, and admission is free!

Here's an example of an old sign from the Rue Moufettard neighborhood.

We stopped at a cafe we'd visited several times in 2009 for dessert, coffee, and tea. Our deserts were a Diplomat (a marble cake with Creme Anglaise) and Mille Feuille, layers of puff pastry filled with pastry cream and raspberries. Delicious!

Note to self: Don't walk these tours backwards. Too confusing!

Walking Tour of Southern Marais Area

2011-09-05T10:58:00.001-04:00

When we stopped to put some trash in the bins on our way out of the apartment this morning, I noticed this painting on the wall.

Today's walking tour began at the Paris City Hall and went into the southern part of the Marais, a very fashionable neighborhood with a large Jewish population. The Hotel de Sens is one of the few surviving examples of domestic Gothic architecture. It was built in the 15th century and owned by the Archbishop of Sens. The left-hand gable still has a cannon ball lodged in it (very difficult to see in this photo, but trust me, I saw it).

There were some interesting courtyards and arcades near St. Paul Church.

We had a delicious lunch: a Salade Nicoise and a Norwegian salad, with smoked salmon. The wines were Sancerre and Chablis.

We stopped at Laricol, a pastry and candy shop on Rue de Rivoli. We bought a Breton pastry called Kouign Amann and some candy. I expect a delicious dessert tonight.

Today's Cheeses: Brie de Meaux and Reblochon

Sunday Market

2011-09-04T09:09:00.002-04:00

The Bastille Market is open on Thursdays and Sundays and is one of our favorites because of the chicken crapaudine.

It's a butterflied rotisserie chicken. It comes with potatoes cooked at the bottom of the rotisserie grill that have been flavored with the salty chicken drippings.

We also bought cheese, bread and grape tomatoes.

Here are a few more photos from the market:

Our apartment is on Rue Servan, not too far from Pere Lachaise Cemetery. This morning we noticed that the street signs had the dates 1737 - 1807 and the word "criminalist." Apparently Monsieur Servan was a criminologist.

Today's cheeses: Epoisses and Morbier

First Full Day in Paris

2011-09-03T09:54:00.002-04:00

Finally, a complete night's sleep! What an improvement in disposition! We walked to Place de la Republique to renew our Passe Navigo cards. These cards give us transportation on the subway and busses for the entire month. The cost is 62 euros (about $90).

We then took the Metro to d'Aligre market, a large street market. We stopped at a bistro for lunch. Charcuterie (meats) and cheeses and wine. Delicious!

After lunch we bought some vegetables, grapes, and bread, and then walked back to the apartment.

Our September Apartment

2011-09-03T03:34:00.001-04:00

After a long sleep-deprived night on an airplane, we arrived at Charles DeGaulle airport and took public transportation to our apartment near Pere Lachaise Cemetery. The apartment is small, but comfortable. Here's the living room.

The kitchen is tiny but adequately (not lavishly) furnished. No bread knife! What's up with that? This is Paris, for Pete's sake.

As in many French apartments, the toilet is in a tiny cabine by itself. Not for the claustrophobic - or the long-legged.

The bedroom has a queen sized bed and built-in cupboards.

I think we'll be very comfortable here.

Now it's off to activate our Passe Navigo for unlimited Métro transportation and to a market for fruits and vegetables.

What I've Been Doing Instead of Blogging

2011-04-25T16:34:00.001-04:00

All details are available on Ravelry.

Clogs for Michael

Swing Jacket by Laura Bryant

Sheldon for Niepa

Baby Socks

A Bale of Turtles

Ski Hat

"What the Dog Saw"

2011-02-07T13:41:00.000-05:00

I had already read the individual essays in this book the New Yorker magazine, so they weren't new to me. They look at topics from an unconventional point of view and that is what makes them interesting. However, they were more interesting the first time.

My rating: *** (out of 5)

"Another Year"

2011-02-07T13:37:00.000-05:00

In general, I enjoy Mike Leigh's films, and Another Year is not an exception to this rule. It spans a year in the lives of married couple Tom and Gerri as they deal with troubled friends, the death of a sister-in-law and meeting their son's new girlfriend. Tom and Gerri seem like an ideal couple. They enjoy gardening and cooking together, have a good relationship with their son, and are able to accept life as it comes. Their friend Mary, however, has had one divorce and then wasted years involved with a married man who had no intention of leaving his wife. During the time span of the movie she buys a car which brings her nothing but grief. There's no narrative arc in this movie, it's just a slice of life, but an enjoyable one.

Film Festival - DVD and PVR Category

2011-01-29T19:26:00.000-05:00

Mademoiselle Chambon

I used this movie to practice listening to French, breaking it up into three 40-minute segments and then watching each segment first with English subtitles and then without subtitles. It doesn't have very much dialogue, just a lot of longing looks and meaningful glances, so it didn't work very well for that purpose. Like French movies in general, it takes an honest look at people caught up in the situations that people get caught up in.

My rating: *** (out of 5)

Carlos

Because this movie is six hours long, I had serious reservations about it from the beginning. It is a fictionalized account, done in documentary style, of the pro-Palestinian revolutionary Carlos the Jackal, who was active in the 1970's. We get a fairly detailed look at what he does, but don't really get an explanation of why he does it. Nor do we get an explanation of why men wore such ridiculously long sideburns in the early 1970's.
There's nothing wrong with this movie, but it's not the type of movie I enjoy and that's why I'm giving it a low rating.

My rating: ** (out of 5)

Winter's Bone

If I were a member of the Academy, Winter's Bone would win my vote for best picture (although I haven't seen The Social Network, Inception, 127 Hours, or Toy Story 3 yet). It recounts the story of how Ree Dolly, the 17-year old daughter of meth manufacturer Jessup Dolly, goes about keeping her family together after her father, out on bail, disappears. The music is fantastic and the portrayal of the inter-related families and the "moral" code that ties them together is believable.

My rating: ***** (out of 5)

"The Illusionist"

2011-01-29T16:07:00.000-05:00

French actor Jacques Tati wrote the screenplay for this animated film, with the intention of doing it as a live action film. Roger Ebert argues that it is much more effective as an animated film, and I would have to agree with him. It tells the story of a magician whose career is in rapid decline because audiences are no longer interested in illusionism. A young Scottish woman is enchanted by the magician's art, and attaches herself to him. Although their relationship is chaste, the magician does whatever is necessary to provide her with the material possessions she desires. She eventually is attracted to a younger, more appropriate man. Ebert's review reveals an interesting personal story relating to the screenplay. The animation, most of it hand-drawn, is beautiful and I highly recommend it.

My rating: ****

"The Good Parents"

2011-01-29T15:55:00.000-05:00

It's obvious why older men are attracted to young women. But why do some young women, who don't seem to have a financial motive or to be looking for a father substitute, allow themselves to get involved with controlling older men? Eighteen year old Maya de Jong has left her small town home to move to Melbourne, where she embarks upon an affair with her much older (and married) boss. This echoes the experience of Maya's mother, many years earlier. When Maya's parents come to visit her, she has left town on "a business trip" and in her note to them tells them she's not sure how long she'll be gone. The frantic parents are forced to reconsider some of the decisions they themselves had made at Maya's age.

My rating: ****

"The Cookbook Collector"

2011-01-23T21:04:00.001-05:00

We interrupt this film festival for a quick book review. The Cookbook Collector, by Allegra Goodman, is charming, but flawed. It explores the relationship between Jess, a book loving environmental activist, and her sister Emily, the CEO of a startup tech company. Each of these characters has romantic problems and each of them is exploring the issue of what is truly valuable in life. Although the book is very enjoyable, there are several highly unlikely coincidences that get in the way of the reader accepting the book's action.

My rating: **** (out of 5 - actually 3 1/2, but I don't know how to make half an asterisk)

The Film Festival Continues

2011-01-20T17:29:00.002-05:00

My personal film festival is continuing with four new entries. This may become an annual event.

Black Swan

This psychological horror story focuses on Nina, a ballerina striving to win the dual role of white swan and black swan in Swan Lake. Her drive to perfection leads her to mutilate herself and to become obsessed with the ballerina she perceives as her rival. The style is so over the top that it's sometimes funny. Barbara Hershey gives Faye Dunaway a run for her money as the ballerina's evil mother. The ticket taker at the theater described this movie as "weird, but very good." I agree.

My rating: **** (out of 5)

The King's Speech

I had no idea that George VI had a stammer. This movie explores how he deals with this problem when he unexpectedly ascends to the throne due to the abdication of his brother David, the Duke of Windsor.

My rating: *** (out of 5)

The Fighter

The boxing movie is among my least favorite genres, but I chose to see this one because it has gotten such favorable reviews. It follows the formula of a determined underdog who achieves victory by dint of hard work. I still don't like boxing movies, but have to admit that this one was good.

My rating: *** (out of 5)

Somewhere

Sophia Coppola takes a minimalist approach to this portrayal of a movie star who is dissatisfied with the emptiness of his life. He has a great relationship with his daughter, who lives with her mother, but most of his time is spent doing publicity for movies and engaging in shallow relationships. He's dissatisfied with everything except the relationship with the daughter but doesn't make much of an effort to spend more time on that and less time on the dissatisfying aspects of his life.

My rating: *** (out of 5)

By Nightfall, by Michael Cunningham

2011-01-16T14:48:00.000-05:00

What is the connection between love and beauty? Art dealer Peter Harris finds himself attracted to his wife's much younger troubled brother Mizzy (for "Mistake" - he's some 20 years younger than his youngest sibling). Is it because Mizzy looks like a younger version of his wife? Is it because the art Peter is selling is good enough, but not transcendent? And is the reason Mizzy comes on to him actually a manipulative attempt to prevent Peter from telling his wife that Mizzy is again using drugs?

My rating: **** (out of 5)

Two Movies

2011-01-15T20:14:00.002-05:00

I love movies. There were times in my life when I routinely saw several movies per week - and on several occasions, several movies in a day. Now, however, it seems to be more difficult to actually get out to a theater. Because this time of year is best for the types of movies I enjoy, I'm making more of an effort to actually see some. I saw two very good ones this week.

Blue Valentine is about a mismatched couple who fall in love, marry, and then grow apart from each other. It is beautifully acted by Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling. Not a feel-good movie, but a very convincing movie.

My rating: ***** (out of 5)

True Grit is a much more stylized movie, a western. Again, the actors do superb jobs. Mattie, a 14-year-old living in 1870's Arkansas and whose father murderer has fled to Indian country, speaks in a Biblical-Shakespearean style. She's determined to avenge her father's death and partners with a U.S. marshall to do so. The music, mostly hymns, enhances the movie. Once again the Coen brothers have succeeded in giving a fresh look to a familiar genre.

My rating: **** (out of 5)

"Brooklyn" by Colm Toibin

2011-01-01T09:19:00.000-05:00

I expected to like this book more than I did because it was very favorably reviewed and on many best books lists for 2009. It describes the experiences of Eilis, who immigrates from Ireland to the United States shortly after World War II. It does a great job of describing the homesickness and alienation of immigrants, but the characters aren't particularly nuanced. Toibin's The Master, about Henry James, was quite superior.

My rating: *** (out of 5)

"A Visit from the Goon Squad"

2010-12-28T10:18:00.000-05:00

This book (actually a collection of inter-related short stories and one PowerPoint presentation) covers the time span from the 1980's to the near future. The characters are involved in music and some of them go from being uninhibited amateur performers totally in love with music to selling their souls once they actually become employed in the industry. The goon squad is, of course, time. The author has managed to incorporate post-modern elements (the PowerPoint chapter and footnotes) without being annoying or precious.

My rating: ***** (out of 5)

"Foreign Bodies" by Cynthia Ozick

2010-12-25T16:45:00.000-05:00

Author Cynthia Ozick says that this book is a photographic negative of The Ambassadors by Henry James. I've never read that book, but this one is about Bea Nightingale, who re-connects with her overbearing brother Marvin who wants her to travel to Paris and convince his son Julian to return to the United States. She travels to Paris to find Julian married to a displaced person who Bea at first believes to be taking advantage of Julian but comes to believe is a good match for him. Bea also re-connects with her ex-husband, a composer, who has left a grand piano in her apartment for the 20-some years they've been divorced. She takes control of her life by getting rid of all signs of that piano.

My rating: **** (out of 5)

X-mas Gloves

2010-12-25T16:38:00.000-05:00

Pattern: http://www.freevintageknitting.com/mittens/617-gloves-pattern.html

Yarn: Dale of Norway/Dalegarn Heilo

I made these gloves for my male Korean ESL student. I completed the first glove and thought it looked too large, so I did the second glove only up through the palm. Then I gave it to him on the needles last week so I could see what adjustments I needed. Fortunately, I only had to shorten two fingers by about 1/2 inch. I'll give the completed gloves to him on Monday when we meet for our tutoring session.

I'm also making a pair for myself from the same pattern, so am a little tired of this pattern.

Remembering

2010-12-20T07:00:00.001-05:00

Nicole Krauss' book "Great House" is about remembering. It takes the form of 8 short stories about four people who have owned a large, multi-drawered desk at one time or another. The desk was originally owned by a Jewish family in Hungary prior to World War II and eventually makes its way back to that same family. I didn't like the book as much as I'd expected to. Wish I'd had time to re-read it, but I have another book that is due back at the library in a week.

My rating: *** (out of 5)

My First Shawl

2010-12-05T15:14:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Show Your Colors Shawl

Yarn: Andean Lace

Needles: U.S. 4

This is my first lace pattern and I'm quite pleased with it. I'm not exactly a shawl person, so don't know how much use the garment will actually get. This was a very simple pattern. I did much of it at knit night and on an airplane, so distractions were not a big problem with this knitting. I'm happy with it, but if I were making another shawl, I'd find a pattern with neck shaping so that the shawl doesn't scrunch up around the back of the neck.

Several Finished Objects

2010-11-14T13:24:00.001-05:00

Finally my camera has been repaired and I can report on several finished objects. First up is Truck Mittens for Niepa. I used some leftover Baby Cashmerino yarn. The pattern is Vroom-vroom mittens available on Ravelry.

Next are mittens for Ella, the daughter of one of my yoga teachers. They are Baby Cashmerino also, and I used my basic mitten pattern, available here.

The Bohus Stickening Cuffs are from a class I took at Stitches Midwest. The technique involves a very fine yarn with colorwork. Unlike fair isle, there is purling. Also, the floats can be considerably longer than with fair isle work. The result is pretty, but I don't have the patience to do this on a larger project. I received the yarn and pattern in a kit during the class.

My last project is Petrie, done in a linen yarn. I'm very pleased with how this turned out. Unfortunately it will be too cold to wear a sleeveless linen top in Michigan until about next June.

"Just Kids" by Patti Smith

2010-11-12T07:29:00.001-05:00

This memoir of Patti Smith's relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe recalls the 1960's and 70's in New York City. She pursues a career in poetry, art, and finally music, while Mapplethorpe, a student at Pratt when she met him, works on his art, eventually focusing on photography. Their lives intersected with some of the most interesting people of the 1970's, including Jimi Hendrix, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, and Janis Joplin. There's even a Bob Dylan slighting.

My rating: **** (out of 5)

"Everything" by Kevin Canty

2010-10-09T15:16:00.000-04:00

Everything, by Kevin Canty, reminded me of Jim Harrison, one of my favorite authors. The setting is rural Montana and the characters are physically tough but emotionally vulnerable. June has been grieving for her dead husband, Taylor, for 11 years, and has decided that she is done with being "the widow." R. L., Taylor's best friend, is regretting his failed marriage and offers hospitality to a former girlfriend who is dying of cancer with little support from her own husband. Meanwhile, Layla, R. L.'s daughter, becomes involved with Edgar, a married employee of R. L., with predictable results. All of these characters struggle to come to terms with grief and loneliness.

Others have compared Canty's writing to Hemingway's, and Richard Ford's, and I see where they're coming from. It's very direct.

My rating: **** (out of 5)

Braised Pork with Pappardelle

2010-09-14T18:35:00.000-04:00

I was inspired to make this after having a similar dish at Anteprima in Chicago. The braising liquid is red wine, tomatoes, vegetables, and herbs. I substituted cut up lasagna noodles since I couldn't find pappardelle. I got the recipe here. I'll definitely be making this again.

Another American Family Saga by Jonathan Franzen

2010-09-08T08:14:00.000-04:00

Freedom follows the Berglund family from St. Paul to Washington, D.C. and New York City. Walter is frenquently described as "perfect." He works for conservation organizations and is devoted to his wife Patty, despite her sometimes crippling depression. Patty abandoned her wealthy but neglectful family years ago to go to college in Minnesota where she met Walter and his musician friend, Richard Katz. Walter and Patty's son, Joey, is alienated from Patty when she cannot accept his relationship with a lower class girl. Joey becomes attracted to conservative politics and is seduced into working for a sleazy military contractor. However, Walter also succumbs to similar temptations while Patty succumbs to romantic temptations.

This book is on the same tier as The Corrections, which I loved. I have only minor quibbles with it.

My rating: ***** (out of 5)

"Summertime," a Post-Modern Biography

2010-08-31T11:18:00.000-04:00

This book purports to be a biography of John Coetzee written after his death and composed of interviews with 5 people who knew him.

My rating: **** (out of 5)

Waves Socks

2010-08-31T11:14:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Pyroclastic

Yarn: ONline Linie 5 Corafino

Needles: Size 1

These lace socks give the impression of cables.

"Solar"

2010-08-03T07:35:00.001-04:00

Ian McEwan's Solar is a satire about academia, business, and self centeredness. Michael Beard, a scientist who made a brilliant discovery early in his career, for which he won a Nobel, is incapable of faithfulness to either of his five wives and numerous mistresses. He can't control his eating and drinking. He steals another scientist's work, and he arranges to have his wife's lover convicted for a murder which was actually an accidental death. He's a thoroughly unlikeable character, but in the end, of course, his crimes catch up with him.

My rating: *** (out of 5)

"The Kids Are Alright" - The Parents? Not So Much

2010-07-31T15:40:00.000-04:00

Marriage is difficult. That's the message of this movie. Both the movie and the performances are outstanding. Annette Bening, in particular, gives a great performance as a lesbian mom disturbed by the changes in her household after the sperm donor for their 2 children meets the family and her wife (played by Julianne Moore) finds herself inexplicably attracted to him.

My rating: **** (out of 5)

My Sophisticated Hoodie

2010-07-19T18:53:00.001-04:00

Pattern: Sophisticated Hoodie from Sally Melville's Mother Daughter Knits

Yarn: Rowan Calmer

Zucchini and Ricotta Galette

2010-07-15T19:41:00.000-04:00

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Delicious!

In Sickness and in Health

2010-07-14T06:52:00.001-04:00

In The Unnamed, Tim Farnsworth is a wealthy, happily married, successful New York City attorney who occasionally is compelled, by an illness doctors cannot diagnose, to walk until the point of exhaustion, whereupon he falls asleep wherever he is. At the end of these episodes, he calls his wife Jane and she always comes to get him, wherever he is. Until the day she doesn't, when instead of saying, "Where are you? I'll come to get you," she says merely, "Come home." The book is about dichotomies, faith vs. nonbelief, committment vs. personal freedom, body vs. mind. It's a peculiar but satisfying book.

My rating: **** (out of 5)

The Liberal Guilt Movie

2010-06-30T16:02:00.000-04:00

Please Give features Catherine Keener as a New Yorker who makes her living buying mid-19th century furniture from heirs who are unaware of its value, and re-selling it at a large profit. She feels guilty about her work and much more. She lavishes money on the homeless while being frugal with her troubled teen-aged daughter. She explores volunteer work, but doesn't actually commit to doing any because she becomes too emotionally involved with the clients. She and her husband have bought the apartment of their elderly and unpleasant neighbor and are trying to restrain themselves from wishing for her demise so they can expand their apartment. The movie gives an amusing look at the upper middle class and their desire for compassion - as long as it doesn't interfere with their living standard.

My rating: **** (out of 5)

Evildoers in Scotland

2010-06-27T18:14:00.000-04:00

Usually I save detective novels for when I'm sick and need some light reading, but I made an exception for When Will There Be Good News? The four main characters have all been damaged by the premature loss of mothers and other family members. When one of them is kidnapped along with her baby, all of them respond immediately with a ferocity that shows their determination to prevent an earlier tragedy from being repeated.

My rating: **** (out of 5)

Artists in Love

2010-06-20T16:09:00.000-04:00

World War I changed everything for the citizens of England, including the artists. Life Class explores the effects of the war on several art students at the Slade School of Fine Art. Two of the men enlist as ambulance drivers while Elinor Brooke resists pressure to volunteer as a nurse and continues to work at her art.

My rating: **** (out of 5)

"War Dances"

2010-06-14T16:05:00.002-04:00

Sherman Alexie's War Dances is a collection of short stories and poems. The stories tend to be about middle-aged men, some of them Indians, living in the northwest and coping with everyday crises. I liked the short stories a lot. The poems - not so much.

My rating: *** (out of 5)

Jane Austen in Connecticut

2010-06-08T07:00:00.001-04:00

In The Three Weissmanns of Westport, Joseph, Betty Weissmann's husband of 48 years, has just left her for a younger co-worker. The younger co-worker covets the Weissmann's upper west side apartment, so Joseph manipulates it so that Betty moves temporarily to a cottage in Westport. She is joined there by her daughter Miranda, whose business as a literary agent has recently imploded due to her "Awful Authors" who have been found out writing fictitious memoirs. Also joining them is daughter Annie, who fights an uphill battle to keep the extravagant Betty and Miranda in check. Unlikely romantic entanglements ensue.

My rating: *** (out of 5)

Rom-Com in Italy

2010-05-31T19:02:00.001-04:00

Letters to Juliet is entirely predictable, but also entirely beguiling. Sophie, a New Yorker fact checker, goes with her restaurateur fiance Vincent to Verona for a pre-wedding vacation. Vincent becomes so involved meeting with suppliers and learning new recipes that he neglects Sophie. She discovers a 50-year-old letter to the fictional Juliet (of Romeo and Juliet) confessing that Claire, the sender had returned home to England rather than meeting her Italian lover, Lorenzo. When Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) receives Sophie's response to her letter, she immediately goes to Verona to find Lorenzo, accompanied by her grandson, Charlie. Charlie, Claire, and Sophie set out on a trek to find Lorenzo with predictable results. Yes, it's sappy and frequently unbelievable, but the Italian countryside is beautiful, and who doesn't want to believe in happy endings?

My rating: **** (out of 5)

Jab Chae

2010-05-29T15:28:00.000-04:00

My Korean student (I tutor her in English as a second language) gave me the recipe for Jab Chae and I made it today. The glass noodles are made from sweet potato starch rather than flour. There are plenty of vegetables and a small amount of beef. I found lots of versions of this on the Internet, some of them vegetarian. The glass noodles are very slippery. Fortunately I was alone when eating it, so I could slurp with abandon.

Like many stir fries, there's a significant amount of preparation time, cutting the vegetables, cooking the noodles, etc. However, the cooking goes very quickly. This was delicious, and I expect to make it again.

Book: "The Lonely Polygamist"

2010-05-27T14:48:00.001-04:00

Why is Golden Richards lonely with four wives and 28 children? He has allowed himself to fall into a life dictated by his father, his church, and his wives. The crisis in this book comes about when he falls for the common law wife of a very dangerous brothel operator and begins to recognize his dissatisfaction with his current life. After a tragic incident, Golden does start to become a better father and husband. However, the book recognizes the difficulty of actually changing one's life, and the ending is by no means a happy one.

My rating: **** (out of 5)

"Exit Through the Gift Shop"

2010-05-07T16:50:00.000-04:00

Exit Through the Gift Shop may or may not have been directed by the British street artist Banksy. It explores the questions of what art is and who it belongs to, as well as taking a critical look at the commercialization of art. It purports to be about Thierry Guetta, a Frenchman transplanted to Los Angeles who becomes interested in and begins filming street artists all over the world, claiming to be making a documentary. He befriends the elusive Banksy who convinces him that he himself should be making art, so he does, incorporating the techniques of the artists he has been filming. He has a wildly successful show in Los Angeles. Since the film Guetta creates is hopelessly bad, Banksy takes the footage and makes his own film about Guetta and Guetta's questionable art.

My rating: **** (out of 5)

And thanks for the image, Banksy

The God of Love

2010-05-05T11:09:00.000-04:00

Amy Bloom's Where the God of Love Hangs Out is a very satisfying short story collection about - what else? - love. There are 2 sets of connected stories following characters through the years and lots of surprises.

My rating: **** (out of 5)

"Juliet" Critiqued

2010-05-04T12:07:00.001-04:00

What I liked about Juliet Naked:

The main character, a woman, was plausible.
Like life, the conclusion did not tie up all the loose ends in an emotionally satisfying way.

What I didn't like:

The factual errors. If you're trying to go to North Berkeley via BART and you get on the Pittsburg Bay Point train in error, when you get to Rockridge, you only have to return to MacArthur, not to 19th Street to get on the Richmond train. Also, although BART maps are color coded, I've never heard the Richmond train called the Red Line. On the other hand, why am I being so picky about these details? It is fiction after all.

The book should have been about 200 pages rather than 400 pages.

My rating: *** (out of 5)

Oddly enough, I'm tempted to give more stars in case the author reads this review. I guess that shows how much I believed the book while reading it.

Tapas

2010-04-29T21:43:00.000-04:00

Had a delicious dinner tonight at a Spanish restaurant, El Meson. We enjoyed grilled anchovies, shrimp, sauteed oyster mushrooms, and lamb brochette, accompanied by sangria.

Santa Fe

2010-04-29T21:34:00.003-04:00

Budget Rental Cars gave us the ugliest rental car in North America. It's a dirty mustard color. What was Ford thinking when they added that color to their repertoire?

We saw an iguana on the wall of our condo this morning.

The End of a Marriage

2010-04-26T08:25:00.000-04:00

Louise Erdrich is one of my favorite authors, and Shadow Tag, although different from many of her other books, is a satisfying, although disturbing, read. It tells the story of Irene America and her acrimonious relationship with her artist husband Gil. Irene discovers Gil has been reading her diary and begins to use that diary to deceive and manipulate him, while keeping an authentic diary in a safe deposit box. Irene's drinking and Gil's abusiveness leave disturbing wounds on their three children. In spite of Irene's fierce determination to protect her children, she is inextricably wound up in the relationship with Gil and unable to just end it in spite of the damage it causes her family.

My rating: **** (out of 5)