Early Valentines Day 2-12-16

Since so many restaurants and other businesses are closed on Sunday, we decided to celebrate early. Deb had made reservations at Le Meurice, one of the highest end hotels in Paris, for afternoon tea. In relation to so many of it's other offerings the afternoon tea is a real bargain.  Less than twice the cost of a round of drinks at the bar, you get a selection of small sandwiches, scones, and a tray of sweets along with a pot of tea.  And for only 14 euros more you can add champagne, a steal.
But prior to our tea she also found a musical organ performance at the Oratorio de la Louvre, a 17th century church that hosted the funerals of Louis XIII and Richelieu.  It was taken over by the Revolution and then finally given to the Protestants by Napoleon I in 1811.  So it's now a Protestant church, and it's quite stark inside but it has a very lovely organ.  It was a free concert so it gave us a good excuse to see the inside of the church and hear some good organ music. It delivered on at least one count, the organ is lovely, the music was not quite up to our expectations (there is a reason why some composers are considered minor) comprised of Dutch and Swiss composers from the 16th to 20th century.  Interestingly the 20th century Swiss composer was more melodic than the 16th and 17th century composers.  Oh well, it was still interesting.
After the concert we had a couple hours before our tea reservation, so since we were directly across the street from the Louvre we knew what we needed to do.  So we went in and headed for some of the rooms full of early Mesopotamian art that we either missed or glossed towards the end of the day on earlier visits.
We went through about 5 rooms and saw some really beautiful objects from ancient Susa, Mari, and Persepolis.  There were many small sculptures, jewelry and pottery that were so carefully crafted, that they were breathtaking.  There were also glazed brick walls from Darius' royal capitol at Susa, which are very much like the glazed wall bricks of the Ishtar Gate from Babylon that we saw in Berlin.  We had an enjoyable couple hours viewing before walking over to Le Meurice.
When we walked in they greeted us very warmly, took our name and then our coats before walking us in to our waiting table.  The teas are held in the Le Dali room which is fairly large room with mirrored walls and a painted fabric ceiling, it was named in honor of the artist.  He rented a room for a month every year for around 30 years and so they named it for him.
We ordered and to begin, they brought us each a pot of tea, then followed with a glass of champagne to sip. A short time thereafter they brought out a 3 level tray covered with goodies.  The bottom level had 2 groups of 5 little sandwiches, salmon and caviar, fresh mozzarella and tomato,  grilled tuna on brioche, a rare beef, and foie gras and fig.  The next level was 4 fruit scones along with a cup each of jam, lemon curd, and clotted cream.  The final level was house made mini desserts 2 each of; a bitter chocolate eclair, thick wafer covered with a nut cream filled shell, a lemon meringue, a caramel covered soft cookie, and finally a nut covered madeleine.   I almost forgot to mention that twice during the service a chef

Add caption

 came out of the kitchen with a tray of freshly baked and buttered madeleines. Coming around to each table she passed them out, an outstanding touch.  We spent about 3 hours at tea before heading back to the apartment for the evening.

Got the right one today - Musee Curie 2-11-16

Well at least I got the right place today and we made it to the Musee Curie.  It's so easy if you're pointed in the right direction to begin with.
This was a pilgrimage visit for Deb.
As I've mentioned in a couple earlier posts Marie Curie lived out in our neighborhood for some years, and she did research at a  laboratory in nearby Aubervilliers.  But today we went to her primary laboratory immediately in the vicinity of the Sorbonne where she was finally allowed to become a professor (her husband refused to become a prof without her after their Nobel prizes - her appointment caused a furor).  The lab building, now a museum, is just a couple blocks from the
 Pantheon and Ecole Superior Normale for Physics. It is in a very old section of town, in the area that the Romans inhabited.   This building is where most of the research on Radium and the new radioactive elements took place.
The museum is very small, essentially 4 rooms.  In 2 rooms they have conserved both her office and chemical lab.  And the other rooms contain pieces of equipment that were used in their research.
It's quite interesting that Madame Curie came over to the U.S. in the late 1920's and toured the country giving lectures and demonstrations.  On this visit she was presented a gift from a women's group consisting of one gram of radium for her research,  It cost over 100,000 dollars all of which was raised by individual small donations.  Radium at that time cost more than 10 times the cost per weight of the highest priced diamonds. It was so precious that upon her death she willed the remaining radium to her daughter Irene (also a Nobel prize winner for the discovery of artificial radioactivity) so that the research could continue. Curie's laboratory continued to turn out remarkable work, continued by her daughter and son-in-law and her students, even after her death. For example, the element Francium was discovered there.  Due to the methods used during her life all of her papers are contaminated and radioactive.  They are kept under protective coverings and even today in order to review them researchers must wear protective lead.
After our visit we took a walk in the 5th arr. and down along the Seine, as we got there it started raining. As we hurried across the bridge we looked into the river and were quite surprised at how high the water was flowing, it was covering some of the lower steps along the quai.  It must have been at least 3 feet higher than normal, likely a testament to how much rain has been falling in the central part of the country.   As we walked along we went through two squalls of hail, not the heavy hail like Colorado but lighter, small, and not wind driven.  So that's the third time we've seen hail since we got here.  By the time we got back to the apartment it was sunny.

We always start out with the right intentions, continuing the goodbye tour 2-10-16

I guess they hired a meteorologist from the U.S. for Paris because the day dawned bright and clear and stayed that way until late in the day when it got cloudy, so much for the steady rain that was forecast.
We have a list of places we want to visit for either lunch or dinner before we leave.  So today we decided to try La Bourse ou La Vie.  It's owned and run by Daniel Rose, the American chef that created Spring which has been our "go to" high end restaurant in Paris for several years now.  He opened it earlier this year and we just had to give it a try, because it's much less formal.  He serves traditional French bistro food at reasonable prices.  It's very small with what appears to be around 20 places.  We just showed up without a
reservation and luckily there was a table available, all the other tables were filled.  I had cream of Jerusalem artichoke soup garnished with a comte cheese while Deb had marinated poirot and green onion for starters.  For plats Deb had a steamed cod with ginger and I had pot-au-feu, a kind of stew.  But it started with deep fried veal cheek in ravigote sauce on a low bowl and a pot of stewed beef, carrot, kale, turnip, and beef marrow bone.  So you eat the cheek then spoon the contents of the pot into the bowl.  Fantastic.   For desert we shared a rum baba which looked like sort of like a bagel with a creme filled center.  They added a bit of orange to the cake which was a very delicate touch and then drowned it in rum, woohoo!  However be warned, there is no sign other than the menu that identifies it, so you have to be specifically looking for it.
After lunch we decided that Nissim-Camondo was not a good possibility. So we decided to go to the Musee Curie instead and it was south in the 5th arr.  Now I don't know what I must have been thinking but I knew exactly where it was and so we plotted route down via the Metro.   We got on and had to change trains at St. Lazare, no problem.  We took the next train down to the stop that I had previously identified and got off.   I didn't recognize the exact corner so we asked a man if he knew where the Musee Curie was located but he didn't.  So I volunteered that it was right next to the Institute Pasteur, he did know where that was and gave us instructions.  So we followed them and as soon as we saw it I realized that I knew exactly where the Musee Pasteur was and for whatever reason Musee Curie didn't break through the concrete brain pan.  And to top it off it was closed anyway!  So we had a nice walk in the 15th arr. and finally caught a bus back to the apartment.  A nice walk on a pretty much sunny day.  Hope I don't do that again.

Here Comes the Rain Again 2-9-16

Rained again last night for most of the night and into the morning.  But we had to go shopping and in a bit of timing luck we managed to get that done in one of the lulls.  By the time we got back to the
apartment it had started to rain again.   Then we had a quick bit of thunder, lightning, and hail, they are coming through in squalls, very intensely and then gone.
The last dentist appointment for Deb was today so we ran down to Hotel Drouot to look at what goodies might be for sale before the appointment.   With an hour to go before the appointment we decided to walk from Drouot over to our dentist's office.   We were in and out of sprinkles pretty much the whole time, nothing too bad or too long lasting.
On the way over I saw these workmen doing plaster work on the ceiling of one of the nice apartment buildings.  This type of plasterwork is almost dead in the U.S. and is declining here in Paris but it was really fun to see that there are still people who are plying the trade.
The forecast is for intensifying rain as the week goes on so we'll just have to see what we can accomplish as far as getting out to enjoy our remaining time.  Tomorrow the plan is to try to see the Musee Nissim-Comondo, this was a 19th century bourgeois families townhouse in the 8th arr.  They were very well off and amassed a very nice collection of art and antiques in their home.  The father was decorated by the French government for many good services, but alas they were Jewish, and during the second world war the government let them be transported and all but one perished.  The museum is a lasting memorial to them and it's very lovely.   That's plan A, we'll see if it works out.

Museum of Man 2-8-16

Today's adventure was a trip to the Museum of Man which is located in the Palace of Chaillot located at Trocadero (across the Seine, just west of the Tour Eiffel).  The museum is a wing of the ethnological museum at Quai Branly specializing in archeology, kind of a rehash of museums that we've visited in the past, but it was still interesting.  It's very much
 oriented towards younger visitors with loads of interactive displays and animations.  We were both amazed because there were so many people visiting today, what's up with that?  Lots of kids and also many seniors on a Monday, weird.
As I gazed out a window at the Eiffel Tower I saw a rainbow today which is one of the very few I've seen here.   A rainbow in February is unique to me.
I watched quite a bit of the Superbowl early this morning, from 00:30 to about 02:30 (half-time), then I snoozed until about 4:15 and woke to see the last 4 minutes of the game.   What a great win for the Broncos, I really like Peyton but I think it may be time for him to retire from active playing.  I think he would be a fantastic coach and maybe he will consider that, who knows.  Anyway a fun game to watch if you're a Broncos fan.
In the morning yesterday I signed up for the 2016 version of Ride the Rockies which will be a very strenuous route this year.  Our team name is "Magic Bus" so this pic seemed appropriate.   Up until this last year I've ridden in all but 2 of them since 1999, so I'm eager and also apprehensive since I haven't been on a bike for well over a year.  I'm planning on a 4 day ride down in Louisiana at the end of March, assuming I can begin training as soon as we get back from Paris.

Deb miscellaneous thoughts February 7, 2016

*Had a quiet day in the 'hood today. There's a newly opened grill restaurant on the canal, just a couple of blocks over and we thought it would be fun to try it. There haven't been many new restaurants opening in our neighborhood since we've been here, in contrast to the many new apartment/condo buildings that have been finished. So we sauntered over, and much to our surprise, the place was jammed. Obviously, others had the same witty Sunday lunch
 thought. However, after a short wait and drinks under the heaters at the tables outside, we were ushered in for a window table. Had a pleasant lunch (grilled chicken and grilled pork ribs) and enjoyed watching the world walk/cycle/scooter/jog by on the canal. Not necessarily memorable food, but tasty and a fun atmosphere.

*The clouds were scudding by at a high rate and the wind blowing, although temperatures were fairly mild. There were interspersed periods of sunlight so we took advantage of them to stroll over into the park and by the huge science museum. I had some thoughts of visiting the museum this afternoon, but was seduced by the sunshine into staying outside. From some of the weather reports, we may be expecting rain every day for the next 10 days or so, and I didn't want to miss an opportunity to generate Vitamin D. So we got out and flaneur'd along with many of our neighbors. (flaner - to stoll without fixed purpose, observing.)

*Speaking of flaneuring, a quote from Victor Hugo in Les Miserables:
"To err is human,
To flaneur is Parisian."

*Warren had spotted a wonderful (and happily inexpensive) copper pan lid for me yesterday at the brocantes. I was delighted since I didn't have one in this size and had been looking for one since I got back from Colorado in November, having had a chance to measure the pot while I was home. Years ago, for our silver anniversary, we bought ourselves a "batterie de cuisine" of copper pots at BHV. (yes, I do know the difference between silver and copper - a Chem degree is good for some things - but cooking in silver pots is not nearly as practical.) The memory of buying those caused me to muse on the pleasant formality of buying things in Paris. When I bought my copper pots, the sales ladies were totally sympathetic to my wanting them all to have the same makers' marks, and went to some trouble to help me gather the set. Then each one was carefully wrapped in tissue and packed, so that Warren could stagger home to Denver with them in a crippling backpack. Yesterday, I bought a little piece of wrought iron, a handmade fragment, from an elderly woman who specializes in antique lamp parts. This was just a little piece out of her junk-box by the front door and it only cost 5 euros. I had even hesitated to ask her about it since she looked rather grim and formidable. However, in the usual French mode, as soon as we started to chat she warmed, smiled and proceeded to explain how and when it had been made and how I should gently clean it with a soft wire brush and so on. She then made sure I had it wrapped fully so it would injure my bag or stain it with rust. A lot of trouble for 5 euros. Similarly, some years ago, I bought a small paperweight for my mom who collected paperweights. When the sales woman heard it was a gift for my mom, she went all-out, wrapping it beautifully in several colors of tissue in a package that became a lovely tissue rose inside a matching box. Mom and I couldn't bare to unwrap it for several months. The packing and care given to presentation were as important as the purchase/gift. Just musing...

*On the way over to the restaurant, we dropped off several bags of clothes and shoes at the big charity/recycling bin. We're not exactly packing yet, but we are doing a bit of sorting and organizing. Many of the clothes we brought will be heading to Emmaus, the homeless charity founded in Paris by the Carthusian Abbe Pierre in the year of my birth. Abbe Pierre had been a member of the Resistance and after the war, he became involved with the many homeless veterans and refugees. The "companions of Abbe Pierre"  started picking rags and selling them, which began the work program which continues now, with Emmaus offering jobs to "companions"  sorting donated clothing, repairing donated furniture for sale, building housing for the homeless etc. Much like Goodwill in the US.

*Despite the short days and overcast sky, spring comes so much earlier here. There are already drifts of daffodils blooming, looking like patches of spilled sunshine under the grim, cloudy sky. Plum trees are flowering, and several sorts of bushes I don't recognize from my cold-country gardening background. Primroses and pansies have kept up the good fight since before Christmas. Today I spotted the first forsythia in the neighborhood. It always makes me think of my mom. And with that, a happy memory of a poem Lee Patton wrote about my mom and another of her favorite flowers, phlox:

                                          Flavia’s Phlox 

She’d hand-picked seeds

and planted them for us

in our new yard.  After

they bloomed, we hand-

picked starts for neighbors.

Now every June ends

with phlox’s scant scent

uniting garden to garden.

It’s only this coming June

that she will never seed.

To me, her face was a map

of some vanished country,

a better place any fool

would rather be, all routes

leading to easy hospitality.

People like Flavia made

this prairie home for us,

sunbaked plain grown easy

under shadow – cast from

the rooted energies

potent in her seeds.

Where every plant was hand-put,

every seed hand-cast to this

fragrant, gaudy fruition,

we’ll keep sharing starts

in a clump of common gardens

that started from her seeds.

By Lee Patton

Once an Addict Always an Addict, to Brocantes Anyway 2-6-15

Today there was a brocante market right in our neighborhood, about 20 minutes walk, so that's where we headed this morning.  It was relatively small, but being February, and cloudy, and windy we still had perhaps 25 booths to look at.  With our time getting short we rationalise that we won't get many more opportunities to "fleece the locals".  I suppose there are other things we could be doing but on the whole we've set a pretty high mark for getting around to see the sights.  There wasn't anything to really tempt us at this sale, so we caught a bus over to the big weekend market that is next to the Porte de Clignancourt flea market.  It's a straight shot from one of the buses that comes within a block of our apartment so we headed over there for the afternoon.
It was very busy today and more dealers were open than anytime in the past that we've been there so we were able to spend several hours going from booth to booth.  It was fun to go through and see things for sale that we recognized from the auction at Drouot two days ago.


A couple things tempted, but we were able to resist and a couple more were irresistible.  So we came home with another copper pan lid, from E. Dehillerin, and a bit of hand wrought iron decoration, luckily neither is very big and heavy.  The pot lid will be perfect for the smaller pans we have in Denver now and for 10 euros, as I said irresistible.