Dec 17

More Vacation Lessons

Nobody needed to visit an emergency room this year. We got to Charles de Gaulle Airport in plenty of time to catch our flight home. We had congenial companionship with our friend Bruce and Julian’s cousin Kitty. With the exception of the train ride back from Chartres, it was a very pleasant vacation. As usual, we learned new things on this trip.

  • Medieval churches don’t have central heating. It can be mighty cold in them. Keep your scarves and gloves handy.
  • Just before the trip, Julian turned me loose in REI as an early Christmas present. The black trail-running shoes were ideal on the cobblestones of Paris and Chartres. They also didn’t scream, “I’m an American!”
  • From Julian: Andouillette sausage is a little too much information for him. Remember the old adage that it’s best not to know how sausage and politics are made.
  • Be prepared to walk to more distant Metro stations during strikes and Yellow Vest protest days.
  • The Paris region handles ice storms about as well as Seattle does – not very. On those evenings, staying close to home with a hot meal and a mug of vin chaud is a good idea.
  • Finally, forget the French Freeze stereotype. We met many helpful folks throughout our vacation. They were lifesavers on the icebound train from Chartres. Merci beaucoup!

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/17/more-vacation-lessons/

Dec 16

A Train Wreck of a Day

We took the train out of Paris to Chartres on Saturday to visit the cathedral. Getting to Gare Montparnasse was a feat in itself, given the closures of many Metro stations due to the Gilets Jaunes (yellow vest) protests. However, we got to the station and reached the town around noon.

Lunch was at Tomate & Piment, a restaurant halfway between the train station and the cathedral. The soundtrack was the Beatles, which is always a good sign to me. This might have been the second best meal we had in France on this trip. Julian had chicken liver pâté as an appetizer. We both had veal roast with orange sauce. For dessert, I had the creation below: Two hemispheres of chocolate held pineapple and cream. The garnishes were pomegranate seeds, a starfruit slice, and a peach or mango swirl. Very tasty.

The cathedral was amazing – and cold. One could study the stained glass windows for days. Bruce had the idea that he should rent a place in Chartres for a month and contemplate the cathedral every day. The surprise to me was this zodiac window. The Catholic Church disparaged astrology as being heretical.

The zodiac window in the Cathedral in Chartres. Note the Pisces symbol in the lower right.

We got on the train back to Paris around 3:30. About halfway back, the train stopped unexpectedly. No announcements for some time. When there was an announcement, it was in French. A bilingual person told us that there was ice on the overhead wires for the train that impeded its movement. We waited and waited some more. The smokers got restless and opened the exit doors so they could get their nicotine fixes. Despite the chaos, the atmosphere in our car was festive. The group sitting in front of us was laughing and telling jokes. A woman who didn’t make it to her potluck shared pancakes she had made.

Around 9:30, it was announced that a train would come from Paris and take us back to Chartres for the night. Julian reserved a hotel room for the three of us through booking.com. Shortly after we got on the train, it was announced that buses would take us back to Paris. We ran to the bus. We didn’t get back to the flat until 1:30.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/16/a-train-wreck-of-a-day/

Dec 16

A New Title for the Trip

Julian originally called this trip “To the Barricades”, in honor of the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vest) protests that have been occurring every Saturday for several weeks. The more apropos title might be “Aux Églises” (To the Churches). Here’s the rundown of the ones we’ve visited on this trip:

St. Denis, Sainte Chapelle, Notre Dame de Paris, Sacré-Coeur, Chartres.

We attended an organ concert at St. Eustache this evening. Bruce went off this morning to attend mass at another church in the St. Germain neighborhood.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/16/a-new-title-for-the-trip/

Dec 16

Montmartre Revisited

In a post three years ago, I registered my reservations about the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris and the Basilica of Sacré-Coeur. We went there today after our sojourn to the Eiffel Tower. It could be that the neighborhood is growing on me, or at least the basilica is. It was much less crowded than in previous visits, so I could examine the chapels and artwork more closely.

We then had lunch at Le Consulat Restaurant. I had a tasty omelet, while Bruce had a burger and Julian had linguine with Bolognese sauce. The food was reasonably priced for Paris. We went cruising around the Place du Tertre, where the starving artists set up their easels. Most of them were caricaturists to cater to the tourists. Alas, none of them looked like Gene Kelly in An American in Paris. Some of them could have been painting on that place since the movie came out.

It was a rather cold day. On our way out of the Metro at Montmartre, Bruce bought some roasted chestnuts from a street vendor. For those of you who only know these from Mel Tormé’s Christmas Song, let me school you. Chestnuts are different from other nuts in that they have a higher content of starch and less fat. The outer shell is thin and has to be slashed before roasting. The shells flake away after roasting, so there’s minimal work. A tasty street food that’s très Parisien.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/16/montmartre-revisited/

Dec 14

Free the Tower!

This morning we walked over to the Eiffel Tower. You’ll recall last year’s post that the Champs de Mars and the Tower were ringed in ugly chain-link fencing, making it very difficult for pedestrians to get around the tower to access the bridge over the Seine. This year the Champs de Mars was surrounded with chain-link fencing, presumably to preserve the grass. From a distance it looked as if the Tower was free of fencing. When we got closer we learned that, alas, this was not the case. This year a glass fence topped with a trip wire surrounded the tower. Surveillance cameras were everywhere. I guess enough people were perturbed by the chain-link fence that the City had to do something more aesthetically pleasing. Give the Tower back to the people!

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/14/free-the-tower/

Dec 14

Breakfast in Paris

We do breakfast comme des Parisiens on this side of the Atlantic. Every morning we go to a bakery and get a fresh baguette pas trop cuit (not too hard) and a couple of croissants. We have juice and assorted cheeses on hand in the refrigerator. We’ll also pick up some fruit. Then we feast. The guys have their coffee, I have my tea. We have a convivial conversation, in which we discuss history, culture, politics, or whatever else comes to mind. We also hash out the destinations du jour. This often means we don’t get out of the apartment very early, but we’re on vacation. There is no clock to punch.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/14/breakfast-in-paris/

Dec 13

Basque-ing in Goodness

Tonight’s dinner was at a Basque restaurant near our apartment called Pottoka. Le Pays Basque straddles the border between France and Spain. The Basques are independent sorts who have their own language, which bears no resemblance to any other Indo-European tongue. They were horribly suppressed by the Franco regime in Spain; as a partial result, a Basque terrorist group with the acronym ETA was formed. The organization finally disbanded earlier this year.

Basque cuisine is similar to its Spanish and French neighbors. It’s primarily based on fish, seafood, and lamb. Fresh vegetables are also a big part. Some of the best restaurants in the world are in the Basque city of San Sebastian. The Basque country has been on my bucket list of places to visit for years, so I was looking forward to this dinner ever since Julian made the reservation.

Julian and I both started off with a salmon and apple appetizer, while Bruce got a huge bowl of razor clams with minced tomato and pepper. Our main courses were lamb confit and scallops with chanterelles and Israeli couscous. Everything was well prepared and very tasty. This was probably the best restaurant meal I’ve had in a year.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/13/basque-ing-in-goodness/

Dec 13

Power Tools of a Different Type

Today’s adventures involved looking for the woodworkers near Place Bastille. Since our woodworking friend Bruce is joining us on this trip (see the post, Our Wine Cellar), we were looking for power tools.

We ran across one wood shop that had this gorgeous chair in the display window:

Made from a single block of wood.

Side view. Sure beats chainsaw carved bears.

After lunch, we walked up to the BHV Department Store. This store is famous for its hardware section on the lower level. Bruce and Julian were drooling over all of the tools. Meanwhile, I bought a plaque for our home, “Chat lunatique (crazy cat)”.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/13/power-tools-of-a-different-type/

Dec 13

Seen in a Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer is an upscale British grocery chain that’s established a beach-head in France. Today we dove into one to warm up on our travels near La Place Bastille. This is one of the first items I ran across:

Gluten-free. A fine offering if you can choke down mincemeat.

I saw several more shelves of gluten-free goodies.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/13/seen-in-a-marks-spencer/

Dec 13

A Curiosity

Tuesday night there was a mass shooting at the Christmas Market in Strasbourg. By Thursday morning, there was no mention of it on the CNN, Washington Post, or New York Times websites. I guess they’re waiting on the next shooting/bombing.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/12/13/a-curiosity/

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