Your standard American rest area on an interstate toll road is little more than a bad vending machine. Forty years ago rest areas were run by Howard Johnson in the northeast, Stuckey’s in the south, and other chains elsewhere. If you drive the New Jersey Turnpike these days, you might find a Roy Rogers, Subway, or other fast-food franchise. Haute cuisine? Forget about it!
On the other hand, French Autoroutes (national highways) have real restaurants at rest areas. These aires are spread about 15-20 miles apart. At some you can get real French baguettes or pastries from a chain called Paul. On our way out of Paris, we had a cafeteria meal at an aire. Julian had braised rabbit with vegetables, while I had a vegetable platter and soup. The price was quite reasonable, unlike the price-gouging that occurs on US interstates. You can stretch your legs, have a civilized meal without exiting the Autoroute, and resume driving. In addition, the gas stations at aires have reasonable prices. Think about that next time you’re hungry and low on gas on the NY State Thruway or Massachusetts Turnpike.
Jun 04
Rest Stops à la Français
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/06/04/rest-stops-a-la-francais/
May 31
Off to the Hinterlands
Today was our last day in Paris. Unfortunately, it rained. We wandered around the Jardin de Luxembourg and the neighborhood where we rented an apartment four years ago. In the afternoon we attended a short organ concert at St. Eustache church, which boasts the largest pipe organ in Europe. We had dinner at Alsace aux Halles. Les Halles used to be the main produce and meat wholesale market in Paris until the late 1960’s. The traditional after-work restaurant offering was onion soup. This is my way of paying respect to the neighborhood’s past:
Bon appétit!
Tomorrow we leave for southern France. We start in the Dordogne River valley and make our way east to Lyon. I’m not sure what our Wi-Fi connections will be like, so it may be a few days before my next post. In the meantime, enjoy!
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/31/off-to-the-hinterlands/
May 31
For Members of the “Cult of Cute Shoes”
You know who you are. Your idea of Nirvana is the semi-annual shoe sale at Nordstrom. We found just the thing for you near Place St. Michel today:
Sure beats a hollow chocolate bunny.
The size was not listed.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/31/for-members-of-the-cult-of-cute-shoes/
May 31
Foodie Heaven on Earth
Friends, we have been to the Promised Land. It’s the Galeries Lafayette Gourmet Shop, which has FOUR FLOORS of food, beverages, and cooking tools. The Harrods Food Halls in London and the KDV Food Halls in Berlin are pale pretenders. Even our beloved Pike Place Market in Seattle doesn’t have the density or breadth of offerings. Need a whole leg of Spanish jamon (ham)? Only 650 Euros (€). Petrossian caviar? Pas de problème. How about some 1899 Château d’Yquem Sauternes? They have it (and I saw the bottles), but I didn’t dare check the price. Julian did–a mere 40,000 €. Such a deal!
Then we have some more familiar offerings:
I can’t possibly make this up! Marshmallow Fluff and Pop-Tarts as gourmet food.
I think the store should have a spray cheese vs. brie smackdown.
Julian’s cousin Kitty was fascinated by the concept of spray cheese. Kitty, you now know where you can find it.
The street level of the store has the mother of all food courts. Not only can you find the aforementioned caviar and ham, but you can get dim sum, noodles, Mediterranean food, sandwiches, and desserts guaranteed to change your life. We bought two macarons from Pierre Hervé, and had tea/coffee at Prêt à Manger.
It’s probably a good thing that Galeries Lafayette is closed on Sunday; otherwise, we’d be there another day and decide not to come home.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/31/foodie-heaven-on-earth/
May 31
Question du Jour
France has the best cheeses in the world. Its haute cuisine is based on butter and cream. So why do they sell milk in shelf-stable containers? This dairy farmer’s granddaughter wants to know.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/31/question-du-jour/
May 30
A Touchstone (for me, at least) in Paris
Four years ago we were walking around Rue Francois Miron and happened upon an organ concert in St. Gervais Church.
The church of St. Gervais, courtesy of Julian.
Interior of St. Gervais, courtesy of Julian.
While we were listening to the concert, I noticed that some of the stained-glass windows looked way too modern for such an old church.
Windows of St. Gervais. It’s a bit hard to see, but the left and middle windows are definitely more modern than the one on the right.
A trip to Google revealed the answer: The church was bombed by the Germans during World War I–on Good Friday, no less. Over 80 people were killed in the bombing.
Today we were back in the neighborhood and stopped inside the church. Unlike the other churches we visited this week, there were very few visitors inside. The organist was practicing at the time. I found the memorial to the victims of the bombing, which we hadn’t seen four years ago. It was a respite from the rampant throngs of tourists.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/30/a-touchstone-for-me-at-least-in-paris/
May 30
A French Alliteration
The letter R in French poses a problem for English-speaking learners. It sounds more like a gargle than the rolled R of Spanish. So we saw this delivery truck bringing supplies to the café downstairs, and I immediately thought of our French class. The name on the truck is François Frites Fraîches. French fries (frites hereabouts) are served at many restaurants or takeout places. In Holland and Belgium they’re commonly served with mayonnaise (bleah!).
This one’s for our French 3 classmates and professor.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/30/a-french-alliteration/
May 29
Speaking of Maniacs…
If the drivers in Paris are maniacs, the scooter and motorcycle riders have death wishes. “Traffic lights? We don’t need no stinking traffic lights!” (Of course, they say it in French.) The prudent pedestrian looks both ways and prays when the walk light comes on.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/29/speaking-of-maniacs/
May 29
Two Days, Four (Give or Take) Shrines
Rose Window at Sainte-Chapelle, courtesy of Julian.
Upper sanctuary of Sainte-Chapelle, courtesy of Julian.
Wednesday we hit three shrines: Two religious and one secular. We got up early to stand on line to enter Sainte-Chapelle. This church is two blocks away from Notre Dame. It’s also older and smaller than its neighbor. The entrance to Sainte-Chapelle is shared with the Palace of Justice. Our line progressed much faster than theirs, proving that the wheels of justice move slowly everywhere.
The lower level of Sainte-Chapelle contains the oldest painting in Paris, the Annunciation. I wasn’t able to get close to it to get a straight-on picture. The upper level has a beautiful rose window with other windows depicting Bible stories, and many paintings. Some of the smaller paintings were of assorted martyrs and how they met their fates. Even the floors are decorated.
Detail from floor of upper sanctuary, Ste.-Chapelle.
When I go into a very old church, I think about how a person of the time might have seen it. Churches were about the most spectacular things around. Since the peasant most likely couldn’t read or understand Latin, he or she may have acquired any knowledge of Jesus, the prophets, and saints through looking at the paintings or windows.
The next stop was Sacré-Coeur, on Montmartre. I was creeped out by the place four years ago. It reminded me of the story of Jesus driving the moneychangers out of the temple–before he did so. The area around the basilica at the time was very seedy and full of pickpockets. The pickpockets and scammers are fewer in number now, but there’s still plenty of commerce going on inside. Mass was being celebrated at the time, so visitors were respectful. In addition, photographs aren’t allowed within Sacré-Coeur, although that didn’t stop some people from trying.
The Basilica of Sacré-Coeur.
We’d made reservations months ahead of time to visit the Eiffel Tower at 8 pm, near dusk.
I’m sure this needs no introduction. The sphere hanging between the first and second levels is an ad for the French Open.
The area around the tower was jumping with people selling bottled water, wine, champagne, flowers, selfie sticks of dubious quality, and Eiffel Tower models. Since the French Open is going on, the city set up a Jumbotron so residents could watch the action from the park near the tower. Unfortunately, we misread our tickets–they’re for Thursday, not Wednesday. We wound up staying in the vicinity and having dinner at a restaurant where Julian and I ate four years ago.
Thursday we went separate ways to our own shrines. Roger went to a multimedia exhibit of David Bowie’s career. Meanwhile, Julian and I headed to Librairie Gourmand, where I could worship cookbooks. They have a few English language volumes. I bought a cookbook on Southwestern France and one on cooking for your cats. (Luka and Neli, don’t get any ideas…)
“Come on, Mom. Where’s the love here???”
After we finished our homage to cookbooks, we set off towards the northeast part of the city to see the Canal St.-Martin. We also walked over to a beautiful park, Des Buttes Chaumont. Many of the trails are closed for renovation, but what was open was fantastic. It’s heavily wooded, with a lake, stream, and waterfall. Parisians of all stripes were walking, jogging, pushing strollers, and the like through the park.
Pavilion and lake at Parc Des Buttes Chaumont, courtesy of Julian.
In the evening we reunited with Roger and took the Métro to the Eiffel Tower, along with 50,000 of our closest personal friends. It was much cloudier than the previous evening. We were sandwiched between Spanish and Korean tour groups on the way up. We also had to deal with Roger’s fear of heights. (And he’s the one who suggested we go up the Tower. Go figure.) We did make it to the top without a total freakout on Roger’s part.
Good Seattleite that I am, I was undergoing some soy sauce withdrawal with all of the European food we’ve been eating. Therefore, I suggested we eat at a Japanese restaurant down the street from our apartment. Roger and Julian both love sushi, so this was not a hard sell. The sushi was pretty standard-issue, but one of the skewers that came with Julian’s dinner was truly weird. It consisted of thin slices of beef wrapped around…Mozzarella cheese?!? Who says fusion cuisine is only an American concept? Before we leave Paris for the hinterlands on Monday, I’ll have to deal with my fish sauce withdrawal. I’ve located a couple of Thai and Vietnamese restaurants in the neighborhood to tide us over until we get home, if not to Lyon.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/29/two-days-four-give-or-take-shrines/
May 26
What Were They Thinking?!?
This afternoon we went to the Louvre to walk around the plaza. Many people believe that the I.M. Pei-designed pyramids are a stain on the museum, but this trumps anything I could imagine:
This is a gift shop for the most prestigious museum in Europe??? Please!
Louis XIV, the guy on the horse, is doing cartwheels in his grave.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/26/what-were-they-thinking/
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