Day 4 - Frenchie (not so much)

Oct 7, 2010 Thursday

Paris, the city of love, why am I here with women friends instead of hubby?  To see the marches (markets), and who better to stroll the antique, boutique, gastrononmique, and all other manner of shops, than with amis des femmes (women friends - especially my Kellie and Joan).

Paris, 2004 with hubby, was all about amore... we strolled hand in had down the white graveled walkway of the Jardin des Tuileries with the Eiffel in the distance, and we were humbled by the awe inspiring masterpieces at the Louve and D'Orsay, where I met Mona, Venus and the two Sisters (this one was especially interesting http://ssa.paris.online.fr/pages/LouvrePaintings.htm ), as well as Picasso, Dali and Rodin's smaller ateliers, we were quieted within the candle lit walls of the Notre Dame, Basillica Sacre Coure and Church of Saint-Séverin, we were dwarfed by the palatial grounds and the various apartments of King Louis XIV's Versailles and the halls and rooms where you can still hear the laughter or whisper of the court,  we were impressed with couture shops straight from the runway on Rue St. Honore and Place Vendome, home of Channel's boutique, and we were initiated into the inner sanctum of gourmands at restaurants like Guy Savoy and Taillevent with their gut busting chef's tasting menus, where a cheese platter, is a 2 tiered cart with 25 plus cheeses that is served AFTER dessert and the attendant waits for you at the door of the lady's room to return you to your table - maybe they are afraid of gourmet spies.  That trip instantly turned me into a Franophile; the food, cafes, language, and ease of chic (the last two still elude me).

So, rather than a re-do, I had another game plan, a trip just about the markets, eating, and cooking!  Alright, and a bit of shopping, one museum, one church, but definitely no strolling hand in hand, but sometimes locked arms. 

Luxembourg Garden - east gate entrance at Rue du Fleures

Our route took us through the Luxembourg Garden and around the Pantheon, to Rue Mouffetard.  We started our morning with "the usual" at the cafe stand, and we walked down rue Rennes, just outside of our rented apartment, a large boutique lined boulevard, toward St. Germaine.  We admired one shop after another until we turned onto rue de Assas, the boutique shops quickly turned into luxury apartments, some traditional, some modern, some pristine, some under restoration, but all boasting the the Luxembourg Garden address.  We turned onto a little side street, rue du Fleures, which has an entrance gate to the Luxembourg Gardens, an oasis in the middle of the city, where people come to jog, rest under the large trees, play Boules, sail a boat in the fountains or just sit and watch people go by.  Being October, we expected cloudy, drab weather, but what we got was clear blue skies after the morning clouds lifted... lucky me.

Luxembourg Palace - Home of the French Senate

You emerge from the calm garden and you are immediately assaulted by people and traffic, you want to go back to the tranquil fountains and gardens.  But onward you march to the task at hand, getting to Rue Mouffetard.  Rue Mouffetard is the quintessential Parisian market street in the 6th Arrondisment, tucked behind the shadow of the Pantheon.  It is lined with cafes, bakeries, boutiques, junky souvenir shops - think "made in China",  flower, produce and food markets.  Rue Mouffetard winds down from rue Thouin to rue Censier with a barricade at  rue Calvin to motorist, it's a pedestrian only cobble stone street.  The closeness of the buildings makes the place feel medieval, and the peeling facade adds to the charm.  There are dozens of cafes, and food from all over the world, of course the window for gyros but also Indian, Japanese, and Italian, all compete with bistros and cafes.  Since we had been walking for awhile at this point, we settled into a sidewalk table at a little bistro that had onion soup on their menu.  The soupe à l'oignon tasted of pure beef bone-marrow from the stock that was cooked down for days, it was too rich for our taste, but I appreciated the effort that they put into a simple soup.

Pedestrians only at Rue Calvin and Rue Mouffetard

Pates and terrines

Baked potatoes, cream, and cheese

One of the many produce stalls on Rue Mouffetard

It was worth getting out early to enjoy this market street.  It should be on everyone's Paris must-do list.  At Rue Censier, we hopped on the Metro and headed across the river to Ile Saint-Louis.

Ile Saint Louis is one of the two islands in Paris that is connected to the main land via bridges.  The island is mainly residential with some retail shops, mostly ice cream shops. We walked to 5 Quay d'Anjou, an apartment building along the Seine River. My friend, Joan's grandmother lived there as a young woman. When we returned home, I found out that our friends had stayed  in the same building on their recent trip.  Had we known, we could have toured inside the building, it would have been a thrill to see the inside of the French Grandmother's apartment, but I'm sure just walking in her footsteps was an experience.  We walked along the quay until we reached the shopping area of the inner street.  You cannot be on the this island without sampling their goodies; cookies, ice cream, chocolates, and it is home to two foie gras shops, well.. how many foie gras shops does your island have?  

I stopped at the poste (post office) and dropped off a postcard to my family, when it finally arrived, I was already back home... my five year old son looked at the post card with the Eiffel tower, and asked, "who is it from?"... you have to love him.

You can spend the entire day on this little island, enjoying all the little shops and tasting all sorts of delectable morsels, but beyond the double ice cream, I was saving myself for lunch at Le Cafe Marley, Ina Garten recommended it, and you never question the Barefoot Contessa.

We made a short stop to see the stained glass windows of Saint Chappell located in the Palais de Justice complex on the Ile de la Cité.

Each panes depicts a biblical story

The upper level contains the richly colored stained glass with a bible story on each pane, and with the light coming in, it's beautiful, you can almost hear the angels sing.  There are wooden seats where you can sit and contemplate... the amount of time it would take to clean those windows... which makes me think of food.  Le Cafe Marley is located in the Richelieu wing of the Louve in front of the Pyramid.  A perfect place to sit, sip and stare - ok don't stare, but do enjoy people watching.  We ordered a light Italian inspired meal of prosciutto with fresh melon and Burrata, a loose fresh mozzarella with fresh heirloom tomatoes drizzled with basil oil, served with bread.  I enjoyed a glass of Viognier, a French semi-sweet crisp white wine that paired perfectly with the salty prosciutto.  When things are perfect, it just is.  

From our cafe seats, we admired the pyramid and enjoy the late sun just a few hours before it turns to evening.  

After admiring I. M. Pei's pyramid from the terrace of Le Cafe Marley, we peeled ourselves from the cafe seats to take a look inside.  The pyramid is made of glass segments; 603 rhombus-shaped and 70 triangular glass segments.  The pyramid is said to have 666 glass panes in the Dan Brown's, The DaVinci Code, and the urban myth continues to interest people. 

Making most of the light, we took a stroll in the park, Jardin des Tuileries, from the Louve to the Place de la Concorde, with a pit stop on one of the green chairs around the large fountain.

Even though it was just a short time since our snack at Le Cafe Marley, we were headed to our dinner destination, on foot.  We would hoof it from Place de la Concorde to Frenchie in the 2nd Arrondisment, a restaurant featured on Anthony Bourdain's 100th Episode.  The fixed menu of fresh small plates of two starters and two mains appealed to me and chef, Gregory Marchand, is said to be doing the best cuisine du marché in town, and in this town, that means a lot.  So, we walked and walked and turned, up and down and around, until we found ourselves in what I could only described as "the bad part of town." A dark, small, street, Rue de Nil.  I felt my heart pounding and sweat beading, as I walk into the small - tiny restaurant, we didn't have reservations, although we tried, their answering machine was only in French and according to Madame Elisabeth Bertrand, our apartment owner, she wasn't able to get through either, so we took a chance.  I have to say, I must have looked like a mad-woman.  We had been out all day, since 9 or so in the morning and it was 8 pm, with not so much as lip balm on my lips and after all that walking, well... I'm sure it was not a pretty sight.  The restaurant must have been just opening for dinner service, when I walked in, Kellie and Joan waited outside.  I asked for a table for three, they asked if I had reservations, of course now they speak English!  I said no, this is where I failed.  I should have said YES.  Note: Say YES when you do NOT have reservations but you should have, and when they say that they do not have your name on the list, pretend you do not understand how they could have screwed up and look annoyed, but be properly lipsticked and be in heels so you can look down at the maitre'd, they're not very tall in Paris... instead, I bowed my head and headed out the door.  Well, Chef Gregory, you will never know how much we would have appreciated your food, it would have all been right here...at least two or so paragraphs with photos but when I return, I hope you are still there on your small dark street in your tiny restaurant, Frenchie. 

Frenchie - a wooden sign on Rue de Nil - see how dark it is

Chef Gregory's back

After leaving Rue de Nil a bit deflated, our spirits were lifted when we walked smack into a crowded trendy night life area on Rue Montorgueil, by day a crowded market area and by night, crowds of people going in and out of restaurants and bars.  We walked around until we found a restaurant that appealed to us.  A giant golden snail called out my name, we sat outside and drank wine, ate cheese and bread until our hearts content, chef Gregory who?  

L'Escargot Montorgueil - Founded in 1875