Last Post from Paris

Sunday June 29 was our last full day in Paris.  It rained in the morning but luckily cleared as we headed out in the early afternoon after having lunch in the apartment.  It rained on and off during the afternoon, but was much nicer than yesterday.  We had blue skies again by about 6:00 p.m.

We didn't really have a plan for our last day-- just wanted to wander around town.  Being un flaneur (stroller) is the perfect way to enjoy Paris.  We walked down Rue Monge through the 5th arrondissement into Saint - Germain (the 6th), then crossed over to the right bank and wandered into the Marais before heading back to the left bank and arriving back at the apartment at around
8:30 p.m..  Here are some of the places we passed.

Wonderful flowers on Rue Monge leading up to another street

So many enticing shops - Rue Monge

A lovely building with great statutes on Rue Monge

Park at turn at Rue Monge- lots of flowers

We stopped at Eric Kayser's Boulangerie to pick up another baguette.  This is the store we got the "Alain" coke bottle earlier this week.

Alain at Eric Kayser

There is another pastry store on Rue Monge that makes amazing confections-- Aux Merveilleux de Fred..... absolutely delicious looking.

Aux Merveilleux de Fred

We turned at Blvd. Saint Germain and passed Le Bar a Huitres--- there are a number of these restaurants in Paris-- the seafood always looks so delectable.

Le Bar a Huitres

There is also a branch of Patrick Roger chocolates on Blvd. Saint Germain.  The green character in the window matched some green bonbons in the chocolate box.

We walked down Rue de Seine, another one of our favourite streets with a lot of art galleries (most unfortunately closed on Sunday).  We stopped at my favourite Italian ice cream and sorbet store- Grom - where I had a non-dairy Chocolate Extranoir and Alain had pistachio.

My new Epice scarf and Grom sorbet/ice cream

There was a film being shot next store to Grom.  We got a few shots of the production and actresses.

On the set- filming in a bistro on Rue de Seine

We also passed a corner street band playing American soul/ R and B tunes.

Corner street band

We walked over Pont Des Arts- still lots of locks on the bridge.  Who knows if they will be there the next time we are in Paris.

Fading plaque on the bridge

Alain on Pont des Arts

Moi aussi

We walked along Saint-Honore and then headed into the Marais.  We passed a wonderful coffee and pastry shop called Comme a Lisbonne, on Rue du Roi de Sicile.  The woman working there said the pastries are baked fresh every day and are always hot out of the oven.  They were totally amazing-even better than Portugal.

With our coffee and tarts

We then wandered down some streets we hadn't been on in the Haut Marais.  There were a number of showrooms in art galleries for Men's Fashion week which ended on Sunday.  Lots of folks wearing black wandering about as well.  We took a photo of the signage for one of the showrooms (Six Lee) and peered inside. Unfortunately, folks can not wander into these showrooms off the street.  On Monday, they will all revert to being art galleries again.

We also passed another commemorative plaque on Rue Sainte Anastase.  There are so many of these plaques indicating people shot by the Germans during the war.

Another plaque- so many in Paris

We stopped at Le Sancerre on Rue Bretagne for a glass of wine (moi) and a Coca light (Alain).  Lots of cool folks in the bar from Men's fashion week. 

Le Sancerre-- folks from Men's fashion week

We passed a great jewelry store that unfortunately was closed on Sundays.

We headed back down Rue Vieille du Temple and crossed the bridge to the left bank.  Headed back up Rue Monge,  passing yet another electronic cigarette store.  They are springing up all over Paris.  There are still a considerable number of smokers in Paris-- a slow shift to electronic cigarettes (the new cool) seems to be on the horizon.

Electronic cigarettes are slowly taking over Paris

We had a late fish dinner at the apartment and did our pack.  It was a wonderful two weeks in Paris-great exhibits, wonderful weather for 12 /14 days and lots of walking, good food and fashion.

We will end with a quote by French poet Baudelaire about Paris:  "We are enveloped and steeped as though in an atmosphere of the marvellous, but we do not notice it."  In contrast, we constantly notice the marvellous and always consider Paris to be truly a moveable feast to enjoy again and again.

Thank you for joining us on our 2014 trip to Morocco and France.  It is now Monday June 30 and we are about to head out to the airport to catch our 2:00 p.m. flight back home to Toronto.

Musee Rodin (more Mapplethorpe) and Rain

Saturday June 28 started as the cloudiest and coolest day of our visit to Paris (all good things must come to an end).  At around 2:00 p.m. it started to rain and continued throughout the day and into the evening.  High of only 18C.  Luckily we had umbrellas.

Before it started to rain, we met my cousin Laure, an architect living in Paris, and one of the two daughters of my cousins Karen and Daniel, whom we visited in Sete.  We had brunch at Les Petits Plats de Marc, a small restaurant Laure had picked not too far from us.  I had a lovely salad and Alain and Laure had tartes.  All fresh ingredients.

My salade du jour

Alain's tarte with zucchini

Alain and Laure

Moi et Laure

After lunch, we headed to the Rodin Museum to see the Mapplethorpe-Rodin show.  On Rue Saint-Michel we passed the beginning of the Gay Pride parade in Paris, just before it started to rain.  Lots of signs protesting the austerity moves of unpopular President Francois Hollande

Start of the parade

Gearing up for the Parade

At 53 Rue Varenne, we passed a plaque for Edith Wharton who lived at that address from 1910-20.

We then went to see the Mapplethorpe- Rodin exhibit at the Musee Rodin, one of our favourite Museums. The Museum was created in 1916, on the initiative of Auguste Rodin himself (1840-1917).  Rodin also made a number of gifts to the French State, including his sculptures, and his library and archive of letters and manuscripts.  The Museum is housed in the Hotel Biron, where Rodin lived and worked as a tenant from 1908 to 1917.  The Museum opened to the public in 1919.

Poster for show-- picture of Michael Reed 1987 by Mapplethorpe and The Walking Man 1907 by Rodin

The exhibit is amazing- dealing with the two art forms of photography and sculpture. It really worked because Mapplethorpe continually sought to sculpt the body through photographs.  In fact, in a quote in the Grand Palais exhibit, he stated that "If I had been born one hundred or two hundred years ago, I might have been a sculptor, but photography is a very quick way to make a sculpture."  

There were differences as Mapplethorpe sought the perfect form, whereas Rodin attempted to capture a sense of movement and left traces of his touch in his sculptures.  Mapplethorpe did not leave any room for spontaneity.  Both had relationships with their models (Rodin- lots of women and Mapplethorpe- lots of men).

The exhibit grouped the works of both men under a number of themes including:  Black and White/Shade and Line; Material and Abstraction; Movement and Tension; Drapery; Assemblages and Compositions; Eroticism and Damnation; and A Taste for Detail.  Due to a lot of glare, I had to get some pictures from the internet, which are interspersed with the ones I took.

Lisa Lyon- 1982 and Torso Feminin (1910-14)

Jevier 1985

Patti Smith 1979 and The Burghers of Calais: Jean de Fiennes 1885

Ken Moody and Robert Sherman 1984 and Tete de la Douleur (1901-02)

Bill T. Jones 1985

White Gauze 1984

Rodin- Torso of the Age of Bronze, Draped vera 1895

 Examples of the attention to detail by both artists.

Mapplethorpe- Ken Moody 1984

Rodin- Victor Hugo- Left Arm 1891-94

After the exhibit, we went to Coutume for a coffee.  There are a number of new coffee shops in Paris, where one can find good coffee!  This place had been recommended by the Paris by Mouth website.

                                                             Outside of coffee shop

Inside with lots of great coffee machines

Barista awards

Alain with his noisette

We then went to the Bon Marche department store.  There was a small exhibit of knitted pastries based on two books: Gourmandises au tricot et au crochet and Pierre Herme et moi (cookbook for Herme pastries).

Knitting pastries!

Cookbook for famous Pierre Herme pastries and macarons

Knitted sweets

Le Meilleur Kugelhopf (delicious looking!)

We walked all the way back to the apartment and then rested before dinner.  We ate just a few doors away at a lovely bistro Le Refuge Du Passe-- furnished with wonderful old posters, paintings and pots and pans.

Inside of restaurant

We decided to have the menu of an appetizer and a main course.  Alain had a huge charcuterie plate and I had lovely mussels for our appetizers.

Alain's charcuterie

                                                                            My mussels appetizer

For our main courses, Alain had a dorade filet with a risotto.  I had a wonderful, rich, cassoulet.

Alain's dorade and risotto

                                                                      My cassoulet

                                                               Enjoying dinner at Le Refuge du Passe

It was still raining when we returned to the apartment.  We're nearing the end of our holidays.  Sunday June 29 will be our last full day in Paris.