A Tale of Two Visits

It is hot!

Bonjour mes amis! Forgive this delinquent post—I meant to send it weeks ago and just got sidetracked! I came to Paris in June with my son who just graduated from law school and who assured me that he could just as easily study for the bar exam in Paris as he could in Dallas. Well, it is probably not a shocker that it did not really work out that way and we were having too much fun to really worry about it. If he doesn’t pass the bar at the end of this month we all know who is going to get the blame! Bad Mom!

We were fortunate to enjoy the last seasonal temperatures in Paris before it got so hot. It was gorgeous and 75 degrees for the whole week we were here—which made outdoor dining a must! My son, who is a bit of a foodie, made sure we visited several good restaurants during our stay which was a true pleasure. We revisited LouLou which I had not been to in years—situated in the middle of the Tuileries adjacent to the Louvre with a large outdoor patio—it was the perfect setting and the food was delicious!

Lobster pasta was yum!

Of course we took an after dinner stroll through the Tuileries which was lovely until we saw the rats running across the green grass. I am never hiding in those hedgerows again!

This photo is a touch blurry due to the rat’s speedy progress into the hedgerow

Another new place I am loving that does not require reservations and at which anyone would feel totally comfortable eating alone as all service is at the bar, is the L’Avant Comptoir de la Mer (sea) and its sister L’Avant Comptoir de la Terre (land). They are both very good and all dishes are served on small plates, tapas-style so you can order several things and not feel guilty. The only weird thing is that they serve the wine in these pig-as-mermaid glasses which I found very odd and slightly off-putting. That said however, I really like both restaurants and the prices are very reasonable for very fresh and simple French food.

No trip to Paris would be complete without a stop at my favorite cocktail bar—Arbane which is a short walk from our apartment down a tiny little side street on which you would never expect a lovely little craft cocktail lounge to be hiding. It is tucked behind a plain black door and the interior is about the size of your master bathroom. It has a tiny bar with four stools and just a little bit of cozy lounge seating. The cocktails though are superlative! The bartenders make each one by hand and they can cut fruit into shapes that would make an origami master proud.

Prettiest French 75 I have ever seen

We also took in the Renoir exhibit at the Orsay which was kind of so-so in my opinion. I feel like I have seen all the Renoir paintings in different exhibitions as well as in the permanent collection many times before. You won’t be shocked to learn he has not painted anything new since. If you find yourself in Paris this summer don’t rush out to see it.

We did hit the Bon Marché for a little shopping in between museum visits and we came across this hilariously named fragrance, that my son, who never wears cologne, had to have—it is called The Tragedy of Lord George. Who Lord George is and what tragedy befell him I know not —maybe he was gored by a giant deer? In any event, I bet he is the only man in Dallas sporting this particular scent.

Loved these quirky bottles

The week with my son went too fast and I have been dying to come back to Paris for another few weeks with my husband. We arrived two days ago and I gotta tell you it is really hot here now! I am sure you all have heard about the record breaking heat and I have to say—reports are not exaggerated. It is blazing! Notwithstanding the temperature though, we arrived just in time to stroll onto the Pont Neuf to watch the Bastille Day fireworks. They were pretty spectacular, with the added element of a drone show. The drones arranged themselves in various combinations—my favorite of which was the Statue of Liberty— a nice nod to our longstanding Franco-American relations.

I know I have complained a ton about the scaffolding covering our apartment building, with the added insult of the luxury advertising that completely blocks our view of the Pont Neuf and the river. The vinyl advertising covering the entire exterior makes the apartment even warmer than it would be as we cannot open any windows without brick dust coming in and coating everything. It has been over a year now and we are really sick of it. Our 100-year old building sadly does not have air conditioning and it is 95 degrees, but we have been cooling the place down since our arrival with our portable units —that I will admit— I thought were a dumb idea when my husband insisted on buying six of them to place in all the bedrooms and the living room and kitchen. It is true, they are not beautiful, but with this heat they are essential for keeping it cool enough to sleep at night. He is positively gleeful, as we pay a pro rata share of the electricity and are not here for months at a time so he feels like we are getting a little rebate on the electric bill. I am amazed at how well these little R2D2-looking bots work! In 24 hours they have taken the interior from a toasty 85 to a very comfortable 74. No one but Americans can truly appreciate the joy of aircon but I am grateful!

Ugly but oh so welcome!

Last night our apartment was finally cool enough to have friends over for an aperitif and then out to dinner to celebrate Bastille Day. We went to our usual spot —Ralphs over on Blvd. St. Germain which is really just the Polo Bar in Paris but has the prettiest courtyard garden in town. Tomorrow we head to the south of France for a short stay in Cannes with some friends who rented a home there for the summer. I am VERY excited! The house looks beautiful, the company so fun and do not forget that little thing called the Med—which will be calling my name for a cool swim! I intend to wear my very best sunglasses and look as chic as possible at all times! Looking forward to reporting all the goings on down south!