Le Bon Weekend

Lots to See, Lots to Do

After Friday night, the home improvement moved into full swing and by the time I left Paris the following week the painters were painting and the fireplace restorers were restoring and everything was going pretty well except for the peacock. Deyrolle did not come to pick him up as promised and is currently not responding to calls and emails. Sadly for them, I am going to put Ana Rosa on this task and they are going to be sorry that they just didn’t deal with me! It may take a little more effort than I originally planned, but undaunted we will continue our efforts to get Mr. Peacock the care he so desperately needs.

To fortify myself Saturday night, after the second day of home improvement, I met another expat for a fun dinner at Mer et Coquillage. It was a short walk from the apartment and a lovely surprise! The restaurant was beautiful and the food was really great. We both wanted the St. Jacques with spring peas and they were to die for! I almost never order scallops in a restaurant, but I can never resist in France as they are always so fresh and full of flavor. Same for the spring green peas—Just YUM!! Fresh peas are simply delicious and I was thrilled to see them on the menu.

Scallops with green peas and dill in an emuslified broth!

We had a great catch-up, swapping best practices for Paris. Like how to get a doctor, and how to open a bank account. I didn’t want to discourage her but I did briefly mention the “codes secret.” She looked a little baffled, but she will figure it out, (maybe, I hope), and we even talked about which is the best over the counter headache reliever—it’s Doliprane, in case you are on a need to know, and it blows Advil away! Highly recommend you pick some up next time you are in Paris. Be warned, even though it is an over the counter medicine and no prescription is needed, you cannot just walk into a pharmacie and purchase it. You will have to actually have a conversation with the pharmacist and explain your symptoms before they will give it to you. Oh—and forget about getting a 200-pill bottle. Ain’t no such thing. They will most likely sell you a miniscule 12-pill pack that one big weekend would decimate.

After our lovely dinner we decided we needed to walk home, and since we were both headed to the Left Bank, we crossed the Pont du Carrousel together but then had to part company-she was headed to the 7th and I to the 6th. By then it was already 11:30 and I tucked myself in straight away.

Sunday was free of work in the apartment so I headed off to mass at St. Germain des Prés in the rain. I love that church and even though I sometimes find the service a bit hard to follow, I always enjoy staring heavenward at the beautiful architecture; imagining all the weddings, christenings, funerals, etc, that have taken place over the last 1500 years of it’s existence. After mass, I ambled around and had lunch at Breizh Cafe-my favorite crèperie in town, even treating myself to dessert. Who can resist salted caramel?? While I was finishing my café crème, I tried to convince myself to go see the exhibit on at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, but alas I was too lazy. Instead, I walked along the quai and planted myself on a bench and read my book.

In a burst of ambition, I then walked down to Notre Dame to see the most recent progress on the restoration. She is looking good! And the spire that had spectacularly collapsed and burned in 2019 is now proudly up and looking very regal. I don’t think it will be open to tourism by the Olympics but for all of those who said it would take France 50 years to repair it—I think you made a bad bet. It won’t be much longer.

Notre Dame

I haven’t yet given y’all the update on the homeless man outside my apartment-the one who was there all winter, and was the potentially unwilling recipient of all my patisserie creations. He is still there. Though, he has traded in his winter sleeping bag for a lighter blanket, and seems to be more on the move. I didn’t even catch sight of him for the first few days I was there, but the telltale signs of orange peels and cigarette butts let me know all was well.

I don’t know how much longer he will be allowed to stay however, as Paris is instituting a strict residence policy for the Olympics, according to my upstairs neighbors. We got together for a drink in their apartment and they regaled me with all the rules that are being put in place for the two-week duration—like a QR code on your phone to show police in order to enter neighborhoods like ours that are close to Olympic venues. Our building is apparently in the “red” zone, which I think means that you will not be able to even access the area without the code or maybe an event ticket. France is taking threats of terrorism very seriously, and I suspect there will be a lot of gendarmes come summer. Sounds complicated. Not sure what it means for our guy, but I am interested to see if the French government will let him be or will relocate him since I am pretty certain he does not have a cell phone or a QR code.

Monday dawned and Ricky reappeared with a sander for my fireplaces. He is intent on restoring them to their former natural-colored glory. He thinks we won’t even need to paint them when he is finished but I am not so sure. We will know in about a week if he can truly remove the old grime and layers of paint necessary to coax the original color to come through.

Hard at work!

I was leaving Tuesday, so I ran some last minute errands—by which I mean— stocking up on gifts and and necessary purchases. First, Cire Trudon to buy my favorite candles in all the world. Even though they weigh down my luggage, I can never not buy more as they are hard to find in the US and the scents are more limited. Then on to Maison du Chocolat for my son, who loves their chocolates the most. And finally, to the “Official Olympic Store” which happened to be right next door! I stocked up on t-shirts for all the fam—don’t want to wait till August.

While on my shopping spree, which was in the basement of the Louvre, I decided to take a spin around the museum. I never want to spend a whole day there, but I am a member, so I try to pop in for short 45 minute bursts just to keep myself acquainted with all the treasures. I have to admit I never get tired of seeing the Winged Victory of Samothrace. I find her so inspiring— imagining her in some Hellenistic harbor a few thousand years ago. Gives me chills!

If you don’t visit the Louvre- you should. You don’t have to spend all day either, but it is amazing, and I forget how much is there. I paid a quick visit to my favorite painting-The Wedding Feast at Cana by Veronese, which also happens to be the largest painting in the Louvre. It is spectacular and the figures in it are as big as me and there are more than 80 of them. It must have been a leap of faith just to try to paint it!

The Wedding Feast is in the same room as the Mona Lisa but the crowd around her was too huge to even think about getting more than a glimpse. And this was a Monday in May—afraid for July! Since I could not even get close to the Mona Lisa I contented myself with viewing another Da Vinci masterpiece—this fine lady. Isn’t she gorgeous!

La Belle Ferronière

The crowd around Mona

Tuesday was departure day. Always sad. Always planning my return before I am halfway to the airport. But it is always a joy to come home too—sometimes it takes leaving something to appreciate it when you return.