Le Train Bleu

Maybe a strange choice for some, but I’d chosen to go to Le Train Bleu, at the gare de Lyons, for my birthday dinner. It’s a restaurant I’d always wanted to visit, the story of it fascinates me.

It was opened in 1901, as the Buffet for the train station, providing food for the travellers before or after their journeys. It soon attracted the wealthy, many artists and privileged people of its day.

In 1963, the buffet became "Le Train Bleu", honouring the "Paris-Ventimille" train line dating from 1868. This was a legendary train that served the cities of the Côte d'Azur, along the Mediterranean, hence the blue train.

In 1972, some of the rooms as part of the restaurant were classified as historical monuments. Experiencing the amazing decor and ambiance, you can see why this is a national treasure. 

The menu is very traditional offering flamboyant shows in front of the diners. Brian ordered steak, with a rich peppercorn sauce; this was flamed at the table, and my roast lamb was carved in front of me; both done with precision and care by skilled butlers who know their craft. For dessert I chose crepe suzette, which has been such a favourite dessert of mine over the years. Our waiter was delighted I had chosen this, and did not hold back, providing a spectacular show, and a delicious dessert. It was a timeless moment, a proud performer demonstrating skills which are fading with changing fashions. We were captivated by it, and felt very special.

Notre Dame

In April 2019 a terrible fire tore through the cathedral of Notre Dame. I can remember watching the footage on TV, and being left shocked, seeing what seemed like the entire of Paris as they stood in stunned silence watching the disaster unfold; it seemed like the end of something great, a beloved beacon of the Parisian skyline destroyed for all time…but the story wasn’t to end that way.

The cathedral was closed immediately, and just two days later president Emmanuel Macron committed to restoring it within five years. Amazingly the cathedral reopened on 7 December 2024.

It was a mammoth task, which was achieved by mobilising approximately 2,000 skilled artisans and experts from across France, and also from neighbouring countries such as Germany.

The skills most required were carpenters and stonemasons, as the fire had destroyed the cathedral’s wooden spire and most of the wooden roof. Although It had also severely damaged the cathedral's upper walls, the vaulted stone ceiling remained in place, largely containing the burning roof as it collapsed, preventing extensive damage to the interior. The emergency services and rescue teams managed to move many of the works of art and religious relics to safety, but some did suffer smoke damage, and some of the exterior art was damaged or destroyed. Miraculously the cathedral's altar, two pipe organs, and three 13th century rose windows suffered little or no damage, this was mainly due to the way that the emergency services managed the situation. Not aiming their hoses directly at the stained glass windows for instance meant that the damage to them was mostly from the smoke alone.

Although we booked a timed slot to visit the cathedral (which you can do for free up to 3 days before your visit) we still needed to queue for about 20 minutes to get in, but the unbooked queue was probably a good hour wait.

The real challenge was the volume of visitors they allowed in at any one time. If you are visiting, be prepared for a lot people, and surprisingly quite a lot of noise.

Picasso museum

One of the museums we had both been excited to see whilst in Paris was the Picasso Museum. It is situated in the centre of Le Marais, in a rather spectacular building called L’Hotel Salé. It is the greatest collection of Picasso’s work in the world, and in the main has been donated to the museum from his family since his death in 1973.

Pablo Picasso had lived in France from 1900. He permanently lived in Paris from 1904 until the late 1940s, before moving to the South of France, where he lived until his death in Mougins, on April 8, 1973. 

The museum provides a delightful space for displaying his varied works. The impressive entryway is typically ornate 17th century, whilst the interior has been cleverly designed as a modern space. It really sets the scene for the breadth of his style, which I was about to learn a lot more about.

One thing I hadn’t been completely aware of is that Picasso had a classical art training in Barcelona, and that his early paintings of his days in Paris were reminiscent of the work produced by Toulouse-Lautrec, or Degas, in the nightclubs of Montmartre. Degas being my favourite artist.

The exhibition has works from all periods of his career, including his cubist paintings and paper sculptures, which I found really interesting, as well as his incredible pottery, which was joyous. There’s works by other artists of the time also, such as Matisse and Braque. It was useful to see these mixed in, to see how the artists influenced each other.

It’s a wonderful collection, and gives a wide view of the artists changing styles.

I’m not even sure whether I would say I liked Picasso before we went in, but now I would say that I certainly love some of his work, especially when he showed his frivolous, lighthearted side.

Place des Vosges

I’d been romanced by the idea of enjoying breakfast at La Carette, a well situated cafe/brasserie on the Place des Vosges, ever since I first read about it.

Initially, when we walked by, we were put off by the volume of tourists that had descended. Perhaps being well-instagrammed, and part of the ‘Emily in Paris’ effect, contributed to it seeming like an over-hyped venue. But Brian managed to negotiate us a table for two at the front on the edge of the establishment, quite removed from all the hubbub in the central area—An ideal spot to enjoy my treat.

It very quickly became clear that it wasn’t only the publicity that attracted people, the gorgeous sunny spot, and the quality of their offerings, was clearly why it was so popular. It was an incredibly indulgent breakfast.

After our petit-déjeuner we went for a walk around the Place des Vosges. It’s the oldest designed square in Paris.

The gardens in the centre are popular to enjoy picnics, take a moment to read a book, or simply take a stroll in the shade of the beautifully clipped Linden trees.

It is famous for its strict, symmetrical, red brick architecture and vaulted arcades, which were built by Henri IV, and inaugurated in 1612. It was known originally as the ‘Place Royale’, but in 1800, after the revolution, it was renamed ‘Place des Vosges’, in honour of the department of the Vosges, which was the first to pay their taxes in support of the revolutionary army campaign.

It’s certainly worth a visit.

Platform 2

We are off to Paris today, to enjoy a few days in Le Marais district. We’d decided we’d travel by rail this time, catching a local train from Vendeuvre-sur-Barse station. The journey is approximately two hours into gare de l’Est.

We’ve chosen a small boutique hotel called the Caron de Beaumarchais. It is situated just off the rue de Rivoli on the edge of Le Marais.

Our room is very quaint, with little antique artefacts adorning the walls. The bathroom is tiny, but the shower is good and strong and the room has everything we need.

The best thing is that we have a small balcony to enjoy an afternoon cup of tea on. What a treat.

Planting

Now that the left wall was looking good, the corner of the right wall also needed some attention. Although Sara and I had tidied up this area already, Chris made a bit of mess doing the chaux in the corner, which was completely expected, but it meant we needed to revisit it.

A quick clear up of the chaux, a dig in of some compost, (careful not to damage the little honeysuckle I’d planted there last year) and a replant of some irises and it looked a lot better again. We also planted a Camillia which I’d bought recently. I think the bright pink flowers will look beautiful against the newly chauxed white wall. A white rose grew on this wall, which had to be cut down pretty hard when they chauxed it last year, and it’s showing some strong signs of life, so I’m hopeful it will be okay.

We had a little bit more planting to do in a couple of the beds also; some perennials and some herbs that I’d bought recently.

We watered them all in well, as we do have a few sunny days forecast. Hopefully they will enjoy their new environment.

The big breakfast

Fruit juice, scrambled eggs, marmalade on toast and a fresh cup of coffee. Such a great way to start the day. Even better that the mornings are becoming warm enough to enjoy it outside.

It makes for such a beautiful start to the day, tucking into our breakfast, chatting about what we’d like to do today, and delaying the jobs by playing wordle; seeing just how quick we can crack it.

Delightful.

The big clean up

The thing with using chaux is it gets everywhere, and the plants do not react well to the lime, so I was keen to clear up the dropped chaux along the wall as soon as we could.

We couldn’t quite believe it created another six bags of debris. I feel another déchèterie trip coming on.

I’m thinking about some plans for planting. First though I need to get some compost dug in, to help nourish the soil after taking all the debris out.

I can smell summer

As I walked out into the garden this morning, ready to have a look at what I could easily achieve on my own, I spotted my first peony flower of the year. It was on my tree peony, a gorgeous candy pink.

I wandered up the steps towards my dahlia bed, and in the warmth of the air I could smell summer. Sweet and calming. The bees 🐝 are already buzzing around. They’ve woken up now, eager to get out and start collecting the sweet, early pollen from the blossom on the fruit trees, which seems abundant.

My cherry tree which we’d planted two years ago is starting to strengthen and flourish. I’ll enjoy picking them on the way up to the pool.

Free and organised

We bought some cheap pine shelves from ikea for the shed, and they are ideal for helping me get organised in there. I’d also collected a few old fruit and vegetable trays from the market to use to put things in.

A great way to recycle what’s free, plus they are just the rustic look I was after.

Hang tight

With the latch now fitted correctly, and the windows sealed in with their wooden cross bars, it was time to take the doors up the slope and fit them on the shed.

It was another gorgeous day, so we both headed up there, carrying everything we thought we would need to do the job. Brian had already taken the doors up.

First things first, Brian measured where the hinges were to go and marked them on the door frame.

It all looked simple enough, however having to align three hinges was not that simple at all.

With all the pieces screwed into place we could drop them on. They were not perfectly straight, and we needed the door to hang closer in places. They had a clever little way of turning on a thread though, so that each hinge could be moved closer or further away from the frame. However you needed to take the door off again to perform this, and as it was fiddly, it was not something we wanted to keep doing.

We were both extremely pleased though with the results. I am looking forward to getting the rest of the shed painted, and to start taking some of my garden paraphernalia up there so it will be easier for the summer.

Easter lunch

Our friends Julie and Andrew picked us up to go to Essoyes for an Easter lunch at a restaurant they like; La maison della Mamma. We’ve never been before, so we were looking forward to it.

It’s just off the main square, opposite the mairie. The menu looked interesting, with four courses for €38, so we relaxed back with a glass of champagne to kick off our meal.

First up was a little amuse bouche: a tomato and pepper gazpacho. Very tasty.

Then came our starters: I had the asparagus in morilles cream, and Brian had the vol au vent with sweetbreads. Both lovely.

Main for me was lamb, a spring favourite, and Brian chose the fish.

Finally, we both had the same dessert, with coconut and passion fruit.

It was all very delicious, and wonderful to spend a relaxing lunch with friends.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter.

A bit of persuasion

We woke to glorious sunshine, so straight after breakfast Brian was outside putting the second coat on the doors.

I came out and joined him, and went up to put the second coat on the back wall, whilst he started to understand the fixings for the doors. Which I have to say were not easy.

He soon realised that the door handle latch was the wrong way round for the doors. Normally you would find a couple of screws you can unscrew and turn the latch around. But this door handle had tiny clips that had been fixed into place, that were not designed to be removed. This wasn’t going to stop Brian, he got a pair of pliers and proceeded to man handle the lock apart. A few expletives later the lock had given in, and he could swivel the latch to face the other way.

A little bit of persuasion and the lock was back together and ready to use.

Provence vert

The aim today was to get the doors painted with their first coat, so that Brian can finish putting them together, and fit them to the shed.

We were both really pleased with the colour we had chosen—Provence vert—and how the paint was going on. I think the green completely changes the look of the shed, it makes it feel older, more used, and gives it a heritage feel.

It was such a gorgeous afternoon we decided to also paint the back wall of the shed, however we do need to do two coats within 48 hours, so hopefully the weather will be dry again tomorrow, as we won’t get two coats done today.

It’s looking great.

Blocked road

The road out of our village towards Chacenay was closed for a few days, as the commune needed to clear some of the trees.

A few had lost branches over winter, and a few more were in risk of falling, and blocking the road, so they called in the tree fellers to tidy things up and make the road safe.

It has certainly created more space at the side of the road. It will also help protect the wildlife, as it’s often hard to spot the deer when they have tree cover right up to the edge of the road.

Cheeky

We were invited for dinner at our friends house, along with a couple of other friends. It’s always a lovely night out, but last time we were here Brian managed to run the edge of their border over in the car. So this time they made sure he could see it properly.

Their house is in Burgundy, and shares similar geology to Champagne, although we’ve never found fossils as big as the ones they have.

It was a lovely night out, and so nice to spend time with friends.

Bags for life

We couldn’t believe how much rubble Brian had taken out of the wall. There was simply bags of it! When we loaded it all into the car the front lifted up.

I’m not able to help lift such heavy things at the moment, so unfortunately Brian had to do all the heavy lifting. The great thing is though that in France they make taking ‘stuff’ to the tip really easy.

It didn’t take long for us to empty the bags and head for home for a well deserved cup of tea.

Those ‘bags for life’ really are very strong.

Getting comfy

We said cheerio to Chris and Sara this morning, as they were heading back to the UK. We were heading into Dijon, so we decided to take the opportunity to pop into Ikea, to see if we could buy some shelving for the new shed—I couldn’t resist a few other bits as well.

We also nipped to Leroy Merlin, and also bought some paint for the shed. Hopefully the weather will warm up a bit, and we can get that done later this week.

Fête du vin—Bar-sur-Seine

The Rotary club of Bar-sur-Seine launched a ‘fête du vin’ last year. It must have been a success, as they ran it again this year, and we decided to go along.

Wine fairs are such a great place to try not just lots of different styles and types of wines, but also experience vertical tastings. This is a tasting of the same wine made in different years. It really allows you to taste how a wine may develop over time.

There were about 12 producers, all with at least six different wines to try. We paid €4 for our glass, and could then taste as many wines as we liked. It’s a superb way to spend a couple of hours with friends, and also get to buy some great wines.

All hands on deck

The time had come to start building the shed.

Sara and I slowly started to take the wooden boards up to the now decked area. It all seemed like a huge 3D jigsaw puzzle to me, and I couldn’t see how it would become a shed. They immediately started piecing the bits together, squaring off the corners, and ensuring it was placed correctly on the decking. They clearly had a better idea of how it worked than I did.

It really seemed to come together quite quickly, and we were all excited to see it go up. Wanting to keep the workers energised, I nipped off to make some coffee, and bring the last of the chocolate brownies out.

Sitting in the sunshine, chatting about our week, and enjoying the view of our garden (that was now looking so much tidier), was all quite delightful, but the boys were itching to go.

Now that things were taking shape, they asked us if we could put a second coat of the protection on it, as rain was forecast for overnight. Sara and I got out our paint brushes and rollers and got on with the task.

It didn’t take long at all.

In the end, it took all day to build it, and they did run out of time to put the doors on. But Brian and I decided it would be better for us to paint the doors before they go on, so we will get some paint this week and finish it off very shortly.

For now though we are super happy with what we’ve all achieved.