An evening in Paris

Our last evening in Paris we decided to eat locally to us, and we found a delightful little bar in the square, just near to our hotel.

We drank chilled vermouth from Martini glasses and listened to buskers playing their versions of various jazz songs before eating.

After dinner we just strolled around the streets, absorbing the atmosphere and chatting about our day, and planning for tomorrow.

The streets were clear, just a little chatter from people sitting enjoying the evening, occasional music from those practicing together, maybe they’ll be busking tomorrow.

Café culture

One of the things we simply love about Paris is its café culture. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is you can often find somewhere to sit down, relax and enjoy a drink or two in an unhurried environment. I find it delightful to be served at your table, rather than struggling carrying an overladen tray to a spot that someone else has just beaten you to. The waiters and waitresses work tirelessly, mostly with a smile, keeping the tables cleared and allowing you to take your time to enjoy your moment.

As you know, we also love observing the little things about a place, and in Paris it’s hard not to look up. There is so much to see, including the beautiful lighting that stands proud against its backdrop. Simply gorgeous designs.

Les Invalides

After we’d soaked in the atmosphere around the Eiffel Tower, we decided we were up for a little stroll back to our hotel. We were under no illusion that it wasn’t really a little walk, however it started by taking us through a very beautiful area, the avenue de la Bourdonnais, with wide streets, beautifully decorated boutiques and stunning apartments with views toward the Eiffel Tower. All glorious in the sunshine.

It was getting a little warm, so I suggested we stop for a drink. We chose a little bar, and realised it was at the back of Les Invalides, which is a war museum.

After a refreshing break we decided to take a closer look. We entered through the main gate, and walked around the main courtyard to the entrance of the museum. It is quite spectacular.

Not quite in the mood for a museum of war though, Brian exclaimed ‘let’s do it another time, and we can come back and see more of the museum’. We always say ‘You should leave something to come back for’.

Napoleon can wait.

Tuk Tuk to the Eiffel Tower

When we had finished at the exhibition, we decided we wanted to head over to the Eiffel Tower. The plan was then to walk back to the hotel via Les Invalides. This was quite a distance, so we were discussing our options on getting to the Eiffel Tower when my gaze went to the group of Tuk Tuks that were waiting outside the musée d’Orsay. Let’s just say my negotiation skills left me, as I was keen to have the ride, and the driver or pedaler knew it. I’m not sure Brian really knew what he’d committed to, but we were soon sitting comfortably, being whizzed along the side of the Seine, with the wind in my hair.

It was a great way to travel, I remembered how much I used to love them in Asia when we’d traveled there.

He didn’t exactly drop us at the Eiffel Tower, but in actual fact it turned out to be a good distance at which to capture some excellent photos as we approached it.

There’s a lot of work happening all around the base of the tower and the area around the trocadero for the forthcoming Olympics. I think that it’s going to be amazing for spectators viewing the games amongst the historic monuments of Paris.

Musée d’Orsay

The main reason for our little trip to Paris was next on the list. We visited the wonderful Musée d’Orsay for their current exhibition on the birth of the impressionist movement. Today the movement is possibly one of the most recognised in art history, but at the time it was a shocking change from the norm, and anything but a ‘movement’. I don’t think I’d ever really considered before how it came about, so it was fascinating to learn about it.

In 1874 a group of like-minded artists, (including Monet, Sisley, Renoir, Degas, Pissarro and Bazille) keen to advertise and sell their works, were brought together for a self-curated exhibition in an empty photographers studio in the centre of Paris. Their exhibition, under the group name ‘the Anonymous Society’ ran simultaneously to the famous annual ‘Salon’ exhibition, a well established, critically supported event that epitomised the staid, academic work favoured by the establishment. Their works were realistic in their approach, and depicted the mood of the time, which was really quite gloomy. Both of these exhibitions followed a period of uncertainty in France, with the end of the Franco-German war of 1870 and a recent, and bloody, civil war. The official Salon was awash with works dominated by these troubles, and the angst that followed with them, but the Anonymous Society had rejected the prevailing mood completely, preferring instead to make studies of ordinary people and landscapes. They were dismayed by the control the official curators had over what was being displayed, and they felt their passions were elsewhere, effectively saying ‘We’ve had enough of the grim subjects chosen by these so called officials, we want to lighten the mood, and bring something fresh and new’, and that is exactly what they did.

These artists had a lighter, more immediate style, one that was so loose that some of the works seemed little more than studio sketches. The response to these works was predictable, with critics mostly horrified by them, and dismissive of the qualities that have since proved their place in history and their lasting appeal. They had a new, fresh approach, which saw them become part of a movement soon dubbed ‘Impressionism’, that would eventually spell the end of academic teaching as the mainstay of Western art.

It was a very interesting exhibition, if maybe a tad busy. However, we have read that some original Renoirs are being loaned to the Renoir museum in Essoyes later this year, so a good chance for us to see them in quieter surroundings only 15 minutes from us.

Le Procope

We both fancied a traditional style French restaurant for dinner, and what better place to chose than the ‘Procope’.

It is considered the oldest café in Paris, founded in 1686, by the Sicilian Francesco Procopio Dei Coltelli. It was a good 20 minute walk for us, in the heart of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district, so we had a good appetite on arrival.

To start with, we enjoyed a chilled martini bianco (vermouth), which I think is obviously a nod to their Italian routes. Brian went for 6 escargot’s, which he loved. I enjoyed green asparagus, served with a rich morelle sauce and a lightly poached egg. It was a great start.

The menu was full of traditional French dishes, along with a few Italian specialties, a mushroom risotto and a Procope tiramisu.

For main though, we continued with our French choices. Brian had a vol au vent filled with very tender chicken and sweetbreads, whilst I had the calf’s liver with a parsley sauce, both served with mashed potatoes. It was all quite rich but very delicious.

Apparently, back in its early days, the café attracted philosophers and writers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire. We could certainly imagine how the venue would have been a buzz of creative and studious characters, chatting passionately about their beliefs.

For us it was time for dessert, which we decided to share. ‘small’, very light île flottante, which is a poached meringue on a custard sauce, covered in a salty caramel sauce.

We certainly needed the walk back to our hotel.

E. Dehillerin

A friend had told me about a very old cook shop close to Les Halles. It’s about a 10 minute walk from Notre Dame, so we headed in that direction after our pancakes. We were soon passing by ‘Westfield’, a huge shopping complex built underground, covered over by an amazing ergonomic roof. It was very tempting to go in, but on this occasion we resisted, I’m sure we’ll be back one day.

Our destination was E. Dehillerin in the Rue Coquillière. They market themselves as ‘specialists in the supply and sale of kitchen equipment’, with the brand's motto being "Modest assistance in the promotion of French cuisine". How could, I resist that?

We soon came across its grand facade, and I have to say It didn’t let me down, it really was one of the best cook shops I’ve ever visited. It has been trading since 1820, although it moved to its present day shop front in 1890. It is clearly still heavily used today by the industry, as you can buy absolutely anything you need for your working kitchen. I think I counted 15 different sizes of whisks. Its enormous collection of copper pans hanging in the window also attracts tourists, especially from the US, as American cook and TV presenter Julia Child, who introduced french cuisine to the US, was a great admirer of the store.

I was interested in finding a good quality fish knife, and a mould for some patisserie recipes we would like to try. I really didn’t leave any part of the shop undiscovered, visiting all the little nooks and crannies.

Voilà! The sign of a great cook shop, I got everything I came for.

Pancakes by the Seine

We were able to check into our room early, so we got unpacked and then wandered out to explore the area.

We were staying just behind the Pantheon, a rather austere looking building which houses the tombs of a number of great men, and more recently women. They don’t all lay there though, some are merely inscriptions, giving a dedication to them, like Joséphine Baker. The oldest residents are the philosophers Voltaire and Rousseau. Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, and Marie Curie are also there.

We didn’t actually go in at this point, as we wanted to take in a bit more of our surroundings, and were delighted to have our first proper view of the Eiffel Tower.

We headed down towards the river Seine, as we wanted to have a look at Notre Dame, and see how things were progressing.

The sun was now out, and we spotted a man making banana pancakes, which looked delicious. We were both feeling a bit peckish, so we ordered a couple and found a seat in front of Notre Dame, to enjoy our mid afternoon snack.

What a wonderful start to our little Paris adventure.

Flying trip

There’s an exhibition on at the moment at the musée d’Orsay in Paris, which tells the story of the Impressionists. We’ve been interested in visiting it, so thought that as we have no guests currently we would head into Paris for a few days. We have already booked our exhibition tickets online, so now we just need to get there.

It only takes us about two and half  hours to drive and, as our hotel has an underground car park, it seemed the easiest way to get there.

Dentist

I had to nip to the dentist this morning as I have damaged my gum, and my dentist wanted to take a panoramic x-ray of my teeth and gums.

I’d made an appointment a few weeks ago as I felt things were not right. After a quick examination, and him talking to me in French whilst I’m upside down in the chair (which I soon realised is doubly hard to understand in that position) it transpired that I now need to make an appointment with another clinician in Dijon to have it examined. On the one hand I’m happy I’m in the system and he’s being really thorough, but on the other I’m really not good with dentists, so I am a bit anxious.

I’ve been lucky through my life that normally my visits to the dentist are once a year for a check up, and never any work doing. I’m hoping for an easy resolution, but I’m not certain that’s what will happen this time.

Wild orchids

We made a short little trip out of the village yesterday, on one of our favourite walks. It goes up through the forest, across the fields on the plateau, then back down via the point de vue. As we walked along the track through the fields we spotted whole clusters of beautiful, cerise pink wild orchids, nestled amongst the buttercups. They look absolutely stunning.

Chaux what

As you can see the walls around the step area of the pool are looking way too shabby. We do like shabby chic, but not this shabby. They haven’t had any work done on them since we moved here, so Brian started the renovation by cleaning off all the loose and blown render. It fell off pretty easily.

It was then a little work out to get the bags of sand and chaux up the hill to start on the job.

A few trips up and down the hill later and we were ready to start.

The first mix cracked slightly as it dried, so we’ve added more sand which should slow down the drying and help prevent cracks. The addition of the sand has also produced a better colour. We are both pleased with the result.

The thing is when you start a job like this you think ‘We’ll just do this small area’, then it seems to escalate, and we keep finding more areas to fix.

Essoyes wine festival

I’m a bit behind on my blogs! We went to the Essoyes wine festival last Sunday, and I feel I have to talk about it.

We love having the opportunity to try different wines from outside of our region, and the producers at the event have travelled from all over France.

We were particularly interested in trying some reds this year, and found some very interesting, and reasonable, wines from the Languedoc – all bio dynamic. We bought a selection, and are looking forward to trying them over the coming years. They can be kept up to ten years, so we shall taste them at different stages of their maturity.

Later in the afternoon we were able to enjoy a local brass band, who played a well rehearsed set of well known tunes, from Star Wars to musicals.

Before heading home we visited a new local farm producer, who had started selling bread at various locations not far from us. We bought some of their multi seeded bread, and their country bread. Both were delicious, so we will certainly be supporting them in the future.

As we got back to the car I noticed a sign advertising a plant sale – what better way to finish our day.

It was a bit of a mixed affair, with mismatched pots of plants looking a bit worn out by the long day. I think Brian thought I was a bit mad, but I picked out some yellow irises and a couple of succulents, both of which I’d wanted. A few vivaces (perennials) were also worth trying I thought. The lady had told me I could pay whatever I wanted to, so I handed over the change in my purse (about 8 euros) and we parted both very pleased with our deal.

Wet and forget

Cleaning the walls at the pool this year seems to have been quite a long job, a quite a difficult one too. I’ve been recommended a product called ‘Wet and forget’ by a friend, which I think I need to try. I’m conscious the jet wash alone will gradually damage the walls.

Although it didn’t get all the black off, it’s made a big difference.

I’m so looking forward to enjoying all our hard work and relaxing on some lazy days at the pool.

Chilly hill

After our little visit to Troyes, we were keen to fit our new fridge into the little pool house. First though was to pull it up the hill!

I then got the easy job of unwrapping it.

After its journey we’ve let it rest for a couple of days before turning it on. It’s now chilling nicely. I think I need to take some bubbles up for a little evening apéro.

Chaux

Brian was keen to fix the walls at the swimming pool, as some of the chaux render is starting to break away. First though he needed to buy some chaux (lime mortar). We know where best to buy a lot of our materials and hardware now, and the chaux is best bought at Point P, a kind of port-a-cabin attached to a warehouse just on the outskirts of Bar-sur-Seine.

Lime mortar is a mixture of lime, sand, and water, and has been used for centuries in construction due to its breathability. All we need to do is mix one part lime with three parts sand and then add water. I’m looking forward to how the pool area will change over the next few days.

Renoir

I subscribe to the ‘France today’ digital magazine. It provides lots of helpful articles about what’s current in France, and provides me with useful information about places and events we could visit. This month it was really nice to see a local event to us, in the pretty village of Essoyes, being featured. The article introduced it as ‘A lovely little village in southern Champagne that was the summer home of the Renoir family for many years—and is the burial place of the painter, his wife, and their three sons.’ The event will see local people dressing up in the costume of the period, a demonstration of ancient crafts and will feature a ‘dance hall’. It looks like a fun event which we will make time to visit.

You can visit the website here if you would like to learn more about the event, or explore other articles in the magazine.

Alice

We were up early this morning as I wanted to go to the market to buy some cheese and yoghurts from the champs-sur-barse fromagerie stall, and some fruit and veg from one of the local farmers.

I also managed to pick up some local eggs. They had a little photograph of where they are from and the lady who cares for them.

It’s so good to understand where your food comes from, and since offering table d’hôte meals at our chambré d’hôte, I feel it’s really important to know.

The Redstarts

Our little Redstarts have had their chicks.

It’s so beautiful to watch Mr Redstart working all day to bring food home to his fam, we get to watch home whilst we are sitting having breakfast. Flitting in and out, careful of who sees him, changing his direction if he thinks he’s been spotted. We try and keep clear of them, but it’s difficult as it’s where we park our car. Mrs Redstart occasionally leaves the nest, but only for a quick stretch of her wings then back again to mind the family.

When they fly back there is always a lot of commotion from the chicks, in anticipation of their imminent feeding. It really is just so delightful.

Retail therapy

The fridge in the summer kitchen at the pool needs replacing. Now the weather is warming up we wanted to buy a new one to ensure it’s in place for our guests. So we nipped to Troyes for a little bit of retail therapy.

We soon found a fridge that would fit the space, the challenge was would it fit in the car. The customer service team at Leclerc were brilliant, we’d explained the packaging for the fridge could not be bigger than 70cm, so they kindly brought the boxed up fridge out for us to measure. All was good, we paid for it and the chap helped Brian put it in the car.

That done, we headed to Action to buy a few things, it’s one of those shops that you go in to buy one thing and come out with so much more that you really didn’t know you needed, so whilst there I couldn’t resist but try on this hat for €2.79. Why wouldn’t I need it?

A lovely spot of lunch at la Boulangerie Feuillette then fortified us for a little walk around McCarthur Glen.