Paroissien’s in Paris

Top left:    Kitchen at Musee Nissim de Camondo      Top:    Gates to Parc Monceau
Bottom left:   Russian Orthodox Cathedral                  Bottom:    Market in rue Poncelet

 Ian left this morning for a couple of weeks in Melbourne – we decided that he should take as much stuff back as possible as we may be a bit overloaded in December, what with the Christmas shopping, etc.  So with 5 bags of varying dimensions, the summer clothes and all those books…..

 

He just sent a text to say that when he checked in he had 55kgs  -  and he wasn’t charged!!!  Hope they are as kind when we leave in December!!!

 

I then set off on one of the
Paris walks – to the Parc Monceau area in the 8^th arrondisement.   Started near the Arc de Triomphe – and found a little market in rue Poncelet – a small and bustling market bursting with fresh seafood, scallops in their shells, heaps of wild mushrooms, delicious strawberries and raspberries and other wonderful goodies – plus of course the fromage shop. 

Stopped for a coffee and croissant, then off to the heart of  Little Russia with its astonishing Russian Orthodox Cathedrale St Alexandre Nevsky.

 Unfortunately it is only open in the afternoon so shall have to go back to wander through its interior, apparently painted in rich colours and an ornate dome in striking contrast to Paris’ stone churches.     

And further along the rue de Courcelles  there is a red Chinese Pagoda – again an incronguity amongst the Haussman apartments of Paris.     I

 

Back to the imposing gates of Parc Monceau  – autumn is in full swing with golden leaves swirling in the wind – and the children out in the park playing elastics – just like our children did in primary school – children are the same the world over.  (how to describe elastics for the uninitiated – two long parallel pieces of elastic, joined at each end, held by two children about 12 inches off the ground – and the idea is that the other kids jump in and out with patterns) – perhaps I should google this for a better description!!)

 

At the end of this park is the Musee Cernuschi – another Paris ‘find’.  It houses wonderful Chinese art and artefacts, gathered from 1050 BC onwards and the most huge Buddha I have ever seen in bronze – stunning.  Buddhism came to China as early as  the 1^st century AD.   And another little bit of trivia - did you know that the potters wheel had been invented by the 4^th millennium BC!!   There was also a special exhibition of Japanese paintings from the 18^th and 19^th centuries – so exquisite.

 

Ate my baguette in the park and then strolled around to the Musee Nissim de Camondo (thank you Sally S).     It belonged to the Camondos, a Jewish family who had established banks in the Ottoman Empire.    In particular Moise de Camondo  was a  great collector of art and beautiful furniture, and built his house with every mod-con known at the time.    The bathrooms were tiled with ceramic baths, bidets etc. and of course all the drawing rooms and bedrooms had luxurious furniture.   However I really loved the kitchen – (see photo) – the biggest stove I have ever seen, polished copper saucepans and a huge roasting oven for the spit roasts etc. – amazing.  

His home overlooked the Parc Monceau and was filled with exquisite treasures. And Paris was fortunate that he left his house and its contents to the State when he died in 1935, not knowing of the tragedy that was to befall his  family during the 2^nd world war, when many Jews were deported to Germany.

 

So I am sitting here, enjoying a cup of tea, and full of wonder for this magical city.   And there is still more to see…

Au revoir
Barb 

 

a birthday in Paris - Ian is away again - was he in Milan, Dublin or Zurich!!!   But I was fortunate to have Linda Speddy and Sue Meltonhill staying with me - we all met in Lae, Papua New Guinea in 1983.  

We strolled around Paris, including the fabulous Opera Garnier which is at present on top of our  ‘must see’ list, did a little shopping here and there, enjoyed lunch and a glass of champagne under the stained glass dome at Printemps, and celebrated in the evening with dinner at Settebello, our favourite Italian restaurant.

Then Win and Russell Meares arrived in Paris and joined us for dinner after our Champagne trip - Win and Russell also ex PNG.    -   see photo above.

Ian is back in town, for a few days!!    We have just tried a new restaurant - La Maree Passy - a seafood restaurant around the corner.
And at the next table sits a couple with a white (west highland terrier) Scotty dog - who decides that the fish Ian is eating smells pretty good and needs his attention - big brown eyes looking up at Ian - I couldn’t stop laughing.    And it certainly breaks the ice with the couple sitting next to us.   And whilst it is certainly not acceptable in Australia, we have got very used to it here in Paris - all the dogs are small, and so well behaved - in fact we think they have all been to French Finishing School!!!
And whilst the Sole and Scallops were delicious, we will try the bouillabaisse next time - as recommended by the Scotty dog’s ‘parents’.

So the McPhersons and Speddy’s have gone back to the UK, Sue is back in Brisbane and Win and Russell have completed their few days in paris and are winging their way to  Tokyo and then Aust.

It was terrific to have so many of our ‘old’ friends with us in paris.

Au revoir
Barb

With Frances & Finlay McPherson and Linda & Roger Speddy, friends from our time in
Lae, Papua New Guinea in 1983, we set off to enjoy a few days of exploring, tasting, eating, talking and driving around the Champagne area.

 

We caught the train from Paris to Epernay –  about 1-1/4 hours due east of Paris, where we hired a car

 

Found a small supermarket and stocked up supplies, and then drove to a small, in fact very tiny, village called Oyes to our villa, Aupres de Eglise. (beside the Church).   See photo above                 

 

It is a lovely old farm house with blue shutters, a huge living area and two bedrooms on the ground floor, then a huge bedroom and smaller bedroom on the 2^nd floor – together with a very ultra modern bathroom with a huge free-standing bath  and toilet and washbasin  in the centre of the room – very swish although with the ‘cemented walls’ we couldn’t decide whether it was finished or not!!!  We actually decided it was ‘modern architecture’!!   The big bedroom downstairs had its own fireplace - which the boys being boys, decided had to be lit - Frances and Finlay were very warm that night!!!

 The living area encompassed the kitchen and dining area and a wonderful open fireplace with a couple of sofas.  A long wooden table and chairs was the centrepiece of the room, with lots of  shelves full of all the necessities of living – plates, oodles of glasses, breakfast cereals, candles, etc. etc. etc.   Whilst slightly rustic, it was very comfortable and warm, lots of hot water and a wonderful atmosphere.

 

Outside, just past a grove of what looked like silver birches, there is a ménage – what we would call a rotunda, complete with bbq  and piles of cut wood – irrisistible to Roger and the boys.  And with a herb garden out in the back area, we were well and truly set up for a gourmet feast to go with the champagne.

 

First day, after a very late breakfast,  we decided to follow  the Champagne Trail –  through very pretty countryside of sugar beet, corn, sunflowers, etc.    Moet et Chandon is of course the most well known in this area, but with the tour buses all parked in a row, we decided to give this a miss and headed for a small champagne house – where the owner kindly opened up his tasting room for us after we rang his doorbell.    Well, a great find – Champagne Derouillat was its name – and after copious tastings, we bought a few, quite a few in fact, bottles – the challenge will be to get them back to Paris on the train, but hey, where there’s a will, there’s a way!!! – and maybe we will have consumed some of it too!!

 

A bit more shopping for dinner – including a giant saucisson –a big fat sausage shaped in

a horseshoe and weighing at least a kilo – and it cost E11 (A$19) so it had better be good!! (see photo).

One description from our Scottish friends was that it might be a bit like a French haggis – the mind boggles!!

 

Well, the guys got the fire going in the bbg dish – only took an hour or so, but we did eventually eat a very delicious meal –especially the saucisson – every scrap consumed and was well worth all the effort of lighting fires etc.

 

Next day, our driver decided that driving south was the go.  First stop was Troyes – a medieval village, 11-12^th century.     Did wonder if we had come to the right place – it’s only the centre which is medieval, the rest is normal, industrial, commercial, suburbs!!   But the centre is a real gem – a smallish area with tudor style buildings and a beautiful old cathedral with a ‘rood’ – a structure built across the cathedral, this one in stone, which separates the clergy in the choir from the lay people in the nave.    There are very few left in France as they were mostly built in wood and during the Revolution (1790 approx. in case you’ve forgotten)  they were burnt – churches were seen as part of the bourgeoisie.

 

After a lovely lunch at the local brasserie soaking up the sun and the wine, we headed for Sezanne.   Again a lovely village with interesting shops and patisseries etc.  – it’s amazing how much effort is put into eating and drinking when on holiday!!

 

Our last evening – a scratch meal of a potato dish (thanks Linda) and some chicken (thanks Roger) after we found that the restaurant to which we had decided to eat, was actually not open on a Friday night!!!  

All in all a great fun few days with good friends, good food and great wine and champagne.   And the quote of the day was from Linda, when driving through the countryside – “it’s just like an amphitheatre of vines” – very  poetic Linda.

And many thanks Roger, for doing all the driving – was much appreciated by us all.

 

And if you are looking for somewhere to stay in this region, we very much recommend Aupres de L’Eglise.   Website    www.aupresdeleglise.com

 

So next day, back to Paris, and dinner that night – Win and Russell Meares, also ex PNG, joined us.   More talking and drinking!!!

 

Sunday, McPhersons returned to Scotland, and after a bit of Paris exploring,  the Meares and Speddy’s came for dinner at the apartment – we have the most terrific fish market so salmon was the order of the day.

Monday, and a quieter day – and catching up on emails, etc.

 

And so…..   another day….