Sunday, August 17, 2008
Paris, Day Six
Monday morning dawned nice and sunny. We had heard that the Marais neighborhood (across the river from where we were, on the right bank) was a good place to visit, so we headed over there, first stop at the modern art museum, Centre Pompidou.
Should have checked Rick Steves before we left--it was about 9 and it didn't open until 11. We admired the fountain art and then moved on, deciding to come back later.
The doll museum was also closed, regretfully. That's DOLL museum, not POOPY museum as Alex kept calling it.
Then, we totally by accident stumbled across the National Archives! Hurrah!
I'm sure in your studies of archives (hahahaha) you learned that the French National Archives were the first intentionally created national institution to document history, so it is pivotal to the history of archives. Other countries kept tax rolls, death registers, etc. for centuries, but always for administrative purposes. After the French Revolution, the French basically said, "We're important! Save things so future generations can understand us."
Of course, in typical French style, they housed it in a palace.
Uncanny! Looks just like my office.
After we left the archives, we headed to the Picasso Museum. I had never been to a museum dedicated to just one artist, and it was really fascinating to see his style develop and change.
Here we are, post-museum, with one-euro espressos. C'est bon!
The Marais neighborhood is the traditional Jewish area, but in recent years appears to have become also a hip, boutique-y kind of place. We passed a store that had these adorable mittens:
It was closed. A lot of shopkeepers close up for August or at least part of the month. Very civilized, but too bad some of the neatest-looking places were closed while we were there.
For lunch, we stopped at one of the famed falafel restaurants and each had a platter of delight.
Ooooh, so good. There used to be an Israeli deli by my college that I loved. I love Middle Eastern food, so this was a treat.
After lunch, we went back to the modern art museum. I know I sound like a hick, but modern art makes me feel sort of stupid. I find it interesting and thought-provoking, but I have a hard time understanding the intent or meaning behind a lot of the art.
This is a piano covered in felt. It's fascinating . . . but I have no idea what it means. Maybe that's okay. Maybe modern art is intended to raise more questions than it is intended to make statements? My feet hurt at the time, so I probably wasn't in the best frame of mind.
After I had my brain twisted, we walked back to our neighborhood in the Latin Quarter and visited the Pantheon, a Greek-style French building that has been the site of important political and cultural events.
More stairs, of course, and another gorgeous view, this one extra special because the day was so lovely.
The Pantheon is also the place that Foucault conducted his famous pendulum demonstration.
Confession: I always rather idiodically thought that Michel Foucault was the pendulum Foucault. In retrospect, why a postmodern theorist would get into pendulums is a mystery beyond reason. I guess I assumed that the panopticon and the rotation of pendulums were both . . . round. Oh, liberal arts college! Essentially Foucault University.
After a stop back home to regroup, it was early evening and time for dinner. We went to Le Reminet, a restaurant just a few blocks from us recommended by our friend Katherine. It was very, very good.
My first-ever amuse-bouche, a courgette (zucchini) soup in a shot glass.
Then, delectable oysters.
And then . . . fish and pasta. I really cannot remember exactly what it was, but I will verify it was delicious.
After dinner, Alex needed to run up to our apartment to get something, and I waited downstairs on the street, next to the park. A Frenchman struck up a conversation with me (yeah . . . no.) and we somehow began to discuss American politics. He was fairly convinced that Americans would just vote the way "the Jews" wanted them to, since they "own everything." I don't want to get into a long essay on the history of European anti-Semitism or the fact that in Paris alone 200,000 Jews died during the Holocaust, but it was profoundly disappointing to meet someone who so casually and honestly believed these things. I, and Alex when he returned, debated that point and discussed the many issues that factor into U.S. elections. All's well that ends well, I guess: we concluded with a bizarre group hug.
Yikes. To shake off the weirdness, we went to visit some sweet weirdness: a south Tunisian bakery I had been admiring, which sold these amazing cookies? Pastries?
It's a pastry "tube" circle soaked in honey. It was unlike anything else I've ever eaten and I will no doubt be craving it until I come upon my next south Tunisian bakery.
Ah, a long day. Time to go home.
Those damn stairs!
Should have checked Rick Steves before we left--it was about 9 and it didn't open until 11. We admired the fountain art and then moved on, deciding to come back later.The doll museum was also closed, regretfully. That's DOLL museum, not POOPY museum as Alex kept calling it.Then, we totally by accident stumbled across the National Archives! Hurrah!
I'm sure in your studies of archives (hahahaha) you learned that the French National Archives were the first intentionally created national institution to document history, so it is pivotal to the history of archives. Other countries kept tax rolls, death registers, etc. for centuries, but always for administrative purposes. After the French Revolution, the French basically said, "We're important! Save things so future generations can understand us."Of course, in typical French style, they housed it in a palace.
Uncanny! Looks just like my office.After we left the archives, we headed to the Picasso Museum. I had never been to a museum dedicated to just one artist, and it was really fascinating to see his style develop and change.
Here we are, post-museum, with one-euro espressos. C'est bon!The Marais neighborhood is the traditional Jewish area, but in recent years appears to have become also a hip, boutique-y kind of place. We passed a store that had these adorable mittens:
It was closed. A lot of shopkeepers close up for August or at least part of the month. Very civilized, but too bad some of the neatest-looking places were closed while we were there.For lunch, we stopped at one of the famed falafel restaurants and each had a platter of delight.
Ooooh, so good. There used to be an Israeli deli by my college that I loved. I love Middle Eastern food, so this was a treat.After lunch, we went back to the modern art museum. I know I sound like a hick, but modern art makes me feel sort of stupid. I find it interesting and thought-provoking, but I have a hard time understanding the intent or meaning behind a lot of the art.
This is a piano covered in felt. It's fascinating . . . but I have no idea what it means. Maybe that's okay. Maybe modern art is intended to raise more questions than it is intended to make statements? My feet hurt at the time, so I probably wasn't in the best frame of mind.After I had my brain twisted, we walked back to our neighborhood in the Latin Quarter and visited the Pantheon, a Greek-style French building that has been the site of important political and cultural events.
More stairs, of course, and another gorgeous view, this one extra special because the day was so lovely.The Pantheon is also the place that Foucault conducted his famous pendulum demonstration.Confession: I always rather idiodically thought that Michel Foucault was the pendulum Foucault. In retrospect, why a postmodern theorist would get into pendulums is a mystery beyond reason. I guess I assumed that the panopticon and the rotation of pendulums were both . . . round. Oh, liberal arts college! Essentially Foucault University.After a stop back home to regroup, it was early evening and time for dinner. We went to Le Reminet, a restaurant just a few blocks from us recommended by our friend Katherine. It was very, very good.
My first-ever amuse-bouche, a courgette (zucchini) soup in a shot glass.
Then, delectable oysters.And then . . . fish and pasta. I really cannot remember exactly what it was, but I will verify it was delicious.After dinner, Alex needed to run up to our apartment to get something, and I waited downstairs on the street, next to the park. A Frenchman struck up a conversation with me (yeah . . . no.) and we somehow began to discuss American politics. He was fairly convinced that Americans would just vote the way "the Jews" wanted them to, since they "own everything." I don't want to get into a long essay on the history of European anti-Semitism or the fact that in Paris alone 200,000 Jews died during the Holocaust, but it was profoundly disappointing to meet someone who so casually and honestly believed these things. I, and Alex when he returned, debated that point and discussed the many issues that factor into U.S. elections. All's well that ends well, I guess: we concluded with a bizarre group hug.Yikes. To shake off the weirdness, we went to visit some sweet weirdness: a south Tunisian bakery I had been admiring, which sold these amazing cookies? Pastries?
It's a pastry "tube" circle soaked in honey. It was unlike anything else I've ever eaten and I will no doubt be craving it until I come upon my next south Tunisian bakery.Ah, a long day. Time to go home.
Those damn stairs!Labels: food, honeymoon, museums, Paris
Monday, August 11, 2008
Paris, Day Three
On this morning (Friday), we woke up late, got some delicious crepes, and went to the Musee de Cluny, aka Musee des Moyen Ages, aka the Museum of the Middle Ages. This was one of the museums we could visit using our Paris Museum Passes. I'm not a huge Renaissance, unicorns and turkey legs kind of gal, but this was a fabulous museum.
So much humor and detail, and the tapestries! Oh friends, the tapestries. I became totally obsessed with "The Lady and the Unicorn," a series of six tapestries about the senses, filled with animals and plants and cheeky references to sensuality. So weird and unexpected.
This towel holder was pretty awesome too.
Following the museum visit, we walked down the Rue St. Germain, window shopping and people watching. We stopped at a cafe for lunch where, if I'm not mistaken, I spent around $14 for a glass of bubbly water. C'est tragique. The euro hurts, my friends.
To soothe our wounds, we went to Musee d'Orsay, which is filled with impressionist and other mid- to late-19th century art. There was a really cool exhibit of daguerrotypes, and some art nouveau furniture.
I don't know what that little cubby was intended for, but wouldn't it be a good place for knitting projects? In my house it would contain a cat within minutes of arriving, but for less catty places, it would be perfect.
After the museum, we walked back home, stopping at a grocery store, where I happened to spy these:
Single-serving (10 cl) real glass glasses of wine! No Capri Sun pouches here. These are a classy people.
So much humor and detail, and the tapestries! Oh friends, the tapestries. I became totally obsessed with "The Lady and the Unicorn," a series of six tapestries about the senses, filled with animals and plants and cheeky references to sensuality. So weird and unexpected.This towel holder was pretty awesome too.
Following the museum visit, we walked down the Rue St. Germain, window shopping and people watching. We stopped at a cafe for lunch where, if I'm not mistaken, I spent around $14 for a glass of bubbly water. C'est tragique. The euro hurts, my friends.To soothe our wounds, we went to Musee d'Orsay, which is filled with impressionist and other mid- to late-19th century art. There was a really cool exhibit of daguerrotypes, and some art nouveau furniture.
I don't know what that little cubby was intended for, but wouldn't it be a good place for knitting projects? In my house it would contain a cat within minutes of arriving, but for less catty places, it would be perfect.After the museum, we walked back home, stopping at a grocery store, where I happened to spy these:
Single-serving (10 cl) real glass glasses of wine! No Capri Sun pouches here. These are a classy people.Labels: honeymoon, museums, Paris
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Paris, Day Two
On our first full day of Paris, we woke up early and went for a classic breakfast: cappuccino and croissants.
This cappuccino cost around $7. For all the lovely things about Paris, it is TOO EXPENSIVE. This was the last cappuccino I had, except for one from a machine that cost 1 euro. The spendy one was better, but the ability to afford rent has rewards of its own.
Following breakfast, we bought some fruit at an outdoor market and some cheese at a fromagerie. Fromageries are fabulous. Cheese heaven. Then we set off on a seriously insane day of museum-ing. Notre Dame first:
Even the doors are crazy fancy. Following that we went to the Archaeological Museum, Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie, and the Louvre. Pictures of all of these can be found on Alex's Flickr set (everything I'm using for these Paris blog posts is from that. I took about four pictures on my own camera. It's hard to want to take many photos when your hubs does them so much better.)
Sainte-Chapelle is near Notre Dame but much smaller. The stained glass windows are incredibly beautiful and ornate.
After all those museums, we were pretty tired. Luckily, the Parisian government has created this genius faux beach called Paris Plage on the right bank of the Seine. They have everything from misting sprinklers to run under to mini-golf to petanque games to a swimming pool. It runs for several kilometers and it's totally FREE.
I hope to see a Middletown Plage on the banks of the Connecticut River soon, although it would probably be difficult to work around the various industrial waste that washes up on shore. Ah, my sweet homeland.
Anyhoo, we also stopped for lunch at a cafe, where I ordered a most unusual gazpacho.
What I thought was some type of dumpling turned out to be a foamy balsamic vinegar sorbet ball floating in the soup. I don't even know how you would make that, but it was pretty tasty.
That evening (after a restful afternoon nap of three hours), we went out for dinner at an Italian restaurant and had some really good pizza and tiramisu for dessert.
It had a lovely little caramelized sugar "veil" on top. Pretty pretty pretty!
This cappuccino cost around $7. For all the lovely things about Paris, it is TOO EXPENSIVE. This was the last cappuccino I had, except for one from a machine that cost 1 euro. The spendy one was better, but the ability to afford rent has rewards of its own.Following breakfast, we bought some fruit at an outdoor market and some cheese at a fromagerie. Fromageries are fabulous. Cheese heaven. Then we set off on a seriously insane day of museum-ing. Notre Dame first:
Even the doors are crazy fancy. Following that we went to the Archaeological Museum, Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie, and the Louvre. Pictures of all of these can be found on Alex's Flickr set (everything I'm using for these Paris blog posts is from that. I took about four pictures on my own camera. It's hard to want to take many photos when your hubs does them so much better.)Sainte-Chapelle is near Notre Dame but much smaller. The stained glass windows are incredibly beautiful and ornate.
After all those museums, we were pretty tired. Luckily, the Parisian government has created this genius faux beach called Paris Plage on the right bank of the Seine. They have everything from misting sprinklers to run under to mini-golf to petanque games to a swimming pool. It runs for several kilometers and it's totally FREE.I hope to see a Middletown Plage on the banks of the Connecticut River soon, although it would probably be difficult to work around the various industrial waste that washes up on shore. Ah, my sweet homeland.Anyhoo, we also stopped for lunch at a cafe, where I ordered a most unusual gazpacho.
What I thought was some type of dumpling turned out to be a foamy balsamic vinegar sorbet ball floating in the soup. I don't even know how you would make that, but it was pretty tasty.That evening (after a restful afternoon nap of three hours), we went out for dinner at an Italian restaurant and had some really good pizza and tiramisu for dessert.
It had a lovely little caramelized sugar "veil" on top. Pretty pretty pretty!Labels: food, honeymoon, museums, Paris
