Saturday, October 27, 2007
P15e continued
Day 3 - a day without the metro. Towards the Invalides, starting from one of the many vistas - this one being at the junction of Garibaldi and Pasteur, looking North towards the dome of the Invalides, glowing in the early morning winter sunlight. Got diverted at the Place de Breteuil by a large street market in the Avenue de Saxe. Bought some excellent tome de Savoie from the market and some excellent bread from the boulangerie in the street proper. Something about bread as they used to make it in the olden days. Back on route and next stop was the church of St Francois Savier. A large baroque affair with a very impressive chapel behind the alter containing a Virgin Mary standing on a globe in the clouds. Would have been even more impressive if it had of been dark with a bit of the lighting that catholics are so good at. Decided not to do the Rodin museum as we arrived at lunch time and the indoor part of the museum was not going to open for over an hour. Not so sorry, the last Rodin exhibition I saw in London was fairly porno. But I would have liked to have seen the Gates of Hell. Then onto the Invalides proper. Which struck me as a very vulgar exhibition of an emperor who lost having got through 5 million people (or whatever he managed). Didn't manage to get into the church of St Louis immediately behind the Invalides. This, it seems, is only open for marriages and such. No tourists. Picnic in front of the main building, sitting among the cannons. Then on and over the Pont Alexandre III and walked along the quay until we got to the Isle de Cite. Very impressed by Notre Dame - on what must be about the fifth visit in fifty years.
Walked back to hotel and then to a bistro in the Rue du Theatre for cous-cous. Splendid presentation with meat on one plate, heap of neat cous-cous on another (none of this faffing around with herbs, spices and other bits and bobs) and a small cauldron of boiled vegetables swimming around in the gravy in which the meat had been cooked. All served up by someone I suspect of being a pied-noir or the offspring of one.
Day 4. Took the tube to Gare D'Austerlitz. Having gone through Waterloo station so many times over the year it seemed only right to visit the French equivalent. On approaching the station I was reminded of the EDF story (October 15) by two men repairing a column at the South Eastern corner of the main train shed. The column stood perhaps 8 feet above the base of the roof arch and must of been a good way above ground - which must have been visible on the track side. One man was draped over the top doing something with an electric drill about a foot or so below. The other was standing on the cornice at the base of the column keeping an eye on things. As far as I could see there was absolutely nothing in the way of safety harnesses. Wouldn't ever have caught me on that job with my poor head for heights.
Onto the smart new National Library which is very impressive and very visitor friendly (although I have read a smug article about how the smart new towers containing the book stacks get very hot). Some local financial services outfit had spent a fair bit of money making 7 foot replicas of a couple of ancient globes and putting them in a fancy display. All good fun. Then around the station - which did not seem particularly grand as stations go - to the street market underneath the arches. Bit more scruffy than the Avenue de Saxe one. But got picnic which we consumed in the Square Marie Curie along with various winos. One of whom wished us bon appetit. Then into the St Louis church (or chapel) built (I think) in the 17th century just inside the La Pitie-Salpetriere hospital. Interesting octagonal plan - cruciform with equal arms with four more chunks in the corners with a large hexagonal lantern in the middle (the second such we saw in our stay). Then into the Jardin des Plantes which was curiously scruffily kept. Maybe it was the time of year. But there was a very fine fantasaur mainly made of stainless steel. Then across the river and through to the Place des Vosges. Had our first rude French person - the manageress or owner of a Salon de The where we had the temerity to ask whether they put real milk in the tea - it turned out that they put in the same sort of long life that BH keeps in the cupboard for emergencies. Lemon tea for me. Jewish quarter - which had a rather terminal look about it. Marais. Very quick look in St Paul and St Louis - another large baroque church but a but churched out by this point. Second post office experience: exactly the sort of slow scruffiness that one gets in the Epsom post office. Back across the river to a very crowded tube. Couple of beers called delirium tremens (from Belgium) then back to the hotel.
To the French equivalent of a gastro-pub for dinner. That is to say what had been a small neighbourhood bar turned in a restaurant. We got lots of attention as we were the first customers for an hour or so. Very good meal - despite the raised eyebrows at our having white Sancerre with it. In my case a very fancily presented light salad followed by kidneys. We also learnt that Paris does not have urban foxes. We had already noticed that the parks do not seem to do squirrels.
Back at the ranch, very fine bit of baked cod with cabbage and potatoes for tea yesterday. The sort of thing that restaurants are hopeless at.
Walked back to hotel and then to a bistro in the Rue du Theatre for cous-cous. Splendid presentation with meat on one plate, heap of neat cous-cous on another (none of this faffing around with herbs, spices and other bits and bobs) and a small cauldron of boiled vegetables swimming around in the gravy in which the meat had been cooked. All served up by someone I suspect of being a pied-noir or the offspring of one.
Day 4. Took the tube to Gare D'Austerlitz. Having gone through Waterloo station so many times over the year it seemed only right to visit the French equivalent. On approaching the station I was reminded of the EDF story (October 15) by two men repairing a column at the South Eastern corner of the main train shed. The column stood perhaps 8 feet above the base of the roof arch and must of been a good way above ground - which must have been visible on the track side. One man was draped over the top doing something with an electric drill about a foot or so below. The other was standing on the cornice at the base of the column keeping an eye on things. As far as I could see there was absolutely nothing in the way of safety harnesses. Wouldn't ever have caught me on that job with my poor head for heights.
Onto the smart new National Library which is very impressive and very visitor friendly (although I have read a smug article about how the smart new towers containing the book stacks get very hot). Some local financial services outfit had spent a fair bit of money making 7 foot replicas of a couple of ancient globes and putting them in a fancy display. All good fun. Then around the station - which did not seem particularly grand as stations go - to the street market underneath the arches. Bit more scruffy than the Avenue de Saxe one. But got picnic which we consumed in the Square Marie Curie along with various winos. One of whom wished us bon appetit. Then into the St Louis church (or chapel) built (I think) in the 17th century just inside the La Pitie-Salpetriere hospital. Interesting octagonal plan - cruciform with equal arms with four more chunks in the corners with a large hexagonal lantern in the middle (the second such we saw in our stay). Then into the Jardin des Plantes which was curiously scruffily kept. Maybe it was the time of year. But there was a very fine fantasaur mainly made of stainless steel. Then across the river and through to the Place des Vosges. Had our first rude French person - the manageress or owner of a Salon de The where we had the temerity to ask whether they put real milk in the tea - it turned out that they put in the same sort of long life that BH keeps in the cupboard for emergencies. Lemon tea for me. Jewish quarter - which had a rather terminal look about it. Marais. Very quick look in St Paul and St Louis - another large baroque church but a but churched out by this point. Second post office experience: exactly the sort of slow scruffiness that one gets in the Epsom post office. Back across the river to a very crowded tube. Couple of beers called delirium tremens (from Belgium) then back to the hotel.
To the French equivalent of a gastro-pub for dinner. That is to say what had been a small neighbourhood bar turned in a restaurant. We got lots of attention as we were the first customers for an hour or so. Very good meal - despite the raised eyebrows at our having white Sancerre with it. In my case a very fancily presented light salad followed by kidneys. We also learnt that Paris does not have urban foxes. We had already noticed that the parks do not seem to do squirrels.
Back at the ranch, very fine bit of baked cod with cabbage and potatoes for tea yesterday. The sort of thing that restaurants are hopeless at.
# posted by Jim @ 10:36 AM 
