Last tango in Paris

The idea of our four days in Paris were to enjoy the last days of our holiday just wandering around the streets and doing what took our fancy. That said, Michelle had been studying up on some foodie treats thanks to a great little book called Delicious Days in Paris. Written by an Aussie woman who used to live in Paris, it's written in a very readable, conversational tone with descriptions of wandering through different neighbourhoods in Paris with hints of some good cafes, patisseries and restaurants. So we were on a foodie tour of sorts. 

In an attempt to stay a little off the beaten track, our apartment was in the 3rd arrondissement in an area called 'Haut Marais' as it is just north of the trendy area Le Marais. We started with a walk down nearby Canal St-Martin which is a popular hangout on a summer evening. It was a fun area that we thought we'd like to come back to, maybe hire a boat one day while we were here. We never did get back there. So many things to do in Paris. 

Our first morning we needed a run so looking for somewhere running distance away we found ourselves in the one if the oldest cemetaries in Paris, Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise. Mt Pleasant cemetary this is not. No rolling lawns and wide walking paths here. No, it's moss, covered headstones loom large under the huge dark trees and cobbled, uneven walkways meander around. On this rainy, overcast morning it was spooky, and we were expecting to see a zombie emerge from behind every headstone. No zombies, but we did see the graves of Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf and Oscar Wilde. Couldn't find the Canadian adventurer, guess he was a better explorer than us. 

Velo was our friend again in Paris, probably made more enjoyable by the fact that in August most Parisians flee to the South of France so the city was quite quiet and car-free. Those drivers left seemed to be a good mood and more than happy to give way to cyclists. That is, the city was quiet outside the classic tourist sites. The couple of times we ventured into these areas like near the Louvre it was the sheer madness we'd been warned about as Paris in summer.

The worst was when we thought we'd stop by the Galleries Lafayette to check out the stunning glass dome. In complete contradiction to this sophisticated building that called out for a serene moment in a period drama, it was instead like a scene from an apocalyptic film with masses of people running around screaming and running for the doors with armfuls of shopping. We could physically feel our holiday relaxation being stripped away and replaced with anxiety. So we ran away, not really caring in which direction just out (but not before buying a winter coat for Michelle as we happened to pass the ladies wear section...)

One thing that was on our list in Paris was a visit to the Pompideau Centre, the awesome modern art gallery in Paris we had vivid memories of from visiting many years ago. We saw an excellent temporary exhibition by, Mona Hatoum, a Palestinian woman who was visiting London in the 1970s when war broke out in Lebanon. She never went home. Not surprisingly, her work has a strong current of displacement and the world. Our favourite piece was the map of the world made with glass marbles on the floor. The best part was the 'base' of these piece which was a five foot square cube that at first glance looked like it was covered in skeins of brown wool (ho, hum another modern art mediocrity), but then when you read about it you realise it is not wool but large iron filings curving around in response to hundreds of magnets stuck to the cube. 

Erm, she appears to have forgotten something..... We know NZ is small but this is a bit awkward as she managed to put a marble for Rottnest Island off the coast of Perth but completely forgot the land of the kiwi.

The next day we took a cycle along the left back of the Seine and ended up at the Palais de Tokyo, another modern art museum. The highlight was an exhibition by Patrick Neu which included a jacket made from bees wings (yes, their WINGS) and intricate copies of paintings drawn by scratching onto glass blackened with the ash from candle smoke (hmm, that's tricky to describe, maybe a photo is a better explanation). From there we wandered up to a 19th century mansion, Musee Jaquemart-Andrés,  for a spot of lunch pretending our servants were just watering the horses as we dined. 

Another day we took a stroll along the Promenade des Plantes, a tree-lined walkway at third floor level along a disused railway line in the east of the city. About halfway along there is a park where the water fountains include a sparkling water tap. Running under part of the promenade a line of artisan shops are found in the arches which formed the supprt for the railway line. An eclectic collection of items like jewellery, hand made parasols and paper embossing. 

Our next stop was a wine bar for a quick pit stop to taste a glass of wine and have a small snack before wandering through some of the Paris 'passages', the covered arcades from the 19th century with all sorts of old fashioned goodies like toys and boiled sweets. The bar, Legrande Filles et Fils, was in the lovely Galerie Vivenne. Before we had even taken a seat we had an inkling this would be more than just a pit stop as this was exactly the place we'd been looking for to taste a range of wines by the glass. They have one of the best collections of wine in Paris. It's also possible to try almost any wine in their cave as they have this technique for extracting wine through the cork and then replacing the tube of cork. We didn't want to pass up the opportunity to try a glass of Krug champagne by the glass as we'd been ogling the price of a bottle when in Reims but the price was too steep. It lived up to the hype, yum. Three hours later..... 

We had a few small plates of food to go along with all this great wine. Just something simple like, you know, slivers of beetroot with smoked ricotta and mashed pistachios - wow! If you like good wine and food (and don't mind paying for it) this place is amazing. 

On our last full day in Paris we did the tourist thing. We started with a visit to the market on Ave President Wilson. The huge pots stews and paella looked amazing but not easy for our picning purposes. So with picnic goodies (a giant chunk of rabbit pate, a slightly smaller chunk of blue cheese, heirloom tomatoes, a little salad and of course a tall, handsome baguette) and a half bottle of bubbles in the basket we headed to the Trocadero for a picnic looking across at the Iron Lady. Perfect. We were a little worried that being France we might not be able to sit on on the grass but we needed have worried as not only were people on the grass, they were frolicking around in the reflection pool! Hello summer. We followed up this with a visit to the Louvre where we managed to find a quiet gallery or two. Apparently 15th century Flemish paintings aren't as popular as a certain Italian one. We poked our heads in to the room 'de la smiling lady' just to see how crazy it was. Twenty people deep.  

On our last night we attempted an evening of natural wine bar hopping. Wine bars with small plates of local produce and vegetables (shock horror) are a bit of a new trend in Paris as is natural wine. We're still not 100% sure of the definition of vin de natural, some seem to think it's anything biodynamic or organic, other definitions put it as unfiltered. Either way, what we tasted was good. Unfortunately we were foiled by the bars being either packed to the gills or closed for the summer. Woe is us, we had to settle for an excellent meal at a place around the corner form our apt. 

So after eight amazing weeks we're heading home to Sydney where hopefully the worst of winter is over and we can start looking forward to summer fun. Back to saving the days of annual leave and the pennies for our next trip. Never fear, we have some ideas where the next trip will be!