Thought I would begin the morning taking care of a few details first and then move on to the more important tasks of the day like lunch. So I went over to nearby rue des Archives to check out my possible new coiffieur, Peter Gadge. Supposed to be one of the better hair cutters in Paris, but it seems that the French don't like to be too ostentatious about their actual business facade judging by the grey garage door with the scissors logo over it in the picture above. As you can also see, it's apparently closed on Mondays.
I then noticed a Renault dealership across the street, and when I went over to take a picture for my brother, the auto-aficionado, I noticed this stunning little blue doorway complete with flower pots. How could they have known I would be coming along to take a picture?!
With no success so far, I decided to traipse back over to Saint Michel and enjoy breakfast at my favorite cafe. As I was leaving, I couldn't help but notice how picturesque was this particular metro entrance so snapped a picture. Then, fortified by coffee and croissants, it was now time to try bus-riding in Paris. Since I don't seem to be able to figure out how to ride a bus at home, riding one in French seemed a bit intimidating. But, braving the busy streets and crazy drivers, I crossed over the Seine to the Île de la Cité, looking for Bus 69 which Rick Steves assures us in his Paris Guidebook is a great way to tour the city of Paris above-ground for a change. However, there was no Bus 69 sign on the Île de la Cité, so I just changed bus numbers. Hopped on Bus 21 because the side of the bus said it stopped at l'Opera. Well, it does, but not in the direction I was headed. So hopped off at the next stop, caught Bus 21 in the opposite direction, and sure enough, ended up at l'Opera. These buses are SO cool, and so easy. Can't believe I've never done buses on previous trips to Paris. For one thing, they go by terminus points the same way the metro and trains do. And on the side of each bus is a line diagram, again similar to the metro, displaying the stops and the terminus at both ends. And even better, when you get on the bus, there's an LED display in the middle of the bus on the ceiling that tells you the current stop and the next [prochaine] stop as well. Plus each stop is announced over a speaker [but of course that requires some knowledge of French and how they pronounce names -- or half-pronounce names as we were discussing in French group the other day]. For example, "Sn Pol" is Saint Paul -- which is fine once you catch on.
After a tiring morning of bus-riding and other adventures, it was finally time for lunch at Brasserie Julien, highly recommended by a friend. It's in a rather impoverished area of Paris, but the interior is amazing and the food is even better. Above is a picture of the entrance to Julien, and below is a picture I 'borrowed' of the interior -- just didn't seem like a classy idea to stand inside their restaurant taking pictures.
Would love to rattle off what I had for lunch in French, but in truth I cannot recall the fancy French names for cold pea soup with croutons and creme fraiche, and a tomato and mozzarella tart. Strange I know, but just delicious and I really appreciated the waiter's solicitousness without any apparent condescension.
This evening it was off to Shakespeare and Company again for a poetry reading. Not my usual preference, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself despite the warm weather and crowded little book store with standing-room only. The book is an anthology of French poets entitled Into the Deep Street: Seven Modern French Poets 1938-2008. Both editors/translators spoke this evening and talked about the process and the particular difficulties of translating poetry. Two of the 7 poets were also available to read some of their work as well as that of the other poets. Then the same poem was read in English by the editors. All in all a very enjoyable evening, followed by wine and appetizers. Another perfect Paris evening.
After a tiring morning of bus-riding and other adventures, it was finally time for lunch at Brasserie Julien, highly recommended by a friend. It's in a rather impoverished area of Paris, but the interior is amazing and the food is even better. Above is a picture of the entrance to Julien, and below is a picture I 'borrowed' of the interior -- just didn't seem like a classy idea to stand inside their restaurant taking pictures.
Would love to rattle off what I had for lunch in French, but in truth I cannot recall the fancy French names for cold pea soup with croutons and creme fraiche, and a tomato and mozzarella tart. Strange I know, but just delicious and I really appreciated the waiter's solicitousness without any apparent condescension.
This evening it was off to Shakespeare and Company again for a poetry reading. Not my usual preference, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself despite the warm weather and crowded little book store with standing-room only. The book is an anthology of French poets entitled Into the Deep Street: Seven Modern French Poets 1938-2008. Both editors/translators spoke this evening and talked about the process and the particular difficulties of translating poetry. Two of the 7 poets were also available to read some of their work as well as that of the other poets. Then the same poem was read in English by the editors. All in all a very enjoyable evening, followed by wine and appetizers. Another perfect Paris evening.
à votre santé!
No comments:
Post a Comment