Les Girls...Les Memoires...Le Paris Scrapbook

Beginning with the finale, here we are on our much-anticipated Bateau Parisian dinner cruise, which lasted about two and a half hours on the Seine River. We saw so much of Paris by night ... illuminated, gorgeous, drenched in romance ... while enjoying our wonderful gourmet meals.

To a woman, we selected the foie gras appetizer; Linda Kay and JoAnn had the pike entree, Raenell had the veal, and I went with the Black Angus filet, sauteed a la Parisienne. Three of us were hooked by the dense, rich chocolate dessert, while Rae had a wonderful looking pear, baked and covered in rich buttercream. We were also served and enjoyed champagne, white and red wine with dinner, along with coffee and brandy afterward. (hic)

For the view from our table, in addition to the glorious full moon which rose just as the boat was leaving its mooring and followed us throughout, we had Le Petit Palais and Le Grand Palais, Les Invalides, the timeless Louvre, several gorgeous ponts (bridges), including the truly spectacular gold-leafed Pont Alexandre, as well as Ile d'la Cite and Ile St. Louis, with the strong, familiar ediface and the less well-known magnificent flying buttresses of Notre Dame. And just as the cruise was ending, we were treated to the wonderful sight of the replica of the Statute of Liberty near the Grenelle Bridge on the Ile des Cygnes (Isle of Swans). There was lovely music provided by the band, and featuring Madame Marie and her consort Alain ... glorious songs ... almost anything in French sounds romantic, and they could have been singing Three Blind Mice hauntingly andante and we would have loved it!!!

Madame Marie, singing La Vie en Rose on the Bateau Parisian.

Of course we were not disappointed when at the end of the cruise Madame Marie rendered a truly soulful, heart-melting version of La Vie En Rose (see my post on the main blog, La Vie en Rose ... the Two Towers ... and the City of Light..., posted March 17, 2008). Guys ... you were sorely missed, although we still had a great time.

Little bit of a rip-off by the cab driver we engaged to take us back to the hotel ... but by that time we were sated and happy and full of the special magic that is Paris by night ... so we just chalked up the extra Euros we paid to a good deal to keep from standing in the soft rain that had begun to fall toward the end of the cruise, trying to find another cab.

JoAnn and our really cute waiter at a brasserie on the Rue du Rivoli ... across from the Tuilleries and the Louvre.

We didn't get this guy's name, and I wish we had ... but he truly was charming, spoke more than just un peu English and was joking and laughing and flirting with us in tres French fashion the entire time we were there, not to eat but just to enjoy cups of cafe avec creme to warm up in the chilly weather. We had so hoped that we would catch Paris at the real beginning of Spring ... but although there were some flowers beginning to bloom, winter hadn't given up yet, so most of our time there the weather was on the inclement side. Still ... Paris is Paris....

From Rue du Rivoli, we wandered across the street, through the Tuilleries, at one time one of the royal parks and gardens for the Palais de Louvre, which of course is now the home of the world-famed museum. Got a great picture (actually two, but the one shown here is the better) of Rae and Jobey and the Louvre Pyramid designed by I.M. Pei.

JoAnn and Raenell with the Louvre and I.M. Pei's Pyramid in the background.

Like the Eiffel Tower when it was first constructed, Pei's Pyramid generated much controversy when the museum was expanded and the Pyramid was dropped into the center of the complex, but it is absolutely stunning and quite a feat of engineering.

Of course the Mona Lisa and the Venus De Milo, along with "Winged Victory" (the Nike of Samothrace) were high on the list of things to see in the vast museum ... and there is simply no way anyone can possibly see everything on a single visit, or even several.

I so enjoyed les girls' reactions to the patisseries of Paris ... the bakeries ... with all of the wonderful, cream-filled and -covered, butter-laden, sometimes liqeuer-saturated pastries, which became a true afternoon (and sometimes evening) treat. Believe me ... the bakeries of Paris are head and shoulders ... and croissant... above those in this country ... and are justly considered treasures of the City. IMHO, anyone who can keep to any sort of diet with such an array of wonderful offerings in almost every block is waaaaaay more Stoic than most ... even the Stoics .... (grin)

The Paris Metro certainly facilitated our travel around the city ... although the stops avec "Escalator Sortie" seemed a lot fewer and farther between ... and the stairs back to the street a lot looooonger and steeper ... than I remembered them. I must say that by our second day there, I realized that my "wishful" itinerary (see the aforesaid post La Vie en Rose... on the main blog) might have been challenging for us if we were in our 30s ... as I was when I pretty much followed it on my first trip to Paris in 1984. But it was waaaay overly-ambitious for women of a certain age ... joie de vivre notwithstanding ... two of whom have undergone hip and knee replacements. Raenell (who takes long walks with her Jim every morning) probably was the most mobile of all us of ... and I become more and more convinced that she has a portrait stashed somewhere in her attic, as she hardly seems to age at all....

Sainte Chapelle, the upper (royal) chapel.

One day we went to Ile d'la Cite and Ile St. Louis ... islands in the Seine where much of the French government apparatus is situated, along with charming apartments, cafes and the aforementioned patisseries... as well as the legendary Cathedral of Notre Dame and the stunningly beautiful Sainte Chapelle, where the French royal family worshipped when they were in from Versailles. The lower level of Ste. Chapelle is gorgeous is its own right, but that is the "lower class" and more lightly decorated area where the palace servants and retainers attended Mass. The true marvel is the royal chapel upstairs, which is surrounded by magnificent stained glass. Unfortunately, the day we were there was heavily overcast so the totally overwhelming beauty of the place was muted; however, as you can see from the picture, even with less than optimal light, it is still one of the loveliest places around.

Notre Dame de Paris, from the quay (Rive Gauche).

After taking in the glories of Ste. Chapelle and Notre Dame (with a cafe break in between), we wandered across the bridge to the Rive Gauche (Left Bank, where our hotel, Le Grand Hotel des Gobelins, was located) and found Shakespeare and Company, as Nicki had charged us with doing in her "scavenger" hunt. The best we could do for "all four of us" in front of Shakespeare was a shot I took (I was there, holding the camera) with JoAnn holding the door open, Raenell to the left in the shot, and Linda Kay almost invisible in front of Jobey.

Nevertheless, I consider the shot a technical "score". I didn't do so well with getting a shot of us in front of a McDonald's ... although there are many of them in Paris, including on the Champs Elysees, near the Arc d'Triomphe. Seems like every time I spotted a Mickey-D's, there were only a couple of us around for the shot, and I thought I'd wait until I could at least shoot the three of them (seeking the technical "score" again) ... but McD's ubiquity (and my own sensory overload) bred forgetfulness, and it was on our way back to CDG Airport for the flight home that I remembered I'd never taken the photo at any of the several opportunities I'd had.

Between Ste. Chapelle and Notre Dame we stopped into a sidewalk cafe (although the weather kept us in the glassed-in sitting area facing the street), where a really cute French waiter took our picture while we warmed up with cafe creme again. He was so sweet and solicitious and cooperative ... but busy, busy, busy ... so we didn't get a picture of him ... nevertheless, the garcon on the Rue du Rivoli more than met our requirements.

A door or so down from Shakespeare & Company (on the quay, just across from Notre Dame) we found a wonderful little bistro ... with a fire (oh joy!) ... where we had a really good lunch, including a creme potage (soup) to die for. That afternoon, les girls ventured to La Tour Eiffel ... but unfortunately, the wind was so strong the upper deck was closed. Win some, lose some ... although Rae and Jobey did make it to the top of the Arc d'Triomphe one day when they branched out on their own.

JoAnn and Linda Kay (look close) entering Shakespeare and Company, with Raenell to the left, moi behind camera.

Soon after our "interesting" arrival (see my post As You Like It: Le Holiday ... Ours (Bears) ... and Face to Fang..., posted on the main blog March 27, 2008) we wandered next door to the hotel to Au Petit Bar, a little brasserie where we took more than one meal ... and several coffees ... during our stay. Although it served wonderful lunches during the day (the plats du jour with salad, entree and dessert were particular bargains), in the evening it became its name ... "a little bar" ... and an Internet cafe.

As it is throughout tout Paris, the people-watching is on a par with the great food, so our meals at Au Petit Bar were always interesting. We were particularly taken under the wing of a sweet, spirited little waitress, Anouk from Burgundy, who made it her personal mission to see that we ordered the best of the specials and tried different things from the grill, including the ubiquitous Croque Monsieur, the toasted ham and cheese sandwiches on baguettes, which are completely unlike (believe me!) any toasted ham and cheese you've ever had. Raenell had a tomato-basil soup with her sandwich one day, and it was killer. The creme brulee house specialty dessert was heavenly, and enjoyed more than once.

Anouk and Raenell at Au Petit Bar.

On our first day in Paris (March 17), and our first meal at Au Petit Bar, Anouk was so looking forward to getting off work about mid-afternoon so she could head for the Marais District and the St. Patrick's Day festivities planned for that evening. (See Guinevere the Druid Goddess's post St. Patrick's Day ... the Shee ... and "Kiss Me, I'm Druid!!!) Anouk asked us if we wanted to come along with her to see how Parisians celebrated the Celtic holiday. It was tempting, I must admit ... but by that time we had lost track of GDG, and after our landing at CDG, thought a little "quiet time" might be in order that evening. Still ... the pipes, the pipes were callin'....

[Side Note: Anouk told me she was named by her romantically-inclined mother after the beautiful French film star Anouk Aimee (A Man and a Woman, 1966), who had the good sense to know that time is fleeting and that "You can only perceive real beauty in a person as they get older." I like that....]

I sadly had to bow out of making the day trip to London. I had slightly wrenched my knee (the "good" one) the day before, and it was swollen considerably by Thursday morning. And I figured that if I tried to do the London gig, I would either slow the other girls down, or have to spend most of the day sitting in St. Pancras Station while they saw the Tower of London and other sights (and sites), and did the "high tea" at the Ritz. And ... I had done London quite nicely on an earlier trip with Yahn, including seeing all the celebrations and fireworks for Guy Fawkes Day (commemorating the infamous "Gunpowder Plot"), so it seemed more important to me that the others not be encumbered by me. Sure enough ... they were moving fast, and still didn't make it to Harrod's, Hyde Park or some of the other places we'd hoped (overly-ambitious on the agenda again). So ... any tales (and/or photos) of the London Adventure will have to be done by another of Les Girls...

Would we do it again, the landing and smaller problems notwithstanding? Does La Vie en Rose dissolve me into a puddle every time I hear it??? Yeah....)O(

Posted by Nicki Wilcoxson at 1:33 PM

6 comments:

Sheila Davis Martinez said...
Great Pictures...Thanks so much for sharing them with us. You girls look great. To me, it looks like you had a more than wonderful time...inspite of the weather.

March 31, 2008 1:27 AM

Floyd Dakil said...
Viva La France. You girls look like you are having the time of your life. that's great.!!!!
March 31, 2008 10:29 AM

Jennifer Johnston Smith said...
Floyd, great to hear from you again ... and "les girls" were indeed having quite the time in the City of Light!!!!I must say our great time began with seeing you for brunch at La Madeleine on the morning before we left for Paris. It was wonderful to have time to talk and catch up with you, even briefly ... although an hour and a half is only a beginning. Just after you left, we all realized to our chagrin that not one of us had brought a camera to get a picture of all of us at brunch. Well, duh!!!In any event, perhaps we can make up that deficiency if you are able to join us at the planned dinner with Phil Tutor and his wife at Pappadeaux's on April 9th. We do hope you'll be able to make it ... and I know from our recent conversation that you're looking forward to seeing Jimmy/Willie again, and meeting Nicki. You've got my number if you need additional details. We do hope you'll be there ... although I don't think you could EVER be square! (grin))O(
March 31, 2008 10:44 AM

Nicki Wilcoxson said...
You guys have had the vacation of a lifetime! I know so well the feeling of being somewhere wonderful and wanting to soak up every bit of the culture, the tastes, the sights, and the sounds so you can store it all away in your very core to remember for always in case you don't get to come back. I doubt very seriously that Paris is a place that you can totally experience in such a short time, but you guys made a fantastic start. I would love to hear from Linda Kay, JoAnn, and Raenell sharing their first time impressions of Paris. The photos are awesome. Where is the Morgenstern? LOLWelcome home everyone and thanks for sharing.
March 31, 2008 10:54 AM

Jennifer Johnston Smith said...
Ah, the elusive Morgenstern. A true will-o'-the-wisp....Difficult to pin down ... always a few steps ahead, just around the corner ... in the "fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man ... a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity ... the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition ... between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination."There! At the signpost up ahead.... Yep .. we're talking the Twilight Zone.... (grin))O(
March 31, 2008 1:28 PM

clara robinson meek said...
I just discovered this post today----keep forgetting to check "short notes".I'm so thrilled that "Les Girls" had such a treasured experience! Thanks for sharing with us. I well remember the pastries and the wonderful sidewalk cafes. I had students with me, and we forbade them to go to McDonalds for food------photos yes, food no.
April 12, 2008 1:33 PM