Day 19 Carnavalet Museum, TheTravelzine GTG

After a slow start of supermarket shopping at Monoprix and boulangerie and lunch, we headed off for this museum on the history of Paris. It used to be included on the museum pass but no longer. To our surprise, since December 2001 it is free to visit the permanent collection.

This museum was one of our happiest surprises. It is recommended in guidebooks and Michelin gives it two stars. Mais non, trois! The only downsides are that the layout is confusing to follow chronologically, one should start on the upper floor and the lack of English signage.

HIghlights: fabulous rooms including a whole Art Nouveau jewelry shop by Mucha, rooms that belonged to famous people (Marcel Proust’s bedroom), objects that belonged to Marie Antoinette, Zola, and others. Fine furniture from Louis XIV, Regency, Louis XV, Louis XVI, Directoire, etc. Paintings and scale models that illustrate history: (contemporary paintings of great fires, the tennis court oath, a balloon ascent, building of the Metro, etc.). Beautiful breathtaking wall paneling, some carved, some painted including an amazing ballroom from the Hotel Wendel. There is a private room from the Cafe de Paris. Souvenirs of the siege of Paris (bread in a jar, a carrier pigeon’s feather, etc.) and china made to commemorate important events (tea cups with a guillotine!). All this in a wonderful Marais hotel particuliers.

We had a dinner date with an Australian couple and an American from our online travel discussion group, TheTravelzine at La Gavroche at 8 pm. We walked through to Beaubourg to a large cafe on a square on a pedestrianized street near Les Halles.. The rain seems finally to have stopped and it was great people watching weather. Although we were in a relatively touristy area, “real” Parisians were in the majority: children alone or with their parents, people meeting friends or going home from work, young people on their way out for the evening.

In spite of the recent success of right wing politicians, it is encouraging to see that younger Parisians seem fairly well integrated. We saw couples and groups of young people made up of blacks and whites. This may not be the same for older Parisians because we did not notice any older integrated groups.

There is electioneering all around town. There are large metal hoardings in each arrondissement for posters. We have seen candidates glad-handing at markets. The next step in their elections is coming soon, just as we leave Paris, I think.

We wandered through to the Opera district and joined some other step sitters at the Opera Garnier to watch the hectic traffic and the traffic police. People here like to watch the world go by and steps which cost nothing are popular. The Opera Bastille is another popular step sitting location with a great view of Place de la Bastille.

We arrived at La Gavroche before Gavin and Cheryl Crawford, the Australians. Jonathan Chimene was expected about an hour later at 9 pm. Gavin and Cheryl were charming and amusing dinner companions and so was Jonathan. Proof: we left the restaurant at 1:15 am and the Metro had stopped. We were amazed that we had been talking for five hours!

Good food with a strong emphasis on beef (I had duck and Richard had ham and lentils) and their own wine - 4 bottles of it! The patron? was jovial and teasing and took photos of us with our cameras for posting on TheTravelzine web site. Jonathan will write up a report. We talked about past travel (Tuscany and Lucca in particular), current travel plans, Australia, the Canadian and American dollar, tennis (Jonathan was in Paris for the tennis match), the book industry and more. Richard was amazed that the Internet could bring together people like this.

When we heard about the closed Metro, we decided to walk home rather than take a taxi, taking care to plot our path along main streets with car traffic and occasional other pedestrians. Once we got to Rue du Rivoli in the Marais there were others leaving restaurants, etc. We arrived home around 2 am. So we haven’t headed off to Chartres this morning as planned!

Day 20 Chartres

This morning we got a late start because of last night’s dinner. Again we took the bus from outside our building to Montparnasse train station and arrived just five minutes before the next train was leaving.

The train journey took just over an hour on a TER train - first class isn’t very classy! We arrived at Chartres well before Malcolm Miller’s guided talk on the cathedral. We ate our sandwiches which I had packed in a little park behind the cathedral and wandered the pretty town until 14:45.

The meeting point for the tours is just outside the bookshop in the cathedral. Tickets are not sold ahead of time but special arrangements can be made (see the Chartre cathedral website for a link and more information).

Mr. Miller has been given this tour for 40 odd years and is interesting and amusing. Some members of the audience had heard him 20 years ago or so! The charge for adults is 10 euros with discounted prices for students. Well-behaved children under 10 (?) were free. He told us about the previous buildings on the site, the context in which the cathedral was built and then focused on the stories told by some of the stained glass windows and a stone doorway talking about the connections between the Old and New Testament, the New Jerusalem and more. He has a great grasp of the material and the ability to communicate it to non-experts. Well worthwhile.

I would have been interested in visiting on a Friday when the labyrinthe on the floor of the cathedral is uncovered and can be followed. I had never heard about this feature of Chartres. There is a religious and pagan context to this maze and many cathedrals used to have them. They were designed to simulate the pilgrimage to the Holy Land for those who could not do so (during the Middle Ages). Moving through the labyrinthe is supposed to make the faithful feel that they have been on a journey. Mr. Miller said that it attracts school groups, however, and the children can be boisterous.

After the presentation, we wandered the pretty back streets around the cathedral and in the lower town near the Eure River. We had picked up a walking tour and map brochure from the tourist information office when we had arrived and I had notes from Jack’s page (jack-travel.com). We saw the clothes washing areas by the riverbanks that Jack mentions - in fact, one had laundry pegged out to dry, although I doubt that the sheets had been washed in the river!

Tea break at a swanky tea shop and then back to the cathedral for another view. We looked again at the window that Mr. Miller had discussed - it was newly restored and looked so fabulous compared to the dirty dark upper windows which are still waiting for cleaning. We also looked at the side of the cathedral where the stone has just been cleaned. The stone is creamy colour, quite lovely, and as he said, there are traces of coloured paint on some of the statues. It is hard to imagine the colourful interiors of the churches when we look at them now. He said that Amiens cathedral, I believe, does a special light show that simulates the original colouring of the interior. That would be worth seeing. There is a picture in his newest book.

After a further stroll in the town, we decided against eating in Chartres and try the crepes restaurant near Montparnasse. When we got to Creperie de Josselin, we couldn’t believe that it was just around the corner from Leon de Bruxelles where we had eaten as a substitute. And there are quite a few creperies on RUE de Montparnasse!

I had a simple (a half serving) of forestiere (mushrooms) and Richard went all out with one filled with eggplant and topped with fried eggs and bacon. He said his was delicious and very generously filled compared to crepes in Canada. Mine was good too. The crepe itself is made with very dark flour and is quite strong tasting. We shared a dessert crepe with bananas, chocolate, rum and cocoanut ice cream. It was flambéed at the table - no big production, the hostess just uses her lighter on it! We shared a pichet of cider (75 cl) which was very tasty. A good quick tasty meal for about 27 euros. It was extremely crowded however: it is not a good place for a romantic meal or a tete a tete. Late in the evening might be different - this was 7:30 or so.

We decided to walk home to work off the crepes! We walked through to St. Germain des Pres, past the famous cafes (evidently the hot chocolate at Les Deux Magots is incredibly rich and luscious!) down the lively rue de Buci and onto Ile de Cite . On the Pont St. Louis leading to Ile St. Louis a string quartet was busking. We stopped to listen for a while. Richard noted that even the motorcycles paid homage to the musicians by idly by rather than roaring through.

The weather has improved again and is supposed to be warm for the next day or so. There were many people along the river enjoying the pleasant evening and each other’s company.

We took the shortcut home across the Canal St. Martin, up Jules Cezar and presto! we’re home.

Day 21 Paris - lunch, Pere-Lachaise cemetery, Belleville

We walked to Gare du Lyon to make our TGV reservations to Dijon for Wednesday. We decided that we wanted to get our money’s worth from the last day of our rail pass. The young girl seemed surprised that we wanted to go and return the same day but with the TGV we can go so much further in the same time as places served only by regular trains.

Then on to lunch at L’Ebauchoir at 45 rue Citeaux, not too far away. This small restaurant is recommended by several books and by Jack of jack-travel.com and it should be. The food was excellent and very good value. We both found something we liked on the cheaper 12 euro menu - salmon and rouget in a red pepper sauce for me and lamb kidneys in a balsamic vinegar based sauce for Richard. My plate was garnished with a round of black olive flan and cooked leek. Richard’s plate held pommes Anna (yummy potatoes!) and fried julienned celeriac. Our starters were a red cabbage coleslaw, very tangy for me and hard boiled eggs with thin mayo for R. Wine, mineral water or other beverage was included in the 12 euros and we chose red wine, quite drinkable. For dessert, Richard chose the house specialty, rice pudding with a caramelly topping, creamy and wonderful. I had very good pot de creme caramel, very good too. Coffee was extra but only 50 cents each for expresso and the waitress was kind enough to put a “gout de lait” in mine. Friendly service by a waitress who spoke a little English - she offered to translate the menu for us but we didn’t need that. Very plain room but clean. Definitely recommended!

The only problem is that Richard said I didn’t drink my share of the wine and we needed to walk it all off. So we set off for Pere-Lachaise cemetery to see some graves. We found Jim Morrison’s grave with a small coterie of young people around it - kids born after he had died. There were momentos on top of the stone.

We found Oscar Wilde’s grave, covered with lipsticked kisses. Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas’s joint monument had little stones and a shell on it. We also saw Abelard and Heloise’s grand monument near the entrance. We almost overlooked it because it said abbess on one side.

Finding graves is difficult although our guidebook had a map. We should have bought a larger map at a florist before going into the cemetery. Even though we did not find all of the graves we wished to see, the cemetery is impressive and atmospheric. In the older part of the cemetery, graves are close together, with just a random path between areas, almost like an old medieval city. There are many interesting mausoleums and statues and lovely trees. A great day for our visit because it is a lovely sunny day - enfin!

We walked through Belleville, up to the top of the park. We ran into a film crew, the second one that day. We were looking for the road in Jules and Jim which according to Jack is in that area. No luck but we did get to look at a different aspect of Parisian life. Some of the streets still have older traditional houses but there has been some ugly redevelopment of some sections.

Back along rue de Belleville and rue de Faubourg du Temple which were jammed with pedestrians. Many different ethnic groups seem to live in this area - we saw Muslim butchers, Chinese restaurants and grocers. Then to boulevard Richard Lenoir, Maigret’s home, and home to a salad sort of Nicoise, with green beans and hard boiled eggs cooked yesterday, artichoke hearts and white asparagus tips from the deli section of the supermarket with fresh baguette just bought at the boulangerie on the corner.

Day 22 Invalides, Napoleon’s Tomb, Musee de l’Armee

After a quick e-mail to my work at the cyber cafe, we took the Metro to Champs-Elysées. We walked across the Pont Alexandre III, very grand with gold decorations to Les Invalides and the church of the Dome which houses Napoleon’s tomb.

Les Invalides is still in use as a hospital or hospice. We saw elderly men, perhaps veterans sitting in a private area. It is built on a grand scale with twin churches. The Dome of the famous church is visible from the Champs-Elysées and glitters in the sunlight. The altar in the church is a copy of St. Peter’s in Rome with lots of gold and the painted domed ceiling.

Napoleon’s tomb is grandiose. Richard remembers thinking as a youngster that it was made of plastic! I find it odd that they have a monument to a self-proclaimed ruler without any historical setting - no information at the tomb about Napoleon’s achievements nor about his negative impact on French society.

We visited the World War II part of the Army museum. It is very well done, with an emphasis on the French, naturally. Richard was interested to hear what an important role North Africa had in the Free French movement. There was a section on the concentration camps, of course. And videos of battles, uniforms, weapons, German African medical kit, etc. Poignantly there was a chair from a German (Gestapo?) office in Paris which a member of the Resistance had written an encouraging patriotic note to future prisoners.

We walked over to Rue Cler where we had stayed when we were here in 1995 with our children. It is easier to see now that the area is upscale compared to some of the other areas we have visited this time. However, it would still be a nice area to stay in. I had a look in the window of Marie Cantin who is well-known for her cheeses. They looked yummy, many different shapes, sizes and colours.

We had shared a sandwich in the Invalides cafe before the museum tour because we were quite hungry. After that, we were thirsty and hot. Yes, the temperature has shot up. Sidewalk cafes were still crowded and there were no shady seats. We bought a juice and a tomato and courgette flan to share on a bench under a tree in the gardens near the Eiffel Tower.

The number 69 bus starts near there and goes all the way to Bastille. It seemed ideal for the hot weather. The route goes through some interesting shopping streets including St. Dominic and Rue du Bac and then along the Seine past the Louvre and all the booksellers.

Tonight we have dinner with Chris, Richard’s brother and his wife Anne. They arrived from Manchester this morning. I have booked a restaurant, Les Amognes. Hope it isn’t too hot in the restaurant to enjoy the food.

Much later!

Food good. Restaurant not too hot!

The prix fixe menu was 30 euros for three courses with wine, coffee and framboise eau-de-vie extra. White asparagus with lovely creamy sauce and two oysters for three of us and tart of fresh sardines for Richard. Brandade stromboli (whole fish, sea bream, I think, with olives) for three of us, lamb for Richard (he doesn’t remember what it was called but it was good!). Pears with chocolate sauce and ginger for two of us, crepe with cardamon flavoured eggplant filling for Chris (delicious!) and strawberries with creme anglaise and pain perdu for Richard. Friendly service.

Day 23 Giverny, Monet’s garden

Richard, Chris, Anne and I took the train to Vernon from Gare St. Lazare. Trains are not frequent but take only 45 minutes. The ticket seller gave us a leaflet which outlines trains and the connecting bus to Giverny. It also mentioned typical taxi fare.

The train was crowded and we were worried about the queue at the gardens. We found a sign which said Tete de taxi, I think. One other couple lined up behind us while most of the crowd milled around looking for the bus. The taxi ride was quite quick, about 10 minute drive and cost 14 euros which is more expensive than the bus but reasonable for 4 of us.

The gardens were crowded but that did not spoil our visit. Not even a 45 minute wait to buy our tickets could do that! We spent quite a lot of time admiring the water lily pond, the chinese bridge, the more traditional cottage garden. I tried to get Monet-like photos of the reflected light and plants. Then we visited the house where Monet lived for many years. Clos Normande is evidently a typical farmhouse. The best room was a warm yellow dining room with blue patterned china on the shelves. Lovely. All in all, a great day out and well worth the trip. No wisteria on the bridge, though - too early, I guess.

We went to the American museum cafe down the road for a late lunch. Great salads, reasonable price, lovely location in a garden under a vine covered patio but SLOW service. There seemed to be only one waiter serving outside.

The garden at the American museum was lovely too, especially the white beds with white varieties of a half-dozen different plants. Behind the museum was a wild flower meadow strewn with bright red poppies and blue corn flowers. The back wall of the museum lobby was glass and the meadow looked like an Impressionist painting.

We decided to take the bus back to the train station. It leaves from the tour bus parking lot and there is a sign. It cost 1,90 for each person, each way. It was very crowded but most people got seats which was not true on the train. The four of us had to stand the whole journey to Paris. I joked we should ask for our train fare back. If we had been traveling first class, I assume we would have got a seat. The second class fare was reasonable - 73.60 euros total for the four of us. One way the fare was “blue” and the other, the fare was “white” and there was a slight difference in cost.

After our late lunch, we decided we didn’t want a huge dinner so we walked to Ile St. Louis to the Brasserie de l’Ile St. Louis. It is in Great Eats Paris and when I reread it this morning, I noticed that the author says that she recommends it for its fun atmosphere. The food was okay - Richard had an omelet. I didn’t want something we could cook for ourselves though, so I had jarret de porc with apple marmalade. Somehow, I thought the the apple would be like onion marmalade, slow cooked to bring out the sweetness and to caramelize it. But it was apple sauce! For dessert, Richard and I shared some Berthillon ice cream. Chris and Anne enjoyed their meal and we had a bottle of red wine from an unfamiliar area. So though not the highlight of our stay, not bad. My gripe though is that our neighbouring table with three young girls seemed to get the benefit of the “fun atmosphere” from the middle-aged waiter, not us! We only got more bread when it became available from another table!

Day 24 The Grand Louvre

We bought day museum passes at the ticket counter of the Bastille Metro station in order to avoid the queues. We went to Louvre-Palais Royale and entered near the Carousel. There is a special entry for card holders.

We first went to the bottom floor of Sully Wing to see the foundations of the buildings, the donjon, the moat, etc. Very interesting.

We decided to split up and see each other for dinner this evening which we would book. I tried to telephone A La Biche Au Bois but I could not understand the rapid French on the answering machine and we decided just to wait until a human could answer.

We wanted to see the Netherlands art because we have seen a lot of it lately and wanted to see more but that area was shut. There is a list posted showing what is shut each day. Evidently you can see it on their web site also. So be forewarned - Friday seems to be the best day when most if not all rooms were open.

We saw the Egyptian rooms, some furnished rooms, the medieval crafts room with tapestries and ecclesiastical and more homely objects, including a fabulous chess set. Lovely tapestries. Part of the Dutch section was open and we saw that including Ship of Fools by Bosch.

In between we had lunch at the cafe - shared a large salad plate and a piece of quiche. Reasonable. The best was the salad which is priced by size of plate and is filled by the customer from a selection including hard boiled eggs, cheese cubes, grated carrot and prunes!

But the Louvre is huge and very tiring. In spite of the crowds, many areas were not business.

Dinner tonight at A La Biche Au Bois. 20 euros for a four course meal. I had the same starter as the last time, the pike terrine with creamy red pepper sauce; rich coq au vin with lardons and mushrooms served with potato in a small casserole dish; two small pieces of cheese (Cantal and Pont L’Eveque for me); and ile flottant for dessert. Red Rhone wine.

Chris had the same starter as me; Richard had a pate with mushrooms; Anne had mushrooms a la Greque. Richard and Chris had goose with lovely fluffy mashed potatoes as a main course; Anne had salmon. They all had plum pie for dessert.
The restaurant is a warm and friendly place with many locals. Tables are very close together and the room is packed. Staff speak English. Recommended.

Day 25 Musee Marmottan Monet

Today we decided to see the paintings by Monet of the gardens at Giverny at the Musee Marmottan Monet, 2 rue Louis Boillly (http://www.marmottan.com)

The paintings are hung in a fine mansion in a posher area of Paris near Bois de Boulogne and features Monet, Berthe Morisot and other Impressionist artists as well as medieval illuminated manuscripts and fine furniture (First Empire). We were glad to see the water lily and bridge paintings after Giverny because we were able to appreciate the difficulties that Monet faced in painting the light, the movement of the grasses under the water and the various flowers around the pond. We were also glad to see the very first “impressionist” painting called Impression: Sunrise. The painting shows Japanese and Chinese influences and is extremely effective.

We had a late lunch at Le Gare near the Metro station - very tasty salads followed by creme brulee. There is a large restaurant downstairs in an old train station with a full menu but the outdoor table on the main floor suited us. Friendly service, reasonable price.

We went by Metro to Les Halles and walked through Beaubourg to Place des Vosges to admire the arcaded buildings and the park. We found a little store down an alleyway which was like an Aladdin’s cave with pierced metal lampshades, Venetian glass and more. Tea on Place de la Bastille before Chris and Anne had to catch the bus to the airport. We were so glad to have had these days with them.

Day 26 Day trip to Dijon and Beaune in Burgundy

We took an early TGV train to Dijon, just over an hour and a half trip, speeding along at over 300 km/h. We changed to a regular train in Dijon for the half hour train ride to Beaune, which stopped in Nuits St. George before rolling into Beaune. We were in sunny Beaune by 10 am and we had left the rain in Paris.

Beaune is a wine capital and we wanted to see the old medieval hospital for which the town is also famous.

Hotel Dieu (Hospices de Beaune) was built in the fifteenth century based on a Flemish model - both the concept of a hospice for the poor and the architecture. The brilliantly tiled roof set in patterns was such a success that others copied it. When we were in Dijon later today, we saw several buildings including the cathedral with similar tiled roofs.

The hospice is set up to demonstrate early hospital care with bright red blankets covering cubicle beds in a huge room with an altar in it. In another room they have place a wonderful altar piece of the Last Judgment that had been in that room. The artist was Roger Van der Weyden whose work we have seen elsewhere on this trip. Here there was a large magnifying glass operated by a staff person who guided us to focus on interesting details of the large painting. There were also some fine tapestries and a pharmacy.

We had bought the 9 euro museum day pass because we were also interested in seeing the wine museum. This small museum had implements, photos, archives on display. We were interested in the stilts with the sabots (wooden shoes)!

A lucky find was the Marey Museum which highlights the work of Etienne Jules Marey who was a precursor of the cinema. He took multiple photos in order to examine movement. For example, of a running man, a falling cat, a running horse. He also developed prototypes of important medical techniques such as using balloons in a horse’s heart to measure the pressure.

We had decided to have a full meal in Beaune and took a chance at the restaurant of the Central Hotel, 2 Victor Millet. We opted for the traditional Burgundian menu - just about everything cooked with wine! Richard’s starter of eggs poached in red wine was good but too much for a starter. My snails were a more reasonable portion. We both had squab in red wine. I would have preferred the bird to have been casseroled like coq au vin - this was roasted and then served with rich wine-based gravy. However the vegetables were very good. My dessert was based on the local spice cake - layered with cassis (black currant) sorbet. Richard had pear with the same sorbet. And this was AFTER the local cheeses. Coffee came with little cookies. Our wine was wonderful - 1998 Ladoix Premier Cru Les Joyeuses, Domaine Michel Millard.

Richard has sworn off prix fixe meals! We explored the walls of the town, trying to walk off our heavy meal. We thought we would go to a winery to see the caves but Richard could not, would not eat or drink anything! So we wandered the little streets of the town.

We went back to Dijon with a few hours to spare before our TGV reservation. Dijon looks prosperous and has some attractive buildings. Lots of ornate wrought iron, some of the coloured tile roofs. We walked from the train station through the pedestrianized areas and down the main shopping street. Unfortunately shops were just closing and the museums and churches were closed.

The TGV train whisked us back to Paris through farming country. We were glad that we had that taste of Bourgogne. Just two more days in this wonderful city.

Just a small note - we don’t have any pictures of this day trip because Richard thought we had left our camera behind. It turned out that we hadn’t - it was in the backpack all along!

Day 27 Last minute Paris! A panoramic view, a Roman arena and a mosque

Today we went to the Samaritaine department store by Pont Neuf to see the view from the top. There is a free panoramic terrasse with a super view of the city. Richard tried to take photos of each point. This worthwhile viewpoint is free!

While we were there we also bought some chocolate to take home and had a look at women’s clothes. They seemed very pricey.

We had lunch in a chain restaurant that was recommended by Jack of jack-travel.com in the Marais - Pain Quotidienne (Daily Bread). We sat outside where the action is! Inside is mostly communal tables. We had a daily special from the chalkboard - carrot soup, fresh and with a hint of curry, a gouda and ham sandwich with tomatoes and cucumber on great sourdough bread with a mixed salad. Very tasty for 10 euros.

Then we walked along the Seine, right down by the water as far as Tuileries gardens. There we had coffee in Cafe Renard. When we used the toilets we were amazed that this little glassed in cafe which looks so temporary has a full kitchen, cold room and other space below it as well as toilets.

The man using it before me complained that the lights had gone out while he was in there. His wife hadn’t the same problem. Just a point - if you think the lights may be on a timer, press the button yourself! And make a mental note where the switch is in case you have to get up in the dark.

We decided to go to see Arenes des Luteces so we took the Metro over the area. We first visited a mosque built in the early 20’s. It is very beautiful and would have been even more so if the fountains were running. It cost 3 euros for adults to visit. We were not allowed in the prayer room but we were able to see the courtyards and some visitors’ rooms. We were interested in the similarities with medieval abbeys which have the arcaded cloisters too.

The arena was discovered in the late 1890’s and is tucked away behind a main shopping street. We ducked through a doorway, down a short hall and out into a small Roman arena which is now the province of soccer and boules players. We sat for a while on the stone steps overlooking the area to watch. The two or three games of boules were outnumbered by the soccer games. Above us at the top of the steps were three young men practicing stick fighting.

Walked home and did some packing. We have an early start on Saturday morning - the Eurostar train leaves at 9ish from Gare du Nord. Richard says that there is a symmetry because we arrived from Brussels at that train station too.

A memorable meal at Le Saint Amarante, 4 rue Biscornet, 75012 near Bastille.
(01.43.43.00.08). Closed Saturday and Sunday.

We chose the 22 euro three course meal and were well pleased with it. A complimentary snack of black olive paste “caviar” on bread started us off well.
I had salmon mousse with salad in a balsamic vinaigrette. Richard had cantaloupe with a black pepper jelly. We both had lotte filets (angler fish) on a bed of cooked spinach with mushrooms, carrots and chestnuts. Very tasty. There was another choice of main dish - something made with beef but I don’t eat beef in Europe.

My dessert was simple but delicious - fromage blanc (a creamy pudding-like cheese) with strawberries topped with a biscuit like a brandy snap but more caramelized and containing almonds. Richard swooned over his chocolate cake with a soft creamy chocolate centre. It had a rich chocolate flavour but without too much sweetness. We shared a half bottle of a very nice wine, Les Marcet Meneton Salon 2000, a light fruity white wine. Expresso coffee as usual after dinner but with some hot milk for me.
Very good value and Richard thought it was one of the best meals we had during our holiday. I liked them all except for the brasserie on Ile St. Louis. Well recommended. And it wasn’t too heavy!

As I implied, there were only two choices for each course but we found something to our taste on the menu. If you ate off the prix fixe, the price would be more but not outrageous. It was a little disconcerting that the restaurant was so empty. Perhaps they have a bigger lunch business or much later diners. The tables were well spaced, a rarity in the price range of restaurants that we have been frequenting and service was excellent. English spoken.

The Faubourg St. Antoine / Bastille area is a wonderful area for reasonably priced restaurants. It is also close to good transit at Bastille. The Marais with its shops and museums is close by and the bridge across the Port de Plaisante de Paris Arsenal gives us speedy access to Ile St. Louis and Ile de Cite. Not as many tourists around when you get away from Bastille itself although there are a lot of hotels.

Chris and Anne recommend the hotel across from Gare de Lyon where they stayed, Hotel Terminus Lyon, on Rue de Lyon at Boulevard Diderot. They booked it online through the Logis de France site. An additional feature is access from the airport - the bus stops at Gare de Lyon across the street. Modestly priced, good room with minibar (fridge) in their room, friendly service and front desk staff.

Day 28 A guided walk, Le Grand Louvre (again!)

This morning we finally took a guided walk with Paris Walks. We had been planning to for some time but this morning we took the Hemingway’s Paris walk from Cardinal Lemoine Metro station. The tour leader, Pam, was very knowledgeable and showed us buildings and locations associated with Hemingway, James Joyce, Verlaine, Balzac (the setting of Pere Goriot) and George Orwell. She wove it all together with anecdotes about the publication of Ulysses by Sylvia Beach of Shakespeare and Company, with people who befriended Hemingway, and other stories about the Mouffetard area. Very interesting. 10 euros for adults for a two hour walk. They have a web site,
http://www.paris-walks.com. They have a taped message about walks: 01.48.09.21.40

After the walk we had lunch at Pain Quotidienne, another branch on Rue Mouffetard of the same place we ate yesterday. We had very good sandwiches (a trio of hot sandwiches) with salad. 10.50 euros each.

Then we walked through the Latin Quarter into the touristy area, across the Seine to the Louvre to see the northern school of painters and the Napoleon III rooms. There were some famous paintings (The Lacemaker) and some interesting - the picture of the annunciation with the founder of Hotel Dieu hospice in Beaune. We knew of the picture but didn’t know of the connection. We saw some Rembrant, Rubens, Holbein, Memling and more.

We also saw the ornate rooms designed for Napoleon III. They were confiscated not many years after they were finished. The decor is over the top but evidently is remarkable because it is the only rooms of that era fully preserved.

After a tea break, we decided we had enough! We had been pleasantly surprised by the lack of queues in the Louvre. We had gone in at 2:30. The price goes down at 3 pm. Perhaps some were waiting for that. Too most tour groups had left for the day.

We walked home to a glass of wine and a rest before dinner (actually we finished packing!). We checked the Saint Amarante on the way home. The menu usually changes every day, according to the waiter but at this point it hadn’t. We did not reserve for dinner tonight because we couldn’t make up our mind about where to eat! We tried Square Trousseau and La Table d’Aligre but both were full. The Square Trousseau offered us a table at 10pm - too late for us. So we went to a little restaurant that we had noticed on our way home when we cross the bridge of the Arsenal port area. It had current stickers in the window from Pudlo and from Routard, I think.

The restaurant Le Mange Tout is at the corner of Jules Cezar at 24 boulevard de la Bastille (01-43-43-95-15). Closed Saturday midday and Sunday. The cooking is from Auvergne with blue cheese, local wines and friendly service. There was a set meal for 20 euros (3 courses plus cheese) but we elected to go a la carte because prices seemed reasonable and we were interested in other dishes.
Richard had pears on toast with grilled Auvergne blue cheese topping. His starter came with its own glass of sweet white wine. I had a taste and it was fabulous. My grilled fish (hot) on a green salad as starter was tasty. His main course was a sea bass plainly cooked with spinach, but very fresh. I had chicken au bleu (with Auvergne blue cheese), potatoes and spinach. Richard had said he didn’t want dessert so he had a large plate of profiteroles with warm chocolate sauce! I had the dessert du jour, pomme en cage - a baked apple in pastry with some caramel. Coffee for both of us. The wine was a nice white - a Gaillac, Domaine de la Barthe, Jean Albert et Fils, Castanet, 2000. It was a local restaurant with nice service, tables reasonably spaced, good food. Price similar to A La Biche Au Bois. The waitress spoke some English but not as much as the other restaurants we have been to in our area. She shook hands with me as we left!

Tomorrow we leave early for the Eurostar to England.

Days 29 - 30

We took the early morning channel tunnel train to Ashford, Kent and a local train to Tonbridge. There we took a taxi to the Europcar agency for our one-way car rental to Gatwick the next day. We drove to Swindon to see family and to meet Richard’s mother who would accompany us back to Canada for a visit. We had a pleasant family dinner with Richard’s brother-in-law, nephews and other family members. The next day, we were on our way back to Canada. Our trip to Gatwick was as pleasant as can be and reasonably quick. Then the Air Transat flight via Montreal.