We woke up to sun again, so we got out earlier than anticipated. Deciding that it would be best to take advantage of the weather, we headed to the 12th to stroll the Promenade Plantee. It’s a well-manicured park on a converted raised rail line. It was fun to walk along a higher level than usual so we could investigate the architecture around us a bit closer.
After our stroll, we happened upon a divine little chocolatier: Jeff de Bruges. Susie picked up a handful of pretty little chocolates and I grabbed some marzipan. We took them across the street to the Place des Vosges (pictured above) and gobbled them up. I don’t usually like marzipan, but loved these little cookies in a bad way. They were subtle and lovely, and a tad lemony.
After our sweet break, we plopped down in outward facing café seats at La Tartine for a nice, big lunch. We ordered a fromage blanc tartine + toasted bread with goat cheese and tomatoes with salad. Can you say “cheese, please?” I didn’t really know what a tartine was, I guess, because I was expecting a quiche of sorts when long pieces of bread smothered in soft cheese with herbs arrived. The goat cheese toast was to die for, so we were especially pleased with that selection. We ordered a tarte tatin (apple tarte with crème freche) for dessert. Our server was downright lovely, too. He made little jokes in French with us and was generally smiley and friendly.
We next walked through the Marais in the 4th. There were loads of cute storefronts, and we visited a tight, but captivating antique shop and a large department store. We tried our first mediocre macaron. I seriously think yesterday's find has impaired our ability to love any macaron. Sigh. Regardless, I’m hoping we make it back over to the 4th later in our trip.
Because we hadn’t seen any real “sights” yet, we next visited Notre Dame. We walked in the doors just as a quick, but heavy rain shower started. Relief! The cathedral is so gorgeous, and I actually managed to find a lot of inspiration in the many panes of amazing stained glass. After we exited, I took a nice long look at the façade, too. Something I hadn’t done before. In addition to the many gargoyles it features, there is a rooster, a lobster, a saint holding his own head (that’s right, see below), and a little village all adorning the front.
We decided to rest for a bit before catching the late opening of the d’Orsay. The museum is housed in an old train station so the setting is absolutely beautiful. In line, we had our first negative encounter with a French woman. We had already waited quite some time and the line to pay was alternating turns. Well, this woman decided that four people from her line should go before we did. She made a big stink when I tried to keep our position in line (simply by subtling moving forward, mind you), and told me that four people going from her line was “c’est normal”. Susie overheard the French people behind us saying how she had clearly just decided she could cut the Americans in line, so we took this move by her as abnormal instead. Somehow, I seem to be a magnetic for encounters like this, so I wasn’t really surprised it was happening. Just a couple of months ago, Shawn and I almost witnessed a massive fight in front of us as people tried to make their way through a line in a normal manner. It’s annoying!
Anyhow, so we got in the d’Orsay and, after having waited forever and getting harassed, found that it was under construction a bit, so things were moved around significantly. Van Gogh’s bedroom painting (my main motivation for going) wasn’t even out. They did have a large of his other works, as well as many by Monet, Degas, Cezanne and all the other great Impressionists on display though. It was a peaceful place, so we enjoyed it overall. Arriving so late also gave us a nice discount, too, so you can’t beat that.
We ended up having dinner at a pizza joint around the corner. We’re both craving veggies a bit and this was the closest we could find for tonight. I hope broccoli is in my future soon…
Until tomorrow, bon nuit. =)
After our stroll, we happened upon a divine little chocolatier: Jeff de Bruges. Susie picked up a handful of pretty little chocolates and I grabbed some marzipan. We took them across the street to the Place des Vosges (pictured above) and gobbled them up. I don’t usually like marzipan, but loved these little cookies in a bad way. They were subtle and lovely, and a tad lemony.
After our sweet break, we plopped down in outward facing café seats at La Tartine for a nice, big lunch. We ordered a fromage blanc tartine + toasted bread with goat cheese and tomatoes with salad. Can you say “cheese, please?” I didn’t really know what a tartine was, I guess, because I was expecting a quiche of sorts when long pieces of bread smothered in soft cheese with herbs arrived. The goat cheese toast was to die for, so we were especially pleased with that selection. We ordered a tarte tatin (apple tarte with crème freche) for dessert. Our server was downright lovely, too. He made little jokes in French with us and was generally smiley and friendly.
We next walked through the Marais in the 4th. There were loads of cute storefronts, and we visited a tight, but captivating antique shop and a large department store. We tried our first mediocre macaron. I seriously think yesterday's find has impaired our ability to love any macaron. Sigh. Regardless, I’m hoping we make it back over to the 4th later in our trip.
Because we hadn’t seen any real “sights” yet, we next visited Notre Dame. We walked in the doors just as a quick, but heavy rain shower started. Relief! The cathedral is so gorgeous, and I actually managed to find a lot of inspiration in the many panes of amazing stained glass. After we exited, I took a nice long look at the façade, too. Something I hadn’t done before. In addition to the many gargoyles it features, there is a rooster, a lobster, a saint holding his own head (that’s right, see below), and a little village all adorning the front.
We decided to rest for a bit before catching the late opening of the d’Orsay. The museum is housed in an old train station so the setting is absolutely beautiful. In line, we had our first negative encounter with a French woman. We had already waited quite some time and the line to pay was alternating turns. Well, this woman decided that four people from her line should go before we did. She made a big stink when I tried to keep our position in line (simply by subtling moving forward, mind you), and told me that four people going from her line was “c’est normal”. Susie overheard the French people behind us saying how she had clearly just decided she could cut the Americans in line, so we took this move by her as abnormal instead. Somehow, I seem to be a magnetic for encounters like this, so I wasn’t really surprised it was happening. Just a couple of months ago, Shawn and I almost witnessed a massive fight in front of us as people tried to make their way through a line in a normal manner. It’s annoying!
Anyhow, so we got in the d’Orsay and, after having waited forever and getting harassed, found that it was under construction a bit, so things were moved around significantly. Van Gogh’s bedroom painting (my main motivation for going) wasn’t even out. They did have a large of his other works, as well as many by Monet, Degas, Cezanne and all the other great Impressionists on display though. It was a peaceful place, so we enjoyed it overall. Arriving so late also gave us a nice discount, too, so you can’t beat that.
We ended up having dinner at a pizza joint around the corner. We’re both craving veggies a bit and this was the closest we could find for tonight. I hope broccoli is in my future soon…
Until tomorrow, bon nuit. =)
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Ah the ol' line cutters...you can't avoid them anywhere you go. Sounds like all the cheese and wonderful art probably made up for it. :)
ReplyDeleteI'd like to think so. Susie's goal while we're here her goal is to be a wino. ;)
ReplyDelete