Paris

This week we came to Paris for three days. Now any halfway-regular reader of this blog knows that we love Paris. We think it is the best city in the world, a qualification that may not be exactly valid because we haven’t visited every city in the world, so how would we really know? Details, details, details!

This trip Paris definitely has a different feel than it has in the past, and we ascribe that to a couple reasons:

First, this is the first time in years that we have been in Paris in August. In August (and to a lesser extent, July) much of France goes on vacation and this means that many stores and restaurants here are closed for three or four weeks in August. It also means that with a few exceptions – the two main tourist areas of the Louvre museum and around the Eiffel Tower – the number of people on the street is way less than usual. So the city doesn’t have the buzz that we’ve come to know.

Second, we noted in places that the feel was kind of somber. We saw this most clearly in the area around Notre Dame, where there is usually a huge crowd of people laughing and gawking and taking selfies and just having a grand time in the presence of the grand old lady. This time there were way fewer people and they were quiet, in awe of what happened to Notre Dame two years ago, at how close it came to completely collapsing, and at how much work is being done to restore it. (I’ll post some pictures below.)

Then France has been through a tough time since that fire two years ago. The fire shocked the nation, which watched live as one of the emotional centers of the country burned almost to destruction. Ten months later, France was hit hard by COVID and had to literally shut down for several months. The country has recovered to a large extent but now has been hit again with the Delta variant. So I guess it’s not unexpected that Paris would feel quieter and a bit somber in places.

Notre Dame

On the evening of April 18, 2019, an alarm indicated a fire in the attic of Notre Dame. An inspector was sent to check, but given the wrong location. Fifteen minutes later, inspectors got to the right place and found the fire developing rapidly. The fire department was finally called and arrived about 40 minutes after that first alarm, at which time flames were not yet visible outside, but the amount of smoke indicated that the fire had spread through thousand-year-old wooden supports under the cathedral’s lead roof. From this point on, it was a race to get the fire under control before the roof, and inevitably the rest of the cathedral, collapsed. Ile de la Cité was evacuated, and thousands gathered to watch with horror as the Cathedral, built in the twelfth century, fought for her life.

By early the next morning, the fire was pretty much out. Two areas of the roof had collapsed completely, and there was structural damage to much of the east end of the structure, but the damage was far less than it could have been. Notre Dame stood and today is in the midst of an amazing reconstruction. Estimates are that it will be open for the 2024 Paris Olympic games, though a full reconstruction will take some twenty years.

North side construction. Notice the wood frames in the flying buttresses to support them. Without the weight of the lead roof, these are in danger of collapsing.

Much of the structure is wrapped in scaffolding.

And yet, the Grand Old Lady of Paris still looks pretty grand; a beautiful site to see standing. The bell tower on the left, containing the nine huge bells of the cathedral, came within a hair of collapsing, which would have brought the entire cathedral down.

A Couple Food Notes

I didn’t take pictures of all our meals in Paris, though we had some good ones. There is a typical Paris bistro just a few minutes walk from Mary & Gilles’ flat, where we stay, and we enjoyed eating there a couple times. But I did discover something new. Our favorite breakfast treat is not, as many imagine, a croissant (though we do love them), but a pan aux raisin. But one morning I got to the boulangerie late and…quelle horror! pas de pan aux raisin. So I tried this: a pan suisse. I didn’t even know what those dark dots were, but it looked kinda sorta like a pan aux raisin.

Well, those dark dots are chocolate chips. Pretty dang good, but pan aux raisin remains our favorite. Next morning I was at the boulangerie nice and early.

We also visited a favorite small restaurant: Salon Med on Ile St. Louis. Officially a “Salon de Thé” (Tea Salon) it’s really a restaurant; we don’t know why it’s called a tea salon – though I suppose you could get a cup of tea there – but I suspect it has something to do with French bureaucracy, which can be crazy about restaurants. Anyway, Salon Med serves pasta and crepes and we have always chosen the same things from the crepes menu: first, a “scandinave” gallette, which is havarti cheese, smoked salmon and a barely fried egg. Then, for dessert, a chocolate amandes (almonds) crepe: pictured below. Good? Bien sûr! That’s why we have it every time! We think the first time we ate here was in 1993 and you know what we had? Yep, same as on this visit.

Musée des Arts Décoratif

For whatever reason, Laurie and I have come to enjoy seeing how people lived in times past – what their rooms and houses and chateaux and castles looked like and what they contained in terms of furniture and decor. That describes Decorative Arts, so we were looking forward to seeing this museum.

It was great. It was also a little overwhelming in scope – lots and lots of stuff, from the 16th century to (some) modern stuff. Remember, though, seldom do you see a presentation or museum of decorative arts that shows what the everyday Joe and Joan had in  their house; what you see is what aristocrats and monarchs had. So it is with the Musée des Arts Décoratif. Laurie described it best as “over the top.”

Clocks

I like old fancy clocks; here are a few of the many in the museum. I’d be proud to have any or all of these in our house. Laurie is not so sure…

Other Interesting(?) Things

How about a real, authentic “he-really-sat-in-it” Napoleon throne?

What living room wouldn’t be improved by this, um, couch?

Or this beautiful chair?

And think of the lovely restful sleep you could get in this bed…

Not sure about the “restful sleep” part; this bed was in a display of furniture from courtesans’ homes…

Hotel Lambert, on Ile St. Louis

Ile st. Louis, where we used to stay before our long-stay visits to France, is smack in the middle of the Seine river, and home to some of the priciest real estate in Paris. The picture below is of Hôtel Lambert, one of the most beautiful houses on the island (In French, “hôtel” refers not just to the normal interpretation, but also to huge and beautiful private homes.).

In 2007 the brother of the Emir of Qatar bought Hotel Lambert for about $111 million and believe it or not, that was for a fixer-upper! He had great plans for it, including a full restoration. After some to-ing and fro-ing with authorities about what he could and couldn’t do with this historic building, work commenced.

In 2013, the work was almost done. One day that summer we were walking along the quai on which Hotel Lambert faces and saw a lot of fire trucks and police trucks  standing around and some smoke coming out of the roof. Turns out that the night before, after a $65 million restoration, a large section burned. No big deal, though: three years and another $19 million and all is fixed up.

Can anyone get inside to see this beautiful work, after all that reconstruction and repair? Not a chance, unless you know the Emir if Qatar. But it is a beautiful and historic building to see.

That’s a quick look at our first visit to Paris in three years. The city still entrances us and even with some small obstacles (I wrenched my back the second morning so was hurtin’ some as we walked, and it got hot: 85!) we loved being back in the City of Light and look forward to getting back.