And they all went shopping

August 7, 2016 - The sky was blue, with scads of puffy white clouds, and the temperatures were in the mid-70s F so we just had to walk along the Seine.  On the way, we included a stopover in the garden of the Musée du Quai Branly, as we almost always do.  Just like last summer, a security guard was stationed at the entrance to the garden, checking bags.  I had my small black camera bag ready and open for him as I said, “Bonjour!”  He returned the greeting, and after a peek inside the bag, he thanked us and motioned us in to the lush green territory around and under this fascinating museum.

I note that the French culture czars now include former President Chirac’s name in the name of the museum.  So this year the place is called the “Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac.”

Walking along the banks of the Seine, under a bridge.

Chirac is given credit for founding this museum.  It is difficult to find a politically correct way of describing what this museum showcases.  The reality is that it features mostly art from cultures that were dominated and pilfered by France’s former acts of imperialism and colonialism.  The more politically correct description that the English-language version of the web site now incorporates is “The musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac is the heir to 200 years of history, enrichment, study and conservation of public collections. It conserves almost 370,000 works originating in Africa, the Near East, Asia, Oceania and the Americas which illustrate the richness and cultural diversity of the non-European civilisations from the Neolithic period (+/-10,000 B.C.) to the 20th century.”

Hmmmm.  A committee worked very hard on that verbiage, to be sure.

La Boudeuse

The garden looks better than ever due to the high rainfalls earlier in the summer and late spring.  We took a break on a bench and used the smart phone to look up information on Lucien and Sacha Guitry, a father-son duo famous for their acting, plays, and writing.  We often pass a building where they lived when we walk along the residential street just to the northeast of the Champ de Mars.

When we reached the banks of the Seine, we were surprised that there were not more people walking there.  After all, it was a gorgeous Saturday in the summer.  In recent years, the crowd of walkers would be so thick on days like this that it was nearly impossible to ride a bicycle through there.

We think the drop in the number of flaneurs along the Seine is due to fear of attacks.  If that’s true, it is sad.

Still, we were thrilled to be there, soaking in the scenery.  The beautiful three-mast ship called La Boudeuse was on display, in all its glory.  Last summer, we saw it as it was being spiffed up for its new mooring on the Seine.  This summer, it floats there by the bank, looking gorgeous.  It was originally built in 1916 in the Netherlands.  It had an environmental education role here on the Seine until early 2016.  I’m not sure where it is headed next.  On va voir.

Next we inspected (only by peering through the windows) the flood damage caused to the Faust restaurant located under the left bank end of the Pont Alexandre III.  The clean-up project continues.  The restaurant won’t reopen for some time, it seems.

So we continued on to the café boat called the Rosa Bonheur – our current favorite place to have refreshments on the Seine.  Tom loves the ice cream served there.  The Rosa is a cheerful and very casual place, harkening back to the era when there were guinguettes along the river.

View from our table on the Rosa Bonheur.

From our high-top table with a great view in the bow, we sat, relaxed, and discussed the various pieces of debris that floated past.  There is far more debris than usual, and my guess is that this is also due to the flooding months ago – much debris was probably shoved up into storm sewers, and is still breaking loose.  There was a vehicle wheel, with tire inflated so it floated nicely.  There was a large dead bird – some kind of raptor.  Bottles of many types and sizes bobbed along.  So did someone’s nice black nylon gym bag.  The variety made for fun conversation.  I guess we’re easy to entertain.

Inside the Rosa Bonheur.

We decided to walk back through the 7^th arrondissement, skirting around the National Assembly (legislature) building and down through the stately Place du Palais Bourbon and a bit farther until we reached the rue Saint Dominique – the best shopping street in the 7^th.

When we finally reached our shopping street in the 15^th, the rue du Commerce, we were amazed at the throngs of people.  There seemed to be more people here, by far, strolling along this almost-narrow street, than there were walking along the broad banks of the Seine.

Real shoppers never quit.  Good for them.

After resting for a little while in the apartment, we dressed for dinner at Le Pario, chef Eduardo Jacinto’s restaurant near the end of the Avenue Emile Zola – in the very spot where we used to dine at Oh! Duo.  (The name, "Le Pario," results from combining Paris and Rio.  The chef is originally from Brazil.)

Tom's veal chop at Le Pario.

The Avenue is looking good, as the honey locust trees have grown and matured.  We remember them when they were just skinny little tykes, planted after a major windstorm had damaged trees throughout the city (1999 and/or 2004).

We were shocked, along the way, to discover that the great hardware store, Zola Color, is now gone!  Some big tech thing called Boulanger is moving into that space on the Place Charles Michels.

Dinner was fabulous – I had a crab salad for a starter, followed by a shrimp dish that included sweet potato gnocchi.  Tom had a thick, pistachio-encusted veal chop accompanied by a dish full of tiny round potatoes, followed by profiteroles drowned in sinfully rich dark chocolate sauce.  Service was well-intended, but slightly off.

We’ll be back to Le Pario – I think it is one of the few of our favorite restaurants that actually stay open through the entire month of August.