Fasting and feasting in Paris

July 3, 2018 -- A few weeks ago, I started 12 hour fasting every day.  That is to say, I eat nothing for 12 hours, then I eat when I'm hungry in the next 12 hours. 

Combine that with a 6-hour time-zone change and bam!  I felt the burn of hunger fiercely yesterday by the time I was allowing myself to eat (about 11:30AM).  Tom was hungry, too.  The cleaning lady was cleaning the apartment, so we went to a neighborhood corner café, La Tour Eiffel.  This was the first place in Paris that we ever dined together, in August 1998.  We've been there many times since.

The café is in a picturesque spot at what was once the center of the village of Grenelle.  We entered, selected a table, and were served espresso and café au pot de lait within minutes.  Soon the server gave us the lunch menu, and we decided to have our main meal of the day there.

As we finished our coffees and decided what to order for lunch, rain began to fall gently on the streets outside.  Happily, we were sitting inside.

Beef Carpaccio at La Tour Eiffel on the Place Etienne Pernet.

Tom had a beautiful carpaccio of beef with crispy fries, and I had the pork filet mignon with an incredible rich sauce and savory mushrooms, accompanied by a light, fluffy purée of sweet potatoes.  We were so thirsty from travel and heat that we consumed a very large bottle of San Pellegrino water, no problem.

Ah, restored.  Absolutely restored, we felt.  That was an excellent lunch, in a calm café.

On our way to the café, we had noticed that the Place du Commerce park was re-named since last summer.  It is now known as Square Yvette-Chauviré.

This park, created in 1873, is of a classic French design, with mature, squared-off chestnut trees lining shaded walkways on each side.  In the middle is a narrow lawn, some flowerbeds, and a charming gazebo-bandstand.  Farther back in the park are ping-pong tables, a little playground for little ones, and a place to play boules.

Yvette Chauviré was an accomplished dancer -- a real prima ballerina; she lived in one of the apartments overlooking this park until she died last year at age 99.  She ended her ballerina days in 1972, and after that, she taught dance.

Mignon de porc with mushrooms, whipped sweet potatoes and lamb's lettuce.

[In case anyone is wondering about the 12-hour fast, let me explain.  I have a thyroid problem, and in spite of being under the care of endocrinologists for years, my metabolism still hasn't been right.  I read about intermittent fasting (IF) in Scientific American and another publication, and though it might be the answer for me.  This is not a diet; my eating habits are good (plenty of fruits and veggies, good portion control, avoiding white flour and white sugar, etc.) and I work out for 1 or 2 hours every day.  My endocrinologist says I have "the heart of an athlete."  The problem is metabolism.  So far, I've lost 4 pounds in 4 weeks, without dieting -- simply by changing the times that I eat/don't eat.  My hope is that IF is boosting my metabolism.]