Stepping out after the storm

We waited for these spectacular clouds to pass before we left the apartment for our walk yesterday.
How could I resist posting a storm cloud photo on the 15th anniversary of Hurricane Charley?

The red brick house on Rue Volontaires is unusual -- not just because it is made of red brick, but also because of its asymmetrical, early modern design.  When I learned that the sculptor Carlo Sarrabezolles had lived there from either 1923 or 1926 until he died in 1971, I thought he must have designed the house.  Surely a house like this could not be any older than the 1920s, I thought.

16 Rue des Volontaires was home to Carlo Sarrabezolles, sculptor.

But the French Wikipedia states that this house, 16 Rue des Volontaires, was first the home of the Nivernais (someone from the Nevers region of France) sculptor Emile Rousseau who died there in 1923.  However, I cannot find any information about a sculptor by that name who died in 1923. Possibly he was Emile François Rousseau who was born in 1853?

I did find two fascinating photos of the Sarrabezolles studio in this house:

In addition to the beauty and quality of his work, Sarrabezolles is known for inventing the technique of carving in concrete while it is setting up.  Not all of his work is in concrete.  But when he did work that way, he had to hustle, and get the timing just right.

I love the photos of his work, especially the spire of the Villamomble church.  If it isn't too dangerous, we plan to see this spire that he designed in Seine Saint Denis.  We'll probably take a taxi.

We're also planning to visit the Square Sarrabezolles in the southern edge of the 15th, near the huge Pompidou hospital and Rue Ernest Hemingway.

This is how our walks develop in my curious mind.  One thing leads to another . . . .

Le Bon Pari! on Rue Vaugirard.

We dined at Le Bon Pari! again and it was delightful again.  We had some extra time before our reservation, so we ambled slowly down Rue Vaugirard to Boulevard Pasteur and back.  Many of the buildings in this area either are part of the Pasteur Institute, or they house doctors offices and other medical facilities that need to be near the Institute.  With all the medical professionals in this area, it is an ideal location for a good restaurant.

A trompe l'oeil window caught my eye.  It was indeed a window, not a painting, but the center of it was made to look as if it curves inward or outward.  In reality, it is flat.  But someone took care to make the window panes and mullions so that they give a curved illusion.  This lovely building has been restored and is now the entry to the Pasteur Institute's conference center.

And here are a few photos from yesterday's delicious and colorful dinner at Le Bon Pari!:

Rack of lamb and roasted potatoes.

Supreme de pintade (Guine fowl) and purée of red cabbage with fig juice.

Duo de betteraves (beets)

Café Gourmand, including small desserts: chocolate mousse, éclair, and citrus tarte with meringue.

The good Paris, where pedestrians rule

Pedestrians rule in Paris. 

Increasingly so.   A new addition to Parisian pedestrian perks this year is the closing to automobile traffic of the Rue du Commerce on one Saturday per month (except for August, when the city is so calm that this is not necessary).  Yesterday was the day for July.

The ban on autos was from 1PM to 6PM. 

Entrance to the Volontaires métro station on
the Rue de Vaugirard, across from Le Bon Pari.

I'd already walked up to Monoprix to  get (at last!) a supply of V8 juice in the morning.  But I found an excuse to go out in the afternoon, too, to experience the calm.  I bought eggs and Beaufort cheese at the Thomas cheese shop, then took a short walk down to the church at the end of the street.

Even though they could walk in the street, most pedestrians remained on the sidewalk, but they crossed the street anywhere and anytime they wanted, without worrying about being run over by frenzied French drivers.

The main difference that I noticed was the quiet.  The only sound was the soft music of people chatting with one another as they walked along, going from one errand to the next.

I am amazed at how much the noise from engines and wheels on pavement adds to the tension in a city!  With the quiet comes the calm -- including a calming of nerves.

Tom went out a little later, when he finished working, so that he could experience what I had.  He bought a baguette at the bakery, of course.  That's his thing.

Puréed carrot and curry amuse bouche at Le Bon Paris.

In the evening, we took a walk down into the southeastern part of the 15th arrondissement to dine at Le Bon Pari, a highly rated and fairly new restaurant that I found on Lafourchette. 

The place is decorated in a stylish and simple dark gray, yet the food was bursting with color and flavor.  We were warmly greeted and seated at a table right in the front window.  That was a good sign of good things to come.

Beet and Burratina starter course at Le Bon Pari has a flavorful raspberry vinaigrette.

I ordered the beet and Burratina cheese appetizer to share with Tom.  It made our mouths tingle with flavor.  The main courses, lamb shank for Tom and Guinea fowl for me, were delightful.  Tom ordered café gourmand (assortment of tasty small desserts and an espresso) and I, since this is a holiday weekend, ordered an Armagnac.  We could not have had a better holiday eve dinner.

Supreme de pintade (Guinea fowl) on a bed of purréed red cabbage and cream.

This morning I turned on the TV for the first time this summer, so that we can watch the Quatorze Juillet (Bastille Day) military parade.  I have the sound turned off, with the French subtitles on.  What I enjoy most are all the helicopter views of Paris.  Tom liked the tiny robots that put on a show on the cobblestones in front of the VIPs as the parade began. 

According to Madame la Patronne at Le Vieux Pressoir, this is what French people do in the morning of Quatorze Juillet:  watch the parade on TV.  She told us that 20 years ago, and ever since then, that's how we spend this holiday morning.

Lamb shank at Le Bon Pari rests on a disk of savory roasted celery root.

This evening, the Champ de Mars will fill up with tens of thousands of people for the Grand Concert of Paris.  We don't do crowds, so we will watch this on TV.  The concert is spectacular, with guest musicians from all over the world performing with the French national symphony orchestra.

Showy chandelier in a Chinese
takeout on the Rue de Vaugirard,
next to Le Bon Pari.

Then tonight, millions will gather on the Champ de Mars (near us), the Trocadero, and various places along the Seine and elsewhere to watch the most spectacular fireworks show in the world.  We'll also watch that on TV and from our kitchen and bathroom windows.  We'll watch the festive crowds coming and going on the Rue du Commerce from our balcony. 

Then tomorrow, I'll find the video of the concert and fireworks on YouTube, so that I can share that with you, via Facebook and this blog.

Happy Bastille Day!