A multi-colored, many textured tapestry

The Dreyfus fabric store on Montmartre is a wonderland -- a six-floor old warehouse with big windows, full of almost every kind of fabric you can imagine.  My husband Tom was not merely indulging me; he likes textiles, too.  His father once owned a fabric outlet store in South Carolina.  Tom likes textiles almost as much as I do.

Parc Monceau after a rainy week.

Oh, how I would love to furnish a Paris apartment with drapes that I'd make from lace-edged or paisley fabrics, furniture that I'd re-cover with colorful Jacquards, fitted bedspreads that I'd tailor from pre-quilted and pre-embroidered satin.  I would have so much fun, going back to Dreyfus for project after project.

A taxi had delivered us to this wonderland.  We thoroughly enjoyed the ride through the 8th arrondissement, past so many designer stores, ritzy retail action, and grand Haussmann architecture.  The driver efficiently delivered us right to the door of Dreyfus, near Sacre Coeur, in the Marché Saint Pierre neighborhood.

After we'd had our fill of textile sights, we walked down to the Boulevard de Clichy and strolled westward, toward the 17th arrondissement.

The western half of the 18th arrondissement is crazy with tourists because of Montmartre and all its colorful attractions -- some wholesome, some historic, and some seedy.  We saw it all as we walked down the boulevard.

Gate at 60 Boulevard de Clichy, the Villa des Platanes.

Signs of crime were evident:  broken shop windows, a fight about to happen under the trees that lined the boulevard's median.  I would not want to be there at night.

Cafés, sex shops, theaters, souvenir stores -- one after the other, over and over.  When we approached Place Blanche, at 60 Boulevard de Clichy, I noticed an iron gate and an arched passage into what appeared to be a spacious courtyard in front of a large chateau.  This was a sight strikingly different form everything around it.

This morning I did the research and now know that this is not a single chateau, but a "folly" -- a unified façade for six buildings and multiple courtyards and gardens.  The name of the place is Villa des Platanes (The Villa of Plane Trees) -- a 19th Century residential fortress built to be a haven, walled off from the craziness of Montmartre.  The Villa has nearly 400 residents.

Looking through the passage into the Villa des Platanes.

Before being annexed to the city in 1860, Montmartre was a place in the countryside where people would go to drink and party cheaply, avoiding the city's tax on alcoholic beverages.  But there were still regular middle-class business owners and professionals who needed a quiet place to live on Montmartre.  The Villa des Platanes was developed with them in mind.

The original estate, Villa des Tilleuls (The Villa of Lime Trees) was built in 1830.  The "folly" of Villa des Platanes was constructed on the surrounding land from 1860 to 1890.  

Not far from the Villa des Platanes, we passed the famous Chat Noir, the café dating to 1881 that now offers live jazz and is open all night.

Le Chat Noir (the Black Cat) café on the Boulevard de Clichy.

At last we reached the Place de Clichy, where four arrondissements meet.  There the boulevard changes its name to Batignolles, and the ambiance is more serene.  We continued, and turned right onto the Rue de Levis at the Place Prosper Goubaux.  Here, Rue de Levis is for pedestrians only.  Some of the shops were closed because it was Monday, or because it was vacation time, but we found a café in a pleasant spot where we had refreshments at a table outside.  Our senses and our feet were in need of a rest.

Bank in a Gothic-style building.

When we continued our trek, we walked over to the Parc Monceau, passing a huge bank housed in a Gothic-style mansion along the way.  Parc Monceau was looking lovely and green after all the rain we had last week.  After pausing there briefly, we continued on, down the Rue Rembrandt, Rue Monceau, and Rue Washington, until we crossed the Champs Elysées.  

Hotel for bugs in Parc Monceau.

By then we'd surpassed our 5-mile goal, so we took a taxi home, where we relaxed and had a light dinner (baby spinach salad with Roquefort cheese, cashews, and ripe pears, with a honey vinaigrette) at home.

Régis le Caviste sign on a wine shop on the rue Washington.

An English garden in Paris

August 9, 2018 -- In 1778, as Britain and the American colonies were at war, Philippe D'Orléans, the Duke of Chartres, decided to create a public park in Paris.  His good friend, who would later be George IV, King of England, influenced the design of the park.  And so Parc Monceau was created as an English garden, not a traditionally French one.

The colonnade and pond at Parc Monceau.

We claimed a taxi yesterday afternoon at Le Motte Picquet station and asked the driver to take us there, via the Rue Rembrandt, in the 8th arrondissement.  I thought the route the driver took was not very direct, but then I didn't care because I was enjoying the ride and the views.

Lovely blooming tree in the Parc Monceau.

When the taxi stopped at our destination, Tom asked the driver for a little lesson in how to pronounce "Rembrandt" in French (which is very unlike the way it sounds in English). 

We began our walking tour of the park, noting how brown it was.  Especially in the north part of the city, Paris is experiencing a drought.  Today, fortunately, rain has arrived, in a gentle fashion.

In Googling what I've written about this park in the past, I found this complex idea that I had in my blog entry for September 5, 2011, for a garden-based tour of Paris:

It occurred to me that with fine gardens at each end of line 10 of the metro – the Albert Kahn Gardens on the west end, and the Jardin des Plantes on the east end – I could design a plan for garden loving tourists to indulge in a whole day of sightseeing along the line 10’s route.

 

Strolling through the Parc Monceau.

The tourists could first stay in the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles with its garden-like setting in the 5^th arrondissement, and start the day at the Jardin des Plantes.

Then they’d get on the line 10 at the Austerlitz station and take the metro to the Javel-André Citroën stop, where they’d exit and visit the several gardens of along the northeast side of the Parc André Citroën.

After that, they’d hop back on the line 10 and take it to the end of the line at Boulogne Pont St. Cloud, where they’d exit and have a quick lunch on the generous terrace of the Brasserie Jean-Baptiste, followed by a visit to the Albert Kahn Gardens.

Of course, they could then take the line 10 metro right back to Cardinal Lemoine, near their hotel.

Another day of their tour might include a guided visit of the Luxembourg Gardens, where they’d visit the park’s gardens but also learn about the Senate’s apiary and fruit orchard, and they’d have a private tour of the Luxembourg’s greenhouses which are not normally open to the public.

 

A place to get snacks in the Parc Monceau.

They could then go to the garden at the Rodin Museum for tea.

Another day could involve a visit to Parc Floral, in the Bois de Vincennes, then the Jardin Yitzhak Rabin at the Parc Bercy, and a stroll along the Promenade Plantée  from the Jardin de Reuilly to the Bastille Opera.  If there’s time that day, they could also squeeze in an evening stroll at the Jardin du Palais Royal.

Another day would take them to the Parc Monceau in the 8^tharrondissement, followed by the Jardins du Ranelagh in the 16th, a visit to the Marmottan museum, and finally the Jardin des Poêtes and the greenhouses of the Jardin des Serres d’Auteuil in the Bois de Boulogne.

And then they’d probably be so sick and tired of seeing beautiful gardens that they’d want to tour the Catacombs or the Sewers of Paris.  Either or both could be arranged.

One of the Dior buildings on Avenue Montaigne is wrapped in colorful fabric.

Yesterday's adventures began in the morning with a trip to La Poste where we mailed our Florida primary ballots.  We never miss a chance to vote -- ever.  So far, two people have asked me to email them a pdf of my completed ballot, so they don't have to research the more obscure items on it.

Then it was off to the grocery to replenish supplies.  I think I love the local FranPrix grocery.  Tom finished up our errands with a trip to the Eric Kayser bakery, where he bought a baguette for him and a rustique (small loaf of country whole-wheat sourdough bread) for me.  The rustique makes the best toast you can imagine.

Inside Les 2 Gros on the Avenue Bosquet.

Once we'd finished our tour of Parc Monceau, we walked downhill to go toward home -- down the Rue Courcelles, Avenue Myron Herrick, Avenue Franklin Delano Roosevelt, around the Rond Point on the Champs Elysées, down the Avenue Montaigne, to the Place de l'Alma, where we circumvented one corner to get to the George V, and inviting bistro with lots of outdoor tables.

We indulged in afternoon refreshments at the George V bistro (no connection to the George V hotel) because we'd skipped lunch.  Noting that a taxi stand stood right in front of the bistro, we decided to take a cab home to preserve some stamina for an evening walk to dinner and back.

Les 2 Gros restaurant specializing in meat, on the Avenue Bosquet.

I'd reserved at a new place on the Avenue Bosquet, called Les 2 Gros.  Yes, the name is gross but the atmosphere was convivial and welcoming, as was the service.  The dinner was casual and excellent (ribs for two, with salad).  There was no problem with getting a box for the leftovers.  

As we strolled home past the Champ de Mars, the evening sky put on quite a show.  Voila!

A weekend of walking through Paris

Parc Monceau

July 17, 2017 – The lines 6 and 2 of the Paris metro when put together, form a perfect oval around the heart of the city.  Line 6 offers a great view in its southwestern stretch, where it is an elevated train over a part of Paris that was a swamp, a long time ago. 

On Saturday, we took the 6 to Etoile, where we switched to the 2 and disembarked at Monceau, the beautiful park created in 1861 in the northern part of the 8^th arrondissement – one of the chic residential areas of Paris.

After a long, leisurely stroll through the park, which was being heavily appreciated by many families on that gorgeous weekend, we paused to stare at the magnificent mansion just on the edge of the park, at 5 rue Van Dyck.  Where does the money come from to build a house like this?

Peering through the gate at the side of the mansion at 5 rue Van Dyk

In this case, it came from chocolate.  Jean-Antoine Menier, a chocolate maker from the Seine et Marne area, made medications based on chocolate in the 1800s.  In 1836, he created the first chocolate bar (tablette de chocolat).  It was wrapped in yellow paper.

His son, Emile-Justin Menier, took the helm and received a gold medal for “pharmaceutical products” at the Universal Exposition.  Emile successfully expanded the business, buying 1500 hectares in Nicaragua so he could mitigate the fluctuations of the cacao market.  He had a new mill built to modernize his factory in the Seine et Marne area.  The mill was unusual and beautiful:  a metal structure with a multi-color brick exterior, completed in 1872.  By 1876, the factory was producing 7,600 tons of chocolate annually.

The straw gorilla in this flower bed at Parc Monceau is wearing a tank top
that promotes Paris as a site for the 2024 Olympics

From 1872 to 1874, he had his own house built facing the Parc Monceau.  The luxurious carvings on the exterior walls give the home an opulence unmatched by other houses in the neighborhood.  This architectural gem is not open to the public; it is now divided into a few large apartments.

We walked on through the park, exiting at the rue Rembrandt, then descending the hill on rue Courcelles.  We saw that the grand, formerly crumbling church of St. Philippe de Roule is undergoing a massive renovation, including a rebuilding of its roof.  What looks like a Butler building has been constructed over the entire top of the church.  This is quite a production!

We continued our descent to the Champs Elysees along the rue La Boetie.  The crowd along that celebrated avenue was thick.  We somehow made our way across it, and then followed the rue Pierre Charron and avenue George V to the Seine.  We noticed that people have been putting those awful love locks on the chain surrounding the flame sculpture by the Pont de l’Alma – what has become the memorial to Princess Diana.  I do so wish that love lock fad would go away!

Shinto gothic house in the 8th arrondissement.

When we crossed the Seine and were passing by the Russian Orthodox church and cultural center, its bells began to ring.  I didn’t know it had bells!  They aren’t visible.  Perhaps they are in the golden domes?

After a stroll down the avenue Bosquet, we stopped in at the comfortable brasserie La Terrasse for refreshments.  Then it was just a short stroll home.

In the evening, I used lafourchette.com to reserve a table at O Fil Rouge.  There we had a terrific dinner.  The owner recognized us, even though I don’t think we made it there last summer.  I highly recommend this restaurant, located a bit out of the way on the rue St. Charles near the rue Ginoux.

Yesterday we took the line 6 to Denfert Rochereau, the place where you can begin a tour of the Paris catacombs.  Instead, we remained above ground to walk along the beautiful avenue René Coty.  This boulevard is blessed with a shady pedestrian central walkway – a great place to walk on a warm afternoon.

Walking on the avenue Rene Coty

We walked all the way to the Parc Montsouris (“Mouse Mountain”) in the southeastern corner of the 14^th arrondissement.  After we’d toured the park, we walked back up the avenue René Coty, pausing to use one of the brand new Wallace Fountains.  Unlike the old Wallace Fountains which run continuously, the new ones have a button that you push to make the water flow.  Tom discovered that the secret is that you have to push the button really hard to make it work.

A new Wallace Fountain, on the avenue Rene Coty.

We turned toward home on the rue d’Alesia, stopping to visit the church of Saint-Pierre de Montrouge.  The church's architect, Emile Vaudremer, created a simple yet grand church -- one of the first in a style known as Roman Primitive.  Displays in the back of the church indicate that it has a sizeable staff and lots of programs.  This is an active parish.

Church of Saint-Pierre de Montrouge

The rue d'Alesia becomes the rue Vouille and then the rue de la Convention in the 15^th arrondissement.  Right where it becomes rue de la Convention, we stopped at the Tasco brasserie for refreshments.  This included sharing a piece of homemade tiramisu which was very delicious.

From there, we walked up the rue de l’Abbé Groult to our neighborhood where we stopped to buy groceries at the Carrefour City on our street.  I miss the Dia discount grocery that Carrefour City replaced, but I do appreciate Carrefour for being open on Sunday.

Scenes in the Parc Montsouris

In the evening, we dressed up and walked to La Gauloise for a fine steak dinner.  Mostly I eat fish and vegetables for dinner these days; last night was a notable exception.  The beef filet at La Gauloise is reliably tender and perfectly cooked.  It comes with an impossibly large serving of great fries.  I can only eat a small part of that mountain of fries, but Tom really attacked his.  We skipped the starter course and dessert.

What we love about La Gauloise is not just the food; it is the plush ambiance.  We were able to sit at our favorite table, just inside the front window which was open to the terrace.  La Gauloise is convenient, too -- only a ten- minute walk from our apartment.

So ended a weekend of walking – about 20,000 steps each day.