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.

Strolling to the 16th

The Front de Seine in the evening, as seen from the Mirabeau bridge.

July 3, 2017 – Rain ruled the day.  We stayed in, working at the computers in the morning, then lazing about, watching the Tour de France on French national television in the afternoon.  

Finally, in the evening the rain stopped and we strolled over to the 16^th arrondissement, to the Auteuil neighborhood.  Mass was being said at the old Auteuil church, so we simply looked in, but did not enter.  If I were alone, I might attend mass.  But Tom doesn’t want to do that.

Tarte Berbere at Le Tipaza.

The best part of the stroll was coming back over the Mirabeau bridge to the 15^th arrondissement.  (We both think the 16th is a little dull, but probably a good place to raise kids.)  We walked along the heavily shaded rue de la Convention to the rue Saint Charles, then down the rue Saint Charles to the North African restaurant, Le Tipaza.

We treasure Le Tipaza.  It’s décor is exotic and beautiful.  The food is exotic and dependably delicious.  The service is friendly and professional. 

Normally, at 7:30PM on a Sunday Le Tipaza is relatively calm.  But this time it was full of chattering Americans – mostly teenagers.  We were seated at a great little table partly tucked into a nook in the front window, so we had a little separation from the Americans.  The ones closest to us were adults.  We finally decided that this was a school or choir group, with several adult chaperones.  There were enough teenagers and adults to fill two tour buses.  I heard one adult say they'd be on one of the tour boats on the Seine that evening.  Nice.

Tom's dessert: profiteroles with dark chocolate sauce.

After the American tour group left, the restaurant was calm again.  Slowly, it began to fill up with French locals.  So the chattering American English sound was eventually replaced by a smoother, sonorous, humming French sound.  These are two very different symphonies.

Tom ordered the grilled lamb chops with fries, and I ordered the Tagine Dolma – a savory concoction with lamb and beef meatballs, dates, figs, almonds, veggies and more.  Dessert was profiteroles (including plenty of dark chocolate sauce and ice cream) for Tom and a Tarte Berbere (apple tart with cinnamon and raisons) for me. 

We were both happy to have a fairly long walk home, to work off some of that dinner!  It was a fine dinner, and a good value – especially with the 30% lafourchette.com discount.

At home, we prepared for the arrival of our son Dan and granddaughters Olivia and Sarah.  They’ll be here in a couple hours!

They come and go

August 16, 2016 -- The rue des Frères Morane is named for a couple of pioneering aviators, Robert and Léon Morane, who lived in Paris.  Robert lived a long life, from 1886 to 1968, but Léon (b. 1885) died from the Spanish flu in 1918.  Before that, they both almost died in 1910 when they attempted to win the Michelin aviation prize by flying from Paris to the summit of Puy de Dôme in less than 6 hours.  They crashed near Boissy-Saint-Léger.

Statue at the entrance to the Parc Georges Brassens.

According to the French Wikipedia, Robert Morane and Robert Saulnier started the Société des Aéroplanes Morane-Saulnier in 1911, with offices in Paris and factories in Puteaux.  After World War I, they focused on making planes for teaching and for tourism.  After World War II, the factory moved to in Ossun. 

Both Morane brothers are interred in the Père-Lachaise cemetery.

The street named for the Morane brothers runs alongside the Saint John the Baptist of Grenelle church, and merges with the rue de la Croix-Nivert.  It is the most direct route from our apartment to the rue de la Convention.  Convention really should be called an avenue or a boulevard, because it is wide, with wide sidewalks and lots of mature trees.

I love to walk down shady Parisian avenues like that, especially when traffic isn’t too heavy.  Since yesterday was a holiday and the weather was warm, the time was right to walk down the rue de la Convention to the Parc Georges Brassens.

Along the way, we were charmed by the Passage Dombasle, a little lane between the rue de la Convention and the rue de l’Abbé Groult.  At the Abbe Groult end of the Passage sat a quaint, forlorn former restaurant called Le Passage Gourmet, promising “cuisine raffinée” (fine cuisine) on its sign. 

The Passage Dombasle

After reading about its story on the web, I am now sorry we never visited when Le Passage Gourmet was alive.  Le Passage Gourmet may be gone, but the chef, Jean-Marc Perrain carries on, according to his blog.  He is now at the Marché des Gastronomes on the Place Pigalle in the 9^th arrondissement.  His blog informs me that he also was once associated with one of our favorite restaurants which is no longer in existence, L’Espadon Bleu – one of Jacques Cagna’s ventures in the 6^th arrondissement.  Oh well.

When we reached our goal, the Parc Georges Brassens, we had to rest our feet for a while.  We gazed up at one of the magnificent cow statues at the entrance, as we sat on a bench in the shade, near other people our age.

Inside the park, young families with kids were everywhere, especially on the hill of boulders where children love to scamper.

The park is on the site of a former slaughterhouse – which brings gruesome images to mind.  But it is named after a famous French songwriter, which brings pleasant images to mind.

Neo-gothic chapel on the rue Blomet

We walked to the far corner of the park, where we peered over a wall to see a a wildly overgrown section of Le Petite Ceinture which has not yet been turned into a pedestrian walkway, or promenade.

Slowly we made our way back toward our neighborhood, back up the rue de la Convention.  I noted that the frames for market stalls stood along a stretch of many, many blocks on this street.  According to the parking signs, this market operates three days a week: Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.  It is extensive!  We’ll have to visit it sometime.

We turned onto the rue Blomet to veer toward our restaurant for the evening.  As we passed by the Clinique Blomet (private hospital), we noticed its beautiful neo-gothic chapel (Chapel of the Sisters Sainte-Marie-de-la-Famille) rising above the surrounding walls.  This chapel was built around 1890, and has beloved stained glass windows by Louis-Charles-Marie Champigneulle.

We rested on a bench in the Place Adolphe Cherioux, and then it was time for dinner at Le Cap.  That place has changed since last year; dinner was unremarkable, but the café gourmand at the end was colorful.  Afterwards, we had a pleasant stroll home, where we enjoyed another quiet hour on the balcony, as day faded into night.

 

Café Gourmand and a glass of port at Le Cap, across from the 15th arrondissement town hall.