Greetings from the TGV from Paris to Angoulême on Christmas Day. PHOTOS TO COME
Spent a jam-packed Christmas Eve day in misty, moody, drizzly Paris. We have been to Paris many times in the winter and the weather is always very unpredictable. We’ve been here when it’s been beautiful but cold; cold and snow; rainy; sunny; and more. This year it’s been overcast nearly every day, but sometimes wonderful bursts of sun at odd moments. We are headed to Angoulême to have Christmas dinner with family but will return to Paris tonight (very late). Angoulême is supposed to be sunny all day and a bit warmer than Paris (probably in the low 50s.)
Anyway, we got our full value of our day passes on the Paris Metro yesterday as we must have been on about 12 different trains over the course of the day.
We began by heading to see the Lavirotte building, a fantastic circa 1900 apartment building in the 7th arrondissement—a wonderful example of Art Nouveau architecture. The front façade is decorated with all sorts of sculptures and tiles. Would have loved to see what the inside lobby and the apartments are like. The neighborhood gets wonderful little hidden peeks at the Eiffel Tower, especially of the base of the tower from the sidewalk. It was a bit eerie given that the top of the Tower just disappeared given the dense mist and cloud cover.
From there we headed to see the Samaritaine Building, a luxury department store affectionately referred to by Parisians as “La Samar.” It was built in 1925 and boasts a riveted steel frame supporting a huge glass pyramid in the Art Deco style. It’s a dramatic statement with the whole store (5 floors, I think) sitting under the glass roof with a café and bar at the top level. The escalators are in the center. There is some kind of mural that surrounds the underside of the roof that has a golden-yellow hue, so the entire store seems sunny and bright, despite the rain. Didn’t look at what the store sold, but I think it’s probably like Galleries Lafayette except focused only on the higher end brands, so the clientele is smaller and wealthier. Maybe Galleries Lafayette is like Nordstrom and Samaritaine is like Bergdorf Goodman. It was pretty quiet given that it was the day before Christmas. By the way, the story of the creation of La Samar is quite interesting including the construction of a pump house in 1607; the opening of a small shop in 1870; a marriage between the owner of the shop and the head female retail assistant in the dressmaking department of Le Bon Marche (a competitor); closure of the store due to fire concerns; rebuilding; and transfer of ownership to a global corporation.
From there we took the Metro to the Gare de l’Est and Chateau d’eau neighborhood which was a far cry from La Samar. The neighborhood is an ethnic stew of Indians and Pakistanis, other diverse Asian cultures… Here one can find haircuts for just nine Euros and lots of street food, spice shops, and assorted tiny shops where you can buy almost anything you can think of—cheap. There are also hundreds of little restaurants that line the streets and the famous “passages” (covered walkway/alleyways).
Then we were off to the Palais des Glaces which I really wanted to see. It’s an amazing structure that was rebuilt in 1924 and has been used for a variety of performances from circuses to theater (and especially this winter because of the centennial of the reconstruction). In the winter it is used as an ice-skating rink. We walked in the rain for about 1/3 of a mile after getting out of the metro. But we couldn’t find it. Then we checked the address and ostensibly we were right in front of it. Alas, our research was not so thorough. We were standing in front of the “petite” Palais Glaces which has a theater (small) on the second floor where comedy groups perform along with upcoming artists. The actual building/rink was about a 20-minute metro ride in the opposite direction. We might have done it, but it was raining and cold and getting dark, and we had dinner reservations for Christmas Eve.. Moreover, Mike’s back was bothering him. So, a bit disappointed we decided to take a taxi back to the hotel to recharge before heading to dinner. (Next Xmas, we’ll make the Grand Palais a priority!)
After arriving back at the hotel, we headed to Le Christine for dinner. Le Christine is a small restaurant on a very tiny street at 1 Rue Christine. We had assumed when we made the reservation (which was done very recently after realizing that we would not be going to Geneva for Xmas Eve/Christmas Day) that Le Christine was the restaurant inside Le Relais Christine located on 3 Rue Christine. We knew this very wonderful hotel because about 20 years ago we stayed there for New Years Eve and remembered it well and loved it. But it turns out that the hotel doesn’t do dinner and Restaurant Le Christine has no relation to Relais Christine (except perhaps that they are adjacent to one another). The restaurant was fine and only a 6-minute walk from our hotel; in fact, the dinner was quite good (although overpriced—but then again it was Christmas), but the service was pretentious.
After dinner we headed by Metro to the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysee to stroll and see the wonderful Christmas lighting along the boulevard. It was tasteful and fun, with lots of Parisian families doing the same stroll we did. We walked about 2/3 of the way to Place Concorde, along the Champs Elysee and then popped into the Metro to head back to the hotel. By then it was about midnight, and we had a really early and busy next day to tackle (Christmas Day). More on that tomorrow.
Happy holidays
Fern
Paris to Geneva by TGV… And Then…
Greetings on December 27 with update from December 26
Greetings on December 27 with update from December 26.
Hope you had a good Christmas and are enjoying Hannukah.
We began the day (December 26th) packing and heading to the train from Paris (Gare De Lyon) to Geneva (where we were to stay just two days (visiting family) and then head to Bulgaria and finally Munich. Mike had felt queasy for a few days, and in fact, didn’t have any wine at Xmas dinner. But yesterday (12/26) by the time we got to the train station he was feeling pretty miserable with stomach pains. Still, we managed to stop at Le Tren Bleu at the station for a salad and dessert. Le Train Bleu is a restaurant steeped in history. It began in 1900 as a buffet at the time of the Universal Exhibition and later became the very elegant Le Train Bleu restaurant. It was designed by Marius Toudoire, the architect who also designed the train station clock tower and facade. While we tried to eat simply given the stomach issues, we just couldn’t pass up lunch in that amazing space.
We boarded the train fairly smoothly except that we had more baggage than usual, because we were lugging Xmas presents around, so it was a little tough boarding and deboarding (especially since Geneva was not the last stop of the train, so we needed to move fast). We were in first class on the train, so they served lunch—looked very good, but by then we were both apprehensive about eating anything rich…and the French don’t know anything but rich foods. I nibbled; Mike declined.
And about four hours later we were in Geneva.
We checked into the Tiffany Hotel, where we have stayed many times before. It’s centrally located and easy to get to Carrouge where Elizabeth lives. But it’s definitely not the lap of luxury. Rooms are very small and cramped and it’s sort of dark. And by now Mike was definitely sick, and I was beginning to feel nauseous. It was about 7:00pm and we decided not to have dinner. Julia, who is still in Angoulême suggested we go to a clinic to be checked out. Within an hour we decided that was a good idea. Well… we have now experienced the Swiss medical system!
At Julia’s suggestion, we went to a “private” clinic (there are also public ones) with an ER (sort of like our Urgent Care places but better equipped. Naturally it was immaculate, well appointed, very “white.” At one point I left the waiting room to go to the bathroom and when I returned Mike was gone and my purse was just sitting on a chair (unattended). I tried to figure out where Mike was and then someone came to tell me he was in an exam room because he had fainted — twice… the second time he was momentarily unconscious. They said I could go to his room once they finished some tests.
In the meantime, they also checked me in for some kind of meeting with a doctor, but later decided all I needed was some anti-nausea pills.
When I got to Mike’s room, he was in hospital garb with lots of tubes —- nutrition, dehydrating liquids, pain killers. They had done blood work, EKG, and assorted other tests. And they decided they wanted to do a CT scan. The good news is that Mike’s internal organs are in good shape. So, they finally decided it was stomach virus, and I probably had the same thing only less severe. They also gave Mike anti-nausea pills. By the time we left, it was after midnight and we needed to go to a pharmacy to have the prescription filled. Before leaving they hit us with the bill (they had told us immediately upon arrival that our American insurance would not be accepted). When it came time for the CT scan they reminded us that we’d have to pay for it and we could decide not to do the scan. They also said the scan would be expensive. Mike joked with the doctor about whether it would cost more or less than a Mercedes… She said she didn’t really know the cost but probably $1,000. Well, the bill for all of Mike’ tests came to $4,000 which we needed to pay on the spot; fortunately they took American Express. Then we taxied to the 24-hour pharmacy near the hospital to get our medication ($80). We didn’t realize the pharmacy would be very busy so I asked the taxi to wait for us, so that Mike could sit in the car. Well, the pharmacy was very crowded, so the taxi had to wait about 20 minutes with the meter going.
Turned into a mighty expensive day. But the good news is that we are on the mend. Still being careful with what we eat… and not eating much. And Mike is sleeping a lot.
But all of this has pushed us to make some big changes to our travel plans. We decided we were in no condition to fly today to Bulgaria and that we needed a few days to recoup. So, we will stay in Geneva for the next four days but relocate to an upscale resort-style hotel on the Lake—about 20-30 minutes from downtown Geneva — La Reserve. And then we will fly directly from Geneva to SFO on January 1. It will be a lot different from our planned New Years in Sofia, but I think it makes sense. Maybe some massages? It looks lovely and Julia and Julien have stayed there many times.
Our visit with Elizabeth will turn out to be some kind of lunch or tea… She has been sick for the past week, so had we gone to Bulgaria we probably wouldn’t even have even seen her.
More tomorrow.
Think health!
Fern
Day Five Paris: Cinquième Jour
Greetings from Saint Germain area –
Woke up to a clear and sunny day, which we hope will be our new norm.
We got off to a late start and had to pack up since we were relocating to the Saint Germain area (Metro-Odeon). Had a quiet breakfast in another café which also seemed to be populated by the 35 and under crowd, several with babies.
Once we finished packing, we took a taxi from Montmartre to Saint Germain. It took nearly 45 minutes to go less than four miles in the taxi. Traffic is really a mess in Paris. Add to that the Christmas shoppers and window shoppers as well as tourists and bicycles and you’ve got solid gridlock—everywhere. But the metro is pretty packed also. We would have had to deal with suitcases on busy trains, so we taxied. We had a long list of things we wanted to do today, but then Mike was feeling under the weather—hopefully just a cold brought on by walking in the rain all day yesterday. We’ll see how he does tonight. That said, we may pick up a Covid test tonight… just to make triply sure. (But I’m pretty sure it’s a cold)… So Mike stayed in the hotel room and I ventured out. Good thing we changed hotels (which was always part of the plan). Hotel Le Relais—Saint Germain is small but tasteful (albeit a little inconsistent in the décor. Our room is large with lots of extra space to maneuver. We have a full-size couch, as well as a circular glass-top table (which is what I am using to write to you at this moment). It’s a far cry from the cramped, dark room we had at the Montmartre hotel. And we have a really big bathroom.
So, while Mike went to sleep, I headed by Metro to see the famous Christmas decorations at Galeries Lafayette (and to finish last minute gift shopping). The decorations did not disappoint. Galeries Lafayette is all decked out with a huge tree-like form designed in the style of a chandelier. I am told it has 20,000 programmable lights and a fiber-optic lighting effect at the top. I managed to squeeze in with the hordes of people entering the store and see the “tree” from both the main floor and the better views from the third floor. I totally got lost on the 5th floor as I tried to get the missing gifts. Galeries Lafayette is 750,000 sq feet (main store) and there are some additional stores for housewares, etc. adjacent. The store is 130-years-old and for nearly as many years it has been creating a hub of excitement with its Xmas themes. But the real highlight of the store is the neo-Byzantine stained-glass dome which is 43 meters tall (141 feet). That is what is worth seeing over and again.
From there I walked to the Passage Vivienne which is a wonderful set of enclosed walkways roofed over with glass. It too was very decorated (tastefully, I might add) for the holidays. I strolled the Passage… and then walked to the Bourse Metro station and headed back to the hotel.
Mike seemed to be in better shape, so we headed to dinner at a restaurant that was about a 15-minute walk from the hotel: Les Parisiennes—at the Hotel Pavilon Faubourg. It’s a quiet, upscale place where we figured Mike could find something agreeable to eat. And although it is close to a lot of the hustle and bustle of Saint Germain, it is on a small street and is a peaceful place which is what we needed. We shared carpaccio as a starter and then the vegetarian main course which was a melt in your mouth array of vegetables inside a puff pastry. Naturally it was all dripping in butter… but excellent. And we shared an order of the sweetbreads (one of my favorites).. Then we walked back to the hotel… I had many other stops I had hoped to make today and will try to get more in tomorrow. I did want to stop at the d’Orsay but didn’t get tickets in advance and they were booked straight through until January 20.
It’s been nice to see a few new things and to retrace old steps. Not sure how many times I’ve been to Paris, but it’s been many… and like NY it never seems to get old. What’s really nice is that I don’t need to go to the main sites since I’ve seen all of those places.. So just strolling without a plan works well. Tomorrow will be the last real day here as we will head to Angoulême in the southwest of France on Wednesday, returning late that night (just a day trip) and then head to Geneva on Thursday. Fortunately, the weather forecast does not include rain for the next six or seven days. We had our fill of that yesterday.
Good night on the evening before Christmas Eve. Bonne nuit la veille du réveillon de Noël —- not sure that is really the correct way to say this. And on the night before the night before the start of Hanukkah.
Merry Merry and Happy Happy
Fern
PS – about 15,000 steps today/ 6.5 miles. It’s adding up, but then again so are the calories being gained from French food.
Quatrième Jour Paris: Day Four
Notre Dame dans toute sa splendeur — December 22, 2024
Greetings from rainy Paris – Il pleut et il pleut et il pleut et il pleut !! While tomorrow is supposed to be sunny, today it just rained and rained.
After brunch in a small cafe populated by what appeared to be university students, we headed by Metro to Ile de la Cite to see the newly repaired and renovated and very cleaned up Notre Dame Cathedral. It was very smart of us to have booked the reservations because as we arrived we could see a very very long line snaking around the front plaza. Probably about 700 people standing and cueing up in the rain, which by then was actually pretty strong. Along the route from the metro stop to Notre Dame we caved in and bought some chintzy plastic touristy plastic domed umbrellas with illustrations of the Eifel Tower along the bottom rim. Good thing, because as we walked the last few meters it was a downpour.
Hard to say much about the “new” Notre Dame…. First it’s totally packed with tourists. Hundreds of thousands of selfies being captured each minute, I’d guess. Throngs of people trying to capture the moment ?? It’s a bit strange to see it all shined up like this; everything very white and crisp. After all it is 860 years old. Not sure how people who are religiously affiliated feel about it. Somehow it didn’t feel as much like a sacred space, which I think it did on prior visits when—you sensed the history and there were moments without throngs of people. They’ve also added lots of chandeliers with fake candles and flame shaped bulbs which were throwing off a lot of light which enhanced the brightness of the space. So that too took away from the more mysterious feeling of past visits. I think they could have done a better job with the lighting using some kind of hidden reflective lights,
Another touch of contemporary life, there are credit card tap machines all over so that you can pay for your votive candles without the need for a cashier or carrying cash. While the candles are $2 the prompt on the screen lets you pay whatever you want, and has pre-set amounts from $10 to $50. Lots of people were buying candles. Not us.
Still, it was an amazing feat to use the same methods of construction and repair that were used centuries ago. Probably would have been good to have some kind of model and photographs that depicted “then” and “now.” The restoration has taken five years which seems like a miracle in and of itself given the devastation caused by the 2019 fire. Most of the roof and spire of the cathedral were destroyed and only about one third of the roof remained. The remnants of the roof and spire fell on the stone vault that was underneath, which is really the ceiling of the cathedral; some of the art suffered smoke damage.
Construction of the original cathedral began in the 12th century… and over these many centuries the structure had many compromising structural issues including dry-rot, water leakage in the spires, and problems with the stonework brought about by age and pollution. Indeed there was reconstruction work going on in the spires when the fire started.
We spent about 90 minutes checking out Notre Dame and then faced the rain again. We decided to duck into some place to get a snack and to stay dry. Many other people had the same idea so we eventually wound up in a pretty awful Chinese restaurant and had bowls of wonton soup. At least it was hot. And the rain did begin to lessen as we walked to the metro and back to the hotel.
Tonight we walked to Poni for dinner. It’s just about a half mile from the hotel. Very casual, on two floors connected by a spiral staircase ! Food was better than predicted. We had ceviche followed by a (much bigger than expected) salad with chunks of goat cheese slightly breaded, arugula and other greens, black cherries, apricots, cherry tomatoes, and other vegetables. Had we known the salad was going to be that large, we would have ended the meal then. But we had also ordered the duck to share. So we were more than full when we finished eating. Our waiter, by the way, loves California—especially Santa Cruz (his dream location). And his son wants desperately to go to Lycee Francais in San Francisco. That led to some conversation about American politics.
We walked along the decorated streets in Montmartre back to the hotel—mostly on Rue de Martyrs which did a really nice job of adding lights across the facing sidewalks.
I’m going to end now as we need to pack up in order to transfer to our next Paris hotel in Saint Germain.
More from Saint Germain tomorrow.
Fern
Troisième Jour Paris: Day Three
Bonjour en cette nuit pluvieuse à Paris – Hello on this rainy night in Paris—
OK… so today was really rainy, but not very cold (in the 40s and 50s; actually the temperatures have been quite pleasant and while we’ve had some overcast days, this was the first day where the rain really got in the way. But we persevered. Today was Mike’s birthday so we headed off to a pretty swanky brunch place requiring a 30-minute walk… uphill about 200 meters to the Hotel Particulier, which is located in a somewhat secretive setting requiring entry by reservation and through a gate. The restaurant is located inside a very small hotel with a very big reputation—just 5 suites I’m told and getaway places for those who can afford the prices (I didn’t get the price sheet). Supposedly, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz and others of that ilk have stayed in one of these five rooms. I thought it might be snooty, but the restaurant was quite charming and staff was very friendly. It’s nestled in a hidden alley that you could easily miss—looks like a private entrance into a park, which it sort of is. The house/hotel is the former residence of the Hermes family. It must be beautiful in the spring when you can dine outside when the gardens are all in bloom.
We lingered over the set three-course brunch menu and of course began with some champagne for Mike and Lillet for me.
Before we left our two-hour brunch, I went downstairs to use the bathroom. Inside my private toilet was a brass plaque (see photo) that said “Brad Pitt pissed here”…. See not snooty at all ! Naturally I had to peek into the other stalls and found that Cameron Diaz and Jacques Chirac had also pissed there ! So much for formality. I expect to return again to see a brass plaque stating “that “Fern Tiger pissed here.”
But, while downstairs, I also checked out one of the private reception rooms and adjoining gardens and some other women who were also having brunch were looking around as well. They asked if I could take a photo of the three of them. I obliged and asked where they were from (since they were speaking American English). They said “California”.. I said “Me too, where ?” and they replied “Bay Area”.. I said “Me too, where specifically ?” And they said “Oakland.” That was pretty serendipitous,. But it got even more so. Turned out that the three women are long time friends and I think have similar age children who are also friends. One of the kids was doing a semester abroad in Paris and the mother came to visit. The other moms and their children came along for the ride and to have fun. One of the women turns out to be a developer or development consultant who works with nonprofits. Somehow it came up (all of this conversation is happening just outside these toilets) that I was married to an architect and the developer said “Oh I know all the architects in the Bay Area, who is he ?” I said Mike’s name and of course she knew him and has done some projects with his firm. Eagerly, she came upstairs to the restaurant to say hi to Mike (see photo) which she had someone at her table take. Small world ?? Then she asked for my email so she could send the photo to me (not sure why she didn’t get Mike’s email and send it directly to him). Anyway, once I gave my name she said… “Oh I know about you and I think you are on my database.” (Whatever database that is) I really don’t know who she is. But it got even more crazy. The women asked if we were only going to be in Paris or if we were traveling. When I said we were headed to Bulgaria, one of them has a good friend married to a Bulgarian and is reaching out to get restaurant recommendations for us.
After that episode we walked in the rain (no umbrellas, only hoods) to see the sculpture of the man walking through the wall, which is also in Montmartre and just about two blocks from the Hotel Particulier. It’s by Jean Marais from the late 1980s. It’s based on a story written in the 1940s by Marcel Ayme and the location of the sculpture is on Place Marcel Ayme. The story (based on my quick research after seeing the sculpture) is about a man who finds that he can walk through walls. The hand that is sticking out from the wall is super shiny while the rest of the sculpture has aged and turned dark. This is due to the fact that so many people touch the hand. Perhaps, like Mike, they are trying to pull him out of the wall.
We continued our walk and found ourselves at the Musee de Montmartre… Those of you who know me, know I am not a big fan of museums and don’t like to spend a lot of time inside museums while traveling. But it was raining… Anyway, the Montmartre Museum is delightful, set in the charming 17th century house and grounds that was the residence over time for many artists, writers, and other creatives including Renoir, Dufy, and Suzanne Valadon. The permanent collection includes the story of Montmartre—from its days filled with mills and vineyards to the urbanization of the area and the annexation of the area into the city of Paris. Over the years this place became the hangout and residence for many artists and cafes and caberets and the population of Montmarte grew… and the area was seen as the bohemian part of Paris.
The museum has a large collection of the posters and actual publications of “Le Chat Noir” — a weekly literary magazine that included information about the nightclub of the same name and also political satire. The club became very popular and moved twice to larger quarters. The Salon of Incoherent Arts actually began at the club. All sorts of famous writers, poets, artists gathered at the club and also contributed to the journal. Neither the club nor the journal had much longevity (15 years ?). A side note— One of the Chat Noir posters is shown prominently in Breakfast at Tiffanys. Despite the rain (or because of it), we strolled around the museum/house.
And then we trekked back to the hotel… to get ready to have dinner. We (I) selected Chantoiseau which would have been a 15-minute walk (uphill) from our hotel. Alas, we wimped out and took a taxi since the rain wasn’t letting up. Chantoiseau is a small place with a very simple interior—maybe seats 30 ? Food was great and service matched. For the foodies—we started with oysters which came with some kind of vinaigrette and a tiny piece of kiwi sitting in each shell. The kiwi gave a little sweetness to the vinegar and the oysters were huge and perfect. We also had a second starter –-a sea bream carpaccio which came with some kind of a yogurt with very finely diced herbs and maybe cucumbers and pomegranate seeds… Whatever, it was truly fantastic. Then for main courses we shared the sweetbreads and an entrecote with baby vegetables. Everything was perfect. Since it was Mike’s birthday we didn’t pass on dessert—a lemon tart with some kind of lemon panna cotta (I think).
OK… that’s it. December 21 is over. On to the 22nd.
All the best-
Fern
PARIS DAY 2: Deuxième Jour
Greetings from Paris… in the wee hours—
Today we began our walking days… clocked in at about 15,000 steps and 12 floors. And I can feel it.
We headed to Sacre Coeur, the focal point of Montmartre—a basilica (don’t ask me what the differences are between a cathedral and a basilica and a church) located at the top of the hilly Montmartre neighborhood in the 9th ar. From the dome, which is about 200 meters above the Seine, the basilica overlooks the entire city of Paris and its suburbs. It’s a big attraction and the lines are often very long to get inside. Approaching the basilica is a bit like a circus with various mimes and hawkers selling everything from miniature basilicas to Eiffel Tower key chains, and then there are the singers and performers and those selling crepes on the street. In any case the interior is quite striking (although for me a bit too overrun with commercial signs “advertising” all sorts of events related to the church.
From what I was able to glean from the Internet, while waiting to enter Sacre Coeur, the basilica was first proposed in the late 1800s after the defeat of France and the capture of Napoleon in the Franco Prussian War. Apparently, Napoleon blamed his defeat on France’s moral decline and proposed the formation of a new church dedicated to the “sacred heart” of Jesus. The building was conceived before the outbreak of the Paris Commune, but it wasn’t constructed immediately. And since it was to be built at the highest point in the city, overlooking the area where the Paris Commune began, it remains for some, even today, controversial with politicians on the Left because it symbolizes the reactionary politics of the time.
We took a very circuitous route to get to Sacre Coeur – meandering through narrow alleys and cobblestone streets that are classic Montmartre. We stopped at one of the many Christmas markets, went to see several “passages,” and followed some of the street art that adorns many streets in the area. One big attraction seems to be a giant installation that covers one side of a large building. It’s systematically represents every written/spoken language using many different fonts and handwritten phrases—all of which translate to “I love you.” Being the “city of love” I suppose this is a logical statement. The place is filled with people taking selfies and photos with partners. We skipped the photo op but I did take lots of pictures of others taking pictures of themselves and their sweeties. A bit too schmaltzy for me… but I loved how much attention it got.
We also did a bit of window shopping. And we stopped at Halle Saint Pierre—a wonderful building that houses an art focused book store, a café, a gallery dedicated to “outsider art,” and more. We spent quite a bit of time there and came close to buying a few things, but then realized the difficulty of carrying the stuff back.
Oh, I should mention that we cheated a bit and took the funicular from the base of the church property to the three flights of steps leading to the entry. It’s a one- or two-minute ride. I actually love funiculars. Once we left Sacre Coeur we headed to see the oldest winery (very small) in Paris and that took us on another route back to the hotel where we needed to hustle to freshen up for dinner.
Tonight we headed to 404, a tagine/Moroccan food place that I really like and where I’ve gone numerous times on various visits here. Took the Metro which was quite efficient. The area where 404 is located—on a very narrow street—has lots of ethnic restaurants, all pretty small. We opted for the pastilla (which is a favorite ever since we were in Morocco) followed by a wonderful lamb and apricot tagine. Drank Moroccan wine… and ended with a simple orange salad.
Took the Metro back to the hotel using a different route, and here I am —finishing up this little memoir for today.
We will be in Montmartre for two more days and then we will move to the Saint Germain neighborhood—before heading to Geneva briefly and then on to Sofia. We also decided we would take the train on Christmas Day to Angouleme to have Christmas dinner with our niece and her family. The dinner will be at the home of Julia’s mother-in-law and there will be lots of people from Julien’s side of the family. On the 26th we will head to Geneva to see Mike’s sister-in-law. More on all of that as the days proceed.
Best –
Fern
Paris Day One December 2024
Greetings and Happy Holidays from Paris : Salutations et joyeuses fêtes
After a very hectic 6 weeks — NYC for a family event and to speak about my book at Pratt Institute (hosted by the School of Planning, the Art School, and the City of NY Cultural Affairs and Engagement Commission on November 11); 5 days in Mexico City on the annual girls trip, focused this year on Frida Kahlo; New York State (Columbia County) for the burial of my sister-in-law (a « green burial » in Rhinebeck NY; Thanksgiving ; the Book Launch Party in Oakland on December 4 ; and morew— we headed to Paris (and en route to Sofia, Bulgaria) for our pre-scheduled Christmas trip. It was not easy to finish Xmas shopping and packing, but we did it (sort of).
Flight was (fortunately) uneventful, but when we landed, somehow we got on the « all passport » line instead of the line that is for Brits, Americans, Canadians, Mexicans which moves very quickly. Our line was for passport holders from non-EU countries and not the four countried I just mentioned. I guess these other people needed visas or something and woulde re3quire more time. After not making any headway on our line, we decided to go all the way back to the beginning of the process and join that American/Brit, etc. line. Made it through very quickly once we did that. By then we were pretty exhausted and opted for a taxi instead of taking the train which is more our norm.
We arrived on a very grey, drizzly December afternoon. Haviing been to Paris many times, we opted to stay in the 9th arrondissement in Montmartre—an area we have never explored in depth. We’ll stay in Montmartre for four nights and then shift to the Saint Germain area where we have stayed numerous times. Anyway, we are at Hotel Rochechouart which looked better on the website than in person, but i twill be fine and is well located within the heart of the neighborhood. The building is from the 1920s and has a lovely Art Deco facade and an amazing rooftop (which in summer has a pretty buzzing bar) with views of both Sacre Couer and the Eifel Tower in the distance. Staff seems friendly and helpful, although when I asked if we could get BBC or any English news programs on the TV, the woman at the desk said «Perhaps this is a good time to practice your French ! » My French is at about the first grade level, having taken it in high school for just one year. So, perhaps in a good way, we will not be exposed to any news (other than on the phone) for a few days. Mostly, the problem with the hotel is that the rooms are painted in fairly dark colors and they are a bit dreary. Then again, we have a little terrace with good views. Tomorrow we will explore Montmartre as we « hike » to Sacre Couer through the winding streets of the neighborhood.
The sun broke through the clouds at about 3 :00 and everything seemed to brighten, as people emerged on the streets and later Christmas lights seemed to appear everywhere. We walked to a little bistro-like restuarant called Le Bon Georges, a few blocks from our hotel, for our 10 :00 pm reservation (When in Paris, eat when the Parisiennes eat !) Turned out to be a wonderful restaurant with a lot of locals and a very friendly and accommodating staff. Reading menus in another language is always challenging as they have all these descriptive words that are hard to figure out.
We ordered a really nice Pinotage from South Africa along with two starters : foie gras which came with wonderful toasted fruit breads (think apricots and raisins and almonds) and a delicate chutney on the side. The portion was huge. Given that it is illegal to sell foie gras in California (or so I believe) we decided to take advantage of the ease of getting it here in France. I don’t have any problem with the ban back home; in fact it made it ever more special to have it here. We followed that with a wonderful dressed green salad topped with (barely) hard-boiled eggs in a homemade mayonnaise. For the main course we opted for the pork (cochon) which was served in a mustard sauce with tiny lentils. We just couldn’t pass on dessert so we had the famous Paris Brest with almond paste and way too much wonderful cream. (By the way, we almost ordered the duck which sounded great, but the waiter kept reminding us that sometimes you find small pellets in the duck because it is so fresh and the gunshot might still be in the duck.)
We strolled back to the hotel and will call it a night, but first we need to go on line to make our third valiant attmpt to get tickets/reservation to get into Notre Dame. You can only book reservations two days prior to your desired dates and the tickets open up at midnight for the subsequent two days. We had trouble doing this from the states because of the time differences. But now we hop ewe can make it work.
Success ! We have reservations to get inside Notre Dame on Sunday at 2 :00. Not sure how long you’re permitted to stay inside. Guess, since the renovation is so new and its holiday time, lots of people are trying to get inside. It’s free, but you need the reservation or you have to wait in very long lines.
By the waym the photos inclulde Mike looking at the wine « list » which is a giant book ; the view fromn our terrace, Le Bon Georges from the outside and inside, and Sacre Couer from the rooftop of our hotel at about midnight.
All the best— More about Montmartre tomorrow.
Fern
Traveling Stateside
Greetings
Hope you are well and vaccinated!
So, I rarely write my travel blog when I’m traveling within the US, but given the dearth of travel over the past 18 months (maybe it’s 19 already?), just going to the east coast seems exotic and even daring! Thus, I am sending this little series of travel notes to my regular readers. As usual, don’t feel obliged to read it… I’m fine if you just toss it; we all get way too many emails.
I’m on a little “vacation” — about 4 days in DC and 4 days in NY, places I know fairly well having traveled to DC many, many times and having grown up in NY and returned many times a year since relocating. Still, the whole idea of getting on a plane and being in different surroundings seemed both comforting and also scary. This from a veteran traveler who’s been to more than 65 countries. This was only my second cross country trip since Covid. But the timing was good; I just finished two large, complex, multi-year projects and was ready for a break.
I’m traveling with my friend Carol from LA (whom I’ve known since graduate school — and I’m not revealing how long ago that was). Carol and I have developed a routine of traveling somewhere every year (Santa Fe, Marfa, Montreal, Provence, Amsterdam, etc.), but naturally we missed last year (supposed to be travel to Scandinavia). It’s generally Carol’s choice as to the location since I’ve been to many more places and am happy to revisit the good ones. Given the Covid situation we decided to stay stateside this year, although this December Mike and I will hopefully be traveling overseas.
Arrived in DC on Friday night (October 22) and met up at the airport. Miraculously our two flights arrived within 15 minutes of one another, were both on time, and were at neighboring gates. How’s that for planning? And luck?
We chose The Line Hotel in the Adams Morgan neighborhood which has certainly become a very buzzing place since the last time I visited. My room has a distant view of the Washington Monument! We were hungry and it was already about 11:00 pm… Every place we checked out within a three block radius was closing the food options. We were getting kind of desperate and then stumbled on a taco place.. So tacos it would be. As it turned out Taqueria Al Lado was great… margaritas, mojitos, tetillas, aguachiles, and ceviche… and great beers. So we satisfied our hunger in a really upbeat place with great people’s art on the walls – focused on Trump as a clown!
Saturday, October 23
Started the day with breakfast at the Line… which was surprisingly good and quick, since we had a busy day ahead of us.. Took the Metro to the Hirshhorn Museum to see the Laurie Anderson show which was quite striking g and political. While most of the pieces (mostly full room installations and experiential) were memorable – one stood out above the others: “Habeas Corpus.” It occupies an entire room and seated in a corner is an oversized three dimensional “white chair” on which Mohammed el Gharani, the youngest detainee at Guantanamo Bay “sits” most of the time and tells his story in his own voice. In reality he is on film that is projected onto the chair so realistically you believe he is sitting there. Gharani is Chadian raised in Saudi Arabia, and after the September 11th attacks, he was sent to Guantánamo and held and tortured for more than seven years. Authorities said he had belonged to a London-based Al Qaeda cell, but in reality he had never been to London and was only fourteen when he was arrested. In 2009, an American judge ruled that the allegations against Gharani were baseless, and he was released. We also spent some time at the Duchamp exhibit which was small but good.
While I thought the content and execution of Anderson’s show was great, my personal feeling is that it should be out on streets and not made precious by being inside a museum… but that’s a long story that ties to my basic dislike of museums as pedestals for art and for making art both precious and unreachable— and therefore negating whatever political message might have been part of the intent. Sure the Hirschhorn is free, so you could argue that the works are approachable; but a quick glance at who is inside the museum makes it clear that not everyone feels welcome in these kind of institutions. I didn’t see a single person of color at the museum. Then again, most are living the situations Anderson raises in her work, so no need to see it in a series of rooms.
From the Hirschhorn, we walked around the city, through the mall (Carol had not really been to DC much so we hit up some major sites) and ultimately decided to stop for a prosecco and a snack at the Willard Hotel… where we watched the town go by and watched a series of very upscale Washingtonians arrive for a very expensive and formal wedding reception. Like many of you (I assume), I always believed the story that the term “lobbyist” was coined at the Willard because President Grant would come by the hotel lobby for a brandy and a cigar and he was always besieged by people who wanted some sort of legislation.. Thus he called them “lobbyists.” Well, according to the information at the hotel the term was used well before Grant… but the reality remains that Grant would spend time in the lobby and that people would ask for favors.
I also realized that while I’ve been to DC many, many times, I’m usually there for meetings, work, etc. and sometimes add an extra day, I’ve never been a “tourist” in DC… so I’ve been looking forward to this.
Following our delightful time at the Willard, we went back to the hotel to freshen up and off we went to Tail Up Goat – a neighborhood restaurant with a Mediterranean menu. Food was fantastic.. We opted for all small plates: scallop crudo with watermelon radish and apples; baby honeynut squash with some kind of dill yogurt and chili crunch; duck breast with charred cabbage which had mint and sumac glaze; pork anglotti with rutabaga and rosemary. Given that we had walked about 6 miles, we determined we deserved dessert (a really good decision – some kind of toasted corn cake with paw paw custard and madera wine). We strolled back to the hotel… A good first day.
Sunday, October 24
Following a quick breakfast at the Line, we taxied to the African American Museum where we had reserved tickets for early entry. The taxi ride began a series of conversations with predominantly Ethiopian drivers who are happy to chat if you start the conversations. We learned that they really don’t like Virginia drivers whom they feel don’t understand cities and drive like the suburbanites they are. They also feel DC is very calm now with Biden – no big demonstrations and “no craziness” as they stated they experienced every day with Trump in DC. With Biden, they feel he is “sleeping” all the time, but they prefer it this way. The museum is quite wonderful with an enormous number of exhibits that range from cultural to political to historical to food, culture, music, theater, and more.
My only disappointment was that there wasn’t more effort to make the museum more interactive and to force visitors to immerse themselves in the culture as well as the reality of daily life..
From the museum we walked to a little nonprofit restaurant called Immigrant food where we had wonderful shakshuka and salads.
Then it was on to Black Lives Matter Plaza, passing the White House and other official buildings… and then on to Planet Word – a very sweet small museum that focuses on the history of language with very creative and participatory exhibits. The elevator is totally book lined. (In one of the photos below, we are inside the elevator.)
According to my exercise app, we are averaging between 6 and 10 miles per day walking.
Coming next… the remainder of the Washington DC part of the trip. We are well and having a great time.
Fern
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Baku, Azerbaijan. Final Travel Note. 1/15/20
Greetings from Baku
Woke up to a really cold and overcast day, with rain pending.
We actually got up very very early (4:00 am) to watch the Democratic Debate – which was interesting, especially from this distance and as we transition home to face the realities of American politics. I’ll hold my opinions on the performances for the moment.
Decided to take a taxi to the trio of Flame Towers – which we see not only from our hotel room window, but also as a backdrop to nearly every part of the city — as they tower above the city because of their height and location at the top of a hill. It’s a love/hate relationship, I assume. The tallest of the three towers is about 600 ft tall. They symbolize flame/fire which is central to Zoroastrianism (fire worship) which has roots in Azerbaijan. One can love the amazing light show it projects nightly and some might even like the architecture; but it comes about because of the narrow distribution of wealth and is an homage to wealth and corporate power. Anyway, given the inclement weather, we figured this would be a good thing to see from the inside.
As it turns out only one tower is occupied by the very luxurious Fairmont Hotel (whose lobby was filled with women in very elegant burkas and hijabs), and makes the Four Seasons look like a hovel. The other two towers are unoccupied, although recently a Lamborghini showroom opened on the ground level of one of the two empty buildings. One building is intended to be residential (but I get the sense that marketing may not be going so well) and the other will be commercial (offices). As of now they are just canvases for the nightly light shows. Once inside the lobby with its soaring 50’ ceiling height, we went to the concierge and asked if we could get to the top floor. We thought there might be a bar or restaurant, but those services are on the lobby level. We explained our professional interest (aargh!) and a young bellman standing near the desk then said something to the concierge and then told us that he would take us up to the top floor to see the view (and also show us the luxurious suite — $1,000 per day – on that top floor from which we would get really good views), just in case on a return trip we might decide to book that suite!
And up we went.. stepping out of the elevator to an amazing view of the whole city (we could see our hotel and the entire old city), including parts we had not yet visited. The young guy is a film student and wants to create action movies (!!) and loves American film and the US. He spent quite a bit of time with us. We found out that the buildings took three years to build and cost $350 million, which is incredibly cheap compared to what it would cost to construct in the US. From this vantage point we could also see the Carpet Museum (whose design looks like a rolled up carpet in section) and the Music Museum which are both located close to the sea — a rambling walk downhill through a series of parks from the Fairmont to the Caspian Sea. Given the weather we thought we might visit; we were told we could take a “cable car” from just across from the Hotel all the way to the museum… Turns out it is a funicular.. so we navigated crossing the street to the funicular station (which I think was probably funded by the Fairmont since its logo is on the entryway. Naturally, when we got to the entry of the funicular, it was closed for lunch so we hung around—checked out the Turkish mosque. Another man was waiting for the funicular; he was visiting from Pakistan (he carried a selfie stick and took nonstop photos – including one with us and one with him and Mike).
The funicular was spanking new and delivered us practically to the doorstep of the Carpet Museum, which turned out to be far more interesting than we anticipated. We also encountered a very cute school group of 2nd graders (I’m guessing) who had never before been on an escalator… It was delightful to watch the teachers explain how to use the escalator and to see the kids excitedly try it out. Kids wore school uniforms. After scoping out the museum, we were headed to the music museum but it began to rain and got very windy, so we ducked into the museum for a quick lunch (soup) and then decided it was best to head back to the hotel to pack. By then we were pretty beat and decided to cancel our dinner reservations (would have had to walk in the rain and wind) and just eat at the hotel so we could get an early start tomorrow to get to the Baku Airport.
With regards from a city that can mix oil money wealth with 12th Century ruins and carpets with cuisines…. From a totally unfamiliar language to incredible hospitality and politeness.. from underground passageways and walkability… from restrictive politics and gleaming new buildings… from a new law that enables the president to have an unprecedented number of terms of office… Good-bye Baku; Good-bye Azerbaijan.. we had but a glimpse of the best of you.
So this is the end of our trip and of my notes to you. We leave in the morning.. homeward bound…. Via Istanbul and Frankfurt.. and eventually SFO.
Take care. See you stateside.
Fern
Baku. January 14, 2020
Greetings from Baku Azerbaijan –
And just like that the Christmas decorations (all Santa Claus, no religious symbols) all around town and in the hotel as well, disappeared and it was Spring and flowers. And just like that, our days in Baku and in Central Asia are coming to an end. Tomorrow.
Today was a beautiful sunny day in Baku; we walked for hours in the old city (a UNESCO heritage site) with buildings dating to the 12th Century (and some saying as early as the 9th Century). In 1806, when Baku was occupied by the Russian Empire there were as many as 500 households living in what is now known as the walled “Old City”… In the early part of the 19th Century, the walls were repaired and those who lived within the walls of the old city were considered to be natives of Baku. They lived close to the bazaar and to the mosques. When the Russians came, many European style buildings were constructed and Baroque and Gothic buildings were created. Today, the Old City is home to about 1000 residents and the location of many delightful restaurants, shops, and cobblestone walking streets.
We had breakfast at a local place called Qanisi (I should mention that Azerbaijanis would easily win at Scrabble since they have so many words that start with the letter “q” and don’t require the letter “u”… The old city is a cacophony of winding narrow and curving stone and cobblestone streets, alleys, and stairs that lead to houses, squares, and important spaces. The original footprint of the city is several centuries old, but the Russo-European architecture of the 19th Century definitely impacted the sense of the old center.
We strolled and strolled (my foot seems to be a little better, but I’m still a bit hesitant on the uneven pavement and steps) and wound up at the Museum of Miniature Books – which houses a collection of more than 3,000 tiny, tiny books – some of which are as small as 1” x 1”. They have little books from all over the world including the Communist Manifesto and the Bible. They have a whole section of dozens of books about 1.5” x 1.5” of Lenin’s work in many different languages. Most are bound as books while a few are single sheet folded accordions – obviously to my liking!
We eventually stopped for tea (getting to be a tradition) which came with what was called “jam” but is really chunks of fruit that have been candied or gelled. We had watermelon. A bit too sweet for us, but we ate enough not to be embarrassed or to insult the owner of the tea shop.
We then wandered to find Abad… a shop we had heard about that is government-run and sells crafts that are made throughout the country. The young guy who is cashier was most excited to learn we were Americans as he hopes to attend Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), but worries about a visa. Again, we heard that America was great, and he, too, wanted to go into aerospace engineering and work for NASA. We bought a few things and then stopped at the hotel to drop off the bag… and headed to the waterfront which is across a big boulevard from the Four Seasons. You get there through a very modern underground tunnel with escalators and marble floors. Again, no trash, no graffiti, not even a cigarette butt. And with people constantly sweeping whatever little remnants might have dropped. It’s a grand walking boulevard that edges the Caspian Sea. No cars, pedestrian only. With an area for skating and skateboarders. We strolled for about a mile and reversed our path.
We then headed to Mugam Club for dinner.. a delightful place located within a 16th Century building that we believe was a caravansary – now a restaurant with lots of little rooms that come off a main space that is really a courtyard but which has been glazed over. For the foodies… we started with something called eggplant Langham (stuffed small eggplants – stuffed with the meat of the eggplant ground with nuts and pomegranate) and some kind of dolmas made with pistachio leaves instead of grape leaves. Both were very tasty and served with wonderful local bread. We then had two main courses.. a rice pilaf with chicken and apricots… and a lamb shish-kebab. Everything was wonderful except the lamb. We tried desperately to explain that we didn’t want the meat over cooked and wanted it to be “red” (rare), but maybe they thought we meant to be sure to cook it so that it was not rare. Anyway, the lamb was leathery. We should have learned by now that it is very difficult to order meat unless it is within a dish that has other items and is sort of stewed. Otherwise it always comes over-cooked. We had a nice local wine and then some mint tea.
Baku is truly a symbol of successful development for Baku’s wealthy elite. Our brief foray into a neighborhood outside the center showed that those living away from the core are no where near as comfortable as those within the core. And I imagine that those residing in rural areas are living well below the level of those in Baku. From what we’ve read, there is a lot of corruption and the current president (son of the former president), Aliyev and his family are billionaires, owning many companies in Azerbaijan as well as in Dubai. Thus, it appears that power is held in the hands of a few and those connected to that small group. I’m not an expert on Central Asia so this is really all I can say. I’m sure that given the location of the country bordered by Georgia, Armenia (with which it has a fairly adversarial relationship), and Iran – make it a complicated political struggle.
That’s it for today; one more posting tomorrow and that’s a wrap.
Fern
Fern's Travel Notes 