From Dehillerin to Darty

Or: From the Sublime to the Prosaic

Saturday, September 22. For those of you who have actually been reading this, I finally managed to upload some pictures. If you look down the list of posts on the right, the third or fourth one down from this post is labeled "Photos of Paris Apartment." I started it a couple of days ago when I was working on the uploading bit and although I "published" it yesterday, it keeps the date that I started the draft so it's further down in the line-up.

Dehillerin. My friends Alison and Gene are in Paris for a few days with their friends, Linda and David. I peel out this morning to meet Alison and Linda at E. Dehillerin, the most amazing kitchen store I have ever been in. I've walked by it so many times and never gone in. I'm so glad Alison and Linda "dragged" me there. It's in the neighborhood of Les Halles, and has been there since 1820, so obviously its location was determined by the central food market (now moved outside the city). It's basically a professional cook or restaurant supply store, with everything from A to Z and in every size you can imagine, from giant pots to tiny petit fours molds. A ladle so large the bowl would fit over your head. Long wooden paddles as tall as I am. Whisks that are 60 cm in diameter. Rolling pins and meat pounders that could easily serve as murder weapons (I've been reading too many Inspector Lynley novels!). Right and left handed peelers. Hundreds upon hundreds of pot and pans in every possible material: copper, stainless steel etc. Thousands of bowls, molds, strainers, quiche pans, knives for every possible purpose. It was staggering. I buy a small plate, a small knife, and a peeler (un eplucher), all things my apt lacks. New vocab: a funnel is un etonnoir.

Noted on walk to Dehillerin:
-a new Velib stand is in the process of being installed near St Eustace
-a bike tour being led by a person holding an umbrella (r. Rambuteau)

Angelina. We walk down to r. de Rivoli and to what is one of Gene's favorite restaurants in Paris: Angelina. It's a great place for lunch, and not horribly expensive despite its location. Alison and Linda have the croque monsieur (better here than anywhere else, they say), Gene has the quiche and David and I have "salads," if such can be described with such an inadequate word. David has the Assiette Angelina, and I have the Salade du Potager with a boiled egg, carrots, cucumbers, parmesan cheese, haricot verts, but it's so perfectly done. The carrots have been cut into long spirals. Alison and Gene leave to catch the train to Giverny, but Linda, David and I stay for dessert. Linda has the tarte aux figues, David has something called Opera, and I have a Paris Brest. Excellent! Thank you, Alison and Gene, for such a treat.

L'Orangerie. After stopping in a terrific bookstore on r. du Rivoli (Galignani), Linda, David and I walk through the Tuileries Garden to L'Orangerie, home of Monet's famous Nympheades. The Orangerie has recently opened again after an extensive renovation and is stunning. When I first saw the water lilies in the 60s, it felt as though they were underground. The oval rooms that they are in had been covered over by an exhibition space on the floor above. Now the exhibition space is below the ground floor, and the oval rooms are open to the sky (although the skylights curve inwards as they rise to the center so as to keep out any direct sun). The bottom of the skylights are covered with a scrim-like fabric that filters the light coming through. It's amazing. Also in the Orangerie is a permanent exhibit of the collection of Paul Guillaume, which is a story in itself. More on that later. But the pictures in the collection are superb and definitely worth visiting. After spending a few minutes in the bookstore, I take the Metro from the Place de la Concorde (a place I never tire of seeing) to Hotel de Ville and back to apt to rest.

A Spin on Text Messaging. At about 5:30 my phone rings. When I pick it up, I hear a voice telling me (in French) that I have a text message from 01-xx-xx-xx-xx. Then the voice says "Tu peux prendre le Metro maintenant et je te rencontre a Chateau de Vincennes." It's from Adrian, letting me know that I should take the Metro now and he will meet me at the Chateau de Vincennes metro stop (we had discussed these plans earlier so I was expecting to hear from him). This is the coolest thing: you can send text messages to regular telephones, and an automated voice (a very nice woman) "reads" them to you!

Chateau de Vincennes. I emerge from the Metro right smack in front of the Chateau de Vincennes, and it's beautiful. While I'm waiting for Adrian, I sit in the fading sunlight on a bench in front of the chateau. I want to come back to visit it. There's a cool donjon and a chapel called Saint Chappelle that looks not unlike the one on the Ile de la Cite. Vincennes is a lovely suburb of Paris.

Darty and the French Mall. Adrian picks me up and we drive through the banlieu to a French mall where there is a big store called Darty, sort of the French equivalent of Circuit City or Best Buy. They have all kind of electronic stuff, including digital cameras. To make a long story short, I buy a Canon Power Shot A550, for which I'm sure I've paid more than I would have in the States, primarily because of the VAT. Fortunately, I can get the tax back when I leave the country. Needless to say, I could not have concluded this transaction (at least in terms of understanding the features of the different cameras) without Adrian and his fluent French!

The mall is anchored by a Galleries Lafayette and a BHV (two big French department stores) and I don't notice any American shops. However, I have the same reaction to this mall that I do to any other mall: I can't get out of there fast enough! Malls give me a real sense of physical malaise. But here's one good thing: There's a "Paul" in the Mall!

Fontenay-sous-Bois and Vincennes. Adrian takes me to see his apartment in Fontenay-sous-Bois, and we have a walking tour of his neighborhood which is very close to Vincennes. He has a cute little apt in a lovely building. I take the Metro back to Hotel de Ville and home.
Pedometer for the whole day: 14,226.

Postscript: I've discovered the secret to riding the bus around Paris. First, you pick up something called the Guide des Autobus Parisiens which I did yesterday at the big Monoprix on the Place des Fetes. After that, it's a slam dunk. :) Each bus route is on a different page so it's really easy to figure out. Now I just have to do it sometime.

Second Postscript: Marcel Marceau died today in Cahors, France, at age 84. A great artist who spread incredible joy.