The Halfway Mark

Wednesday, October 10. (3:50 a.m.) Today marks the halfway point of my sojourn in Paris. After today, I will be heading towards home. But it's great to think that I still have as much time left as I have already had, and I feel as though I have done a lot!

Laduree. Friends Richard and Jay from Los Angeles are in Paris and have rented a car. They pick me up on r. de Rivoli at the Place de l'Hotel de Ville and we head to the 6th. We park in front of Deux Magots. Although we are on our way to something else, Jay first wants to show me the macaroons at Laduree. Since I have become completely addicted to macaroons since I've been here this time, I'm more than willing! (BTW, the Paris version of a macaroon is nothing like what we generally think of as a macaroon in the US.) This is a great place with the most delicious looking pastries I've seen and a British colonial tearoom.

Musee Maillol. We continue down r. Jacob to r. des Saints Peres to the r. Grenelle in the 7th and the Musee Maillol. This small museum was established by the Fondation Dina Vierny. Dina was, from the age of about 16, the muse of Aristide Maillol (1861-1944), an established painter and sculptor who at the time they met was 73. This relationship continued for about ten years until his death at age 83 in an auto accident. Some of his sculptures are in the Jardin des Tuileries and there's a large collection of his work here.

Weegee. The museum is currently showing an exhibit of photogaphs by an American photographer known as Weegee (Usher Arthur Fellig). Although I didn't recognize his name, a lot of his photographs are iconic. He is, according to the exhibition, the "archetype of the 20th-century news photographer." He grew up on the Lower East Side of New York City and spent his professional life highlighting the poverty, the racial discrimination, the brutality of his native city.

Les Deux Magots. We continue our walk through 7th down r. du Bac to r. Babylone. All of these streets have fabulous boutiques; it's a great shopping area. From Babylone, we head up r. de Sevres to the r. de Rennes and back to Les Deux Magots for lunch. This is a historic, elegant and literary (if touristy) cafe in a wonderful location. I have an omelette and salad, and Jay and Richard each have the chevre on pain Poilane, which looks fabulous. We are seated on the "terrace" in the square facing the church of St Germain des Pres, and the sun is shining on us. We decide we could sit here for a long time, and we do. After a rainy and chilly morning, it is now absolutely beautiful with a bright blue sky.

I've always wondered about the name "deux magots" and discover, on the back of the menu, there's a little history of the name and the cafe. Apparently, there was a store on this site before the cafe, and it was called Les Deux Magots after two statues that sat in front. The statues can still be seen in the interior dining room and look kind of like two Chinese wise men, although my French dictionary says that "magot" means a kind of monkey without a tail. The two statues, in profile, are the logo of the cafe.

Musee Delacroix. We finally tear ourselves away from the sunshine and wander up the r. de l'Abbaye to the little r. Furstenberg and the tiny Musee Delacroix. This is a lovely little oasis from the city and was his last residence in Paris. Delacroix (1798-1863) moved here in 1857 so he could be closer to the work he was doing at Saint Sulpice (he was supervising the decoration of a chapel) and had an atelier and a garden built. He died in the bedroom of this apartment. The museum is in the very rooms in which he lived and is a little gem.

Amorino. We continue our gastronomic tour of the 6th by having ice cream at Amorino. This is wonderful Italian gelato (although I still feel loyal to Bertillon!); you can pick out as many flavors as you like, and they hand you an ice cream cone that looks like a flower with different colored petals.

Mariage Freres. Richard and Jay are determined to introduce me to all of their favorite grazing spots so our next stop (after wandering around r. de Buci and r. Christine) is the Mariage Freres tearoom. This is a wonderland of tea paraphernalia, including some of the most unusual and creative tea pots I have ever seen. We have tea (what else?) in the upstairs tearoom (more British colonial decor!), and since it's almost 5:00 p.m. by now, we choose the Five o clock Tea, with scones naturally.

After this, we waddle back to the car. I feel like one of the geese that has been force fed to make foie gras. I have no idea how I am going to be able to eat dinner tonight. On the way back to The Marais, we have a wonderful driving tour of Ile St Louis, which is without a doubt one of the most exquisite places on earth, taken as a whole. I go back to my apt to rest and to allow disgestive tract to expand.

Dinner at L'Avant Gout. At about 8 p.m., we pick up Richard's friend Vanina at the Place de la Republique for dinner at L'Avant Gout in the 13th, right next to the Butte-aux Cailles. I have two entrees (this means small plates) for dinner: salade verte and the foie gras with vanilla. After dinner, we walk around the Butte to work off a few calories! This whole day was a wonderful way to celebrate my half-way point in Paris. :)

I think I've figured out the time situation on the blog - it was set to Pacific Time. So I've switched it to French Time (GMT + 1:00). Pedometer: 9,658. Cloudy and cool in the morning. By mid-afternoon, it was gorgeous.