Sunday, October 7. When I fell asleep last night at about 1 a.m., the merry-making was still going strong, the trashcans were filled to overflowing, lots of cans, bottles, paper littering the streets as well as the Place de l'Hotel de Ville. This morning, when I get up at about 8:30, the streets are wet from having been washed, the trashcans have been emptied and new plastic bags put in them, almost all the litter is gone, and soon after, I hear the street sweeper going by to pick up the last little bits.
I take the Metro to Place de Clichy to continue my exploration of unfamiliar Paris quartiers. Part of this Metro line is above ground so I have quick glimpses of Le Basin de la Villette and Sacre Coeur. As I'm chugging along in one of the Metro tunnels, casually reading les affiches, what do I see? At the Salle Pleyel (a major classical concert venue in Paris), as part of its jazz series, on March 7, 2008, is West Hartford's own Brad Meldau Trio!
Les Batignolles and Monceau: From one side of the railroad tracks to the other - literally. The railroad lines emanating from the Gare St Lazare divide the 17th arrondisement into two very different worlds: Les Batignolles in the eastern part, and Monceau in the west. Les Batignolles is definitely working-class and ethnic, home of artisans and younger families, whereas Monceau is the "beau quartier" with its luxurious "hotels particuliers."
Les Batignolles has a real diversity of architecture, from a few very old buildings through the end of the 19th c. and on into the early years of the 20th c (Art Deco and Art Nouveau). It is a very colorful, albeit somewhat commercial, neighborhood. A lot of it is on the shabby side but then there will be a very elegant building such as 5, r. Helene. Gorgeous. So it's hard to figure out. There are a few little pockets of real charm: the Cour Saint-Pierre and the Cite Lemercier (I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get into the Cite Lemercier because there's a door with a digicode but two people were coming out as I was standing out front and held the door open for me!)
In the Place Baret, I stumble across what appears to be the typical Sunday market but in fact turns out to be a jam festival, and I'm not talking about jazz. About 15 local and regional (all French) producers of confiture have their wares on display. After tasting many (!), I buy one jar of Confiture de Mirabelle (mirabelle is a little yellow plum) and another tiny jar of carmelized apple jam (flavored like a Tarte Tatin). The problem with jam is that it is very heavy so I'm limited in my purchases. Quelle dommage! But I'm so pleased to have happened upon this - it's only this weekend, so I was very lucky. I talk to a few of the vendors and have a great conversation with one who is selling "a meter of jam." That would be however many jars of jam (I didn't count) piled up to equal one meter, wrapped in cellophane with a strip of wood about 3" wide that says "1 metre de confiture." You can also buy a 1/2 meter if you don't need a whole meter! He tells me that his jam is carried by a shop in Oakland, California, but I tell him that it would be as easy for me to carry it home from France as from California. One meter of jam is VERY heavy! Once he realizes I'm American, he starts speaking English but I just keep right on speaking French. This is my new approach. People can speak English to me all they want, but I'm not answering! I've realized that people just love showing off their English. OK, fine, I'll show off my French. :)
I continue down the r. des Batignolles to the Square des Batignolles which is a lovely park. Lots of families out with children, feeding the ducks. The park has winding paths, little wooded areas, little streams that channel into a pond, and lots and lots of water fowl of various sorts. One duck is off in a corner by himself, taking a bath, dabbling, grooming, dabbling, grooming, shaking his feathers, spreading his wings, and then doing it all over again. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear he has OCD.
I cross over the railroad tracks on the r. Cardinet, then hang a left onto the r. Levis, which is a very interesting commercial street, great place to shop. Magali is a fantastic chocolatier. Lots of little shops with children's clothing. I turn left at the Place de Levis and one block later, at the intersection of r. de Toqueville, it's suddenly another world. I head straight down the r. Legendre to the Parc Monceau, passing among other things, the amazing Hotel Gaillard, now a branch of the Banque de France. Once I reach the Parc Monceau, I'm officially out of the 17th and into the 8th arrondisement. I stroll around the park for a while, then head out toward Avenue Hoche and the Arc de Triomphe. Hop on the Metro at Etoile and back to Hotel de Ville.
Noted on walk:
-Librarie de Paris at Place de Clichy. NB: A battle was waged against the Cossacks here in 1814 (so says one of the Histoire de Paris plaques).
-Amusing encounter in the Parc Monceau: c'est le Champs-Elysees! I'll explain this later.
On ne badine pas avec l'amour: When I was at the Theatre Espace Marais on Friday night, I noticed that the Atelier was also doing this play by Alfred de Musset (1810-1857). So I found the entire text online, in French, and read the whole thing Saturday night. It is much easier to read than Moliere! So I decided to go to the late afternoon performance today. It was definitely more of a workshop production than Le Misanthrope. Actors with less range/experience. Plus it is not an easy play to do. Kind of a dramatic proverb. It would take serious actors to make you feel any sorrow at the end; otherwise, you just feel like the characters get what they deserve. The hero and heroine are not sympathetic characters, a mon avis. It's a pretty depressing story about relationships between men and women, and not flattering to either sex. Musset wrote this play following his torrid love affair with Georges Sand (she fell in love with another man), so perhaps that accounts for this sorrowful tale!
Walking home, I stop to have dinner at Le Bistrot de la Place at the Place du Marche de Saint Catherine. Meet three Canadians who are sitting at the table next to me: Ellen, Heather and Megan. Cuisse de canard confit, salade, pommes de terre. We share four desserts because none of us can decide: chocolate amer gateau avec creme anglaise, tiramisu (house specialty), creme brulee, and prunes with orange rind !!
Rugby report: South Africa beat Fiji today and Argentina beat Scotland so it will be South Africa v. Argentina and England v. France in the semi finals. The England/France game is on the 13th, and the game takes place in Paris (Saint Denis) so that should be quite the event.
Pedometer: 10443 Weather: another beautiful crystal clear autumn day, mid-to-high 60s.
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