Hier et Aujourd'hui

Well, here it is... my favorite restaurant in Paris -- Hier et Aujourd'hui

It is out on the edges of the 17ième arrondissement but worth the trip! Pudlow Paris, a restaurant guide listed this restaurant as "Best Value for Money" in the 2007-2008 edition. It allowed that Franck Dervin was trained under Guy Savoy and Alain Dutournier and has a fresh, sharp and precise menu changing daily. Franck and his wife Karin Ouet handle every aspect of this dining experience... Hungry for Paris featured this as one of its 100 reviewed restaurants.

We have been making the trek out to our favorite restaurant to see our dear friends since 2007, and most trips we go for lunch and also for a dinner. If you go, please tell them that Genie sends greetings... Oh, and be sure to call ahead as reservations are necessary.

Hier et Aujourd'hui
145, rue de Saussure
Métro Wagram (not Villiers)

Église Sainte-François de Sales

Rue Brémontier in the 17ieme is one of the streets between the Metro Wagram and our favorite restaurant in Paris. We recognize familiar landmarks along the way and Église Sainte-François de Sales assures us that we are headed in the right direction. When I was introducing Marie and Virginia to Franck and Karin last June, we stopped for photos in and outside this neighborhood church.

Bon dimanche!

Ready, Aim... Fire!

Well, it was an overcast, cold day...

This was just for pretend!

Les Invalides
Rue de Grenelle

Zoom-zoom - rouge

This little number may be all over Europe, but this was the first time for me... BMW, rouge, sleek... It had it all

Want to go for a spin?





You may remember the brightly-colored cafe cups I posted on January 15th... Well a talented painter asked to use the photo as inspiration for one of her original pieces... When I saw it all I could say is "Wow!" Carol Schiff Studio has amazing paintings, many with the impressionists style that I adore. Mille mercis, Carol!

Carrousel VI -- Place Prosper Goubaux

Rain mixed with snow did not dampen the enthusiasm for riding this carrousel, found in the 17ième arrondissement, next to Métro Villiers... The children were with parents and grandparents on this Saturday afternoon.

I do not have a name for this carrousel, but with the help of some friends I have begun to notice the rotation of the merry-go-rounds. This one is counter-clockwise and you can take a look at the others I have featured: here, here, here, here, and here. It is said that the German mechanisms, often found in the Paris carrousels, were patented to run counter-clockwise while those in the United States usually rotate clockwise. The jury is still out on this... more research to come.

Un-named carrousel

Boulevard de Courcelles and

Rue de Miromesnil

Place Prosper Goubaux

Escalier en spirale

This Chambered Nautilus of a staircase with the worn marble steps is found in Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BnF) on Rue de Richelieu. Built in 1868, the library held the largest collection of books in the world by the turn of the 20th Century. The elegant grand staircase is in another section of this enormous library complex.

On another day I will post the "forbidden photographs" taken as Peter (of Peter's Paris) kept watch...

Bibliothèque National de France - Richelieu
5, rue Vivienne

Beaux-Arts - Palais Garnier

This is one of my favorite buildings in Paris, the opulent home to Opéra national de Paris. A renovation started in 2000 is nearly complete on this exquisite building which was a part of the great Parisian reconstruction overseen by Baron Haussmann between 1862 and 1873. The difficulties during construction with underground springs and lakes became part of the lore and basis for Phantom of the Opera. Certainly the life taken when the great chandelier fell from the ceiling of the theatre was part of that story as well.

I have many photos to show you in future posts.

Galerie d'Art

As Holly and I were walking wearily back to our apartment in December, we found this chic art gallery on Rue Saint-Honoré...

Although I am not a window stylist, do you not think that this nude would have "presented" better had it been placed in front of the wall on the right rather than the wall on the left? I'm just saying....

Ah, c'est Paris!


Rue Saint-Honoré
Métro Louvre-Rivoli

Cathédral Notre Dame de Paris

It was a dark and stormy night...

But viewed from the east side, Notre Dame lights up the December Paris sky.

Bon dimanche

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Paris en hiver... Jardin des Tuileries

In December the Jardin des Tuileries was full of people braving the frigid weather. This photo was taken on the west end of the garden and you can see the Musée de l'Orangerie in the background. In posting this photo I could not decide between the color shot above or the black and white below. It seemed that there was barely any color at all in the top one... Which do you prefer, or neither?




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Marché aux Puces, St-Ouen III

Abundant treasures can be found at the Paris flea markets (Marché aux Puces). Whether you are hunting for a specific item or just wandering on a Saturday morning, the markets are a great venue for people-watching.


Marché aux Puces, St-Ouen
Porte de Clignancourt

Les Bouquinistes

Les bouquinistes or used book sellers are seen all along the quais, particularly near Notre Dame. They have been an installation along the Seine since the 1500s and are now regulated by the city of Paris. It is estimated that it takes 8 years on a waiting list to be assigned one of these dark green boxes renting for about 100 Euros per year. Although there are many keychains, magnets and postcards, the city requires a balance of books and souvenirs and that the "green shop" be open at least 4 days each week.

I do love old postcards and greeting cards and the quais are great places to stroll and shop.

Tourists? Who are these people?

This sculpture of a family appears outside Les Halles on the east side entrance to the underground shopping mall, the Métro, and the RER. In addition to this group is another singular man running and a dog...

Again, who are these people?

Corner of Pierre Lescot and Rambuteau

Les Halles

Answer:

o2 of Paris-ci, Paris-là solved the mystery for me in naming the artist Elisabeth Buffoli born in Nancy and living in Paris. The sculpture is named Les Touristes and there is no plaque with the artist's name near the site. They do look like tourists in less than a flattering portrayal, gawking at the unfamiliar.

French friend... la boulangère

Not far from Saint-Eustache, we happened in this boulangerie and met this sweet girl, French through and through, a native Parisienne. Who can say that the Parisians are not friendly?


We bought two warm sandwiches and fresh baguettes to share with Peter at our apartment and all was delish!

Backstage - Dress Rehearsal?

These Repetto tutus are ready to go, awaiting the ballerinas


Opera Garnier
Paris

Chaises - Église Saint-Eustache

Only three hours of sunshine during a December week... Where would you go for photos as the sun makes its appearance?

I was looking for shadows and think that the empty chairs at St-Eustache made a proper subject. Another photo here.

Bon dimanche

Chocolat chaud? Tu en veux?

Why does a stack of cups need to be photographed? I assure you that I do not know but the silly American took their photograph.

Can you see the name on the inside of the cups? "Cafés Richard" was founded by Henri Richard to offer the finest blends of coffee, roasted to perfection.

Café Étienne

14, rue de Turbigo

En hiver...

You do not see many full length fur coats on the streets in Paris...

She looked much warmer than I felt snapping this shot

Pâtisserie Hunt - Aoki

Each trip to Paris includes at least one "pâtisserie hunt" and our destination on this snowy day was Sadaharu Aoki. We wanted a single delicacy...

the tarte au caramel beurre salé. There was success in our purchase. We took it back to our apartment to devour in private, and it was out-of-this-world, melt in your mouth d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!

And because you can never leave a pâtisserie with only one item.... and who knows when you might ever get back... and we need to sample many macarons... (enough excuses?)


Two macarons, research of course... wasabi (!) and cassis
miam-miam!






Sadaharu Aoki, boutique Vaugirard
35, rue de Vaugirard

La Porte

While on a pâtisserie hunt in December during a soft snowstorm, we happened upon this beautiful old door with this interesting door-knocker. If I have 500 photos of café chairs, then I have 1,000 doors in Paris. Based on our June trip last year, I think that mon amie Marie has that many photos of blue doors alone... perfect!

Oh, and we found that little pâtisserie which I will show you tomorrow.

Chaises en orange et bleu...

Café chairs I have learned come in many colors and styles...

These are posted today for my Daddy, sister Cherie, my husband, and... bien sûr pour Virginia.

War Eagle! (Guerre aigle ou cri de guerre ou aigle de bataille)

Veggies - des Champignons?

With all the sweets and treats of the holidays, I have promised myself to eat more vegetables and foods that are healthy. Somehow, as lovely as these mushrooms look, I think that they might be marzipan... Does that still count as a vegetable? (miam-miam)

Stohrer
51, rue Montorgueil

Église Saint-Roch... Les Cierges

I never tire of seeing the candles in the magnificent churches of Paris or watching quietly the parishioners as they light une cierge. Saint-Roch was the first thing we saw every morning and the last that we saw each night from our apartment. The bells serve as a morning alarm clock reminding you not to miss a daylight moment of your time in Paris.

Previous posts on the snow-covered roof and the bells can be seen here and here.

Bon dimanche

Église Saint-Roch
Rue St. Roch et Rue St-Honoré

Père Lachaise - room with a view

Known as the "grandest address in Paris" this cemetery of over 100 acres is the final resting place of both the famous and the infamous. It is a great place to wander with a purpose, perhaps to find the tomb of Chopin and Delacroix, or to flâner the cobblestone paths admiring the beauty of times past. Maps are available at the front entrance gratuit if you want a purposeful search.

Cimetière du Père-Lachaise

Boulevard de Ménilmontant

Métro Père Lachaise, or
Métro Phillippe Auguste

Reflections on the Seine

Walking along Quai de Bourbon with an eye on the Seine, the clear sapphire sky made a nice contrast to the moss on Pont Marie. The water and lights provided a green-tinged reflection in the cold, dark river.

For more reflections look here at James' Newtown Area Photo.

Lagnaippe -- a story

I have never posted twice in the same day but this is a story which does relate to Epiphany, la galette des rois, and fèves. Do you remember the cake from Christmas Day with the petite manger scene on top (fèves anciens)? Here are photos of the characters and the original cake...

The Story:

Sunday when I was taking down all of Christmas and cleaning and throwing, etc., I got ready to toss the rest of the Jesus' Birthday cake and was missing a few pieces. Joseph had run away on the camel and left Mary, the angel and the little baby Jesus!!!! I asked DH about them, what did he do with the top of the cake that night he had some in the kitchen. He could not remember. Probably, he either threw it in the trash or down the disposal. I thought about it and figured that I would consider going through the garbage although I could not be sure which day all that cake eating had transpired...

Fortunately there was only one white garbage bag in the big trashcan... So, I sat down on the ground in the driveway and started moving the garbage to another fresh bag. I found...

• coffee filters with grounds x 2
• two pieces of mutilated pomegranate with lots of loose pomegranate seeds mixed in with the coffee grounds (yum)
• two diapers (fortunately no poop)
• the remains of whatever Mexican thing Son-in-Law ate
• the rinds of stinky cheese, French bien sûr
• lots of beer bottles (recycling?)
• two Champagne corks and wire
• lots of gooey cake and icing
• the stems from asparagus
• half-empty yogurt bottles
• empty orange juice carton
• wet newspapers and paper products
• Joseph and the camel! And they had taken the cow with them too!!!

Yay, me! I rescued all three although the camel will need a head re-attachment!

Moral to this story: If you are making pastries with treasured old fèves, do not leave them in/on the pastry beyond the presentation.

Footnote: Although I did not name the son-in-law, I have already shown his socks and underwear in an early post on my blog, so I am not sure that anonymity matters.

Janeen Koconis -- portrait of an artist and friend

Janeen is the propriétaire of the lovely apartment you saw on my recent post. She is a delightful former New Yorker who sold everything and moved to Paris three years ago with a few black t-shirts and jeans (and 200 books!) She created a thriving business called koco new york in 1989 the idea of which was "to bring meaning to the common greeting card and art into everyday life." She is both artist and author and her story sounds like a dream.

The apartment is exquisite and filled with her original art, much of which can be seen in the gallery exhibits on her website. She lives in the adjoining apartment and maintains two rooms of working studios. Holly and I enjoyed getting to know this talented artist who has adopted Paris as her own. There were many baguettes and glasses of wine (bottles?) during our time with Janeen... lots of screaming laughter, giggling until our sides hurt. Needless to say, we will be back.

Mary and Virginia should be there right now for the week!

Jardin des Tuileries -- Carrousel V

In the Paris snow, this carousel was a bright, noisy spot. In the late afternoon heading towards the carousel, it was an unexpected treat to see this magical blue and white wedding cake of a merry-go-round in full operation. The children were bundled and all had rosy cheeks from the cold, none seeming to mind.

I learned that the Mairie de Paris offers free unlimited carousel rides in the week between Christmas and New Years all around the city. If you have been following my posts, you know how I love the carousels and you can see previous posts here, here, here, and my favorite here. Certainly, there will be more to come!

Paris apartment, wine, friends....

As you can see from the photo, all of the baguettes and cheese had been consumed and most of the wine. In December Holly and I invited Peter (of Peter's Paris) for un goûter before the paparazzi team hit the streets of Paris.

It just does not get any better than this! (unless we could have stayed until spring!)

Galerie Vivienne... Martine Rama

The Galerie Vivienne was originally named Galerie Marchoux when it opened in 1826. It was purchased by M. Marchoux along with Passage de Petits Pères. His intention was to create a covered passageway lined with shops, the future vision of present-day shopping malls.

This little art-framing gallery with its aproned artisan* is typical of the shops along this striking, up-scale passage. I have more photos for another day.


La Galerie Vivienne
6, rue Vivienne

Virginia posted a beautiful scene from this passage on the very day Holly, Peter, and I were there. The tree we saw in December was the same as in her photo, a beautiful vivid red.

* Please correct, svp

Basilique Notre-Dame des Victoires

The Basilique Notre-Dame des Victoires can trace its history back to the 17th century and struggled to survive as an active church until the mid-1800s when it was consecrated to the Blessed Virgin. Since that time it has thrived with nearly 10,000 ex voto offerings left by the faithful. You can see on the right some of the devotional plaques which cover nearly every surface of this church. Additionally there are military decorations and silver and gold hearts left in thanksgiving for blessings received.


Basilique Notre-Dame des Victoires
6, rue Notre-Dame des Victoires(Rue de Banque et Rue des Petits Pères)

L'Aube de la nouvelle année

With the dawn of a new year, this photo of daybreak on a December Paris morning fills me with optimism for 2011.

The best of wishes to all of you that I have met in less than six months of blogging. Many thanks for all of your support... I look forward to the coming year and all that is ahead for us in 2011.

Je vous souhaite une merveilleuse année 2011!