Angelinas
226 Rue de Rivoli
Morning began with perfection and one of the world’s biggest sugar rushes, Chocolate Chaud at Angelina’s. The chocolate comes in a great big pitcher with a side of whip cream for you to add at your discretion.
My discretion
A walk through the Tuileries to catch the 69 bus. These gardens were once the formal gardens of the old Palais des Tuileries. They are part of the landscaped area running parallel to the Seine from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe. Laid out in the 17th century by Andre Le Notre, gardener to Louise XIV, they have undergone a recent restoration and what looked to me a new sculpture garden addition.
We were joined for the day by my friend Norm McIntosh, expat extraordinaire
Our destination near the Bastille was to be La Coulee Vert also known as the
The Coulée verte René-Dumont or Promenade plantée (French for tree-lined walkway) or the Coulée verte (French for green course) is a 2.9 mile elevated linear park built on top of obsolete railway infrastructure in the 12th arrondissement. It was inaugurated in 1993. It follows the old Vincennes railway line. The parkway rises above the surrounding area and forms the Viaduc des Arts. That being said, it is easier to say I wanted to see it than it was to find it. We walked for a good 45 minutes and then said – screw it – lets eat!
We had passed the canals and found ourselves at the Gare de Lyon.
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So we walked across the street to the L’European at 21 boulevard Diderot and slap bang into an oyster bar. Heaven reigned down upon us. Oysters from France, duck, and a wonderful side of bone marrow, all accompanied with a delightful Petite Chenin Blanc, and we were restored.
At that point, we were able to find the walk and what fun it was. It is just that, a walk, originally it had all the intention of being an art walk with art studios, but I believe the economy but a kibosh on that, but it is a great thing to do none-the-less.
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At that point I said goodbye to everyone and headed to Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise. This is Paris’s most prestigious cemetery, I always love the cemeteries of the rich and famous because they hire the world’s most famous sculptors to make their headstones. This is not necessarily the case at Pere Lachaise, but it is an amazing place historically. The property was once owned by Louis XIV’s confessor, but in 1803 it was purchased by the government under order by Napoleon and laid out as a cemetery. It was expanded six times during the 1800’s due to its popularity. It contains such luminaries as Honore de Balzac, Chopin, Jim Morrison, Marcel Proust, Sarah Bernhardt, Oscar Wilde and Edith Piaf. Sadly, due to the fiasco of looking for the Coulee de Vert, I only had one hour to explore before closing.
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Georges Rodenbach, Belgian writer and poet of the 19th century, is perhaps most famous today for his novel Bruges-la-Morte. This work was later turned into the opera Die Tote Stadt
We finished off our three days in my old haunts Le’Odeon for dinner at Relais St. Germain.
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Euf de poule coulant, fricasse d’asperges vertes lard croustillant et anguille fumee
Coquille Saint Jacques roties, risotto de celeri et Granny Smith, crumble parmesan
Faux-filet Normand mature 2 mois, grenailles au foin, cresson, anchois de Palamos, mousseux de raifort
Plateau de fromages de Frace de la fromagerie Sanders
The entire thing ended with a Tarte au citron and was accompanied with one bottle of fabulous red and one bottle of fabulous white and one bottle of fabulous champagne. A great way to end three amazing days in Paris.
Tommorrow – A train ride and the beginning of our ski trip!