Paris : Shopping and Eating

Galerie Vivienne

I always like to leave a free day at the end of a holiday to do a little shopping and also so that there is time to squeeze in that one last activity.  Then we can go back home with no regrets... But before we get to that, let’s first do the round up for food and shopping in Paris.

I have, even before my Konmari stint, stopped buying souvenirs on holiday and started buying specialty food.  But even so, it is possibly to have lots of fun shopping for food or even just cruising the shops.  So here are my highly personal shopping “to-Dos” in Paris:

1.  Walk through their covered passages.  I wanted to be a “flaneur” and walk around the elegant
covered galleries of Paris.  I forgot (silly me) that the French shopkeepers don’t work on Sundays and the galleries were closed. I did manage to find one (Galerie Vivienne)  which was open to people who just wanted to walk through, and it was full of charming old-fashioned shops which made me wish I could go in and explore further.  So try going there on a weekday, to get away from chain stores and discover something unique to bring home from Paris.

The queue outside Louis Vuitton, Galeries Lafayette

2. Look at the Louis Vuitton Queue at Galeries Lafayette, which spills out into the corridor...  .... I just went to the Galeries branch of Angelina, where I enjoyed a glass of their famous chocolate (I got it cold, which is probably a crime but it was a warm afternoon).  I had a hot chocolate at Café de Flores on another day, which is another must-do.

3. Visit Shakespeare & Co.  I just said that I don't buy souvenirs but there is always the exception that proves the rule.  For me, it is that one book from Shakespeare & Co (see earlier post), so I can get it stamped with the bookshop logo.  

4. Gawk at Le Bon Marche - Le Grand Epicerie.  
I loved the huge food hall where there are so many exotic foodstuffs on offer, from all over the world.  I bought some biscuits and other edibles to take back to the office. There are also a few counters where you can sample the fresh seafood (cooked on the spot for you), or get a quick sandwich (we did this) and also an extensive boulangerie section.  .

5. Have it all at G. Detou - ah, the owner’s boast is true they do indeed have everything (j’ai de

J'ai de tout

tout) an aspiring baker could ask for, all packed within the two little shop units which make up this old-fashioned shop. As Clothilde from C&Z says, it’s magic!  Like her, I got pearl sugar, about 1 kg worth...  that's going to be a lot of choquettes.  But that's one item you can't get anywhere in Singapore.

There are many other kitchen equipment shops in the vicinity of Les Halles, as documented here.  In particular E. Dehillerin, which like G. Detou, is an old fashioned little shop with wooden shelves going up to the ceiling, all filled with amazing copper pots and pans.

6. Buy a baguette! The French buy a baguette every day.  You had better do it too.  There is a great boulangerie just below my sister's apartment, so that is where we got our daily bread.

7. Buy cheese at the airport!  ‘Cos then you can be assured that it is packed for air travel and won’t stink up your luggage.  I got a slab of Comte, and a little round of Camembert.

We had a nice time eating in little bistros and restaurants around Paris, including Breton buckwheat crepes at a creperie in the St Michel area, steak frites (steak with fries, another classic meal) and a simple salade Nicoise at a small cafe on the same road as G. Detou.

But I thought I would mention a few in particular, in case you are looking for a (moderately priced) place to go to after you've finished a morning's sight-seeing:

Whimsical decor at La Fourmi Ailee

1.  After a visit to Notre Dame, when visiting the Latin Quarter, try La Fourmi Ailee, at 8, rue du Fouarre, Saint Michel. It is a charming little place, where the walls are covered with paintings including one of a tortoise and a series of Chinese characters.

I had a yummy fresh pasta dish with tomatoes and black olives.  Warm, hearty fare at reasonable prices.  There were only a few diners when we got there but the place filled up swiftly thereafter.

Mona Lisa as painted
by the computer

2.  Near the Louvre, you can find the Cafe de la Regence, 167 rue St Honore.  It is an elegant brasserie, with bookshelves and paintings lining the walls.  It was a little strange however to see a pixelated Mona Lisa on the wall just beside our table.

When in France, embrace French food.  So I ordered a duck confit (duck cooked in its own fat) and a bowl of French onion soup topped with a crust of bread and cheese - it's as traditional and French as you can get.  The duck drumstick was tender and tasty, and it was accompanied by the most marvellous tiny new potatoes!    The onion soup is such a French classic but it is so filling that it could be a whole meal in itself.  I was glad that we shared it.

Beef bourguignon

3. After visiting the Sacre Couer, or when wandering around Montmartre: Try L’Anvers du Decor, 32bis Rue D’Orsel.  This is definitely not in the super-crowded area just next to Sacre Coeur, so the serving staff had time to go through the menu with us.  

It is supposed to be famous for its beef dishes so I had the beef bourguignon with French beans on the side - lovely and tender meat, hearty, rich stock.  And of course this is another French classic meal.  My sister had a pot of mussels though.

Les Nympheas

Moving outside Paris, we had a lovely outdoor lunch in Les Nympheas in Giverny, just outside Monet's house.  The name translates to "water lilies" in English and is obviously a reference to Monet's iconic work.  The little restaurant is surrounded by a veritable sea of flowers and so we were happy to sit outdoors for once, where we were able to enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful blooms around us.  Go early, to beat the crowds and visit the garden after lunch.

I had a quiche for lunch but my mother and brother-in-law tackled the rabbit dish.  It looked rather yummy but the quiche was really very good so I have no regrets.

Quiche at 3 Rue Pichet

In Chartres, we had lunch at 3 Rue Pichet.  This is another small unpretentious, charming restaurant where the waitress brings the menu for the day on a little chalkboard.   I ordered a salmon and potato dish - well cooked and tasty but it was a little light, even for me.

My mother took the quiche and my sister the duck served in a broth with carrots, potatoes and bacon (!) with a crust of bread on the side.

So we had lots of tasty meals but I have to give praise where it is due, so  lots of kudos go to our favourite Chef, my dear Brother-in-law who would whip up something yummy most evenings so we could have home-cooked, value-for-money food rather than go out to eat.  He did a great steak frites, prepared a salad of buffalo mozzarella and after a day of sightseeing we got back to a dinner of asparagus, his famous roast potatoes, savoury sausages and a baked vegetable dish (I can't remember what vegetable exactly). And that was really eating like the French :-)

Dinner en famille

More photos will be put on Flickr, when I get round to it.

Last but not least... we did go for that one last activity in Paris ... a totally touristy activity, a boat cruise down the River Seine!  And so I end off this series of posts on Paris with a photo of the Eiffel Tower:

Au Revoir Paris!

A Jewel of Cathedrals - Chartres

Chartres Cathedral

Chartres Cathedral, or more properly called Notre Dame de Chartres, is a jewel of Gothic architecture.  The first church on the site was built as early as the 4th Century, but was destroyed a few times and rebuilt each time.  Charles the Bald, the grandson of the great Charlemagne, donated the "Sancta Camisia", or the shift of the Virgin Mary, to the church and it became a place of pilgrimage.  (The shift is still to be found in the cathedral today).   Eventually, after yet another fire, Bishop Fulbert built a vast cathedral which was completed in 1037.  Whilst some part of this building was destroyed by fire, the bell tower and part of the front face remained.  The church was rebuilt and extended further (including the addition of another tower), and finally consecrated in 1260 in the presence of King Louis.  Today, the cathedral is renowned for its spectacular stained glass windows dating from the 12th and 13th centuries, its medieval crypt and the mysterious labyrinth embedded in the centre of its nave.  It is no wonder that this famous cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The North Rose Window

To say that the cathedral is beautiful is an understatement.  It is magnificent!  The tall vault above the nave, the majestic pillars, lead the eye up to the heavens.  The statues in the screen around the choir are so intricate and expressive.   The stained glass windows, with their vibrant colours and beautifully detailed panes - I could spend hours just trying to work out what scenes they depict.

We managed to get to the cathedral  in time for the tour by THE authority on Chartres Cathedral, Malcolm Miller.  Miller has been giving his tours since 1958!  He doesn't have a fixed tour per se, but brings visitors to different parts of the cathedral each time.  Apparently he is not really affiliated with the cathedral per se but they support his tours and he is listed on their website.  But you need to get in touch directly with him to check whether he is holding the tour on a particular day.  We were lucky enough to go on a day when he was conducting his tour. (There is another English language tour available so you can go on that if you miss Miller's tour).

Indeed his knowledge of the cathedral was truly encyclopaedic.  He pointed out the various biblical stories told in the stained glass windows, similar to how perhaps the illiterate peasants would have learnt the bible stories way back in the Middle Ages.

Detail - Adam and Eve

He also revealed the deeper theological references within the windows - for example, that whilst the tale of Adam and Eve described the Fall of Man, the Parable of the Good Samaritan spoke of God's Salvation through Jesus Christ.  In the parable, the traveller represents Adam, cast out from paradise; the priest and the Levite walk past him; but Christ is the Good Samaritan who brings him to safety and promises to return for him.  On a more prosaic note he also showed us the details in the windows which showed who had donated the cost of their production - be they tradesmen, or nobles etc.   More on the cathedral's stained glass windows can be found here.

Miller also took us outside the church, to take a look at the statues adorning the doors and entrances to the church.  He showed us the Last Judgement, found at the South Porch of the church.  Christ sits above the doorway, with Mary and John the Evangelist on either side, the angels above and around him.

We decided to go on a second tour, around the crypt.  The tour was in French but since you can't go to the crypt on your own and that was the only tour available... we went on it.   (Most of the people in the tour didn't speak French so we were all in the same boat).  The crypt is the largest in France and it is here that the early origins of the cathedral are most obvious, as being underground, it survived all the fires above.  The cathedral was rebuilt on the foundations of the crypt, and you can still see the ancient pillars on which the building above rests.  Old, faded murals on the walls also reflect the antiquity of this place.

The Labyrinth

The other well-known feature of Chartres cathedral is its labyrinth.  In the old days, pilgrims would walk the labyrinth (some on their knees).  It was symbolic of the twists and turns of life, the trials and false turns made along the way.  But eventually, the pilgrim could reach the centre where the way out was straight towards the altar, i.e. to God's saving presence.

When we were there, labyrinth was partly covered by chairs. It is revealed fully some days (I believe Friday afternoons).  I did not realise it was such a large labyrinth - reaching out to almost the entire width of the nave.

Around the altar, are the little chapels and shrines.  We saw the Lady of the Pillar (a local devotion to the Blessed Virgin), the Sancta Camisa as mentioned earlier.

In addition, there was a small little side shrine devoted to St Therese of Lisieux.  Beside it, preparations were being made to add one more - for St Therese’s parents, the newly canonised St Louis and Zelie Martin!  The first couple to be canonised as saints for their unique role in creating an exemplary Catholic family environment for their children.

We ended up spending the entire day in the Cathedral, without even going anywhere else in Chartres!  But it was indeed a day well spent, absorbing the beauty of the surroundings and praying in this sacred place.

More photos will be put up here.

Chartres Cathedral - Interior

A Day in Montmartre

The Basilica du Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre

Aside from our mini-pilgrimage to the Catholic sites in Paris and its environs, the other "theme" of this holiday is probably getting a glimpse into the lives of the Impressionists.  Not so much their paintings (been there done that), but where they lived and worked.  Today, our visit to Montmartre covered both areas, starting with our visit to the Sacre Coeur and then, after lunch, around the Musée de Montmartre.

Montmartre is the "hill of martyrs", so named after the first Bishop of Paris, St Denis, who was decapitated here.  A most appropriate place to site this beautiful basilica!  The building itself is rather new - construction started in 1875 and was completed in 1914, a mere 39 years after!  It is truly a pilgrimage, having to walk up the hill to get to the basilica (and braving the touts along the way) but of course it was one we willingly made :-)  We were rewarded of course by a spectacular view over Paris.

We got here in time for morning mass (it is our routine now) and we celebrated the feast day of that most French of saints, Joan of Arc.  Maybe it is because we are visiting so many French Churches this visit, but I find they do love their French saints - St Joan, St Ursula, St Vincent de Paul, St Louis IX, St Therese of Lisieux etc - whose images appear in the stained glass windows and whose statues pop up in the various little shrines. Whilst mass was in French, the choir was a small group of nuns and their pure, sweet voices needed no translation to be appreciated.  They continued to sing even after mass had ended, which added to the atmosphere of faith and joy which I felt during my time here.

St Joan, as peasant girl
and warrior maid

After mass, we explored the huge church in greater depth. It was not my first time here (I think more like my third?) but it has been sufficiently long ago for memories of previous visits to have dimmed (although I do remember coming for Sunday mass here, the entire building packed despite its size).  We admired the humongous mosaic above the altar (apparently the largest in France), and wandered around the little chapels, many of which were dedicated to the French saints.  But there are two conspicuously non-French saints featured.  First, there is a chapel for St Ignatius of Loyola (also called the Chapel of the Jesuits, it was certainly funded by them), who apparently came with his companions to the nearby Church of St Pierre (of course there was no chapel in those days) and it was here that they started the "Society of Jesus", or the Jesuits.  Another chapel has a sign to commemorate the visit by St John Paul II to the basilica in 1980.

I did not know that the Basilica is the venue for perpetual adoration of the Eucharist, something which started way back on 1 August, 1885!  Pilgrims come here to spend the night in the guesthouses here and take their turn to pray before the Eucharist.  Maybe it is an idea for another time.

For more photos, look here.

Life is Art

We had lunch at a little bistro somewhere down the hill. Due to our unfamiliarity with the area, we did not realise that we would have to make our way back again to get to the Musée de Montmartre, where we intended to spend the afternoon!  Ah well, the exercise was probably good for us.  It was also quite pleasant to wander around the narrow, steep streets of the area.  Montmartre formed no part of Baron Haussmann's plans for Paris and so it has no gracious boulevards or majestic squares.  It is full of staircases, twists, and turns, with a little bit of graffiti in the corners.  And when you turn around the corner there is indeed a little square, but full of shops and street artists plying their trade.  And all of a sudden, you feel that you have indeed walked back into a picture which Renoir could have painted, of people just enjoying the sunshine and each other's company.

12 Rue Cortot

The Musee de Montmartre is described as the "most charming museum in Paris" and indeed it is full of atmosphere.  We could almost see Renoir sketching in the garden, with Toulouse-Lautrec wandering in for a visit before going off to one of the nearby caberets (maybe the Caberet du Lapin Agile, or "Agile Rabbit", or the Theatre du Chat Noir, or the "Black Cat", or the Cabaret du Moulin Rouge, named after one of the windmills, many of which were once found here ).  Above the gardens, Suzanne Valadon would sit in her studio painting away at her easel.

Suzanne Valadon's atelier-apartment

The visit starts off with a short video on the history of Montmartre, before leading us through the gardens and to 12, Rue Cortot, where some artists (including Renoir) had their studio.  It is here that the collections of the museum can be found, with paintings of Montmartre over the years, and also featuring works by Toulouse-Lautrec, Suzanne Valadon, her son Maurice Utrillo and others.   We ended up with a visit to Suzanne's studio apartment right on top of the building.  Of course I am an utter dunce when it comes to art and aside from the big names (Monet, Renoir) I tend not to be so familiar with the others, including Suzanne.  But she had an interesting life - starting off as a model/muse for Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec and Degas, and then going on to be an artist in her own right.  She was completely self-taught, except for what she picked up by observing and talking to the artists she was modelling for.  Got to respect a woman like that.

It was indeed a day of contrasts, from the sacred to the secular, from the serene beauty of the Basilica to the more tumultuous, vibrant life of the Bohemians.  But together, both Sacre Coeur and the Musee de Montmartre bring together and tell the story of this little corner of Paris.