A PERFECT DAY

Maybe one of the finest days in my whole life. . .

Square Trousseau – Ble Sucre

Promendade Plantée

Bois de Vincennes

Hot Chocolate at Le Train Bleu

Two fabulous new dresses

Chez Janou

Square Trousseau – Ble Sucre

 We got started very early, (10:00 am) and walked briskly with the Parisians up to the Faubourg Saint-Antoine quartier near the Bastille to our patisserie destination, Ble Sucre, another Amy Thomas recommendation.  Yes, she is correct, definitely the best croissant in the Western world; madeleines, too, but since I never even knew what a madeleine was before I came here, I’ll just have to trust her on that.

We carried our loot across the street to Square Trousseau and sat on a bench in front of a lovely garden and talked about God.

Rob mused, “Paris is one of the great mystical centers of the world.  It’s quite easy to experience God here.  Aquinas was here.  The great universities, the Catholic institute; it’s all here.  Proust’s bite of the madeleine sends him on a journey into the mystery of memory and words.”

I don’t know about the good Proust, but our multiple bites of madeleine sent us to the Promendade Plantée. 

Promendade Plantée

I shared this with you before in an earlier post, Preparing for Paris. Promendade Plantée is a 19^th century railway viaduct, converted into a gorgeous walkway with multiple arches, decked with roses, and perched high above the city.  I hear they have something similar in New York City.  I’d like to see it one of these days.  This is just as cool as I remembered it and I’m so glad we came back.  I would love to live here and power walk to the Bois de Vincennes if you would like to know!

Bois de Vincennes

This is a huge park, on the far east side of the city.  It stretches for miles, lying peacefully under a wide-open, dramatic spring-like sky. I think it may even be bigger than Golden Gate Park.  You can actually hear the wind in the trees.  It is hard to believe you are still in Paris.

 Unfortunately, you will not find many more descriptions. I’d love to tell you that we rented bikes and rode the length of these magnificent grounds, all the way to the parc floral arboretum.  But non, after walking miles through the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, the Promendade Plantée, Avenue Daumesnil, (way too much Avenue Daumesnil), we rather collapsed on the first bench we found in the Bois de Vincennes. 

But what a picturesque view for our creating time, including a glittering lake, complete with little boats, surrounded by many tall trees and a very pretty bridge in the background, that of course we crossed twice so we could kiss. 

During creating time I took a peek over at Rob’s watercolor of one of the said trees.  I complimented him, saying that it reminded me of, who was that French impressionist?  Oh, yes,”Cézanne”, said I.  “Yea”, says Rob, “When he was 5.”

We just may be back.  But I’d also really like to see the Bois de Boulogne another huge green space, on the west side of the city.  We’ll see . . .

 Hot Chocolate at Le Train Bleu

Yes, indeed, the Parisians have it going on; this is how they wait for a train.  This is the French equivalent to Penn Station in New York City.   

I wrote most of the draft for this post while sipping hot chocolate, poured slowly out of a white creamy pitcher, adding warm milk to taste out of another white creamy pitcher and sampling petite macarons of many colors and flavors arranged in yet another white creamy bowl.  I have never tasted these before.  Have you?  I love the texture.  They’re soft and maybe just a wee bit chewy, and they burst with flavor.  Oh, my good God – the sweets in this town!

Two Fabulous Dresses

Fortified yet again with fat and sugar, we metro’d back to the Marais, where I spent a delightful hour plus, shopping in a darling little boutique and bought two fabulous dresses and a little purse; plus the same little purse in red for someone who will go unnamed and in blue for someone else who will go unnamed in case either of them are reading.  I would have never chosen one of the dresses, but the kind saleswoman insisted.  What an eye she had.  I love it!  Who says the French are standoffish?  At least not when you’re spending euros.

Chez Janou

Notice the new dress . . .do you like it?

It was a magical evening from start to finish.  As soon as we entered, we were catapulted into another world; a very French world.  At first I thought it might be just too stimulating.  You know those movies where they depict Paris or Berlin nightspots; high pitched, rather chaotic, but gay, gay, gay; people laughing, eating, smoking, talking loudly with emphatic emphasis and dancing on tables?  This was close, it really was.  The bartender actually did stand up on the bar and swing his hips later in the evening, toward midnight.  I’m not kidding.  I just settled in, almost meditatively, letting it move and buzz around me as I slowly entered the vibe.  It was a church of FUN.

By the time the entrée arrived, I had become one of those animated characters, too, mixing it up with the Parisians.  Rob was in his element.  He looked so very handsome in his black on black, a true Frenchman is he.  Is this my husband?  I’m so in love!

I’m not really much of a foodie, so describing the food is not really my thing.  (But for those of you who are interested, go to Rob Droste’s Facebook page).  But I do love sweets and I have to tell you about the chocolate mousse.  I’ve never seen or tasted anything like it.  It arrived at our table in an enormous wooden bowl, (think half the table for a sense of scale), with a giant serving spoon and two smaller spoons laid delicately on a little plate.  The two women next to us got one before us and each ate about two bites before it was whisked back to the kitchen.  We wondered if we got the same bowl, smoothed over for looks - - in fact, at that time of night, it might have been used several times over.  Rob wouldn’t let me ask the waiter.

We could not stop laughing and I insisted on several shots of Rob with the bowl, Rob with the small spoon, Rob with the giant spoon and finally, Rob opening his mouth and putting the chocolate mousse in there.  

It was a magical evening in the year of healing.  It seemed to go on forever - - it was outside time - - outside of this world.  Did you see the movie, Midnight in Paris?  If so, you get the idea.  And a magical journey it is; life is wondrous and I’m so glad I have a lot of years left.  Then maybe I’ll come back as this orange chat, living in Le Train Bleu in the Gare de Lyon.