Tonight we had dinner at the oldest café in Paris – Le Procope in St. Germain. It opened in 1686 and has even served Marie Antoinette!
Also Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.
Apparently Napoleon ran up such a large bill that he couldn’t pay, so he left his hat as collateral. He never did pay his bill, so they still have his hat! It is on display.
The rooms are beautiful.
They are most known for their beef bourguignon, which they make from the original recipe, which includes foie gras and truffles.
They serve it in your own personal copper pot, and you spoon it out into a separate bowl. The meat is so tender you can cut it with a fork. Heavenly!
But of course, by all accounts, Marie Antoinette did have good taste.
We have a beautiful entry way into our apartment. There are two sets of codes to get into the building itself.
And an ornate wooden lift to whisk us to the 4th floor.
Along with a wide winding carpeted staircase.
There is a hushed air throughout – all the way to our massive front door and elegant foyer.
But we noticed this plain door in the kitchen.
Our greeter had not mentioned it, and it was bolted no less than 5 times!
So I figured it was off limits – many rental units have a closet for the owner’s belongings.
I thought no more about it . . . until I heard footsteps behind it.
I quietly crept to the door for a better listen and noticed a peephole. To my surprise, a man was on the other side opening a door across a little hallway! There must be apartments in the back of this building, too, maybe not as nice since it looked very plain out there. I was suddenly thankful for the 5 deadbolts.
But then, we had the conundrum of where to take the trash. I texted the greeter. Oh – he said – forgot to tell you – there are special keys for the door in the kitchen. What? You go out that door and bring the trash to RC. (RC is the bottom floor – we aren’t sure what it stands for. Also, in Europe, the bottom floor is 0 – the next floor up is 1.)
Frank and I finally found the keys and figured out how to unlock all those deadbolts. It is another world on the other side. A narrow steep staircase with no carpet, grey doors, and a little functional elevator disguised as a closet.
Our apartment came with a cleaning mid-visit. And wouldn’t you know, our housekeeper magically appeared through this entrance – and disappeared without a word, too! We think there must be a rule that service people must use the back stairs, like Downton Abbey.
Between the back staircase and the courtyard windows (see prior blog), it is a tiny bit spooky. Probably because I am still reading the murder mystery, which is really good – called “The Paris Apartment.” So every time we take the trash, one of us stays in the apartment to keep a look-out and make sure the other one gets back in – and we both have our phones on. We don’t know exactly where these back stairs lead! Our Paris adventure.
It is Monday morning – the start of the work week for me. Yes, I am working remotely while here. I’ll show you around.
Here is my favorite place to start the day –
We are 6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, so it is quiet and I can get a lot done. And I love watching the boats go by on the Seine.
Eventually, the East Coast wakes up, so I move to the study for my Zooms.
And since we are 6 hours ahead, I sometimes have to work after dinner on last-minute projects due by COB East Coast time. By then, we have turned the study back into the TV room (we are hooked on Sky News and BBC right now), so I move to the kitchen for a little quiet and better light.
But – notice there are no curtains! This window looks out onto a courtyard where we can see all the other apartments, most who don’t have curtains either.
I am reading a book about a murder in a Paris apartment where the other residents could see comings-and-goings through the courtyard windows like this. (I probably should have waited until we got home to start this book!)
Oh – and notice that door in the kitchen? I’ll tell you what’s behind that in my next blog. It took us a week to figure it out!
We spent a lovely, sunny afternoon on the hill overlooking the center of Paris – in the bohemian neighborhood of Montmartre near Moulin Rouge.
We took the Metro to get there – an adventure of its own! We are very proud of ourselves.
Once we arrived, we could choose either to climb a LOT of steps or take the handy funiculaire (we took the finiculaire).
At the top is the beautiful Sacre Couer church – and a breathtaking view.
We went into the church and lit a candle for the people of Ukraine and sat there for awhile reflecting and praying.
Then we wandered the streets, filled with cafes, shops, and dozens of painters.
I even found the scene of one of the puzzles I worked during COVID – I stopped when I saw it, recognizing the café, and had to take a picture.
Our destination was Le Moulin de la Galette, a restaurant that sits underneath one of the two surviving windmills in Paris. This scene has been painted by all the stars – Renoir, Vah Gogh, Picasso, Lutrec . . . .
Here is Van Gogh’s version – see the resemblance?
Renoir memorialized the festive ambience of the restaurant in his famous painting “Bal du Moulin de la Galette.”
A copy of Renoir’s painting is on the wall of the current restaurant.
I loved that they bring you the whole chalkboard for your menu.
In Montmartre, everyone eventually gathers on the steps leading up to Sacre Couer, gazing out at Paris. We joined them, feeling oh so romantic in this magical place.
Today we celebrated 7 years of marriage at the top of the Eiffel Tower!
Frank has been fascinated by the engineering feat of building the tower, so he was excited to study the beams and iron work up close.
I was excited to have a glass of champagne at the summit.
But first, we had a fancy lunch to attend. We booked a table a Jules Verne, a Michelin-starred restaurant on the 2nd level (about 30 stories up). We skipped all the lines and had our own entrance and own elevator – we were impressed already!
Up the elevator, and we were here – inside the Eiffel Tower!
Our table was beautiful – we could even see our apartment!
We ordered the tasting menu with 7 courses. We got pictures of the amuse bouche and then were having so much fun we forgot to document the rest.
After lunch, we took the elevator to the summit – about 100 stories up!
They had a photographer taking touristy pictures – of course, we were in! All of the photographers (who looked like college kids) told us we were so cute and reminded them of their grandparents.
Just a little old lady and a little old man in love at the top of the Eiffel Tower. What a wonderful memory we will have. Happy Anniversary to us!
Translation: Discover French Onion Soup at Café de la Paix! (Although here, they just call it onion soup).
Today we had lunch at the very famous Café de la Paix – some say the creator of French Onion Soup. It has been on their menu since they opened in 1862 – here is a description:
Gratinée à l’oignon, “Recette de 1862”
The famous French Onion Soup, the ultimate Café de la Paix specialty, is prepared from the recipe created for the 1862 inauguration, topped with aged comte chees melted to perfection and served gratinee*
*Grantinee means topped bread crumbs/croutons, melted butter, and cheese – yum!
We had to try it!
The café itself is beautiful – I came here over 20 years ago on my first trip to Paris with my college friend, Catherine. I wanted to share it with Frank.
The Café de la Paix is across from the beautiful Palais Garnier opera house (where the Phantom resides). Regulars through the years have included Coco Chanel, Victor Hugo, Ernest Hemingway, Emile Zola, composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Oscar Wilde, future King Edward VII (the one who abdicated), and ballet master at the Opera, Serge Lifar.
Two Fools In Love 