Our Paris Adventure: Day Three (22 October)

We started today by exploring a bit more of a neighbourhood that we discovered on our last visit, Passy, whose impressive apartment buildings reflect the fact that the area is home to some of the city's wealthiest residents:

I like the way that the simple clock in the centre of this roundabout contrasts with the elegant building next to it:

Some of the most exclusive buildings are fenced off, but the fences don't stop you from seeing the amazing views that some of the residents have from their Eiffel-Tower-facing windows.

Some of the signs that we saw turned into art yesterday at MAC/VAL were on display outside this café:

I don't think my photo fully shows the beauty of the adornments on and around this entranceway, but I liked them so much that I had to try. . .

A few cute window displays later

and we were ready for lunch! Now in other cities (read: London), being in a wealthy neighbourhood would make for poor lunch options for people on a budget, and we wondered where we could find a cheap bite to eat. Thankfully, Paris isn't London! We passed by this shop, which had a line curling out the door and around to the next shopfront (I took this photo after the rush had ended),

and headed over to see what was making the locals queue so patiently when there were many similar places nearby. As soon as we read the formule (lunch combo) offering on the wall, we joined the queue--the people working at the bakery didn't even ask you if you wanted the formule when you reached the front of the line because everyone in line was having it! Here's why: the formule included your choice of canned drink, freshly made sandwich on an artisan baguette, and any pastry, cake, or slice for dessert. The price in this exclusive neighbourhood? 5€ (CAD$6.80)! The whole process was rather frantic, as the line was full of regulars who chose their sandwich and dessert before they even got within viewing distance of the selection, but we managed to make our choices and went to a nearby churchyard to eat. We both got the fantastic (and enormous) chicken baguette, which came loaded with chicken that tasted fresh off a rotisserie; not the bland chicken that often appears in sandwiches:

Here's happy Bob with his berry slice,

and here's sad Bob with his piece of wax paper!

My dessert was a dense and nuanced chocolate and pear slice--mmmmm!

This type of lunchtime formule from local boulangeries is quite common, and since it's a cheap lunch option, we've had quite a few, but our Passy one was among the best (and definitely the cheapest) we've had, making us happy that we always check out the reasons for long food lines when we're travelling. (And to give you an idea of how our lunch compares to London prices, you can't get a comparable dessert ALONE in London for less than £3.50, which happens to equal 5€.) We crossed the Seine to the left bank and slowly made our way down to Luxembourg Gardens, our favourite Paris greenspace. We didn't see the marionettes, but I sure liked the sign:

The park is a true community space, Parisian-style, with grand open spaces,

plenty of mobile, comfortable seating

as well as benches,

sculptures, grand buildings,

and intimate, waterside spaces. This is one of my favourite spots in the gardens: the tranquil, lush, dreamy La Fontaine Medicis.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking down streets that caught our attention,

stopping to peer into shops like this one with its display of delicious-looking chestnuts

and this extensive children's bookshop, Chantelivres, which caught my attention with its wonderful bird logo.

Ah, but the destination we were aiming for, in our rambling way, was la grande épicerie in the Bon Marché, otherwise known as food-lovers' heaven.

While I waited in the long line to pay for our purchases, Bob made a friend by the entrance. The good-natured, whimpering dog had been waiting for his owner(s) the entire time we were in the store, and only Bob's patting stopped his whimpering. I'm always sad to leave this food hall, but this time it was for two reasons!

If the dog inside la grande épicerie sounded sad, this dog definitely won the prize for looking sad:

A few metro rides to explore other areas,

a good dose of the Seine,

another treat (it is Paris, after all!),

a busy wine shop window (can you spot the hedgehog?),

some reaching from beneath,

and we arrived at the Pompidou again, this time for more than the bookshop. The views from the Pompidou are always intoxicating,

but we were here for the part of the permanent collection that was closed during our last visit, along with a quick look at other favourites that we'd seen before. The fourth floor, containing work from 1960 onwards, was the one that was closed to the public back in February, so we started there:

Some of my favourites from the contemporary collection included Niki de Saint Phalle's ramshackle Le monstre de soisy,

Martial Rayasse's eerie Les deux poets,

Agam's blazing Aménagement de l'antichambre des appartements privés du Palais de l'Elysée pour le président Georges Pompidou (on the right),

Piotr Kowalski's Identité (no.2),

Marcel Bloodthaers's critique of museum culture, Salle blanche,

Cai Guo-Qiang's consideration of airplane carry-on restrictions (I don't think you can make out the fact that the entire plane is full of confiscated sharp objects), Bon voyage: 10,000 collectables from the airport,

Joseph Beuys's sound-dampening Plight,

Vincent Lamouroux's shape-shifting (Unwinding) Corridor, which changed form with every step around it I took,

and Wang Du's sad kiss, Le baiser.

Although it was great to see the floor that we couldn't see last time, I love the Pompidou's collection of 1905-1960 art, and we spent time exploring that floor again after we finished with the contemporary floor. Highlights from the first half of the twentieth century include Man Ray's Dancer/Danger (Impossibilité),

Francis Picabia's Dresseur d'animaux,

Fernand Léger's Composition à la main et aux chapeaux

and Les disques dans la ville,

Juan Gris's Le livre,

Kupka's Ordonnance sur verticales en jaune,

Georges Braque's Femme à la guitare

and Nature morte au violon,

and finally, my favourite of the night: Robert Delaunay's La ville no. 2:

All that art and more time in the bookshop meant that it was way past dinner time by the time we left the building and we needed a substantial meal and we needed it soon! Our perfect solution was to seek out one of our favourite treats: moules frites. Plenty of mussels,

french fries, and bread left us with full tummies and glowing cheeks. We decided to walk a bit before heading home, and passed this group waiting at the base of the stairs (of course the dog was my favourite):

There's not much in Paris that can beat the Seine at night, so we walked along and across the river, taking in its glow.

This tree is at the western tip of the Île de la Cité (the larger of the two islands in the Seine), and the tiny space jutting out into the Seine in the centre of Paris is a perfect place for an evening sit.

We watched the Eiffel Tower flash its brilliant ten-minute light show on the hour

before starting to head home. This assortment of objects was in a florist's window--I'm not quite sure what cuddly balls of fur have to do with flowers, but they made me stop and look in the window!

After a full day of walking, we finally returned to our street, and with home just ahead of us, we were tired and full, but in the very best of ways.