Paris. . .When It Sizzles

[Again, this would have been posted last night, but we continue to have very iffy internet connections. We now think maybe we're just poaching off a neighbor rather than truly connected to the system in our apartment, so it's catch as catch can.]

With all due respect to Cole Porter, whose skills with rhyme and rhythm far surpass mine, I have to confess to harboring some ambivalence toward Paris in the summer, when it sizzles, which it is doing right now. The past two days have been beastly hot but not horribly humid. We can feel the humidity rising tonight, though, and the forecast high for tomorrow is 96. Today we spent hours in the Musee Picasso in the Marais district in part, of course, because Picasso is one of the great masters of modern art, but also in no small measure because the Musee Picasso is one of the few buildings in Paris that is comfortably, wonderfully air-conditioned. I think we saw some glorious art that re-shaped the course of modern vision and representation, but what I may always treasure about the place is that while we were there my clothes and skin and brain dried out for the first time all day. Otherwise, I was a soggy, thirsty, puffy, semi-miserable mess.

But did I mention that the art was lovely? And the building, some 16th-century something or other, was also pretty snazzy? As well as cool? I was almost as happy at the Musee Picasso as I was standing in the frozen food section at our local supermarket this morning. The visuals weren’t as compelling, but the air was equally delicious.

Martha and I think maybe the French might consider modernizing just un peu, if for no other reason than we doubt they’ll be able to survive global warming without something more substantial in the way of climate control than long lunches and excellent ice cream.

Okay, enough grousing about the weather. Today was in all other respects another lovely day. We slept late, having stayed up late last night blogging and drinking wine, and then dawdled around the neighborhood getting a few supplies for the apartment. We bought Metro tickets because we realized we couldn’t be walking everywhere in the infernal heat (oops, did I grouse about the weather again?), which was a sensible thing to do in any case. We spent the whole afternoon and evening in the Marais. After the Picasso, we strolled around, found the chic gay part of the district, then wandered around killing time until it was time for dinner at the Brasserie Bofinger, one of the oldest and best brasseries in town. We probably had our best meal since we got here and for a very reasonable price. We had three courses with a very nice burgundy and one Grand Marnier for 130 euros, which felt like a bargain for such good food and ambience. Martha had fois gras, a wonderful lamb, and some chocolate almond thing for dessert. ML had the freshest oysters she’d ever eaten, a delicious cod and veggies in a yummy lemony sauce, and ice cream in a meringue “sandwich” for dessert. Oh, and best of all, the dining room was AIR-CONDITIONED or “climatise,” as we say en francais.


MN here. I’ve been having a fabulous time – this vacation in Paris is everything I’d hoped for and more. The apartment is one of the most perfectly apportioned spaces I’ve ever seen – every square foot used beautifully and for full comfort. Little aesthetic treats abound in this 3rd floor walk-up, and we’re in the heart of the 6th.

We have forgotten to mention two things: first, the fact that on our first walk out from our residence (on our way to the Musee Quai Branly) we were almost immediately greeted with a spritely wire hair fox terrier. I thought that must have been Roxie’s blessing on our vacation; second, we should have mentioned the obvious, the wonderful bread shops, which of course everyone knows about, yeah yeah, and everyone knows where the best bread in town is. However, on the Cherche-Midi there is the lovely Poilane, and upon our arrival Saturday we were greeted with the wonderful spectacle of three perfectly ROUND loaves of bread, each in the shape and with the design of a soccer ball – the French have of course gone mad because they are in the semi-finals of the World Cup, having defeated Brazil to get there and facing Portugal Wednesday night (July 5).