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Who can blame the car rental company, Sixt, for poking fun at Sarkozy’s height? In this German ad, it says, “Do like Ms. Bruni. Get a small French (one).”
A new trend in fashion in France? For those of you who’d like to adopt this style, I certainly hope the weather warms up.
My sweetie HAPPENED to be in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris’ Best Baguette of 2010 and grabbed a couple of warm baguettes to see how spectacular they are. A few shops down, he found an award winning charcuterie for their fromage de tête, Christian Durant Charcuterie, and picked us up some artisanal foie gras (I wouldn’t have minded some of that award winning fromage de tête but oh well!) Both baguette and foie gras were pretty fantastic. A slight bémol regarding the baguette. It could’ve been perhaps more airy inside but that’s how I personally like them. They were, in any case, deliciously thin and crispy on the outside and soft in the inside – and paired with the foie gras, a perfect and typical French indulgence for any time of the day!
Le Grenier à Pain
The Best Baguette in Paris 2010
38 rue des Abbesses
75018 Paris France
Charcuterie Christian Durant
30 Rue des Abbesses
75018 Paris France
The second round of No Sarkozy Day demonstrations will take place March 28, 2010 at Place Denfert Rochereau at 3pm.
Years ago in Paris, you could walk into practically any brasserie or restaurant and not worry that you would be served terrible food. For the most part you wouldn’t be disappointed. Move forward in time and things have changed quite a bit and well, you aren’t as confident walking cold into an unknown restaurant in Paris. Despite those turn of events in recent years, we often find ourselves walking into an unknown restaurant in Paris not having the slightest idea if it’s going to be good! Oh well, we’re still optimistic about things and always hope we’ll be happy with our random choice.
When we were turned away at Breizh Café for not having reservations, we then wandered into Des gars dans la cuisine, a small restaurant in Le Marais, and were very pleased with our accidental selection. Yay. To note was the Parmentier, a dish originally known as a poor man’s meal including mashed potatoes and left over meats, typically ground beef. However, the Parmentier at Des gars dans la cuisine, (a restaurant name, which is a play on words: guys in the kitchen or damage in the kitchen), is a step up from the original dish. Their version features Canard confit au foie gras, jus au miel et poivre vert (duck confit with foie gras, juice from honey and green peppercorns) - the yummiest Parmentier I’ve ever had. I think it should be listed in this book we refer to from time to time.
[Photo courtesy of Travis Moon Photography]
Just next to Madonna in Paris, is this adorable rendition of Einstein, carrying a sign, “Love is the answer.”
I saw this street art of an Andy Warholesque hommage to Madonna, and thought I’d share. Photo taken in the Latin Quarter, Paris.
What, you’re only welcome if you speak English? AND you’re a biker? Seen in Mesvres, France (Burgundy).
Photos of Cluny, France
The medieval village of Cluny (in the Burgundy region of France) was declared a UNESCO Heritage Site in 1979 and remains a legendary and awe-inspiring point of interest for millions of visitors who come to France every year. Its focus is the Romanesque abbey, founded in 910 by William the Pious (the Duke of Aquitaine) when Cluny was the center of religious reform and efforts were made to restore monastic life. It was the largest church in the world until the construction of Saint Peter’s in Rome. During the French Revolution, the Wars of Religion and its aftermath, the abbey was sold, looted and operated as a quarry. Most of it was demolished and systematically dismantled until 1823. Despite this terrible turn of events, one transept of the church survived and remains standing, as well as 18th-century convent buildings and 15th-century abbots’ residences.
A recent installment has been placed near the transept. It’s a movable screen to create the illusion showcasing the rest of the church, sections that are actually no longer there but were re-created in 3D using augmented reality technology. It’s pretty cool. I took a short video of it (below):
Guided and non-guided tours also include a 10-minute, 3D film Maior Ecclesia, which inculcates a sense of the majesty and purpose of what was once the Christian world’s largest church.
More Visitor Information
Abbaye de Cluny
Palais Jean de Bourbon,
71250 Cluny France
Telephone Number: +33 (0)3 85 59 15 93
For more information:
Email: aymeric.pathier@monuments-nationaux.fr
Websites: National Monuments of France, Cluny Office of Tourism
General Admission Fee: 7 € / Free admission for children under 18 (except for groups)
Open: May 2 to August 31 from 9.30 am to 6.30 pm; September 1 to April 30 from 9.30 am to noon and from 1.30 pm to 5 pm.
Closed: January 1, May 1, November 1, November 11,
December 25
We stopped in Collioure, France on our way back from Barcelona almost a month ago and were impressed and surprised to find such a hidden gem. Collioure is only about 25 kilometers (about 15 miles) from the Spanish border, and if you’re ever in the area, it’s worth a visit. I would never describe anything with (or ever use the word) “enchanting” but it is just that in this unexpectedly gorgeous French port village. By the way, we ate at a restaurant called Copacabana, which has a beautiful view of the sea. It’s a very touristy place we randomly chose but the food was really tasty and the service was extraordinary. I took some photos and made a slide show below:
Thanks to William Lamy for the use of his music.
If you’ve been with me for a while, you’ll remember that we’d gone to Serge Chenet’s new restaurant last year. Since that time, Mr. Chenet earned his first Michelin star, so we thought we’d check him out again. We made it back to our favorite bed and breakfast in Provence – only twice this year!!! – and we decided to revisit one of our favorite restaurants in Provence just a few weeks ago, and we weren’t disappointed. It’s pure yum. If you’re ever in the area please consider having dinner here. Our party of five loved everything and came up with these photos (some dishes are missing):
Pizza grissini, candied cherry tomatoes, herring sorbet on toast
Trilogy of fish, roquette/cheese soup, cow cheek roll
Tenderloin of pork with a soft parmesan polenta and snow peas
Apple Pie Deconstructed
Restaurant Serge Chenet
Le Mas Saint Bruno
Chemin des Falaises
30131 Pujaut
Phone : +33 (0) 4 90 95 20 29
Website
We can’t attest to the food in this restaurant but we can attest to the cuteness of the Deco Cafe. We were in Saint Remy de Provence for their famous, Wednesday street market and walked by this adorable cafe.
Answer: Nothing. Ok, maybe a perfectly made juicy burger. Hee!
Back to this giant croissant. We hit the road again and stopped off at a random bakery in Chevagnes. Their gimmick is giant baked goods! Fun, non?
That last post was so creepy and perhaps a hoax but I just had to post it. Sorry. C’etait plus fort que moi. Anyway, to assuage any horrible aftereffects you might have experienced, here’s a more pleasant blog post with photos of beautiful Annecy from a recent trip.
For Americans, the translation of Barbe à Papa into “candy floss” might dream up visions of fun and flavorful (but inefficient) dental hygiene tools, but in England and Australia, candy floss is just your run-of-the-mill term for cotton candy. There’s probably a crass dental joke in here somewhere but I’m not going there. Instead I’ll leave you with a photo of yummy macarons, candy floss flavored and all, from Les Halles in Lyon.
Some people come to Paris to take photos of the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame and The Arc de Triomphe, but I come here to take photos of game references. I’m strange that way. I love this “Leave us alone!” from the game, Bubble Bobble. If you’re wondering (I know you are!), this one’s at the corner of rue du Temple and rue Rambuteau.
Space Invaders bonus seen in Paris, Canal Saint Martin yesterday. Game is not over.
Just in case you were wondering, cursing and crying about PMS, at least now you know where it’s from. (We saw this just outside of Besançon, Burgundy.)
Photo by Swedish photographer Therese Aldgard and styled by Lisa Edsal
Click on the photo to enlarge
Ok, you got me. This “Eiffel Tower” is in Las Vegas, but I couldn’t help but post about it. We’d just taken a helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon, and they fly you over Vegas on the return. One word about the whole trip: spectacular. So hey, if you can’t make it all the way to the real deal, head on over to Sin City!
Previous dialogues: The Dalai Lama et Nicolas Sarkozy, 2 Air France Pilots, Barack Obama et Nicolas Sarkozy, Sarah Palin et Nicolas Sarkozy, Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Anne Sinclair, Francois Hollande and Maxime Bono, The Dalai Lama and Carla Bruni, Michael Phelps and Alain Bernard, Sarkozy and Qaddafi, Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan, Tom Hanks and Jean Reno, Daniel Balavoine and Francois Mitterrand, Florent Pagny, Zidane and Xavier Darcos
[Photo courtesy of Pete Souza's Delivering on Change, an Inside Look (slideshow of Obama's first 100 Days at the White House)]
