Paris Pause

A green interlude

What a good idea—a brief stop on a long route. Headed back to the USA from Italy for a couple of weeks, we had a change of planes in Paris. Why not stay a bit? We’ve been recently for a long, glorious nine days, now this visit is brief. Two stolen days in Paris! This time we’re not spending hours searching out restaurants and traversing the city. I thought we’d let Paris expert David Lebovitz do the work for us. I subscribe to his substack and, of course, recommend it. We took his list of favorite restaurants and asked AI which were within a fifteen minute walk from our Plum Guide apartment in the first arrondissement. Ah, we love to hate AI, but for travel it’s so quick and handy. We were interested in old-school bistros and chose Le Comptoir. We chose well: le comptoir —small, crowded, lively, delicious. The bill came in an old book.

We were too late to get tickets to the big Matisse exhibition at the Grand Palais but were entranced by an extensive show of Hilma af Klint, at the same location—the grandiose, overwhelming Beaux-Arts Grand Palais and Le Petit Palais complex. A Swedish painter and precursor of abstract art, Hilma af Klint was a visionary with deep interests in spiritualism, symbolism, and color theory. How has she remained in the shadows for so long?

Chilly Paris. Some rain. We buy cheap umbrellas that keep folding up on us. But it’s Paris and we walk—The Palais Royale past Colette’s window, through the avenue of trees, with a stop for the first chocolate hazelnut tart. On to the Pont Neuf, wrapped now in tribute to Christo and Jeanne-Claude, a pause for onion soup and fries at the venerable, boisterous Café de la Régence (also a David Leibovitz rec) , and along the Rue de Rivoli, stopping in the bookstores Galignani and Smith & Son with big English collections.

Isn’t Paris about walking? Long away from there, I can on nights of insomnia take dreamy strolls, conjuring the vitality, beauty and surprise everywhere.

Best travel memories are often the discoveries made serendipitously. Through no guide or recommendation, we happened upon a tiny bistro, Le P'tit Bistro. We had no reservation but were seated upstairs beside a window looking out into green, green. The robust beef bourguignon, grilled salmon, huge platter of fries, and a gargantuan profiterole! The fun waiter, the intimacy, the big carafes of wine, the light—everything conspired to become a memorable last night in Paris.

Notes: There are many inspiring places to stay in Paris! I am becoming increasingly wary of short term apartment rentals anywhere, having had a few duds in Florence, Bologna, Rome. And now this one in Paris! We rented through Plum Guide, as we have before—with better results. Although we liked the location, the apartment was not acceptable. And the photos had looked so nice! The bedroom was okay except for black velvet curtains (not shown in photos), the dismal bathroom was squirrely, and the living/kitchen room was sparse and ugly. We spent as little time there as possible and plan next time to stay in a lovely hotel. Two rental agencies that I’ve had consistent excellent experiences with are The Thinking Traveller and Marriott Bonvoy. Do you have recommendations?

I bought this gentle and acute memoir at Galignani. It’s printed with face to face translations of French and English so you can practice your college French while having the English right there too. I’m loving it.

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