Chapter Ten: A Paris Quickie, And Thank Heavens The Restaurant Is Pretty

Mai Tai Tom Stays On Track Through Belgium, Paris and Strasbourg

Chapter Ten: A Paris Quickie, And Thank Heavens The Restaurant Is Pretty

Day Ten: Zombies!, Walking The Market At A Snail’s Pace, “Best Pastries In Paris”?, Staying A Head, The Oldest Clock In Paris, It’s Coming Along, Toucan Eat Here, Let’s Not Repeat 2014 and Tracy’s Worst Day/Night Of Dining In Europe

What’s worse than skateboarders, scooters and bicycles in Place de la République? Zombies! Nearing the entrance to the métro, green zombies were arising out of boxes. It was the Morning of the Living Dead!  We scurried past.

I didn’t scurry too fast because I was up for a good part of the night with a slight cough and runny nose, which combined with yesterday’s long walk made me fairly pooped. But not pooped enough to start the day by visiting one of the city’s famed market streets. The métro deposited us near Square Pierre Lazareff …

…. and we walked to the nearby Rue Montorgueil.

… which is lined with places to purchase produce, fish, cheese, flowers or grab a bite to eat.

This little guy looked like he had a rough night, also.

We were looking for one place in particular, La Maison Stohrer (51 Rue Montorgueil), the oldest pâtisserie in Paris. Started in 1730 by Nicolas Strohrer, the former pastry chef of King Louis XV and the former King of Poland, we had read they make some of the best pastries in Paris.

They certainly were pretty to gaze at inside the case. The pastries we chose were good. I learned afterward La Maison Stohrer is where Baba au Rhum was invented, and they have a special one. Damn, I could have had back to back Baba au Rhum meals. Oh well.

As an escargot wanna be connoisseur, there was one place in Paris I have always wanted to dine. L’Escargot Montorgueil has been around since 1832, and I love the golden snail that sits atop the restaurant. It actually would have been the perfect day to dine there since I was feeling rather sluggish. (Damn, I said I’d never do that pun again, Sorry!)

We started walking at a (no, not going to do it again) over to Église Saint-Eustache, which was begun in 1532 during the reign of King François I. It’s the parish church of Les Halles district.

Outside the church is the sculpture Ecoute on Place René Cassin (The Listener). It weighs an amazing 70 tons and was made by sandstone transported from Burgundy. It was created in 1986 as an honor to René Cassin, the founder of UNESCO and a Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1948.

I didn’t go too near, because when we were in Paris in 2014, it tried to grab me.

Saint-Eustache contains the largest pipe organ in France and there are free concerts on Sunday afternoons.

It was the final church to be built in the Gothic style in Paris before the Renaissance began.

We spied the 1834 Holy water font …

… and a couple of tombs.

Speaking of tombs, the largest is that of Jean-Baptiste Colbert (no relation to Stephen), the French minister under King Louis XIV. The tomb, commissioned by Colbert’s widow, was designed in 1687.

We didn’t see too many churches in Paris this time (blasphemy) …

… but I always like visiting this one.

As we started meandering in the direction of the Seine, in the distance we saw the Bourse de Commerce, the old Commerce Exchange and its dome, which Victor Hugo once said looked like a “jockey’s cap.” 

I recalled that when we visited in 2014 during Journées du Patrimoine, it had an impressive mural inside depicting world commerce.

As we walked, we passed a sign stating that Emily In Paris conducted some filming at this corner. There’s just no getting away from that girl.

In the distance, we saw the Conciergerie, a building where prisoners, including Marie Antoinette and Maximilien Robespierre, were held during the French Revolution before facing the guillotine. On our first trip to Paris as a couple, Tracy and I took a tour. According to one of my trip reports, “Afterward Tracy (who perhaps was not paying close attention) said, ‘That was some story about Robitussin.’  I believe I responded, ‘Yes, even poor old Robitussin couldn’t stop the coffin’.”

It was a lovely day in Paris. I was dragging a bit, bot onward we walked.

We stopped for a minute to gaze at the oldest clock in Paris, which was installed on what was then called Palais de la Cité in the 14th century. It is now the site of the Conciergerie. The Clock Tower (Tour de l’Horloge) was built in the 1350s, and the clock installed in 1371. It was damaged during the French Revolution and restored on a few occasions, the most recent being in 2012.

Before Tracy and I called it an afternoon, we did want to see how the restoration of Notre Dame was progressing. They promised it would be ready in three months, and on cue it reopened in December 2024.

We bid au revoir to Kim and Mary.

Before catching the métro, I saw a building I have always wanted to visit, Tour Saint-Jacques, which was constructed between 1509 and 1523. It was actually part of a church destroyed in 1797. There are guided tours of the Tour, but one must ascend 300 or so steps. I guess I better get in better shape before our next trip to Paris.

I don’t know what business this is, but I approve this message.

Never miss a chance to admire a little street art.

Around the corner from our hotel was Le Toucan (10 Avenue de la République, which seemed to be full of locals or at least a bunch of tourists speaking French. Our waiter was quite personable and funny, and he recommended the arancini starter, which we shared and was quite good. It would be Tracy’s last dish she would enjoy until the next day.

My risotto with shrimp was tasty enough, however Tracy’s fish with sweet potato fries was, in her words, “Yucky.” She didn’t come close to finishing. Little did she know, that dish would not be her worst of the day.  Not wanting to disappoint our server, she told him that the arancini had filled her up.

By now my cough wasn’t terrible, but I thought taking the afternoon off from sightseeing might help in avoiding a repeat of the second-week disaster of our 2014 trip.

I took a nap, something I rarely do, and I felt fairly rejuvenated by the time we all went to dinner.

Kim had emailed me a list of historic restaurants before we left, and one of them captured my attention. Bouillon Julien (16 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis) opened in 1903 (under a different name), and what piqued my interest was that it had a beautiful art deco interior, and that it was inexpensive by Paris standards. The reviews I read were decidedly mixed, but what the heck, when in Paris …

Near the restaurant is Porte Saint-Denis, which was the first of four triumphal arches to be constructed. It was built in honor of Louis XIV’s war victories.

After attending church at Basilique cathédrale Saint-Denis (photo of North Transept Rose Window that features the Tree Of Jessie from our 2014 trip), kings would pass through Porte Saint-Denis as they returned from services.

Walking inside Bouillon Julien, we saw why Edith Piaf used to frequent the establishment.

On the walls are four “flower women.” According to the restaurant website, “These nymphs, symbolizing the four seasons, are individually represented in four glass panels facing each other.”

The restaurant went through a renovation starting in 2018, and it no doubt stunning.

Now, about the food. I started with one of my favorite starters, but its looks and taste made me a little melon-choly. It didn’t help that Kim and my main course was a rather tasteless beef steak with fries so limp they needed crutches.

Next up was Tracy, who is not a picky eater at all. She ordered penne with mayo, tomatoes arugula and ricotta. What came out was pasta slathered with mayo and nearly devoid of arugula. After one taste, she declared it “inedible.” On the plus side it was only €10.90. When our waiter (who was quite nice, as was all the staff) saw that Tracy had only taken a bite, he insisted on taking it off the bill, and over our objections, he did.

None of the appetizers or mains were very good, but thankfully for me I am always the one to order dessert. I enjoyed a delicious lemon cream with shortbread cookie. At least I had a happy ending.

The reviews I had read were true. There is no denying Bouillon Julien is a gorgeous place to dine, and it was quite inexpensive.

Perhaps we just ordered the wrong dishes, but the food was passable at best. However, the place is popular, as by the time we exited people were waiting in a substantial line to get in.

The entire area around the restaurant was packed when we left.

As we walked into the métro station, we saw this billboard which reminded us of our late corgi Remi (although Remi is much more beautiful).

Feeling rejuvenated, tomorrow we’d start the day in Montmartre with a visit to an iconic basilica that added a new wrinkle since last we visited.

While strolling through Montmartre we discovered a tiny, restaurant that had been recently opened. Spoiler alert … it was fantastic!

We then wandered aimlessly for a bit (put that on my tombstone), and decided to hit a museum dedicated to preserving the history of Paris complete with more than 38,000 items. It’s also a rather peaceful oasis to enjoy a glass or two of vin. We had a rather exciting (and hot) métro ride back to our hotel. The evening provided a Paris vibe that had seemingly been lacking, and our dinner would be the best we had in Paris. Back at the hotel we were in deep sleep when … stay tuned!

Chapter Eleven: Montmartre & A Walk Through The History Of Paris

Day Eleven – You Can Take Photos Now, In The Pink, A Delicious Find, Lunch … It’s What’s For Breakfast, It’s Back!, A Raucous Ride, History In The Making, Wine In The Garden, She Never Met A Mirror She Didn’t Like, Signals Crossed, Who Needs A Sauna?, Are You Stanley Tucci?, Another Marine and An Alarming Development!