France Summer 2016

[Buster Highmen]

Life in House Highmen the last year has been rough.

Yeah, yeah, whine, whine whine.

So we were poking around on kayak, looking for deals to do something crazy, like to go France. I like France. It's a lot like the USA with better food and garbled lingo.

With flights to Paris from Vancouver more than $300 cheaper than comparable flights from Seattle, launching from YVR was the obvious choice. Hotels in the YVR airport area have good nightly rates as well as special deals for leaving ones car there. For us, the hotel gave us a week of free parking, then charged $5 cdn per day thereafter.

The Westjet flight left YVR at 9:40 and landed in Toronto where we had a couple hour layover before boarding the Air France flight to Charles De Gaulle. With the plane change, we had all decided to do carry on.
Things were a little chaotic in Toronto, but AF was gracious enough to allow parents with kids to get on before the rest of economy class. Seating was tight, but better than most US airlines and the food was killer good. I dozed, trying to get ready for wending our way though Paris to the hotel in the Latin Quarter.

On landing, we knew that the goal was to find the B train from CDG to Place Saint Michel at the W. end of the Ile de La Cite and 5 blocks to the Hotel Central Saint Germain where we had a week booked.
We landed at 9:30 am and managed to reel around in CDG and find the automated train ticket machines where we got 4 passes for the B train.

The B train was easy to find and the ride into Paris was that kind of scritchy all night ethereal roll. We past miles of trashy suburbs plastered with awesome tagging.

Placed Saint Michel was an overload of zooming Parisians on all modes of transport. Dense in the stream were legions of helmetless scooter riders expressing death wishes by weaving in and out of traffic.
It was a short walk up to the Hotel, largely disjoint from any sense of reality as we soaked in post transatlantic sleepless drear, piecing together some semblance of coherency from a map and a bent slice of our surroundings.

Hotel Central Saint Germain was accomodating to let us take our top floor room early. It looked out over narrow Rue Champollions little cinema alley with slices of lives of Paris visible across the way drying its underwear among the pigeons, chimneys and antennae.

My modius operandi in these situations is to try to power through that first day and get diurnally adjusted as quickly as possible. So after minor adjustments, the entire clan wobbled off to the Ile de La Cite.
Paris was crawling with pods of 3-5 French army guys, each packing evil eyes and a submachine gun . They weren't messing around. Notre Dame was mobbed, so we just cruised past and went over to try to get into the Petite Chapelle. Unfortunately, we were a few minutes too late to get in, so we kept heading North to the bank of the Seine. We flowed along the road past the Hotel Dieu and down a sidestreet to find a little bistro, La Reserve de Quasimodo. We stopped for a late lunch. The Seine was still flooding, but had receded enough to walk down some of the stairs.

Not so fresh off the flight, La Reserve de Quasimodo:


Petite Chapelle


Flooding Seine:

After that we looped up to the bridge to Ile Saint Louis, then back across the Seine just East of Notre Dame zone and carved back through the little angly streets of the Latin Quarter to the hotel where the rest of my posse collapsed. I left them snoozing while I found more coffee, a bit more bitter than I had hoped, but close by. It was the first of several coffee bars I prowled.

I had contacted PhilippeR who was kind enough to meet me at Les Deux Magots for some talk and wine. We talked about skiing in France and someday I've got to get to Val D'Isere.

I struggled to stay awake, walking around Rue St. Germain, Rue des Ecoles and Rue Saint Jacques. Another coffee bar, not so bad, but still not the smooth espresso of my dreams and I went back to roust my troops for dinner. With limited success, I managed to wake my wife up and we went and had a nice little meal at the Bistro Perigourd. I had duck, foie gras and a salad and my wife had a salad. I woke up several times about to plant my face in several of these dishes. Their red wine was good and they even had a glass of Montbazillac to go with the foie gras. By 8:00 I was a a sonambulist and Lisa gently nudged me back towards our room at the hotel.

Someone loves escargot:

On rising the next day, the target was the Musee d'Orsay. I did a little more reconnaissance and found the local 'Bistro 1' made excellent coffee and there was a killer boulangerie, the Patisserie Viennoise, just next door. I had also had found a gluten free bakery and gotten a loaf of gluten free bread for the gf portion of our troupe, so we breakfasted on the way angling down theough Saint Germain through the gallery district to the Musee d'Orsay.

The d'Orsay was an exercise in being overwhelmed. Still jetlagged, the surreality of being immersed in all that art was a lot for the senses. The Lautrecs were so awesome. The sculpture on the levels rising from the entry blew my daughters mind. She kept asking how they got the marble fabric to look so real. After the array of stuff up through the 4th floor including Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas, Gauguin, Van Gogh to name the big ones we repaired to the gallery district for lunch and then a stroll back to the hotel for a nap before dinner. I discovered a new deep appreciation for Sisley and Pissarro.

For dinner we went to the Bistroy Papille. The Prix fix was excellent with the main dish being a lamb leg roasted for 6 hours. The appetizer has an incredible sweet potato soup. Wine was a 2012 Dujac Morey Saint Denis. All the ground floor tables were full, so we ate in the private dining room in the basement which was a little musty. Service was excellent, friendly and lovely. One of the best food experiences and not super fancy, but more earthy and real.

Next day we tore around Notre Dame and saw the Petite Chapelle. ND is somebre, gaping and largely dark with the weight of age and size. PC was by contrast much more accessible and just incredibly beautiful with soaring panes of stained glass as electric as any memory from the 60s. The line to climb the tower was long, so we skipped it until a couple of days later and ended up walking over to the Ile St. Louis for lunch at an ancient bistro where the duck was delicious. Dinner this night was at the Coupechou. It's a beautiful building and the service was excellect, but the food wasn't particularly stellar. It was great, mind you, by any US standards, but wasn't particularly inventiveor noteworthy. Nice duck breast, decent wine list, but expensive.
Notre Dame :

.

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Next day was the Louvre. Then the Polidor, a bistro open since 1845.

[Bromontana]

kids look like they had a blast; dad of the year TR itt

[Norseman]

Yeah, looks like you guys saw some diverse country.

*edit to add: this post made before words were added to the TR...

[Buster Highmen]

The day after that, we walked over to the Pompidou after breakfast at Bistro 1 which had excellent coffee. The locals kept looking at us and finally, one of the owners came over and said "the tourists never come here. What brings you here?" In my cowboy french I mangled out that it was the best coffee we'd found. He beamed. We were in.

I'm not a big fan of the period represented by the Pompidou, the Bracques, Picasso. Modigliani, etc. But it was cool to see. It was raining more that day than prior, back to the deluges we'd read that had swamped Paris 2 weeks before. After the Pompidou, we headed West, had lunch then ducked into Saint Eustace, an immense cathedral in the Las Halles district made famous by Emile Zola (The Belly of Paris). It was a strikingly beautiful church, lighter than ND de P and more functioning with mumbly prayers and swishing robes present.

We had decided to get to the l'Orangerie in the afternoon, so we walked in a downpour from Saint Eustace through the Tuileries to the L'Orangerie and waited outside for nearly an hour. L'Orangerie is where there's an installation by Monet of his "Waterlilies" mounted on the walls of 2 elliptic rooms. The effect is hallucinatory. Stunning. Amazing. After that, there was another exhibition in the basement of the works of a number of post impressionists like Gauguin witha few works by Alfred Jarry, creator of 'Ubu Roi' and the school of pataphysics which asserts that the only things of interest are not the averages, but the anomalies. One of my favorites.

Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi, l'Orangerie:


Tired, we walked back to the Latin Quarter through the maze of narrow streets in St. Germain. I saw an interesting wine store, La Dernier Goutte and stepped in to find an affable Californian who gave out a bunch of information, including a suggestion to go to one of their restaurants, Semilla. We did and the tasting menu was superb.

Next day we opted to rail it down to Versailles. It was hot and Versailles really delivered. We walked through all of the palace that was open and did a short walk to the overlook of the gardens. The Hall of Mirrors was mindbending, as was the idea of being so self centered that all this lavishness was worth the paucity of the contemporary plebians. Ah Wall Street. Again the area was crawling with armed French army pods and a number of black clad operatives with cells phones and sinister footwear.

Versailles


Hall of Mirrors:


Musee Rodin:

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Lady and the Unicorn Tapestry Musee de Moyen Age: (Too dark)

[Buster Highmen]

kids look like they had a blast; dad of the year TR itt

There were parts that were overwhelming, but it's something they'll remember.

Yeah, looks like you guys saw some diverse country.

Yup, walked all over the Rive Gauche and Rive Droit, from Ile St. Louis to the l"Orangerie. Didn't make it to the Champs Elysee or the Tour Eiffel. Next time.
Then bombed down to Grenoble on a TGV going 160 mph at points, rented a car and drove up to La Grave, hung there for 2 days, then ralied back to Grenoble and the train to Dijon via Lyon. Loved Dijon; stayed there for 4 days with 1 day spent in Beaune. The back to Paris and on to the plane. 13 days total in France.

I'll do more travelogging as I find time.

[mcski]

Some of the best views in Paris from the top of the Pompidou. Friend of mine pulled what looked like a doorknob off of one of the sculptures there. Thought it was interactive. Woops.

[Buster Highmen]

Some of the best views in Paris from the top of the Pompidou. Friend of mine pulled what looked like a doorknob off of one of the sculptures there. Thought it was interactive. Woops.

From the top of the Pompidou:



True; belltower of NDdeP wasn't too shabby either.

[mcski]

What about the catacombs? Best ride in France.

[PNWbrit]

Well done B. Well done.

Have many happy memories of Paris.

[Buster Highmen]

What about the catacombs? Best ride in France.

We did ND de P twice, Petit Chapelle, Musee de Moyen Age, the Pompidou, St Germain de Pres, Musee d'Orsay twice, l'Orangerie, Louvre, Versailles, Rodin Museum in 6 days. We prioritized the ahrte.

Well done B. Well done.

Have many happy memories of Paris.

Thanks. I had always wanted to go, had never been and after this fucking gutwrencher of a year, a dose of madness comme ca was juste que le docteur ordered. I love it; Dijon was incredible too.

[PNWbrit]

Thanks. I had always wanted to go, had never been and after this fucking gutwrencher of a year, a dose of madness comme ca was juste que le docteur ordered.

I know you'd been looking forward to taking the family for a long time.

Happy for you to have got it. Especially after everything you guys have been through recently.

[snoqpass]

Will you be getting fitted for a new toque?

[plugboots]

B - I hope you don't mind, but for the unwashed, y couloir on the right, pan on the left:

[Norseman]

meet me at Les Deux Magots for some talk and wine.

This little line sticks best in my mind and tongue, almost too fitting for TGR, among many other well-articulated bits. Thanks for the story, Buster.

[abraham]

B - I hope you don't mind, but for the unwashed, y couloir on the right, pan on the left:

I don't mind being unwashed. I was wondering just where the lines were and which was which.

After the Pompidou, we headed West, had lunch then ducked into Saint Eustace, an immense cathedral in the Las Halles district made famous by Emile Zola (The Belly of Paris). It was a strikingly beautiful church, lighter than ND de P and more functioning with mumbly prayers and swishing robes present.

When I was little we attempted your strategy of waking and staying up to acclimate to the time change. We went to an organ in this cathedral on the first day and somehow I fell asleep through most of it. Evidently it wasn't great because I remember the French guy behind me making a comment to my dad about being jealous of my ability

Next day we opted to rail it down to Versailles. It was hot and Versailles really delivered. We walked through all of the palace that was open and did a short walk to the overlook of the gardens. The Hall of Mirrors was mindbending, as was the idea of being so self centered that all this lavishness was worth the paucity of the contemporary plebians. Ah Wall Street. Again the area was crawling with armed French army pods and a number of black clad operatives with cells phones and sinister footwear.

Versailles


Hall of Mirrors:

Very cool that you saw the Olafur Eliasson installation while it was there!



I think you really captured the feeling of walking around and exploring Paris. Though I never ate nearly as well as you did. I'm glad it was a good trip

[Arno]

Looks like a great trip. Haven't done Paris in a while which is ridiculous given that it's only a couple of hours away in the train

[::: :::]

My family would love that trip. Well done!

[grskier]

well done.. thanks for sharing.

[Buster Highmen]

I haven't finished the story...will try to add today.

Left off at the Louvre.
The Louvre devours you. It's so ridiculously huge and so dense with the weightiest art.
We started off in the Egyptian collection, rooms upon rooms of sarcophogai, scarabs, carvings, Amun , Ka, Ba, all the gods of the Egyptian Book of the Dead (Burroughs). Swept along by an avalanche of history, I got dizzy. And I thought the Brits had ripped off the Mideast. Next we headed upstairs to see the dining room where there were incredible portraits on the walls, jewels and cutlery and a ceiling of bacchanalian splendor. Then on to the grand masters: Reubens, Vermeer, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, left virtually alone in the galleries on the way to the Mona Lisa which was surprisingly unmobbed. Saw the great Jean Louis Davids, the Coronation of the Empress. All that among the Winged Venus, the Venus de Milo, Cupids Kiss. Still my daughter could not get over the realization of fabrics in marble. We left exhausted.

That night we went to the Polidor, a bistro opened in 1845, complete with red and white checked tablecloths and a hole in the floor in the basement for a toilet. The food was so-so; I had duck confit. They had bottles of 2000 Leroy red Bourgogne for reasonable, so we got one of those. Son had escargots, daughter had steak, wife also had the confit.

[Buster Highmen]

The chronology has gotten messed up, but anyway, after Versailles




we trained it back to Paris on the night of music with bands setting up everywhere. We were headed to David Toutaines that night; most amazing meal I've eaten in a while with around 15 courses of teensy tastes, 2 bottles of wine (one a disappointing Mugnier Fuees...). I We did not leave hungry.

Outside David Toutaine:


I did fail to mention that there was another museum, le Musee des Moyen age, literally 2 blocks from our hotel. It used to be called Musée de Cluny and is currently the subject of an excavation project to expose some roman baths. At any rate the collection there was amazing, especially the tapestries, notable the series for the Lady and the Unicorn.

I also forgot to mention the last day which consisted of another foray to the d'Orsay, spending time on the 5th floor absorbing the impressionists and rediscovering Sisley and Pissarro. Dinner that night was Relais de Saint Germain, also an amazing meal. Best cheese plate I ever had and a bottle of 2012 Ghislane Barthod Chambolle-Musigny for 60 euro was fantastic.

I think it was the nest day that we checked out, took a taxi to the Garre de Lyon and hopped a TGV train for Grenoble. The train was awesome, another thing I had wanted to do since the early seventies when I rode trains from the West coast to the Midwest. e just sat and watched the landscape change and marveled at the killer tagging all the way on any remotely industrial site.

[Buster Highmen]

La Grave.

We got to Grenoble, got a Mercedes sedan rental car and lit out fro La Grave. I got lost of course since I kept trying to avoid going to Gap which was signed, but I knew was not the destination. After getting some food at a grocery, we got back on track and drove up, including the thilling single lane temporary road around the Lac Du Chambon.
La Grave is gorgeous as always, the first time back in 20 years for my wife.

En route


New real estate development in La Grave:


One of my favorite lifts:


See the tracks. Loony frogs:


The Y Couloir and the Pan de Rideau. Warm up runs. The Y couloir is that first bit of sun coming from the right. I confess, I didn't do that one, but I did traverse across the top of it to get to the PdeR which is the slightly less steep pitch to the left of the Y.



Aging hippies high in the French Alps:


Kids thrilled in the telepherique


From the deck of the gluten free friendly Edelweiss ( props to them for great food and ambience):


Drinking fountain:


After 2 days, it was roll back to Grenoble, then hop the train for Dijon via Lyon.

[Buster Highmen]

Dijon was the surprise of the trip. Rich with medieval architecture, far more relaxed than Paris and much less expensive, plus a 20 minute train ride to Beaune. We really took it easy by this time, visiting the stunning Musee des Beaux Arts, the palace of the former Dukes of Burgundy who at one time prior to Parisian control ruled the lands from Amsterdam to Geneva. The Dukes of Burgundy were tight with the Medicis. I had gotten a 2* hotel in the old quarter of the city, Le Jacquemart and there were some noise issues on Saturday night. But the hotel was the real deal: no elevator, spiral staircase, cool balcony and 90 Euros a night for 4.


The hotel is near the car up the alley on the right.



I had to hold on to the top of my head for fear it would blow off.





Musee des Beauxs Arts:



We had long lunches and a memorable evening meal at Le Dame d'Aquitaine which occupies the reclaimed crypt of a church across the street. Super wine list, had a 2013 Denis Mortet Mes Cinq Terroirs that for some reason was my favorite wine of the trip. They had single pours of 2001 Rayne Vigneau to go with the foie gras.



Paris had torn down the legendary Les Halles market years ago, but in Dijon, theirs was going strong, so we got up early one morning and spent it at the Dijon Les Halles, watching the meat, fish, veggies, flowers and cheeses get laid out, haggled over and bought and sold.







One day we rode the train to Beaune, walked around scoured the Hospice de Beaune and met Bill Nanson, a wine devotee, for a late lunch and a bottle.



I also thought the Notre Dame de Dijon had amazing gargoyles with only 1 shortcoming: no Trump likenesses.

[Buster Highmen]

Photo credits to my wife who actually takes the time to snap shots while her husband spaces around looking at shit.

[Buster Highmen]

Will you be getting fitted for a new toque?

Because I have such a fat head now?
Prolly not.

B - I hope you don't mind, but for the unwashed, y couloir on the right, pan on the left:

No problem, pb. I love that mountain, but I reserve no rights.

Looks like a great trip. Haven't done Paris in a while which is ridiculous given that it's only a couple of hours away in the train

It seems like it moved a little further away on the 23rd of June. We must meet somewhere around the Ecrins in the not too distant future.

My family would love that trip. Well done!

Thanks.

well done.. thanks for sharing.

Thanks.

This is something I had put off forever; always some higher priority, always had to save more $, never enough time, always some other project that had to be managed. Finally I just thought fuckit, life is too short and the opportunity could evaporate, so we struck when the pan was hot.

As far as the terrorist thing goes, it was present to one extent or another constantly. But death is just around the corner all the time and that can't stop us from following our dreams.

[plugboots]

Well done. We did a similar trip a few years ago, and since we didn't visit La Grave, we did the whole thing by train, using sleeping berths for the longer stretches. Paris>Beaune>Bologne>Florence>Venice>Paris Lots of memories in your photos.