Hills covered in CDs at 104/Centquatre

The coolest wire fence ever

After 104/Centquatre, we took the subway a few stops to the nearby Buttes-Chaumont park.  Buttes-Chaumont makes Central Park look like a flatland.  The park has a lake, waterfalls, bridges, cliffs, hills, etc.  It reminded me of the romantic-style settings of Watteau’s fête galante paintings (a genre of paintings typically depicting aristocrats frolicking outdoors).

On the suspension bridge in Buttes-Chaumont Park

Look at Véronique's t-shirt!

We went for a mini-hike in the park and then met up with our friend Jacqueline for lunch in the Marais. We went to one of the two locations of the Rose Bakery, which is my favorite non-French, non-Moroccan restaurant in Paris.  The restaurant is owned by a Franco-English couple and serves English-inspired food, specializing in market-fresh vegetable dishes and baked goods.  We ordered two vegetarian tarts and one tofu avocado salad to split.  The food was delicious and the trendy people-watching was equally interesting (my friends recognized a French actress, although I didn’t know her).  I found it was funny that the restaurant’s help wanted sign was only in English.

Excellent meal at the Rose Bakery

Following lunch Véronique and Jacqueline showed me their favorite boutiques in the Marais. We walked to the Bastille and then decided to go to the Great Mosque of Paris for tea. The Great Mosque is the largest mosque in France and it is stunning!  We selected several types of middle eastern pastries and then sat in the courtyard garden where waiters came around with trays of sweet mint tea.  The courtyard was pretty and relaxing, minus the occasional pigeon flying around.  We peeked into the indoor restaurant, which was also quite beautiful and took some photos there.

Courtyard at the Great Mosque of Paris

Marzipan-ish pink almond pastry and delicious sweet mint tea

Indoor restaurant at the Great Mosque

Jacqueline and I posing at the indoor restaurant

We took the bus back to my friend’s apartment to meet Monica.  It was my first and last time on a bus in Paris, since  similar to NY’s buses, it was scenic, but very very slow.  At night Monica and I went out for (an undocumented) dinner with a family friend at the historic Brasserie Wepler.  Picasso, Modigliani, Apollinaire, Henry Miller, and Truffaut all frequented the restaurant, so it was lovely to experience the grand brasserie and enjoy a meal with great company.

View from the top

Sacré-Cœur was packed!  The golden mosaic interiors were impressive, but my favorite part of reaching the top of the hill was seeing the spectacular panoramic views of Paris.  It was also fun to observe foreign couples having (mock?) wedding photos taken on the steps.  After touring the basilica, I wandered around Montmartre and visited boutiques.  I was a little disappointed to see some of the same stores that were in the neighborhood where I was staying.  It reminded me of NYC where we have the same chains everywhere, except the boutiques were smaller in size.

Invalides

My next destination was La Pagode theater in the the 7th arrondissement.  La Pagode is an antique-style pagoda that was built by the owner of Le Bon Marché as a gift for his wife.  The structure was intended to serve as a ballroom for their home next door, but now houses a movie theater with a charming garden cafe.  I stopped by and enjoyed a lovely pot of green tea from Mariage Frères (the best french tea!).  After tea, I walked around the 7th arrondissement, which is a very upscale residential neighborhood that contains many government institutions and foreign embassies.  I passed the École Militaire (a prestigious military academy), Invalides (Napoleon’s burial site), and UNESCO’s headquarters, the latter of which I really wanted to tour, but requires a three-month advanced appointment.

La Pagode looked a lot more spectacular in person.

Tea at La Pagode

Tea and dragons

La Pagode's Japanese garden

In the evening I met up with Monica again and we had dinner at a family friend’s house.  Afterwards we went to Oberkampf, which is an area with a lot of bars and lively nightlife.  Oberkampf was a short walk from where we were staying, which was great because the Paris metro does not run all night (this and air conditioning are the only things the MTA has on Paris).  We had drinks at Ave Maria, which is a very kitschy and cute bar that was recommended by my Timeout guide.  We ordered kir royals and I was impressed that the drinks were reasonably priced and you could pick from a variety of fruit flavors (to be added to the sparkling wine).  I would definitely go back (if I was still in Paris)!  Thus concludes day 8.

Monica

Ave Maria Bar

After the Chocolate Show I went to the World Financial Center to see Canstruction, an annual design competition and exhibition that benefits City Harvest.  Twenty-six design and architecture firms participated in the event and built sculptures out of cans, which are on display throughout the Winter Garden.  The sculptures are very impressive and have accompanying artistic statements.  My only complaint is that the layout/continuation of the event isn’t well labeled.  I thought I saw all of the sculptures, but when I looked at an article online about the exhibit, I realized I missed a few.  I would have loved to see the can version of the Brooklyn Bridge!

Visitors are asked to bring a canned good, which is donated to City Harvest, along with the cans that are used for the sculptures.  I brought vegetarian baked beans.  Canstruction is on view until November 21, from 9am-6pm daily at 220 Vesey Street.  For more details about Canstruction, visit the website here.

Today I attended the 14^th annual NYC Chocolate Show, which is open until Sunday (tomorrow) at the Metropolitan Pavilion.  The Chocolate Show consists mostly of vendors selling and sampling chocolate, but there are also cooking demonstrations, book signings, and children’s activities.  There are some seemingly unrelated booths promoting alcohol, spices, NYTimes subscriptions, etc…but for the most part the show will appeal to chocoholics.  The first day of the show there was a chocolate fashion show and the wears can be seen on mannequins scattered throughout the room.

Some standout booths were American Heritage Chocolate (historically inspired colonial hot chocolate), Chocolate for the Spirit (costumed salespeople selling adorable chocolate buddhas), Gnosis Chocolate (raw/vegan chocolate), and Maison Boissier (colored chocolate petals).

I hadn’t been to the show in several years and my only complaint is that the event is now condensed to one room, which was packed with people.  I also think the admission fee of $30. is high, but you can bring two children for free per ticket.  For more information about the Chocolate Show, check out the site here.

Medieval architecture

We visited the oldest mansion in the Marais, which has a bullet hole on its façade.

Oldest mansion in the Marais

We also stopped at the (unpictured) Holocaust Memorial, which was appropriately somber.  It was additionally sad that the memorial had very intense security.  For lunch we got take out from L’As du Falafel, which is the most famous falafel place in Paris and Lenny Kravitz’ restaurant of choice.  The falafel was good, but not significantly better than Chez Marianne, where I ate the week before with Charles.

L'As du Falafel

Casher = Kosher

We walked to Place des Vosges, which as previously described is where I would want to live in Paris.  We toured Victor Hugo’s apartment, which overlooks the square and is now a free museum.  I definitely recommend stopping by as a quick and cultural visit, although the apartment is a bit dark.

Place des Vosges

Chinoiserie room at Victor Hugo's apartment = my favorite room!

The rest of Victor Hugo's apartment

We walked to the Institut du Monde Arab (Institute of the Arab World), which is housed in a very innovative building designed by Jean Nouvel.  The windows of the building have metal geometrical designs, which open and close based on the light exposure and in turn control the lighting in the building.  The Institute has changing exhibits, a large bookstore, a cafe, a restaurant, and a free rooftop deck with great views of the city.  We stopped at the cafe for a pick-me-up and I ordered mint tea.  It was super strong!

Institut du Monde Arab

Cool window

Mint tea service

We then walked to the nearby Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation, which memorializes the 160,000 people who were deported from France to concentration camps.  The design is supposed to evoke aspects of a concentration camp, with narrow passages and restricted views of the outside world.

Memorial to the Deportation

Memorial lights

The memorial is close to Notre Dame Cathedral, so that was our next stop.

Notre Dame from the back

I thought this gargoyle was so cute! Not exactly the desired reaction...hehe.

Our last stop was Shakespeare & Company, which is frequently mentioned in one of my favorite books, Ernest Hemingway’s “A Moveable Feast.”  Hemingway and other famous deceased writers used to hang out there and borrow money from the owner Sylvia Beech.  The shop was cute and I especially liked that there were a couple auditorium style seats where we could rest and flip through books.

Shakespeare and Co. (and Monica's backside)

After a very exhausting day, we went to my friend Véronique’s apartment for a welcome dinner party.  Véronique is of French tunisian descent and she is an expert couscous maker.  She cooked couscous merguez, which was the best I had in Paris.  This was also the last time I ate couscous merguez because by this time I had officially ODed on it.

Couscous merguez with peppers and melon

Paris Boutique. Photo by Barbara J. Rosen

Monday was Charles’ last day in Paris, so we had a decidedly un-cultural day, spent walking around and shopping for gifts for his friends and family.  Our first stop was Le Bon Marché, which is my favorite department store.  Contrary to its name (“the good deal”), the store is anything but cheap.  It reminds me a lot of Barneys, which also started out as a discount store and features similarly trendy items.  We perused the clothes and then visited the beautiful gourmet store across the street (Le Bon Marché’s Grand Épicerie).  It makes Whole Foods look dumpy!  We bought a variety of foods (cheese, bread, raw cut vegetables) and had a picnic in a nearby park.

Le Bon Marché

Le Bon Marche's restaurant has a cool interior, but I remembered from my last trip that I liked the decor more than the food, so we didn't eat there.

After lunch, we stopped at A la Mère de Famille, which is the oldest candy store in Paris and has a charming old-fashioned interior.  We also visited the original Ladurée location, where Charles bought a box of macaroons for  his family (this was the week before Ladurée opened in NYC).

A la Mère de Famille

The oldest Ladurée in Paris has pretty frescoes. Not a high quality photo, but you get the idea.

We walked to Galeries Lafayette, which is the most famous department store in Paris and also my least favorite.  It is like a zoo!  The store is expensive and packed with people, which does not make for a pleasant shopping experience.  However, I thought Charles should see it because it is super famous and the large stained glass ceiling in the main building is beautiful.  I told Charles that the stained glass reminded me of a church and he remarked that it was like a church to capitalism.

Stained glass ceiling at Galeries Lafayette

Cosmetics floor of GL

Our next stop was the Passage Jouffroy, which is one of my favorite sites in Paris.  The passages are 19th century shopping arcades, located throughout Paris (esp. near the Grand Boulevards), that were the forerunners to malls.  I am curious to know how the stores inside the passages manage to stay in business because they are not in the direct way of pedestrian traffic.  We visited a very cute doll house/minature store (my idea).  The Passage Jouffrey also houses the Musee Grevin, which is a historic wax museum that was one of my favorite places in Paris when I was a child.

Entrance to the Passage Jouffrey

Entering the passage is like stepping back in time! Photo by Barbara J. Rosen

Empty passage. Photo by Barbara J. Rosen

We headed back to the 10th arrondismont, continuing along the Grand Boulevards and then walking up the Rue du Faubourg St. Dennis, where we passed through an African neighborhood.  It was interesting to see how the neighborhood had changed and become more diverse since I was last there in ’05.  We also passed Passage Brady, which is a passage with all Indian restaurants that was around when I was in Paris.

Passage Brady (old photo, but I assure you it hasn't changed...my hair color on the other hand....)

For Charles’ last night we went with my friends to a Kosher Tunisian couscous restaurant in Belleville.  I didn’t take photos, but the food was great and it especially fun to try because there are no Kosher Tunisian restaurants in NYC…at least not that I know of.

The Japanese Mall

After my family trip to the Hudson River Valley, we stopped at the Japanese Mall in Edgewater, NJ on the way home.  We used to go to the Japanese Mall a lot when I was younger and would always have dinner at the beautiful Japanese steakhouse overlooking the Hudson.  Unfortunately, the steakhouse is out of business, but the mall is still worth a visit.

Stores at the Japanese Mall

Food court at the mall

When we arrived at the mall, our first stop was the supermarket, where we were overwhelmed by the large variety of Japanese products.

Rice milling machine

Who knew there are so many varieties of miso?

Tofu?

Half an aisle devoted to panko (breadcrumbs)

There were also some products with funny packaging and terms that didn’t translate so well.

"Good Good Eat" ramen noodles

Cute Kewpie mayo in a bag

Curry that is perfect for the Jewish New Year

"Fruity salad" juice made me smile

Pretty Sake bottles

We bought some sashimi to have for dinner later and then visited the food court for a snack.  There were lots of Japanese restaurants and one misplaced Italian restaurant.  I was excited to see that the Japanese restaurants had plastic food displays, which I first learned is popular in Japan from the Sesame Street special, “Big Bird Goes to Japan” (now, THAT was quality children’s programming!).

Plastic food display

Another plastic food display

Plastic food close-up

I bought an iced green tea latte, which I had never had before.  I wouldn’t get it again, but it was interesting to try.

Tea and ice cream menu. My green tea latte is on the right.

Before leaving we stopped to admire the beautifully packaged jellied treats at the bakery.  Some of the packaging was more appealing than the pastries, but I would be curious to try one on our next trip.

Japanese bakery

Pastries in packaging that reminded me of soap

Cute bunnies on the left

Cake and mochi

I had a really fun time at the Japanese mall and I would love to go back to the food court for a meal.  It looked like a few of the store fronts were empty, but I did see a Shiseido make up store and a bookstore.  There was also a sign for a free shuttle from NYC, although it says on the website that the shuttle is $3 dollars.  Either way, it’s a good deal and a great mini-trip from NYC for Japanese culture immersion.

The tunnels reminded me of the border crossing scene in the movie "El Norte," but at least there were no rats.

The Catacombs are a series of underground tunnels, which house the bones of six million dead people, who were transferred in the late 1700′s, when the city’s public burial grounds became overcrowded.  My cousin tried to visit a few weeks earlier and said the line was over two hours.  Luckily, the line was only about an hour and fifteen minutes.  Before entering, a sign warned that the Catacombs are not for people with claustrophobia or nervous conditions.  We descended down the long twisting staircase and began the self-guided tour.

Monument in the Catacombs

Another monument

For the first 20 minutes of the tour, we walked through generic tunnels and saw a couple monuments to workers who died during the construction of the tunnel system.  Then we reached the ossuary.

Bones and skulls arranged in decorative patterns. Some of the skulls still had teeth!

Bones, bones, and more bones!

The ossuary was the creepiest thing I have ever seen.  You can’t tell from my photos, but the rows of bones go back hundreds, if not thousands of feet and there are rooms, after rooms of bones.  I have never visited a concentration camp, but the vast number of bones and the seemingly never ending rows reminded me of the Holocaust.  I found it particularly strange that the bones were arranged in patterns.  Although the tour was supposed to take forty-five minutes, we rushed through the oussary and finished ten minutes early.  A security guard at the exit checked our bags and I saw that he was sitting with three confiscated skulls.  I was completely disgusted that people would steal bones and skulls!  Across the street was a gift store with related memorabilia.

Skull and bones themed gift shop

The original plan was to make a picnic for lunch, but due to our late start and the fact that the supermarkets were all closed, we ended up buying cheese sandwiches from a truck and eating in a small park near the Catacombs.  After lunch we visited Saint-Germain-des-Prés, which is a lovely neighborhood with lots of upscale shops and famous cafes, formerly frequented by existentialist philosophers.  I was surprised to read in my guide book that the revered bakery, Pierre Herme was open on Sundays.  I tried to visit on my last stay, but the line was ridiculous.  Fortunately, this time it wasn’t too bad.  Charles and I bought rose, lemon, chocolate, and carmel macaroons.  We liked them all, but we both agreed that they weren’t better than Ladurée (and I prefer the interiors of the Ladurée salons).

Macaroons!

We walked around Saint-Germain-des-Prés, but almost all of the shops were closed.  We did visit an impressive historic church and saw the cafe La Palette, where Ernest Hemingway, Jim Morrison, and Picasso used to drink (Charles made the very astute observation that it seemed like Ernest Hemingway drank in every bar in Paris).  I forgot to take a photo of the cafe, but I photographed the gorgeous mosaic facade of the fish restaurant, La Boissonnerie, which we passed along the way.

This photo would be prettier minus the cars.

We finished the day at the Luxembourg Gardens, which is one of the largest and most beautiful parks in Paris.  Marie de’ Medici built a palace there in the style of the Pitti Palace and it is now an art museum.  I just realized that we forgot to visit the Medici fountain, but I highly recommend it.  Definitely one of the most romantic places in Paris!

In front of the Luxembourg Palace

Luxembourg Gardens

Please stay tuned for day six!

One of many flags along the Hudson River Valley

Pumpkins galore!

Our first stop was for apple picking at Stuart’s Farm in Granite Springs, NY, which is the oldest apple orchard in Westchester County.  The farm has been run by the Stuart family for six generations.  Stuarts sells empty bags for $10. or $25. and you can rent sticks for a refundable $20., which is necessary to get the best (large) apples.

Silo

My cousin Shula is the tallest and strongest person in our family, so she did most of the picking, while I took photos.

Shula in action

My mother and I with our apple bag

We bought the $25. bag, which we were told could hold up to 55 apples.  I didn’t count, but that’s probably not far off from what we collected.  I foresee some apple baking experimentation in the future!  We brought lunch from home and ate on picnic tables next to the fields.  We also stopped at Stuart’s bakery and bought apple cider donuts, which were delicious!

The nice man who ran the bakery took this photo for me of the donut machine behind the counter

the finished product

After lunch, we visited the farm store, which sold beautiful, brightly colored produce.

Jacko and the star attraction, apples!

Jacko eyeing the nectarines.

Carnival squash

Signs of fall

We also admired the old machinery on Stuart’s grounds:

An antique gas filling station

A vintage tractor

After Stuarts, we proceeded up the Hudson River  to Cold Spring, NY (not to be confused with Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island).  Cold Spring is a small, quaint town with lots of 19th century architecture.  The town is known for antique shops, which line Main Street.  We visited one and found it rather overpriced.  I think they know their clientele (ahemm…tourists from NYC).

Flags are very popular in the Hudson River Valley

Colorful leaves

Nice architecture in Cold Spring

We walked to the lookout point at the end of Main Street, which has STUNNING views of the Hudson River Valley.  This concluded our time upstate, but on the way home we stopped at the Japanese mall in New Jersey, which was so interesting it merits its own post (coming soon!).

Lookout from Cold Spring (Storm King Mountain)

Note – for those who do not have access to a car, Cold Spring is about an hour and a half by Metro-North train from NYC.

ADDENDUM – Shula baked us this lovely apple galette!

Apple galette

Junk market at Clignancort

We left quickly and headed to the Marais, which is my favorite neighborhood.  The Marais is Paris’ historically Jewish quarter and has lots of mansions, many of which are now museums.  While there is still a strong Jewish presence, the area has become very trendy, with hip boutiques and bars replacing the traditional Jewish stores.  It is also considered the epicenter of the city’s gay community.

Remaining signs of Jewish life in the Marais. Photo by Barbara J. Rosen

Jewish stores in the Marais

the new Marais. Photo by Barbara J. Rosen

The Rue de Rosiers is home to the neighborhood’s remaining Jewish stores and many falafel restaurants, the most famous of which is L’As du Falafel.  I thought the falafel restaurants were more cultural than religious, but apparently I was wrong because all but two were closed for Shabbat.  After a forty-five minute wait, we got take out at Chez Marianne.  Despite not being one of the recommended restaurants, the falafel was delicious!

Tourists eating falafel in front of Chez Marianne. I forgot to take a photo of mine, so this will have to do, but it didn't look much different than falafel in NYC anyway.

We bought dessert at Sacha Finkelsztajn across the street, which is a third generation run Jewish bakery.  In general, the pastries at the traditional Jewish bakeries in Paris fascinated me because the specialties were so different from traditional Jewish bakeries in the U.S.  The Jewish bakeries in Marais all had square cake slices in their windows, which came in the following flavors: cheesecake, apple cake, poppy seed cake, and date cake.

Famous Jewish Bakery

Chocolate banana cake and traditional date cake

After lunch we walked to Place des Vosges, which is the oldest planned square in Paris and stood as the model for planned squares all over the world (it inspired Covent Gardens and Bloomsbury Square in London, which in turn inspired Gramercy Square, Stuyvesant Square, Union Square, and Madison Square in NYC).  Victor Hugo had an apartment on the square and DSK currently resides there (more about that in later posts!).  If I could live anywhere in Paris, this would be it:

Place de Vosges

We walked through the park in the center of the square and then visited Musée Carnavelet, which is a free museum dedicated to the history of the Paris.  The museum is definitely one of the best free cultural sites in Paris.  The museum is housed in two neighboring mansions and has a lovely courtyard.  The main attractions at the museum are the painting collection and the fabulous period rooms, which include an art nouveau bar and Marcel Proust’s bedroom.

Musée Carnavalet

We covered the museum and then walked two blocks to the Musée Cognac-Jay, another interesting free museum.  The Cognac-Jay is also housed in a former mansion and features the eighteenth century art collection of the owners of the now closed Samaritaine department store.  The paintings are nice and the price is right, but I would more strongly recommend the Musée Nissim de Camondo if you are an affectionado of the eighteenth century (the Camondo home is better furnished).  The Cognac-Jay has a cute garden, but it was raining, so we skipped it.  I wanted to show Charles the free Atelier Brancusi at the Pompidou Center (the modern art museum AKA Beaubourg), but unfortunately it started pouring and was closed by the time we arrived.  We got tea in a café while waiting for the rain to subside and then headed home to change for dinner.

The exterior of the Pompidou Center is cool, but kind of ugly (the building's functional elements are on the outside). This is an old photo, taken on a day with less inclement weather.

Charles wanted to have a fancy night out, so we decided upon Brasserie Bofinger, which is one of my favorite restaurants in Paris.  Brasserie Bofinger specializes in seafood and has a historic art nouveau interior.  I ordered two appetizers instead of an entrée, escargot and salmon tartare.  I also got a kir (crème de cassis + white wine), which became the official drink of the trip, because “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.”  Everything was excellent and I felt very lucky that we were able to sit under the famous glass doomed ceiling in the central dining room, without even having a reservation.

Brasserie Bofinger

Escargot

Salmon tartare

Please check back Friday for the next installment in my Paris series, which includes a tour of the super creepy catacombs and a visit to the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens.