Susan's Paris
Mar 21st, 2011, 04:13 AM
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Susan's Paris
<b>December, 2009 — Au Vieux Chêne</b>
I sat with my wife, Susan, in Au Vieux Chêne, her favourite restaurant in Paris. In the pause between the main course and dessert, we took in the warmth, the sound of conversation, the clink of cutlery, and the smell of food. One of the waiters was greeting a new arrival at the door.
“It is unmistakably Paris, isn’t it?” I asked. Susan was silent for a moment, and then said, “You’ll be back.”
I could not utter. Susan was terminally ill; this was her last trip to Paris, the city that she adored.
She passed away last June, six months after we returned to Canada.
<b>February, 2011 — Paris, again</b>
Last month my brother Richard, his wife Esther, and I went to Paris for 17 days. We shared a large two-bedroom apartment on rue des Petits Champs in the 1st. It was a poignant choice, as Susan and I had rented it twice before. As I described in a previous trip report, the apartment is spacious, bright, elegant, and well appointed. There are two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The kitchen, dining area, and living room share a large open space, creating a convivial living arrangement. There is a study off the living room that is furnished with a big desk and foldout couch. The apartment is quiet and comfortable; the owners and their Paris representative are kind, responsive, and a pleasure to deal with. Here’s the link:
www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p143450i
The apartment is a stone’s throw from avenue de l’Opéra. This area is a bit more commercial than some might like; it certainly does not have the intimacy of neighbourhood that one might feel in, say, parts of the 3rd, but it is close to the Louvre, Palais Royal, Opéra Garnier, and the Grands Magasins. It is well served by bus and metro lines, and it is central enough that you can walk most anywhere you want — rue Montorgueil, for example, is about 12 minutes away, and there are wonderful bakeries, fish mongers, poultry suppliers, and butchers within a couple of blocks.
My daughter Kate joined us for part of the visit, staying at the Hôtel Mansart near Place Vendôme. (She gave it a good report card, by the way.) While Kate and I consider ourselves to be old Paris hands, Richard and Esther had been only once before. It was a pleasure to act as their pathfinder.
I’m going link to photographs as we go along. I should mention that Richard took almost all of them. Here are the first few. (They are best viewed as a slideshow; just click on “slideshow” near the upper right corner.)
http://AnselmAdorne.zenfolio.com/p1057821057
I sat with my wife, Susan, in Au Vieux Chêne, her favourite restaurant in Paris. In the pause between the main course and dessert, we took in the warmth, the sound of conversation, the clink of cutlery, and the smell of food. One of the waiters was greeting a new arrival at the door.
“It is unmistakably Paris, isn’t it?” I asked. Susan was silent for a moment, and then said, “You’ll be back.”
I could not utter. Susan was terminally ill; this was her last trip to Paris, the city that she adored.
She passed away last June, six months after we returned to Canada.
<b>February, 2011 — Paris, again</b>
Last month my brother Richard, his wife Esther, and I went to Paris for 17 days. We shared a large two-bedroom apartment on rue des Petits Champs in the 1st. It was a poignant choice, as Susan and I had rented it twice before. As I described in a previous trip report, the apartment is spacious, bright, elegant, and well appointed. There are two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The kitchen, dining area, and living room share a large open space, creating a convivial living arrangement. There is a study off the living room that is furnished with a big desk and foldout couch. The apartment is quiet and comfortable; the owners and their Paris representative are kind, responsive, and a pleasure to deal with. Here’s the link:
www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p143450i
The apartment is a stone’s throw from avenue de l’Opéra. This area is a bit more commercial than some might like; it certainly does not have the intimacy of neighbourhood that one might feel in, say, parts of the 3rd, but it is close to the Louvre, Palais Royal, Opéra Garnier, and the Grands Magasins. It is well served by bus and metro lines, and it is central enough that you can walk most anywhere you want — rue Montorgueil, for example, is about 12 minutes away, and there are wonderful bakeries, fish mongers, poultry suppliers, and butchers within a couple of blocks.
My daughter Kate joined us for part of the visit, staying at the Hôtel Mansart near Place Vendôme. (She gave it a good report card, by the way.) While Kate and I consider ourselves to be old Paris hands, Richard and Esther had been only once before. It was a pleasure to act as their pathfinder.
I’m going link to photographs as we go along. I should mention that Richard took almost all of them. Here are the first few. (They are best viewed as a slideshow; just click on “slideshow” near the upper right corner.)
http://AnselmAdorne.zenfolio.com/p1057821057
Mar 21st, 2011, 05:38 AM
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Thanks, tarquin and cw.
This post takes us back to Susan's last trip:
<b>December 2009 — Batignolles</b>
Susan and I stayed in a one-bedroom apartment in Batignolles, a delightful enclave in the 17th. It was on rue Truffaut, a quiet street parallel to rue des Batignolles. Old timers here may remember the apartment; Nikki had rented it before us and had reported on its features. I would today be singing its praises, but the flat was severely damaged in a fire a couple of months after we were there. The neighbourhood, tucked into the triangle between rue de Clichy and the railway cutting down to Gare St-Lazare, is charming. I wouldn’t hesitate to rent in that area again.
The apartment was cozy and tranquil. Susan, who had already lost a lot of stamina, was generally able to get out once a day. We made a few bus trips into the centre of Paris, mostly to restaurants, but Susan was usually content to walk around Batignolles or to curl up with a book. Oddly, I have one vivid memory from the apartment: the family who lived upstairs had young children. We never saw them, we only heard them, but by the end of two weeks we felt that we knew the whole family. There was a toddler, who pattered from room to room. An older child practiced the violin, and someone played Comptine d’un autre été : l’après-midi on the piano. If you ever saw Amélie, you’ll remember:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgYnRh8ACGQ
Susan, still intensely curious about food and cookery, poked into all the shops along rue de Batignolles and rue de Lévy, a market street like rue Montorgueil. She visited the marché bio on boulevard des Batignolles. We walked, too, in Square des Batignolles, that small but perfectly formed park, marvelling at the size of the plane trees. The deep railway cutting, which borders the park, fascinated me; I often stood on the edge and watched the commuter trains glide by. I especially liked it at dusk when there was a constant swoosh of trains below my feet.
Kate joined us on that trip; we wanted the three of us to be together for as much time as we could. She stayed in a hotel on rue d’Amsterdam near the Liège metro station. Late at night I would walk her back to her hotel. We often started to talk about what we had done that day or what we might do the next, but inevitably we spoke about Susan, who seemed to be getting weaker by the day. I would then walk home alone from the hotel, a route that took me past the animated crowds in Place de Clichy and then into deserted streets leading to the apartment. I think it rained every night I walked back.
This post takes us back to Susan's last trip:
<b>December 2009 — Batignolles</b>
Susan and I stayed in a one-bedroom apartment in Batignolles, a delightful enclave in the 17th. It was on rue Truffaut, a quiet street parallel to rue des Batignolles. Old timers here may remember the apartment; Nikki had rented it before us and had reported on its features. I would today be singing its praises, but the flat was severely damaged in a fire a couple of months after we were there. The neighbourhood, tucked into the triangle between rue de Clichy and the railway cutting down to Gare St-Lazare, is charming. I wouldn’t hesitate to rent in that area again.
The apartment was cozy and tranquil. Susan, who had already lost a lot of stamina, was generally able to get out once a day. We made a few bus trips into the centre of Paris, mostly to restaurants, but Susan was usually content to walk around Batignolles or to curl up with a book. Oddly, I have one vivid memory from the apartment: the family who lived upstairs had young children. We never saw them, we only heard them, but by the end of two weeks we felt that we knew the whole family. There was a toddler, who pattered from room to room. An older child practiced the violin, and someone played Comptine d’un autre été : l’après-midi on the piano. If you ever saw Amélie, you’ll remember:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgYnRh8ACGQ
Susan, still intensely curious about food and cookery, poked into all the shops along rue de Batignolles and rue de Lévy, a market street like rue Montorgueil. She visited the marché bio on boulevard des Batignolles. We walked, too, in Square des Batignolles, that small but perfectly formed park, marvelling at the size of the plane trees. The deep railway cutting, which borders the park, fascinated me; I often stood on the edge and watched the commuter trains glide by. I especially liked it at dusk when there was a constant swoosh of trains below my feet.
Kate joined us on that trip; we wanted the three of us to be together for as much time as we could. She stayed in a hotel on rue d’Amsterdam near the Liège metro station. Late at night I would walk her back to her hotel. We often started to talk about what we had done that day or what we might do the next, but inevitably we spoke about Susan, who seemed to be getting weaker by the day. I would then walk home alone from the hotel, a route that took me past the animated crowds in Place de Clichy and then into deserted streets leading to the apartment. I think it rained every night I walked back.
Mar 21st, 2011, 05:42 AM
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A lovely memorial to Susan that I am glad you are sharing with the rest of yr Fodors friends.
I am very much looking fwd to reading the rest of yr report, as we are thinking that Paris shd be in our plans this year.
(Personal note: We stayed a 2nd month in Savannah, returning on March 5. Off to Bermuda for a week at the end of April. Hope you'll be in Ottawa sometime soon)
I am very much looking fwd to reading the rest of yr report, as we are thinking that Paris shd be in our plans this year.
(Personal note: We stayed a 2nd month in Savannah, returning on March 5. Off to Bermuda for a week at the end of April. Hope you'll be in Ottawa sometime soon)
Mar 21st, 2011, 09:05 AM
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Good to hear from you again.
Ellen & I really enjoyed our evening with you in Dec '09. Kirs at our apartment in the 7th while sharing conversation about Susan & other topics, watching the light show on the Eiffel Tower, then dinner and too much wine at Les Fables de la Fontaine. Just like you walked Kate back to her hotel late at night, we recall walking you to the #80 bus stop on Ave Bosquet on a very late and wet evening. Ellen & I have thought of you often.
We're glad to see you back in Paris again - tough memories & wonderful memories.
Stu & Ellen Dudley
Ellen & I really enjoyed our evening with you in Dec '09. Kirs at our apartment in the 7th while sharing conversation about Susan & other topics, watching the light show on the Eiffel Tower, then dinner and too much wine at Les Fables de la Fontaine. Just like you walked Kate back to her hotel late at night, we recall walking you to the #80 bus stop on Ave Bosquet on a very late and wet evening. Ellen & I have thought of you often.
We're glad to see you back in Paris again - tough memories & wonderful memories.
Stu & Ellen Dudley
Mar 21st, 2011, 12:47 PM
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Thank you all so much for your very kind comments.
Next up is an account of our recent museum visiting and then another flashback to Susan in Paris.
<b>February, 2011 — A few museums</b>
Museums were a priority on this trip. Esther has a particular affection for the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries, so we spent a morning at Cluny. (Susan and I had been several times before. She, too, loved the tapestries, while I am fascinated by the heads of the Kings of Judah.) We also went to the Musée d’Orsay, Orangerie, Arts et Métiers, and Arts Décoratifs.
Our crowning touch was cracking the Louvre. Susan and I had visited it a twice before and had found it almost overwhelming, but Esther’s preparation and enthusiasm carried us along. We bought four-day passes at the little store on the lower level of the Carrousel du Louvre (there were no lineups), and then used the lower level entrance from the same building to enter the museum. We tried to arrive within 15 minutes of opening time and we generally stayed less than 90 minutes at a time. We usually went back in the late afternoon for another hour or so. Off-peak times allowed us to clear the security checkpoint without any delay, and we found the crowds in the museum galleries to be quite manageable. We also took advantage of the late opening on Wednesday evenings, arriving around 5:45 pm and staying until 7:00 pm.
We usually walked over together and then split up, agreeing to meet back at the apartment when we ran out of steam. My best strategy was to pick a single area (the Egyptian artifacts, the northern European painters, or Napoléon III’s apartments, for example), concentrate on that, and then leave. Anything more than 60 or 70 minutes made my brain fog over.
Here are a couple more photos:
http://AnselmAdorne.zenfolio.com/p610294669
<b>December, 2009 — Place des Vosges</b>
A young girl, perhaps nine years old, was walking towards us with her parents. “That red sauce was awesome, ” she said, in a high clear voice. We were on rue des Rosiers, just a few doors away from L’As du Falafel. Her family had just eaten there, while we were on our way in. I recommend it. The atmosphere is casual, the service is brisk — no, it’s actually lightning fast — and the flavours are intense. The red sauce is indeed awesome; that child may someday be a food writer.
After lunch, Susan, Kate, and I walked down rue des Francs Bourgeois to Place des Vosges. It is superb in its symmetry — we always tried to spend a bit of time there. We sat for a few minutes, and then it started to rain. I suggested that we walk to the bus stop, and started to walk away. Susan, moving slowly, followed. Kate lingered and then took a photograph. That picture haunts me, it absolutely haunts me, but we displayed it at Susan’s funeral.
http://AnselmAdorne.zenfolio.com/p662583290
Next up is an account of our recent museum visiting and then another flashback to Susan in Paris.
<b>February, 2011 — A few museums</b>
Museums were a priority on this trip. Esther has a particular affection for the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries, so we spent a morning at Cluny. (Susan and I had been several times before. She, too, loved the tapestries, while I am fascinated by the heads of the Kings of Judah.) We also went to the Musée d’Orsay, Orangerie, Arts et Métiers, and Arts Décoratifs.
Our crowning touch was cracking the Louvre. Susan and I had visited it a twice before and had found it almost overwhelming, but Esther’s preparation and enthusiasm carried us along. We bought four-day passes at the little store on the lower level of the Carrousel du Louvre (there were no lineups), and then used the lower level entrance from the same building to enter the museum. We tried to arrive within 15 minutes of opening time and we generally stayed less than 90 minutes at a time. We usually went back in the late afternoon for another hour or so. Off-peak times allowed us to clear the security checkpoint without any delay, and we found the crowds in the museum galleries to be quite manageable. We also took advantage of the late opening on Wednesday evenings, arriving around 5:45 pm and staying until 7:00 pm.
We usually walked over together and then split up, agreeing to meet back at the apartment when we ran out of steam. My best strategy was to pick a single area (the Egyptian artifacts, the northern European painters, or Napoléon III’s apartments, for example), concentrate on that, and then leave. Anything more than 60 or 70 minutes made my brain fog over.
Here are a couple more photos:
http://AnselmAdorne.zenfolio.com/p610294669
<b>December, 2009 — Place des Vosges</b>
A young girl, perhaps nine years old, was walking towards us with her parents. “That red sauce was awesome, ” she said, in a high clear voice. We were on rue des Rosiers, just a few doors away from L’As du Falafel. Her family had just eaten there, while we were on our way in. I recommend it. The atmosphere is casual, the service is brisk — no, it’s actually lightning fast — and the flavours are intense. The red sauce is indeed awesome; that child may someday be a food writer.
After lunch, Susan, Kate, and I walked down rue des Francs Bourgeois to Place des Vosges. It is superb in its symmetry — we always tried to spend a bit of time there. We sat for a few minutes, and then it started to rain. I suggested that we walk to the bus stop, and started to walk away. Susan, moving slowly, followed. Kate lingered and then took a photograph. That picture haunts me, it absolutely haunts me, but we displayed it at Susan’s funeral.
http://AnselmAdorne.zenfolio.com/p662583290
Mar 22nd, 2011, 03:46 AM
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Stu, I remember very well, and in fact mention it towards the end the end of the trip report.
Ted, I will likely be in Ottawa at the end of April and beginning of May. I'll drop you a note when I know for sure.
Leely, Kate is delighted.
Now on to a day trip to Reims and more cooking from a suitcase.
Ted, I will likely be in Ottawa at the end of April and beginning of May. I'll drop you a note when I know for sure.
Leely, Kate is delighted.
Now on to a day trip to Reims and more cooking from a suitcase.
