No Reservations

Hanging out at the 'Nomerati's the other night and on pops an episode of Anthony Bourdain who just happened to be running around Paris. We were picking out places we visited as he traveled around and we could swear he ate at a place we did, or vise versa, but I googled it and no, it doesn't appear he did.
But the whole thing reminded me of the last day we were there and Ms. 5chw4r7z wanted to get breakfast at Breakfast in America, an American diner on the rue des Ecoles in the Latin Quarter. We better get there early, no don't worry no one gets up early in France.
OH Yeah?
No one but Americans craving American food. We show up and the line wraps around the block.
Drivers in Paris crack me up, notice the two cars parked back to back.

So we did what we did during the entire trip, walk a few blocks deeper into the neighborhood until we came across an interesting looking Patisserie.

And they're on the current issue of gourmand.

All kinds of drama and freaking out when I pull out a camera, so outside shots it is.


Like everywhere else in Paris the pasteries were lighter than air, melt in your mouth deliciousness.
Then we strolled around the Quarter munching fresh baked French bread.


[where: 45202]best place to learn how to live downtown cincinnati ohio the ethos of Cincinnati
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Père Lachaise Cemetery

Not the oldest cemetary in Paris, but it is the biggest and most visited. The cemetery takes its name from the confessor to Louis XIV, Père François de la Chaise, who lived in a Jesuit house rebuilt in 1682 on the site of the chapel.
Like seemingly everything else of consequence in Paris, this too was setup by Napoleon. The guy was nothing if not grand, his vision of Paris outlasted him.

The cemetary wasn't vary popular until the remains of Pierre Abélard and Héloïse were relocated there. They had a Romeo and Julliete type story, both bright scholars in the early 1100's, they were seperated when their affair was discovered. Playing the part of a drama queen, Héloïse ran off and joined the convent of Argenteuil. The popular story is that Abélard died first, and when Héloïse died, Abélard's grave was opened so she could be laid with her lover and as she was lowered, his arms opened to embrace her.
In the 15th century 113 love letters in a manuscript were discovered documenting their early affair.
Letters from modern lovers, and would be or hopefull lovers are now left at the grave. It was undergoing some restoration when we were there so we couldn't get very close, bummer.





They love their dancers in Paris they do.
Stars in France die grusome deaths just like their conterparts in America. Duncan died in a freak automobile accident in Nice, France when her large silk scarf, still wrapped around her neck, became entangled in the car's open-spoked wheel, breaking her neck.


Gilbert Morard, father of the modern French metro, I think, or the patron saint of trains. Not much on the internet despite the popularity of his grave site.


The most famous resident, at least to the majority of Americans is one Jim Morrison. Wow, you should have seen the hippy's and people dressed 30yrs out of their age range hanging around. Crazy.

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Arc de Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, after the Eiffel Tower of course. Standing at the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle. The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.
One of the landmarks I really wanted to see while in France, after we fought the worst crowds of our trip I really could have skipped it. Of course if we had, I wouldn't have gotten all these cool pictures would I?
One of the most recognizable views in the world?

The thebetter_half had just returned from Paris when we ran into a week or so ago and he told us how he and winemedineme stayed at a hotel near La tour Maine-Montparnasse and it is reputed to be one of the ugliest building in the world. I hadn't heard of it before but I figured I had a picture of it somewhere. The black monalith to the left is La tour Maine-Montparnasse, not horrible in this view. thebetter_half said the top of La tour has the best view in Paris because you can't see La tour from there.


mere hours later, we'd be sitting on that hill under the Sacré-Coeur watching the sunset on Paris and drinking and smoking with 100,000 new Parisian friends.

La Defense, the business district. that name goes round and round my tongue. La Defense, La Defense




[where: 45202]best place to learn how to live downtown cincinnati ohio the ethos of Cincinnati
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Pont au Double

We did the usual (for us on this vacation), zipping through stations with exotic names like Les Halles, Gare du Nord and Nation, names that are meaningless to me but after 2 days of riding the subways took on mythical proportions as reference points, before we jumped out into the sunlight near Notre Dame.
I'm still amazed that the image I've always had of Paris is of people sitting or strolling and eating. The city of cafe's I guess. It was infinately amussing to me to stroll a block or two off the main street and grab sandwiches and coffee at a pâtisserie and then do the exact thing I always pictured in Paris. Two sandwiches and two drinks for 7€ usually. I can say I didn't eat one thing there that wasn't outstanding.
So it was we found ourselves under the Pont au Double eating ham sandwiches and watching cruises go by on the river Seine.
Does throwing around French words make you feel supercilious too or is it just me?

[where:Paris, frnace]best place to learn how to live downtown cincinnati ohio the ethos of Cincinnati
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touching junk wasn't an original idea by the TSA

I know a handful of newspaper journalist and as far as I know, while they do dodge the slings and arrows of angry people on facebook, twitter and in the comments sections, have never had to stand in as a second in a gun duel with an angry reader.
And people say things are worse now than in the old days.

Victor Noir, a young newspaper reporter for the La Marseillaise which ran a series of letters to the editor invective of Napoleon III, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. Things came to a head and Pierre Bonaparte, himself a prince but not a politician challenged the editor of La Marseillaise to a duel. Victor and another reporter were chosen as seconds and went to the prince to fix the terms. A scuffle ensued in an argument with the prince and Victor was shot dead. The public outcry from the murder and the events that came after all lead up to the Franco-Prussian War and the overthrow of the Emperor's regime.

Of course I didn't know anything about Victor when we discovered his tomb in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, but was fascinated by the worn area of his mouth and groin while the rest of the statue has a heavy patina. The statue was cast to suggest he had just fallen from the gunshot.
Turns out the local lore has it if a woman kisses him on the mouth, rubs his groin and drops flowers in his hat it will enhance her fertility, sex life or bring her a husband. I couldn't find anything to suggest while alive that he was a playboy, but he was young, and a professional so who knows.

At one point in time a fence was erected around the grave but created such an outcry that it was torn down.
Poor guy's been having his junk touched for 140 years.
On second thought, maybe he's not so poor after all?[where:paris, france]best place to learn how to live downtown cincinnati ohio the ethos of Cincinnati

1 groin fondled

Le Lotus Paris, France

Cool little cigar shop that a twitter friend Kris turned me on to. The Opera District, Paris France is another neighborhood with streets seemingly put down without thought or reason. Without reason until you consider the streets sprang into existence 1500 odd years before the car did.
This one one of the few places where when asking "une photo" they said oui!
The pastry shops? they all looked at me like I had a third eye and said NO!
I pity the Parisian food bloggers.




Looking at this guy, no wonder we were asked for directions so often. I had a button up, blazer and jeans on the whole time we were there, I probably blended right in with the Europeans.
The Opera District almost seemed like Asians outnumbered everyone else. At the time I thought they were Japanese but with time to think about it I wonder if they were Vietnamese with that country being a colony so long.
[where: 63 Rue du Javelot, Paris]best place to learn how to live downtown cincinnati ohio the ethos of Cincinnati
1 cigares cubains Romeo Y Julieta

Eiffel Tower

Between my blog post yesterday and all the chatter about travel on twitter yesterday had me reminiscing about France and the Eiffel Tower.





I never got tired of this view in intersections


At first I thought I caught the beam reflecting off something, but it turns out there's a light on each side and as they sweep to the farthest point, it hands off to the next light. I wonder what they were because right before they lit up you'd hear a loud psssssTHHHPP and it would pop on.
[where:Paris, France]best place to learn how to live downtown cincinnati ohio the ethos of Cincinnati
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trop de sucre

The portions are smaller in Europe is what I've always heard and when we got to Paris I found out that yes that's true but it doesn't tell the whole story.
For instance when I ordered coffee or café as they call it they handed me a shot sized cup that was half full. Looking at it forlornly I thought I'm going to need about 50 of these things to get moving. But as it turned out they pack a half a pot of coffee in their diminutive cafés.
The other interesting discovery is they handed me two of these packs for every café I ordered, the sugar literally had more volume than the coffee and i never used more than half of one of the packets.
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How to photograph an atomic bomb

Ground control to major Tom
Ground control to major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on
(Ten) Ground control
(Nine) to major Tom
(Eight)
(Seven, six) Commencing countdown
(Five), engines on
(Four)
(Three, two) Check ignition
(One) and may gods
(Blastoff) love be with you

This is major Tom to ground control, I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today
Here am I floatin' 'round my tin can far above the world
Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do



Though I'm past one hundred thousand miles, I'm feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much, she knows
Ground control to major Tom, your circuits dead, there's something wrong
Can you hear me, major Tom?
Can you hear me, major Tom?


[where:paris, france]best place to learn how to live downtown cincinnati ohio the ethos of Cincinnati
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