Paris 1992: Day 2
19 Octobre, 1992. Returning to my journal of our first trip to Paris, I am reminded that our second day in the city was one of walking and learning with a map of the city in hand. We began the morning in the Marais district by exchanging dollars for francs, negotiating a purchase of stamps at la poste Rue Saintonge, and leaving my wallet at the post office! But Dieu merci, I found it exactly where I’d left it after walking up the street to a nearby boulangerie! By then, it was time for a grand créme French coffee at Brasserie l’Hôtel de Ville. Phew!
We soon learned that Paris is a city of museums, many housed in historic buildings tucked into various niches of the city. One such treasure was the Picasso Museum in the Marais, a short walk from our apartment. Later while looking down a narrow street in the Marais, we noticed a bright blue pipe atop a modern building. It turned out to be the Musée National d’Art Moderne, located atop the Centre Beaubourge—the controversial avant-garde George Pompidou Center of Art and Culture that replace the legendary Les Halles market.
From étage 5 of the museum’s outside escalator, we had our first view of the Eiffel Tower and Sacré Coeurs de Montmartre, high on a hill in the Montparnasse district. They would both come later on our trip. This first day was an exploration à pied. Thus, we began locally and each day our circle grew farther afield in the city. Circling back from the Pompidou Center to Rue Saintonge and our apartment, we learned to take side streets and continued staying to the right—a droit, tout à droit, and a droit again.
I could never explain how, but we always found our way back home. Sometimes a detour, like that evening when we wandered into the historic BVH Department Store. Like a magnet, we were drawn to the stationary/pen department where we found pens and postcards of Paris that we filled and mailed to friends over the days that followed. By then, it was dark and time to find our way home.
That night we took Bus # 96 from our neighborhood near the Place de Vosges to the apartment of Kit’s niece Kashya who was living on Boulevard Saint-Germaine—an historic Parisian artery on the Rive Gauche (Left Bank) on the south side of the River Seine, traditionally known for its iconic literary cafes (Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots), art galleries, historic charm and modern Parisian life.
Hayden’s friend Suzanne prepared un dîner spectaculaire à chez Kashya. The menu was Oh là là! Leek tart, l’agneau (lamb) avec l’huile noir (black olives), vin rouge, fromage (cheese) and pommes au four au gingembre (baked apples with ginger and spices). Flushed with the warmth of family, friends, a delicious home cooked French meal, and a great vin rouge, we could hardly bear to leave. And for the life of me, I have no idea how Kit and I got home that night, mais comme toujours, we did. (To be continued next week.)