Carl’s Journey

Day 4

The Art of Trendiness

It rained again on this day as the five of us headed to the Le Marais.  This historical area is known as the gay part of town, but it also has a small but dying Jewish Quarter.  The small cobbled stone streets we walked on were lined with trendy shops from small to big.  We passed a men’s clothing store and an employee was standing in front of the  store smoking.  As Gary walked by in his non trendy outfit of blue jeans and grey fleece, the young Parisien let out a word that we heard clearly, “blase”.  It makes me want to go into the store and buy up every darn items of clothing that they had.

We had lunch at a very trendy and crowded restaurant in the Le Marais, Chez Janou, 2 Rue Roger  Verlomme, Paris.  We arrived about 1/2 an hour  before the lunch rush and was seated next to a table of three men.  One of whom turned out to be the famous gay writer, Edmund White, whose  work includes A Boy’s Own Life. While Mr. White was discussing the status of his two adopted sons, we order our meals.  I could not help hearing the conversation since I was about four inches away from him.  Apparently, he was deciding whether to throw an expensive wedding for his son or just give the boy some cash.   He also talked about giving some tough love to another son who was having difficulty deciding what to do with life.

The meal was a dissapointment.  There was only one dish that I liked and that was Carl Mc’s fried tiny fish.  These tiny fish were the size of a large minnows and slightly smaller than an anchovy and were served with a lemony mayonaise sauce.  The duck dish that I had was so boring that I do’nt even know what herbs or spices that were used in this flavorless dish.  Everything looked so beautiful on plates, but the taste was not there.

After lunch, we walked to the Place des Vosges, where King Louis XIII married Queen Anne of Austria. The five of us proceeded to walk through the Jewish Quarter and along the way, we saw Paris’ oldest standing homes that were built over 500 years ago.  We then stumbled into a small church which was about to have an organ recital. Carl Mc is one of the worlds’s greatest organist as far as I am concerned; therefore, we went inside the church and enjoyed the music for about 15 minutes before heading out to Sacre Coeur in the Montmartre area.

Conquering The Hills of Montmartre

The five of us took the Metro to the Montmartre area to visit Sacre Coeur Cathedral.  It was evident that this area is a major tourist attraction.  Despite the pouring rain, there were cameras and camcorders every where as the tourists swarmed the streets that lead to Sacre Coeur. 

Sacre Coeur sits on the highest hill in Paris and for an overweight forty something person like me, walking up  ot the cathedral was not an easy  feat.  Just when I thought I made it, I looked up only to see stairs after stairs leading to the place.  Luckily for us, there were plenty of street performers at each level and we stopped briefly to watch the performances.  The upbeat atmoshpere reminded me of Jackson Square in front of Louis Cathedral in New Orleans.

Completely exhausted and out of breath, Gary and I finally reached the cathedral and it was worth the climb.  The weather cleared up and provided me with plenty of photo opportunity.  We walked into the Cathedral and made a circle along the inside of the church before heading out the door.  Our self-guided tour last about 15 minutes.

The five of us walked to the area behind the church and it was marvelous. There were plenty of artists displaying their colorful artworks along the small streets which were lined with restaurants, cafes and touristy gift shops.

We met up with Carl Mc’s niece and her friend, Jeremy, in front of a cafe and proceeded to walk to Le Moulin de la Galette, a famous restaurant that was Dalida’s favorite.  Dalida was a charismatic singer of Egyptian and Italian descent who spent most of her life in France.  Unfortunately, she took her own life  in 1987. 

One cannot miss this charming yet trendy restaurant.  Le Moulin de la Galette, Montmartre. 83, rue Lepic
75018 Paris,Tél: 33 (0)1 46 06 84 77, is recognized by its wooden windmill.  This is the second most famous windmill in the Montmartre area, second to the windmill of Moulin Rouge.

Here is where we had our most expensive meal.  Overall, the food was good, and originally I was to write that it was not worth the money spent; however, after eating at two of the most popular restaurants in New Orleans a few days before I wrote this article, the money spent was not too bad after all.  I had the Chef’s Menu which was determined by the chef, Antoine Heerah, a Mauritian of Indian descent.  I will dwell on my meal since I was the only person in the group to go for the Chef’s Menu.

The first of two entres (appetizers) was a salmon tartare.  It was one of the freshest salmon tartare I ever had. Delicately flavored and lighty salted, the tartare was topped with thin stalks of chives and surrounded by several artistic dollops of something saucy.  The dish was a hit!  My second chef’s choice entre was a slice of terrine which consisted of pork, liver, cheese, vegetables.  This dish was a little boring.  It was pretty to look at, but the taste was not unique in any way.  As part of a $75 meal, I expect each of my dish to do a song and dance in my mouth and this entre just fell flat after the wonderful tartare dish.  The first of two plates (main courses) was a piece of fish served over a light tomato broth and accompanied by a shrimp and two mussels.  I forgot what kind of fish it was, but I suspected it to be a type of snapper and it was perfectly cooked.  I have never cooked a fish as well or as perfect as this dish.  Hats off to Chef Heerah.  It was moist, perfectly seasoned but a bit too small because I could eat three more portions of this dish.  The second plate was a duck breast that was served on top of some kind of sauce which I have forgotten.  This is due to the fact that this dish was the worse dish of the night.  I am a duck lover! I like my duck cooked and simmered for a long time when it is done Asian style, but in any other style, I prefer my duck breast to be medium rare.  The duck was overcooked and dry!

My dessert was a plate of trio mini dessert.  I had a shot of raspbrerry puree, a slice of opera cake (similar to a tiramisu) and a small portion of icecream (I think it was hazelnut).  The dessert was nothing special.  It was beautifully presented and the execution of the dish was perfect, but the flavor profile was just boring. I was missing my Vietnamese durian smoothie or a nice thick slice of gooey bread pudding. 

Carl Mc & Khoi treated us to a bottle of wine and a bottle of champagne.  We all  toasted with joy and happiness as the night ended.  Leigh and Jeremy separated from us five.  When we walked back to the Metro stop, I paused and took picture of the famous Moulin Rouge.  My mother had gone there two years ago and enjoyed every minute of it.  I may go see it as a historical experience, but as a gay man, a dozen or so of topless female dancers may not be my idea of having fun.

Day 5

The Bountiful Vietnamese Feast

We took the Metro to visit my uncle and his sister in Arrondissement 13.  Upon arrival, we were treated to an enormous feast for lunch! Being a retired restauranter, she can really cook.  All the dishes we ate this day were delicious and more satisfying than the restaurants. 

We started out with a Vietnamese beef salad.  Thin sliced of stir fried beef sirloin is mixed with a bed of jullien cut of vegetables which consisted of cabbage, cilantros and various herbs and the dish is served with the universally addicted Vietnamese nuoc cham. I can’t seem to get enough of the salad.  The second entre was stuffed snails.  It was better than the ones we had at the Vietnamese restaurant two nights before. Our main course was a big bowl of shrimp wonton soup. The overstuffed wontons sat in a flavorful hot broth.  She also made a big bowl of fried rice.  We were all too full to really enjoy the rice.

My uncle took us on a walking tour of Arrondissement 13 and soon, Lewis, Carl Mc and Khoi went their separate way.  Gary and I went to the Arc de Triumph with my uncle.  From there we walked along the famous Champs-Elysees.  I really like this historical street and plan to spend more time exploring it when I come back to Paris. 

This evening was a special evening.  My aunt’s two sons and their family came over for dinner.  It was nice to meet her oldest son, Eric. again.  Even though he was too young to remember, I remember vividly how we used to chased each others around their house playing swords.  My aunt made vermicelly with grilled pork (bun thit nuong), a soup with chrysanthemum greens, some sliced cinnamon pork (cha chien) and three boudin noir (she knew love this dish). 

Gary and I said goodbye to my relatives and took the Metro back to our hotel. Around 10:30 PM, Carl MC and Khoi knocked on our door.  I expected to see Lewis, but was told that they had gone their separate ways.  The two were worried about Lewis, but I told them that they should not worry since Lewis loves to walk and wander around places of interest.  I told them that if Lewis did not come back by 8 AM the next day, we will call the police.  At 1:30 AM, Lewis came back and told me that he had walked and explored the street of Paris this evening.

Day 6

Pere Lachaise

One street away from our hotel is the famous Pere Lachaise Cemetary. Among the famous people that are burried here are Edith Piaff, Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, Alice B Toklas and Jim Morrison.  The cemetary is very beautiful. I never imagined that I would feel so peaceful at a cemetary.   We were here for about 1 1/2 hour  and we covered a quarter of the cemetary.  It would take a whole day to really explore this place.

I had to see Piaff, Wilde, Stein/Toklas and Morrison.  Morrison’s grave was small and simple but people paid respect by leaving things from flowers to a bottle of Jack Daniel.  Stein and Toklas were buried together and before we moved on, Carl Mc placed a pepple on top of their grave as a token of remembrance in the Jewish tradition.

Boudin Noir Revisited

We went our separate ways after the cemetary walk and Gary and I went back to my favorite restaurant that served boudin noir, Aux Monts D’auvergne.   We had the lunch special and again I chose the boudin noir but on this day, it was baked with pears instead of peaches and it was still delicious and addictive.  The waitress remembered me and acknowledge my love their boudin noir.  The salad that came with this meal was the actual salad on the menu, not the chef created one that I love so much from the first time.  This salad was a mixture of greens and potatos, topped with thinly sliced ham and a fried sunny side up egg.  It was dramatic to the eyes, but I prefered the one that the chef had created for me a few days before since it had more of a complex flavor from the blue cheese and the sliced smoked duck breast.  Gary’s salad had too much radicchio which was too bitter for his taste.  His plate was a piece of fish filet served with tomato and carrots in a light broth.  My boudin noir was much better.  We ended the meal with desserts.  Gary’s tiramisu parfait was sweet and good and i just had a small plate of pineapple and melon slices.

The International Incident AKA The Train to Nowhere

After lunch, Gary and I headed out to meet my uncle for our last meeting in Paris.  On the way to Arrondissement 13, we got confused and went on the wrong train; a train to nowhere.  I knew something was wrong when I realized that we were the only two people on this trains as it pulls into a dark tunnel and shuts down.  In the dark and silent tunel, Gary and I  peered out the glass window to see what was going on.  We just sat there for a short while when a man in his fifties with a set of grey beard came out of nowhere on the track and yelled something in French at us as he put his hands toward the train as a gesture for us to stay put.  Soon, the train moved out of the tunnel and back into the station.  We got off and rode another train to our destination.  Later on when we went back to our hotel, I noticed that there were announcements in English telling people to get off the train before it went into the tunel!

Of Pates and Men

My uncle took me and Gary shopping.  I had to buy a new luggage to bring back the goodies.  We went to a mall which had everything form Vietnamese sandwiches to a luggage store.  Gary and I picked out a nice durable piece of luggage and then went shopping at a supermarket inside the mall.  We completely stuffed the  new luggage with pates, Gavottes cookies and chocolates.  The three of us walked back to my uncle and aunt’s house with me pulling the four wheeled silver colored hard body luggage. 

Amnesia in a Foreign Land

I do not remember anything else after buying the luggage except my ordeal dragging the thing through 4 train stops and countless flights of stair to my hotel. I don’t even know what I ate that evening except that I bought some baguettes and along with the luggage, it also traveled a long way home to my hotel.  I love Paris and the Metro, but this is no place for a fat and sluggish person to drag a suitcase home. 

Day 7

Along the River Seine in a Never Ending Story

The weather was beautiful when the five of us took a boat ride along the River Seine.  The 40 minutes ride on this historical river was a great way to end a week long stay in Paris.  I am tired and bored with writing so I am going to cut to the chase.  

We ate lunch at the Abby, a nice little restaurant.  My sirloin steak with a salad was only 12 Euro.  Since it was mentioned in Carl Mc’s Cheap Paris guide book, we received red wine on the house.   Gary’s lamb in cream sauce was one of the best dish I tasted on this trip; however, the lactose level in this dish can put out a tactose intolerant person like me.

Gary and I did a quick shopping getaway at Printemps; one of the most beautiful department store I have ever been in. Bought a bunch of Dalida cds, chocolates and sea salt from the gourmet department. I need to go back to Paris and do some serious shopping.

The Cassoulet Overdose

Our last dinner of the trip was the best.  We ate at a restaurant that was about one block from our hotel.  Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of the restaurant except that it serves cuisine of the southwest region of France.

We had a plate of fois gras appetizer that was out of this world and the 20 Euro that it cost is nothing compares to the thin slices of fors gras that is served in the US.  Three of us had the cassoulet, a caserole made of beans, duck meat, sausage and thick slices of bacon. This was the heaviest meal of the trip and the most satisfying one.  I could not finish my dinner.  I should never ordered that “pork” plate entre (first course) which was a plate full of pork product from terrines to sliced pork sausage.

This has been one of my favorite trip.  I enjoyed every day I spent in Paris and I plan to go back soon.  There are still many things I want to do.  I am so happy that I was able to meet my uncle again. Visiting my uncle and his family was one of the things that I enjoyed most.

As I write this article, I am getting ready for my road trip to LA and Las Vegas.  Gary, Lewis and I are driving and will meet up with family and friends in Vegas.

Au Revoir