This morning I took the Metro to Ste Chappelle. I had tried to visit this church on Ile de la Cite last time I visited Paris, but there was an international summit of some kind and it was closed. There was no line this morning, although the church was already pretty packed when I got there. This place is famous for the quantity of stained glass. It had just been cleaned last year and the glass really glowed! The pieces tell the story of the Bible from Genesis through the Resurrection. Truly a remarkable artistic achievement for the time (12th c).
After checking out Notre Dame (from the outside) I walked to the other side of the river to search for a couple of chocolate shops and patisserie. The first one I came to is Patrick Roger. There is a giant carved chocolate gorilla in the window! Inside, the overwhelming scent of chocolate hits you. The shop has pre set boxes as well as loose pieces. I asked the shop girl to select some loose chocolates for me. The next stop was Gerard Mulot for macarons, although they have all kinds of baked goods. I selected 6 to go (although I shouldn't have bought so many, they don't stay fresh long). From there I headed for Le Comptoir du Relais, which is a hotel and bistro run by a well-known (in Paris) chef Yves Chamdebord. The place opens at noon for lunch and I was early. By the time they started seating us, there was a small line. I chose the Coquilles St Jacques appetizer and a beef stew (daube de boeuf) with carrots for a main. Both were simply prepared but ridiculously flavourful. The chef kept popping in and out of the place. After lunch I headed for Jardin du Luxembourg to find a seat to have a macaron. The weather was sunny but slightly chilly, forsythia were blooming along with other early spring flowers and the citizens were out taking in some sun. From the garden I strolled back to the river via some random streets, window shopping along the way. I stopped at the Rochoux chocolate shop but the shop girl was too busy chatting with another customer so I did not add to my chocolate horde (thank goodness). I ended up across the river from the Louvre so I decided to stroll into the courtyard and check out the pyramid. There is a lot of construction going on in here! From the Louvre, a quick Metro ride took me back to our hotel. After a quick pit stop to drop off my tote, I went to check out the Merci shop. It's a rather peculiar collection of gardening &plant gear, hipster clothing, miscellaneous home goods and a small skin care boutique. One thing I find in the Paris clothing stores-none of the clothes look like any thing I would wear in LA, although some are quite stylish. Also pricey.
Tonight the group is heading to the Palais Garnier to see POB in a mixed rep with dinner at the onsite restaurant before. The food is quite decent although the chicken is over cooked. We have fantastic seats about 10 rows back and just right of center. We're close enough to see the performers faces! The program includes a Ratmansky, Robbins, Balanchine and Peck. All are done to piano music (one with a violin, another with two pianos). I particularly enjoyed the Robbins and Peck although each piece serves to highlight the beauty of the POB dancers in a more pure unadorned way that isn't possible in a fancy story ballet.
After checking out Notre Dame (from the outside) I walked to the other side of the river to search for a couple of chocolate shops and patisserie. The first one I came to is Patrick Roger. There is a giant carved chocolate gorilla in the window! Inside, the overwhelming scent of chocolate hits you. The shop has pre set boxes as well as loose pieces. I asked the shop girl to select some loose chocolates for me. The next stop was Gerard Mulot for macarons, although they have all kinds of baked goods. I selected 6 to go (although I shouldn't have bought so many, they don't stay fresh long). From there I headed for Le Comptoir du Relais, which is a hotel and bistro run by a well-known (in Paris) chef Yves Chamdebord. The place opens at noon for lunch and I was early. By the time they started seating us, there was a small line. I chose the Coquilles St Jacques appetizer and a beef stew (daube de boeuf) with carrots for a main. Both were simply prepared but ridiculously flavourful. The chef kept popping in and out of the place. After lunch I headed for Jardin du Luxembourg to find a seat to have a macaron. The weather was sunny but slightly chilly, forsythia were blooming along with other early spring flowers and the citizens were out taking in some sun. From the garden I strolled back to the river via some random streets, window shopping along the way. I stopped at the Rochoux chocolate shop but the shop girl was too busy chatting with another customer so I did not add to my chocolate horde (thank goodness). I ended up across the river from the Louvre so I decided to stroll into the courtyard and check out the pyramid. There is a lot of construction going on in here! From the Louvre, a quick Metro ride took me back to our hotel. After a quick pit stop to drop off my tote, I went to check out the Merci shop. It's a rather peculiar collection of gardening &plant gear, hipster clothing, miscellaneous home goods and a small skin care boutique. One thing I find in the Paris clothing stores-none of the clothes look like any thing I would wear in LA, although some are quite stylish. Also pricey.
Tonight the group is heading to the Palais Garnier to see POB in a mixed rep with dinner at the onsite restaurant before. The food is quite decent although the chicken is over cooked. We have fantastic seats about 10 rows back and just right of center. We're close enough to see the performers faces! The program includes a Ratmansky, Robbins, Balanchine and Peck. All are done to piano music (one with a violin, another with two pianos). I particularly enjoyed the Robbins and Peck although each piece serves to highlight the beauty of the POB dancers in a more pure unadorned way that isn't possible in a fancy story ballet.
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