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Paris or Bust

Well, after waiting many long months, it has finally come.  I feel as though I get to return *home*.  At least that is the way it feels as soon as I step off the plane and breath the crisp, clean Paris air.  Oh yeah, and when I have my first croissant and cafe creme.  And when I see the Seine again.  And visit a cafe, and stoll the Île Saint-Louis….I could go on and on.

Madison is safely tucked away at Grandma’s house and I am semi-packed.  I am getting those butterflies I always get right before a big trip…just like at Christmas when you are a kid.  You want it to come, but in another way you don’t..because as soon as it does, you know that soon it will be over. 

I’ll be leaving you tomorrow for 10 glorious days.  I’ll miss you, dear reader.  Each and every one of you.  Honestly, I will.  I have never left for such a long stretch before…but just think, in a few two short weeks, I will have tons more photos and stories to share about Paris.  So….stay tuned!!!

Anne and Tara…it won’t be long now!

Corey and Melanie…just you wait, next time Provence is right around the corner

Sognatrice…. I’ll get your wildlife shots or die tryin’

And to all the rest I will do my best to bring back the best of Paris and hopefully show you even more reasons to love  the European lifestyle.

A beintot.

Photo:  One of my favorite cafes Le Flore en l’ile, on the Île Saint-Louis, Paris

La Samaritaine

Thanks to all who guessed.  ParisBreakfasts was the first to get it right.  Now why does that not surprise me????  I was on top of La Samaritaine, on their rooftop cafe. What a view this was!!!  Sadly, it is now closed.  Reports have said it is a temporary closure, but many speculate that it will never reopen.

Interestingly, the name La Samaritaine comes from a hydraulic pump installed near the Pont Neuf(the nearest bridge crossing the Seine), which operated until 1813.   There was a picture on the pump of The Good Samaritan…hence the name.  The department store opened in 1869.

Photos:  La Samaritaine, day and night.

A Free View

Sure, everyone knows that you can go to the top of the Eiffel Tower and see a spectacular Panoramic view of Paris…but it will cost you.  Not only in Euros, but in time too.  Sometimes you stand on line for hours.  Argh!  But, there are a few spots in Paris, that you can get an equally good view of the city….from a much different perspective.

My last trip, I was lucky enough to find one of those places!  And the best part….it was free. So, lets have a little fun with it.  I am going to post my pictures…keep in mind,it was not a clear day, so the pictures could certainly have come out better.  I think the pictures are a dead give-a-way, but lets see who can figure out where I was…d’accord?

Bonne Chance!

Deux-ling cafes

Side by side they stand.  Paris’s most famous artists, writers and visitors alike have flocked to these cafes for decades.  They are both popular, but if you love one, you hate the other.  And vice-versa.  The passionate debates for one over the other just facinates me.  Why can’t you like both?  I’ll be frequenting many cafes on my upcoming visit.  So I ask you…which one do you prefer?  And if you had to pick your favorite other than these two….which one would it be? 

Photos: Cafe de Flore and Les Deux Magot, St. Germain-des-Pres, Paris

France…in a different light

photo:  Randy Silver, The Louvre, Yesterday & Today, Images of the Special Light

A few years ago, when I came back from my first Paris trip, I ‘met’ a super nice (and talented) photographer, that has a passion for Paris as well.  We became fast cyber friends.  He is a successful wedding photographer in San Francisco, California.  He has been taking black and white infrared photographs of Paris and France for the past 5 Septembers.  He sent me a beautiful note card with the above picture on it.  I have it framed and it hangs on my bookshelf.  He has been working on a book and told me last year…that I would be the recipient of a copy of his book.  Since that day, I excitedly cleared a spot on my coffee table, where it will be cherished, as not only beautiful photos of Paris, but as a reminder of his talent, our chance friendship and an inspiration to making dreams come true.

You can visit Randy’s website for info on his book and a wonderful gallery of his work around France and Paris.  This photo is one of my favorites.  The book,"The French Landscape: Images of a Special Light"  should be published this fall, so keep your eye out for it.  I know I will.

Two worth a splurge

You all know by know, that I am the queen of bargain wine.  Lord knows I am not made of money, so I try to enjoy wine, but limit myself to less than $10 a bottle.  Every once in a while though, it is nice to spend a little more on something extra good.  Lucky me, one of my birthday gifts was a gift certificate to my local wine shop.  Ah, the perfect opportunity to try something new. Here are two of my new found favorites…

This is a complex Italian red called Valpolicella.  But it’s not your typical Valpolicella.  This is called a Ripasso, which basically means that some of the dried grapes that are used in Amarone, are added to the wine at the end, making it deeper, thicker and sweeter.  I think this is an elegant wine, with a smooth finish.  It is a 2004 and retails for $14.99

This next one is a Cote du Rhone, a French red.  Hmm, I think you are beginning to see a pattern here.  Yeah, I prefer reds.  I have had many a Cote du Rhone, but none of this quality and complexity.  It is a blend of Grenache, Mouverdre, Syrah and Carignan. I drank a 2005, but the 2004 scored 89 points from Wine Spectator…not bad , eh?  I really liked the earthiness of this one.  You could taste berries, herbs and a hint of spice.  It was definitely worth the $15.99 I paid.

**On a side note, there is something that I have been dying to try here, but could never afford.  It is a Châteauneuf du Pape.  Most of the best are priced at about $30, and up.  I was going to splurge on a bottle with my gift certificate, but then I remembered…hey, wait…you are going to France in a few short weeks.  Why not try to search for the best Châteauneuf du Pape right in the motherland?  And it will be so much more affordable in the motherland.  So that is my mission.  I will try to search for the most delicious bottle (I can afford) of Châteauneuf du Pape in Paris!  I will take good notes and report back on my findings!** 

What are some of your favorite wines to splurge on?  Have you ever tried Châteauneuf du Pape?

Mercato Osteria

By now you all know how fond I am of Italy and real Italian cooking.  I have done restaurant reviews in the past, where I give you a factual play by play of every course, ingredient, decor and service, which is really easy when you’re not attached to a place. Unfortunately Fortunately, that is not going to be what happens this time.  This time I will tell you a story… one I am writing from the heart, which is so much harder.

About two years ago, when we returned from our trip to Italy, I ran across a tiny panini shop in back of the Red Hook Inn in Red Hook, NY.  It was called Mercato Tivolio.  It was closed at the time, but I made a mental note *self, you must remember to go back and check that place out*.  The next time I was in town, I lucked out.  It was open.  It was a cute little place, with just a few rustic tables, authentic Italian produce, meats, cheeses, pastas, sauces and imported olive-oil for sale.  They had a tiny menu with homemade soups, panini sandwiches, espresso and fresh baked cookies and biscotti.  The food was outstanding.  I told many friends, my family and of course, Chris about it.  We all had started to frequent it. 

One lazy afternoon, Chris and I dropped by and started chatting with Francesco, the owner.  He is from Rome. We told him of our vacation, and our love for Italy…the food …the people.  We must have been describing our stay in Positano because somehow limoncello entered the conversation. "Ah, you like limoncello", he asks?  As our heads are nodding up and down, he disappears into the back and comes back with a bottle of homemade limoncello, and proceeds to pour us each a glass. We sip the liquid gold as we chat some more and he shares his recipe with us.  We practice speaking some Italian…and he is game.  This all takes place while his other half Michele(who is the other owner) is busy waiting on other customers and watching their little baby boy and dog, who are adorably toddling around.  Everyone is there. They are all smiling, having fun, doing what they love.  Feels like Italy to me.  From that day on, it was no longer just the little panini shop….they were like friends.   

For the next few months, we visit when we can (never often enough).  Always greeted with a smile and "Ciao, ciao".  Until one fateful day last year when they told us they were closing. Oh God No!!  The good news was that they were looking for a bigger space, still had not found a space, but rest assured, they would open again. Crisis averted!  So from last July 2006, we patiently waited, praying, that we would soon hear of their new Grand Opening….and that it wasn’t in say, Alaska! We heard nothing. We waited some more.  Nothing.  Finally, just when we were about to give up….it arrived.  A postcard announcing their Grand Opening of Mercato Osteria.  The best news, their new space…an osteria, cafe and wine bar, is still located in Red Hook.  We waste no time visiting and run right up opening week.

The new location is wonderful.  The walls are a buttery lemon yellow, dark wood tables, a bar with stools for a quick nosh or glass of wine, a front porch with a few tables for summer nights, and the best part…an open kitchen where you can watch Francesco cook.  I’ll admit, the first time we came for an all out meal, a thought did cross my mind…."Geez, I hope he can cook"!  After all, making paninis is so very different from running a full fledged Italian restaurant.  But, keeping in mind that he is 6th generation Buitoni pasta family, straight from Italy, where he learned how to cook from his Grandmother and his recent stint as a wine sommelier for Mario Batali at one of his NYC restaurants, all doubts should be assuaged.      

Just as in Italy, all of the ingredients are fresh and grown local.  The herbs are snipped fresh from the garden. The pasta…homemade.  In fact, on one of our visits, we watched him plunk down a giant pasta machine gizmo, weighing in at oh 50 lbs, on his prep table and feed a lump of spinach pasta dough into said gizmo about 10 times until it resembled a silk train on brides wedding dress all in the span of about 3 minutes. Then with a few quick flicks of a knife (maybe he was Zorro in a former life) and a dusting of flour, he tosses the fat sage green noodles a few times and piles them into a container awaiting a sauce for tonight’s dinner service.  Uh, it was at this point that I no longer worried about his cooking. That boy has some skills! I stared and drooled in amazement, as this would have taken me the better part of a day and that smooth silk sheet would have wound up looking more like the veil over my face, not the train.

Because everything is fresh, the menu changes daily. It is handwritten in white chalk on the backboard, and as somethings runs out, it quickly gets crossed off the board.

Lunch is still soups, paninis and pasta, typical cafe fare.  For dinner you’ll find antipasti and salads for starters. Primi (first course) consists of risotto and pastas-many of them are homemade. Secondi (second course) is a selection of the freshest fish, chicken and steak, or whatever looks good at the market.

And of course, dessert.  There is always a delicious homemade tiramisu on offer, as well as biscotti.

You may be lucky, and get to sample the ricotta cheesecake, which doesn’t even make it to the menu…the wait staff casually mentions that it just came out of the oven. All of his sauces are delicious…mouthwatering, squisito. The local ingredients are divine.  The pasta is cooked al-dente, perfeto!  The wines, which just arrived in August, are a wonderful compliment to the food. 

I can tell you wholeheartedly that I just love this place!  If I can’t get to Italy, it is here that I come for a true Italian meal and experience.  I would recommend it to anyone and everyone…and I have.  Friends and family who have gone, just can’t say enough good things.  And they can’t wait to return.  This is not a 5 star Michelin rated fine dining experience that I would recommend for a once in a lifetime romantic dinner for two. It’s nothing like that.  It’s friendly, it’s loud, it’s convivial, everyone is laughing, clinking glasses, having a good time, enjoying their food.  It’s not snobby or pretentious.  There are no rules.  Grab a glass of wine at the bar.  An espresso and biscotti.  A salad and a panini.  Sit down for a full blown 4 course meal, whatever.  It’s just easy.

You’ll see Francesco cooking, Michele waiting tables and making reservations with their newest addition a 6 month old son on her hip(I don’t know how she does it) and his older brother, now 3, weaving from table to table, chatting up the customers.  Francesco’s Aunt Mietta is there from Rome, tending the garden out front, taking the kids and dog for a much needed walk or busing tables when it gets busy.  She was delightful, telling me stories of Rome and when Francesco was a baby in NYC.  Toward the end of my last visit there, I went up to say ‘ciao’ to him while he was cooking.  He asked me what I had to eat.  When he found out I did not have any of the fresh mozzarella di bufula, he lopped of a piece and gave it to me to savor while I took his picture.  Oh, how it just melted in my mouth.

At its simplest, it is a great place to eat great Italian food, in an Authentic Italian atmosphere.  But as you peel away the layers you realize you are part of so much more.  You are a part in making someones dream come true. A dream that involves family and the good life. Though they are feeding you, you are feeding his passion for cooking, for creating, for his country. And it feels good knowing that.  And though you always leave full from the incredible meal you have just eaten, your heart is full knowing you are supporting a local business and for helping this couple care for their *growing* family and for making dreams come true.  Here, you are not just a customer, you are a friend, you are famiglia.  You won’t find that at any Olive Garden.

Mercato Osteria   
61 East Market Street
Red Hook,NY  12571
845.758.5879
I recommend reservations

Musée d’Orsay

I asked for your input for what you love about Paris, both Terry and Melissa said they love the Musée d’Orsay.  I also hinted that some of things you love…may just show up on my blog.  Since I have already been to the d’Orsay and I have no plans to go back for this visit…I thought I’d give you a tour now.

It is hard to believe this building used to be a train station, Gare d’Orsay and even harder to believe that it was going to be destroyed.  In 1986, it opened as a museum of French art and is most well known for its Impressionist Art.  They did keep the original clock from the Gare for the museum though.

I just love the interior of the building and the open floor plan.  Here is a shot from the second floor, it gives you a great view of all the sculptures

Look closer at the details of the walls

As far as the art….cherubs are my favorite

And then there is Monet’s Waterlilies at Giverny

This is one of my favorite sculptures…

Did you know there is a grand ballroom downstairs?  Let me take you there….don’t forget your ball-gown.

Here, I imagined myself dancing around, with my prince, mingling with royalty, guzzling champagne

I love the details in this room.  So much gold, and look at the chandeliers…..let’s trip the light fantastic

And here I am after dancing the night away and all that bubbly went to my head…

Round the corner, and you have an Art Nouveau collection.  This was my favorite.  Can you see me taking the shot?

I absolutely love this museum. I dare say… maybe more than the Louvre.  It is included in the Paris  Museum Pass, which is great for jumping the line.  I hope you enjoyed the tour…and that you’ll give it a look next time you are in Paris. 

Musee d’Orsay
1 Rue de la Legion d’Honneur
75007
01 40 49 48 14

Metro: Line 12, Solferion
RER: Line C, Musee d’Orsay

visit the website for admission and hours