Throwback Thursday

 

Just a few short weeks ago parks and squares were still lush and green.

 

Wine Wednesday

 Red wine and beef go together like well, red wine and beef.

 

Tarte Tuesday

 

An assortment of small artisanale tarts compete for attention on a bakery countertop.

 

A Thanksgiving table

 

 

A casual Thanksgiving in a Montmartre loft.

- Merci nos chers amis -

Turkey Tuesday

 

A turkey run on a farm that welcomed school groups and visitors.

 

(click to enlarge)

 

***

 

In France, bigger is not necessarily better and as turkeys are usually smaller than those in the US, cooking time is shorter. And because they are free range the quality and taste of the meat will be superbe. When cooking a turkey my French mother-in-law would lay a rasher of lard (bacon - fumé or not fumé) from the butcher atop a whole bird before bunging in the oven and the fat basted the skin. Stuffed with chestnuts or a breadless herbed pork farce and served with grilled seasonal vegetables and an autumn fruit - figs, apples, airelles (easy to find and mistaken for cranberries) - a feast was inevitable.

 

A very Happy Thanksgiving to one/all and until next week... - BPJ

 

 

Mushroom Monday

 Still in season: varieties of mushrooms that inspire.

Above: large meaty cèpes have all but disappeared by 10 a.m.

 

Church search

 

Three-quarters of the churches in Paris were burned down during the French Revolution leaving few survivors, most notably Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, Église Sainte-Chapelle and the Basilique Cathédrale de Saint-Denis where the kings and queens of France repose, now all well-known touristic sites. (Despite its byzantine aspect the Basilique du Sacré Coeur de Montmartre did not appear until 1914).

Today there are many lesser-known churches sprinkled throughout the city that deserve a detour, easily found by searching their whereabouts on a map of Paris. Most are active but some are former churches, cloisters, and ecclesiastical buildings, all worthwhile to discover for their history, architecture and beauty. - BPJ

*** 

Recommended:

 Église Saint Paul-Saint Louis

 Église Saint-Jean de Montmartre

 Chapelle Nôtre-Dame-de-la-Médaille-Miraculeuse 

 Église Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois

 Église Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais

Èglise Saint-Médard de Paris

 Basilique Nôtre-Dame des Victoires

Basilique de Sainte-Clotilde

Église Saint-Étienne-du-Mont

Église Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre

Église Saint-Pierre de Montmartre

Église Saint-Sulpice

Église Saint-Séverin

 Église Saint-Eustache

 Église Saint-Seraphin-de-Sarov

 Église de la Madeleine

Église Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Le Panthéon (originally Église de Sainte-Geneviève)

Collège des Bernardins

 Église des Billettes and its medieval cloister w/exhibitions, concerts

 

 

Autumn yellow

Shimmering leaves will soon carpet the ground.

 

Fig Friday

It's the end of the fig season, but figs can still be found in most markets and on market streets.

 

Nouveau

Last night the 2023 Beaujolais Nouveau made its fruity debut.

Much anticipated on the third Thursday of every November dozens of vintages for every taste and budget begin to appear in wine bars, restaurants, shops, caves and on comptoirs.

Did you celebrate?

Beaujolais Villages AOC

 

 

Une belle lumière

 

A beautiful light, a beautiful morning.

 

Artful dodging

 

Le Petit Palais is not only a magnificent art museum but its garden is an unexpected escape in the center of Paris.

Le Petit Palais

 

Avenue Winston Churchill 75008

 

 

Mocha Monday

 

 

That first morning counter coffee among familiar faces.

 

 

Restoration

Dining at an old favorite in the Marais district.

 Above: duck in Moroccan brik pastry w/vegetables atop a sweet potato purée; foie gras de canard w/its confit d'oignons and glass of Sauternes

 

 ***

 

Se restaurer iterally means, "to restore yourself" - by eating. It is the origin of the concept "restaurant," a place where one goes to restore body and soul with food and drink. Today the synonym for "se restaurer" is manger, to eat.

This restaurant whose name translates to "spiral staircase" is an old favorite from back in the day when we lived in this lively quartier, and still comes through with no-fuss traditional French dishes that restore, and satisfy, with a contemporary twist. - BPJ

 

 

Le Colimaçon

44 rue Vieille-du-Temple 75004

 

Floral Friday

An unexpected composition outside a fast food on rue Lepic.

Welcome back Wednesday

 

 

Good weather prompts an impromptu apéro in Montmartre among friends.

 

Travel Tuesday

 

 

 

Charming villages, log fires, cozy pubs, farm fresh foods / produce: a too short séjour in the enchanting English countryside.

Below: kitchen table view onto vegetable / herb garden

 

3 hours (or less) from Paris

Flights daily from Paris into London Heathrow or Gatwick

By train: Eurostar

+ car rental

 

Mocha Monday

 

Mid-morning café-ing in Montmartre.

 

La Paloma

 

A glistening tourterelle or turtle dove, at first mistaken for a large pigeon, pays a surprise visit to a Paris windowsill. 

 

Tourterelles are a rare but welcome sight in Paris said to symbolize "enduring love."

 

 

Floral Friday

 

Paris florists were busy all week with the Feast of La Toussaint - All Saints Day - as cemeteries filled with visitors placing flowers on the graves of loved ones.

 La Toussaint: All Saints Day

1st November

 

Woolly Wednesday

 

Window of a knitting boutique in a 19th C covered passage in the 9th district.