05.30.05
From old to oldest
Monday, May 30, 2005 10:23PM
In a good resaurant in Paris
Spent the morning at home reading The Darth Side and writing blog entries for the last few days. I then went on another of my exploratory walks this time taking Mouffetard all the way down to the river then winding my way around the little alleys and back streets that are between St. Germain and the river back to Eurocentre. For lunch dad, Himelda and I went to an interesting restaurant called Le Procope which is advertised as being the oldest standing restaurant in the world. I am not sure if I believe this claim (it was established in 1868) but I did enjoy their richly decorated rooms and had a tasty quarter chicken with onions and potatoes as well as a very finely made Crème Brule.
Himelda left dad and I and we went to the chapel of Saint Chapelle. Saint Chapelle is one of the more interesting buildings in Paris as well as one of the oldest. It was built by Louis IX in 1242 to house holy relics and has seen many changes, especially during the revolution when it was raided and parts destroyed. The ceilings of both the lower and upper chapel are both enchanting, it really does feel like a sky beneath the sky. I kept wanting to photograph the place but knew my pictures would only begin to give an idea of the charm of the place. I more so wanted to make a QuickTime VR movie of it but that would have required a tripod, emptying out the place and a bit more knowledge than I have.
We had dinner with a couple that are trading their apartment in Montmartre for dad and Himelda’s apartment in New York next week. They are both young and interesting professionals, he is an air traffic controller directing traffic on approach to inner France and she is a business lawyer. I was very glad for the shared dinner but it left me feeling a bit melancholy as I realized these are the only Parisians with whom I have had an actual conversation. It seems altogether too silly go travel to another country and not interact with the locals but it is not obvious how to make contact when you are shy like I am. The dinner was at a little Polish restaurant with good food and very slow service. My favorite part of the place was the young girl taking music lessons who sang in the room next door as our waiter played a balalaika. [insert Parisian accent here] Charming darling… charming.