Where children play

It can't be all that bad in the world if on a sunny day, there are still parks where children can run around and play. Today being one of those blessedly beautiful days, we did a long walk and found ourselves in the Square de Temple located in the Upper Marais. Its a surprisingly pretty park, full of trees and numerous banks to laze about. There's even a quiet little pond complete with a mama duck and her ducklings.

From what I could dig up (which isn't much), it appears that the park forms part of the Carreaux de Temple built in the 19th century. The Carreaux was at that time one of the largest covered market in Paris. But the market itself was built over an ancient dungeon where Marie Antoinette and her children were held prisoners before being transferred to the Conciergerie.

It has certainly come a long way from that!

Now its full of little kids running about and people sunning themselves or playing ping pong on one of the ping pong tables set up in the park.
And this weekend, there is a huge Brocante taking place all over this area. There literally seems to be hundreds of stands lining both sides of the streets. Its enormous and contrary to my usual brocante haunts, this one stretches and encompasses a number of side streets. So unless you spend hours there (which isn't necessarily a bad idea), its best to concentrate on the area around the Mairie of the 3 eme arrondissement and the park and Rue de Bretagne. From what I did see, there seems to be a lot of interesting things out for sale. Truth be told, there seems to be everything from furniture to linens, to costume jewelry, to metal grates, to old telephones and paintings. It was impossible to take pictures of everything. Hmmm... I feel like making a second trip back.

This stand had beautiful glassware and Danish furniture...

This lady had a number of dinner service in prints that reminded me of vintage Marimekko. But these pretty ones are actually Arcopal, proudly French, as she pointed out to me.

On the other side of the brocante

I think its no secret that I love flea markets and rummage sales. The thrill of finding treasure, the camaraderie among the sellers and the general bonhomie at such events generally contribute to a great time. Well yesterday was a great day for one such event, the difference being that we were for once on the other side of the fence.

Our Brocante was held all along the stretch of the Cours de Vincennes. Along with 400 other sellers of which the professionals got the prime slots along the main street and regular folks like us were more or less relegated to the adjacent streets, we set up our wares and dutifully awaited the flow of customers just dying to purchase our stuff. Our closest neighbor on our left was a rather dubious gentleman (and I use the term very loosely) whose wares consisted of a few glass jugs, what looked like a coffee dispenser and some other odds and ends. To our right was a nice enough man whose wares betrayed no discernible theme. Old photos, postcards, pairs of jeans (?!) and old records were all on his table and the whole time we were there, he didn’t really make an effort to sell. He just kinda hung out and made friends with the folks passing by. Later in the day, a rather noisy and loud man started hanging out and who seemed to make it his business to poke his nose in everyone else’s business. Before I could blink, he’d set out his table with all sorts of products, from bath soaps to used cameras. All of which were loudly proclaimed to be on sale for the cheapest prices imaginable.

Being on the sellers side is a peculiar and particular experience. You are literally exposed to all manner and sort of folks. There were the cool youngsters decked out in vintage looking to score great vintage finds without the high prices, the young couples looking for cheap household wares little old ladies with their grandchildren looking for toys, dapper looking grandfathers looking for old books and magazines, curious kibitzers looking for bargains or looking to score…and so on and on the steady flow went. We literally had a good slice of the French population and boy, did it make for some great people watching. This was the side of Paris that was as far and as different but no less real as the fancy streets of St. Honore and Avenue Montaigne

As for our goods, let’s just say that we sold enough to treat ourselves to dinner!

There were all sorts of goods to be had...this stand had so much vinyl records, it made me wish for my own turntable...

Old books, prints, paintings....no wonder they're enthralled..

Our rather loud neighbor's table....

And the nosy man who minded everyone else's business but his own. I was trying to snap a photo of the street in general when he decided to pose, and he grabbed two unsuspecting girls while he was at it!

Dining in the theatre

I love finding unusual dining places. It is even better when the quality of the food served is not overshadowed by the location. One such gem we found recently was the Café du Theatre de l’Odeon. I’ve never had the pleasure of watching anything at the Theater but I was glad to discover its environs in such a gastronomically serendipitous way. Behind its gracious neo-classical façade is a simple café serving a short but delectable list of dishes.

There are about 4 or 5 entrees to start with, notably a terrine of foie gras served with a crispy salad and a deliciously creamy potato soup laced with truffles. The soup was absolutely fabulous and only the strictest of manners and an absolute horror of making a fool of myself was all that kept me from licking the last vestiges of it from my bowl.

Main dishes were equally choice – among that night’s offerings were, filet of beef served with polenta made with greens rather than the traditional corn, magret de canard cooked just right, deliciously creamy risotto topped with parma ham and grilled gambas served with a side of Asian vegetables. All of us were fully satisfied with our respective choices and for a good five minutes after we were served, there was silence at the table as we savored our meal.

The only quibble I have with the Cafe, which hopefully will be ironed out, is the lengthy time we had to wait between our courses. Fortunately enough, the quality of the food and the beauty of the place was enough to offset such element. I’m happy to report that this is one address I’m keeping in my book!

Address: Place de l'Odeon 75006 Paris

Tel no 01 44 85 41 30

Open from Tues to Sun 12NN-23H, with interruptions during show times

My favorite Brocante

It is not the first time that I’ve written about the Bastille Antiquites Brocante. I think it might have even been one of my first posts for the blog. (How time flies!) But because I love going to these sort of markets and I know people who love them too (special mention to P!) I thought I would do another post on this year’s brocante. Strictly speaking, the bi-annual Bastille brocante is not really a flea market. Yes, there are a few whimsical bric a brac items that look that they came from someone’s attic, but it’s really more of a antique market with the corresponding prices. There are always beautiful and interesting things to see at this particular antique market. While I haven’t always been the most interested in home furnishings and the like, its funny how this year, they were all I could look at! My nesting instincts are belatedly kicking in!

With over 350 professional antiquaires at the fair, you are certainly spoiled for choice. And its not at all excessive to go three or four times to make sure you’ve seen everything there is to see. I can’t tell you how many stands carried furniture from all over the country (sometimes even over the borders as a few stands carried Japanese and Chinese furniture at extremely exorbitant prices!) and from different epochs. After awhile you become very good at distinguishing the Napoleon III armchairs in the style of Louis XV and authentic Louis XV chairs. Funny how a couple hundred of years make a huge difference in price! And who knew that a rocking chair, yes a simple rocking chair, can be absolutely gorgeous when done in the style of Emperor Charles X?

Isn't this rocking chair really pretty?

If that weren’t enough, there were a number of commodes that I would’ve loved to cart home if it were possible! One beauty dated from 1940 and came from Venice and I can just see it decorating the house. Yet another comes from Japan and has these wonderful little drawers where you can store all your trinkets. One adorable feature of this beauty from Japan is that it has a locked compartment where you can store your most important things!

A Venetian style commode from the 40s....

Of course it wouldn’t be a brocante if you don’t have all these weird and wonderful things that can only be for collectors or for those with very special tastes. One thing that really stood out was this box of thread. Now you might ask what’s so special about a box of thread, but just look at it…each spool of thread is decorated with different headdresses that women used to wear all over France. Despite its great age, the colors remain as vibrant as the day it came out of the factory and sad to say, they don’t make threads like this anymore. It’s a veritable collectors item. Price tag? A cool 390Euros!

Many of the brocanteurs (those keeping the stands) don't have permanent stores. They participate in these annual markets and frequently their stands are a veritable cavern of things. This one below had all manner of things--bolts of cloth from the 19th century, vintage hat boxes, strips of lace, bags from the 50s....I didn't quite know where to look given the number of things crammed into her stall.

Speaking of bags, the lady who keeps this particular stand had a good number of pretty vintage bags and purses. Delicate needlepoint bags side by side with croco skin bags from the 40s and 50s. Given the latest demand for croco skin bags (seems all the major houses from Prada to Bottega had their own version of it for A/W2010 with each costing at least 1000Euros), her asking price of 120 didn't seem all that much. Of course, you would have to be happy with a bag that was older than you!

A nice man from Germany kept this stand that had all these old fashioned powder compacts from the 50s.. they were really pretty and surprisingly clean for its age and I could just imagine them lined up in my dresser.

I loved this stand where he had a whole collection of what looked like jugs and in fact they used to be what each lady of the castle had in her room for washing! I guess before bathrooms became de rigueur, you had to make do with a washbasin and pitcher to clean yourself. I thought they were really nice though I would take the running water and a shower anyday!
All sorts of bottles for the kitchen?

And the old fashioned way of storing your kitchen essentials..
I have no idea what these iron wrought frames are for but they sure are pretty!

Only a day left to enjoy the brocante then the next time they come around will be in May. Who knows what treasures will be found then?

The village market

I think this weekend was the weekend for antiques and other bric a brac.. I don’t know what it was but there were at least three flea markets running this weekend. One is pretty major and it’s the bi-annual Bastille Antiquities Market (a separate post is coming up on this!), another was more of a neighborhood flea market in the 12^th arrondissement and the third was held at the Village St. Paul.

I love the village St. Paul so it made sense that I check it out first. The village St. Paul is exactly that—a small self- contained little village in the heart of the Marais. It is just a few tiny pedestrian streets that wind in and around the Church of the St. Paul but what it lacks in size, it more than makes up in terms of charm and history. It is here that you can see remnants of the old fortifications that used to ring the old city. In those early early days of Paris, the city was a fraction of its size now and everything was enclosed in strong walls, designed to keep out ruffians and other criminals. Another site to note is the Hotel de Sens, which lies close to the Seine River. It used to be the residence of the Archbishop of the City of Sens (hence the name) but nowadays it is a public library that houses a few temporary exhibitions.

Here's a photo of the medieval wall..

The Hotel de Sens which won't look out of place among the different castles of the Loire Valley...

The Village's lovely lay out of small streets that enclose little courtyards made it the perfect place for antique dealers. Ten years ago, it was renowned for its weekend antique fairs. The dealers would set out their wares onto the courtyard of the Village and people would come from everywhere to browse and shop. Unfortunately such fairs created nightmare parking and traffic issues so the Mayor was obliged to prohibit such fairs. It was a real shame and in fact it was widely criticized. As a result of such prohibition, number of the antique dealers were obliged to move away. That said, there are still a few stalwarts who open during the weekend and its at this time that the village is at its liveliest. But I have to say that during the week, the calm courtyards of the village serve as a delightful place to have a simple lunch!

This weekend it was busier than usual thanks to the temporary weekend market. There was a good mix of stands selling handsome furniture and beautiful tableware as well as some selling beautiful French linens. There was even a bookseller selling antique leather bound books. The most interesting stands didn’t have a particular theme but featured a number of attractive and whimsical items. One was selling old- fashioned jewelry stands in the form of a miniature dress dummy while another had what she called a “repose-pied” or a little stool where one could rest one’s feet. Yet another had a set of beautifully mismatched glasses and pitchers. It was quite frustrating that the sellers more often than not refused to have their merchandise photographed! I did manage to take a few general looking pictures of the market as a whole to give you a flavor of how things were.

On non-market days, this is a particularly lovely spot to have lunch, just under the boughs of this old tree...

A view of another courtyard

One seller agreed to let me take a picture of here repose-pied

While another agreed to let me shoot her pretty glasses and pitchers..

After browsing the stands, I got the hankering for something sweet so I popped in Izrael, still within the confines of the Village but on its outer perimeter. This is a greet spice shop that stocks what seems like an enormous amount of spices from all over the world. You step in and its like Ali Baba's cavern of treasures except its spices that reigns here. They also make the best chocolate orangettes and mendiants that I've ever had. Each time I go, I cannot resist buying a bag of each. Often my bag of goodies don't even make it back home, as during the walk back, I don't stop at one piece!

Going, going, gone

Stuck as I am at home, I have a few hours of “liberty” whereby I could carry out errands and other essentials. When I’m feeling well enough, it is also the perfect opportunity to walk around and see what’s happening around the city. Yesterday was one such perfect opportunity and I made the most of it by popping into Art Curial (picture above, the only one I could take), one of Paris’ venerable auction houses. And while I don’t make the habit of visiting auction houses, yesterday was special as it was one of the viewing days of the upcoming Hermes Vintage auction which will take place on the 10^th of November. I can’t tell you how excited I was when I read about this auction. Not so much for the idea of being able to acquire my own Hermes bag (the prices are completely out of this world) but just the idea of seeing the whole lot up close and personal.

And what a lot it was! Something like over 600 Hermes bags are up for grabs at the auction, one of which is a beautiful pale green croco skin Birkin offered by Naomi Campbell in celebration of her 25 years in the modeling industry. Just to digress a bit, Art Curial has been organizing auctions for the past 12 years of Hermes bags, and over the last three years, they have been fortunate enough to obtain celebrity bags (Jane Birkin and Princess Stephanie were the previous celebrity donors) to auction off for the benefit of certain charities. This year, the proceeds from Campbell’s bag will be for the White Ribbon Alliance, a non-profit group fighting against maternal and infant mortality. A pretty good cause I have to agree!

The Campbell Birkin aside, the other bags merit just as much attention. There are outstandingly beautiful ones (models included the Kelly, its precursor the Haut a Courroies, the Constance and the Bollide, to name a few) in different leathers and skins—croco of course, but also ostrich and suede and all of them beautifully preserved and shining with the well-loved patina of age. Its clear that these bags came from owners that truly loved them and took good care of them. It isn’t a big surprise then that the starting estimates are still a hefty price. Still and all, I suppose it beats having to go to an Hermes store and being told to wait for xxxx number of years unless your last name is Beckham or Mittal.

As Hermes is not only renowned for their bags, the auction is also featuring a good number of their silk scarves. I wish I could have taken a photo of the auction rooms to show you as even the scarves were beautifully presented, almost like museum pieces. Imagine if you will, a whole row of silk scarves of all colors and prints hanging from the ceiling and decorating the walls of the room like tapestries and you will get an idea of how Art Curial has presented them. If scarves are not your thing but you still want to come away with a little something, the auction will also feature several timepieces, some carefully selected beautiful bangles and for the less the menfolk feel a bit neglected, there are some nice shoes for them. And for the real Hermes obsessive, there are some vintage playing cards and notepads too!

As I wasn't allowed to take a photo of the actual rooms, I've had to content myself with this prepared photo...the Campbell Birkin is the one in the middle

Viewing of the Hermes lots for sale continues this weekend at the Hotel Marcel Dassault 7 Rond Point des Champs Elysees from 11 to 9 and by special appointment on Monday (9November). And the auction will be on Tuesday the 10th of November .

When in August

I can't tell you how many people have come up to me (during the course of work)to ask why everything around seems to be closed and quiet. And I find myself explaining that in August, most Parisians have gone off for the month for holidays. I think in the 4th arrondissement where we live, a good 85% of the people are away. It never fails to amaze me how institutionalized vacation time is for the French people. As soon as spring-like weather appear, vacation becomes uppermost in most people's minds and it increasingly becomes the only topic of conversation in the months leading up to summer. Where you're going? How long? And if you're one of the few (like us) who are obliged to stay the summer, you get a mix of pitying or horror filled looks that you haven't the chance to leave for some sunny destination where the most pressing decision becomes whether to swim in the pool or in the ocean.

So my neighborhood shops are closed, or have different hours. As are most restaurants except the most hardy ones. Even my florist has decided to leave. See photo below...
That said, there's much to be said for visiting the city at this time of the year. The city takes on a much more relaxed atmosphere and the people who do stay behind are less stressed and as a consequence, are more pleasant to be around. Traffic is at its minimum and things are decidedly more low-key. Going to the grocery becomes less of a chore as there are less lines and it takes considerably less time to go about your business.

And I shouldn't forget that this summer has been a real summer. The sun is out almost everyday; blue blue skies with not a cloud in the sky. Ice cream becomes an everyday treat and the city more personable and in a way more accessible. All in all, I can't complain of my August in Paris

China Club

En grande noctambule, je ne connaissais évidemment pas le China Club, à la fois restaurant et club. Bar d'inspiration coloniale, le décor est rouge, pour ne pas faillir à l'image que l'on peut avoir de certains films. En revanche, malgré le nom, ils ne servent pas de thé, ce qui est logique pour un bar (mais moins pour moi et mes stéréotypes).

Outre le bar très cosy, l'intérêt du China Club est sa scène. Manifestement, il y a une programmation différente tous les soirs. Je ne sais pas ce qu'elle vaut en temps habituel, mais samedi dernier, elle accueillait Alice Orpheus and the Nightwatchers, groupe qui se définit plutôt d'influence jazz, mais que j'ai associé à John Legend parce que je n'y connais rien. En tout cas, c'est excellent, et la voix du chanteur est une de celle devant laquelle vous ne pouvez que vous taire.

Une excellente adresse à retenir. Ne reste plus qu'à voir s'il programme aussi un peu de rock.

Lunch done right

Oftentimes lunch is a rushed affair. A sandwich to go or a salad hastily gulped down and then its back to work. It’s a shame since lunch, done properly, provides a real break from work. When I’ve had my fill of sandwiches or nems, I try to find a nice place to have a good and reasonably priced lunch that won’t take too much time. I’ve recently discovered one such place up on Rue Charlemagne.

Le Framboisy opened fairly recently but is steadily gaining a number of faithful diners. It is cheerfully done in shades of cream and brown enlivened by colorful prints on the wall. The conversation piece in the room is the big old fashioned elevator with a wheel and pulley system that goes up and down the basement when the chef or owner wants to bring back some bottles. And if you are so inclined to sit and bask in the sun, they have a lovely terrasse that faces out on to the quiet street with a view of the Seine in the distance. The chef is English (a fact which musn’t discouraged French diners) and the menu changes daily to reflect the season. There is an emphasis on fresh produce. There are usually three or four kinds of plat du jour and you can have a formule lunch of entrée and plat or plat and dessert.

The food at Framboisy is both savory and filling. My first lunch there featured a lovely red bell pepper stuffed with squash accompanied by a side of green salad. It was delicious. I’m not normally a fan of stuffed vegetables but this particular pepper was piquant and memorable. You had the feeling to eat something healthy but not to eat merely grass. Dessert that time too was memorable—a delicious tarte aux poires et amandes. It was simply delightful and now I go back regularly to check if they have it listed as the dessert du jour. The next time I came around for lunch, I went for their roasted pork with a side of baked potatoes and salad and it was so good, I nearly swooned with the taste. Needless to say, I half- dozed my way through the rest of the day.

Practical Details

Le Framboisy

16, rue Charlemagne

75004 Paris

01 42 72 14 16

From one end of the city to the other

I admit that we’re pretty spoiled for choice when it comes to restaurants in the neighborhood. That’s why whenever there is an opportunity to step out of our comfort zone, we don’t hesitate to grab it. Two recent occasions required us to find restaurants in the 15th and the 17th arrondissements and it was a great chance to test some new restaurants that we wouldn’t otherwise necessarily get the chance to try.

Afaria in the 15th is located just between Convention and Porte de Versailles. It’s a handy address to keep in mind if you were to find yourself hungry at the end of a visit at any of the on going fairs and exhibitions at the Porte de Versailles exhibition halls. After stints at Le Carré des Feuillants and Drouant Chef Julien Duboué finally decided to set up his own place with a bold emphasis on Southwestern cuisine; a fact which was greatly celebrated by numerous food critics. The decor is simple with warm earth tones and wooden tables. The clientele from what I could see and deduce seemed like people from the neighborhood. Despite the neighborhood feel of the place, service was a bit on the snooty side though I think this just depends on which person waits on you. The person who took our orders was more on the snooty side while her colleague was a bit friendlier. The menu is divided into 5 themes---Les Sudistes for food from the South, Retour du Voyage for cuisine inspired by other parts of the world, Petite Appetit, if you were watching what you eat, A Partager, for sharing and Produits Nobles. Each theme has its own entrée, plat and dessert but fortunately you’re free to mix and match as you please. Oh and before I forget there is a separate tapas bar menu which looks extremely promising too but isn’t served at the regular tables. Given that we were there at lunch, we tried to be reasonable and go for the plat du jour which in our case was a hearty Southern style casserole of meat and vegetables slow cooked till the meat was falling of the bone tender. It was rich and flavorful though it was not by any means light! The other choice was a pan fried veal chops served on its bed of potatoes which was as well quite tasty though again on the heavy side. Nonetheless, the veal was cooked just right without being too or under done. Dessert was a beautiful chocolate soufflé served with a side of apple sauce. Delicious to say that least and we staggered out of the restaurant with our bellies quite full.

We had barely recovered from our lunch when it was time for dinner. This time our destination was L’Accolade. The restaurant is headed by Chef Sebastian Altazin who trained at the Guy Savoy and Michel Rostang. Given such prestigious training and an area that is renowned as being rather pricey, we were happily surprised to find that the restaurant proposes a complete menu comprising of entrée, plat and dessert for 32 euros. The décor is tasteful and the ambiance cozy. You can easily have a romantic dinner here or a nice dinner with friends or family. And remarkably enough the staff was nothing but nice and the service was faultless. Even without having had a bite to eat yet, I already liked the place! The menu is tailored to reflect the season although there are some staples like the Oreilles de cochon croustillant (or crunchy pig ears---less elegant when translated) and the tartare de thon rouge for the starters. Both starters proved to be a hit. For those who prefer a lighter starter, there is also a vegetable millefeuille interspersed with mozzarella. Not the most innovative but fresh and light. For our plat, we went for the risotto with scallops and it was just wonderful. The risotto had just the right amount of consistency, neither too wet nor too dry, and with just enough parmesan to complement and round off the juicy scallops. Other dishes we tried that night was the beef filled pie and the rognon de veau which judging from our friends satisfied expressions were quite good. As for dessert, I was trying to walk the path of the straight and narrow but succumbed to the temptation. My only concession to my figure was to share the dessert and to choose the crumble aux poire (a pear pie) served with a side of caramel ice cream rather than the fondant au chocolat. I realize that this isn’t much of an effort but I have no regrets. The pie was absolutely yummy and I could’ve devoured the whole thing myself! Definitely an address worth going back to!

Practical Details

Afaria
15 rue Desnouettes

75015 Paris

Tel : 01 48 56 15 36

Metro: Convention

L’Accolade
17, rue Guillaume Tell

75017 Paris

01 42 67 12 67

Metro: Perreire

Is it worth giving a second chance?

I first heard about La Bellevilloise from Red Addict who had gone there to watch a concert. Based on her review of her evening it seemed like a nice place and I dutifully noted the address in my notebook. I was especially interested in trying it out since they served Sunday brunch. The perfect occasion arose recently when we needed to find a place for brunch in the general direction of Bobigny where an afternoon at the theatre awaited us. La Belleviloise seemed to be just the right place
So we set out with great anticipation. On that particularly quiet Sunday afternoon when it seemed that the whole neighborhood of Menilmontant had gone indoors for the familial lunch, it hardly looked like a place where a restaurant would be open. It was another thing all together within La Belleviloise. It is much larger than what you’d expect from its somewhat humble exterior. All together there are at least two buildings next to each other, one of which has three floors and the other called La Halle aux Oliviers where they have brunch. It actually has a long history behind it. The complex was founded in 1877 as the first cooperative in Paris. Its members intended to have a place where people could have free access to music, arts, politics and general culture. During the war, it served as a resistance center and was one of the first places to have equitable commerce among the different neighborhood merchants. It played quite an important role in the cultural and economic life of the Eastern side of Paris from 1910-1949. Currently it aims to provide ample space for all kinds of spectacles, exhibitions and concerts.

My first glimpse of La Halle aux Oliviers was promising. It’s a large light filled room with olive trees literally planted strategically in different parts of the room. It was also packed with people eating and chatting away while a jazz band played. And while we had taken precautions to reserve a table for six, in our case it meant being shoved near the entrance where a draft blew incessantly and next to the spread of fruits and jams. I was less than thrilled but I have to grudgingly admit that perhaps without a reservation, we might not have been even accommodated. Next unpleasant bit was the grumpy and snotty attitude of the person who was assigned to our table. I have come to accept (with great difficulty) the quality of French service (often mediocre, sometimes good) but this time around she was downright unpleasant. Its quite a testament to our patience (okay, mine) that we didn’t call her out on her surliness. After all, we were paying clients!
It’s a shame that service wasn’t better, though to be fair the other waitresses circling around were a bit friendlier than the unfortunate one we had, because the food while plentiful, isn’t exactly going to win any Michelin stars or even a value for money award. The way it works is that all the sweet stuff are laid out while you had a choice of three different plates of savories. There was a big spread of croissants, viennoiserie, pain perdu (which was my favorite of the whole spread), cookies and bread. They also had a big bowl of yogurt that you helped yourself to and a fruit salad to accompany it. For the hot plates, they had an English plate consisting of bacon (though they served it that day with normal ham)and eggs, Cheeseburger served with fries and the Charcuterie plate filled with cheese and at least two kinds of ham.

The nicest thing about the place was probably the Jazz Band. They were very good and it’s a shame I wasn’t able to get their name as I wouldn’t mind watching them again at a proper concert. And the room itself is quite charming with their olive trees here and there. It was also nice that it was very family oriented as attested to by the number of children running about and playing. I suppose I also have to mention that there is a chance that you will see some French actors having brunch too as we saw at least two while we were there. Granted, they weren’t Marion or Audrey, but I can attest that the other girls nonetheless recognized them!

Here you can get a glimpse of the buffet of sweets...

Practical Details (Maybe someone wants to give them a try nonetheless)

La Bellevilloise

19-21 rue Boyer

75020 Paris

01 46 36 07 07

Metro Gambetta or Menilmontant

Bus no 96

A beautiful discovery

At any given time, there are a number of things going on in the city. You could easily spend all your time visiting all the exhibitions both temporary and permanent in the city’s numerous museums. That said, its very easy to miss the less known museums. One good example would be the Musee Nissim Camondo. I’d first heard of this museum from Y, who, on her numerous visits to Paris was always keen to discover the little known gems of our fair city. A bit of online checking proved sufficient to entice us into spending the afternoon in the area. Fortunately, the Museum is located within a close proximity to the lovely Parc Monceau.

The park was established by Philippe d’Orleans , the Duke of Chartres in 1769. He was greatly fond of all things English and the Parc Monceau reflects this. It is different from other Parisian parks with its curved walkways and the absence of a formal layout. The park became state property in 1860 and it is thanks to Baron Haussman that half of the park’s area was saved for us to enjoy today. The other half was sold to form residential buildings. On a lovely sunny day it is packed full of people jogging, or picnicking on the grounds or generally just sunning themselves. It was certainly a great way to reach our destination of the day which lies just behind the park.

The Camondos were a rich Jewish family who established one of the largest banks in the Ottoman Empire. During Napoleon III’s reign in the 18th century, Abraham-Behor and Nissim, sons of the Patriarch Salomon, arrived in Europe to set up a European branch of their operations. They decided on Paris and they settled on two mansions overlooking the Parc Monceau. The brothers were astute bankers but their real passion was the collection of art. Nissim bequeathed the house on 63, rue Monceau to his son Moise in 1910. Moise was himself an avid collector of 18th century art and furniture and who by this time had a substantial collection of is own wanted to properly house his collection. He had the house destroyed and built from ground up according to his specifications. It was designed to resemble the Petit Trianon and a number of the rooms were fitted with 18th century wood paneling.

It is a lovely and gracious building. On the first floor are lovely rooms with which guests were welcomed. And while the outside façade may be 18th century the inside reflected a much more modern outlook. Unlike the usual 18th century residences where rooms were set next to each other without access to each area, all of the reception rooms were designed for guests to move in and out of the rooms which by the way overlook the garden, separated only by hedges from the Parc Monceau. Each room is tastefully filled with lovely pantings, rich Aubusson tapestries and delicate furniture fit for royalty. The upper floor hosts the former bedrooms of Moise’s children. Their rooms are no less richly furnished and you could spend hours gazing upon the art arrayed on the wall, the Chinese and Japanese porcelain and the furniture which was tastefully assembled obviously by someone with much good taste. Easily my favorite part of the house was the impressive library, located exactly at the center of the house. As such it has an impressive garden view. The library’s shelves are dark wood polished to a gleam and the upholstered chairs provide a comfy looking spot for which to peruse the books. During his lifetime, Moise was less taken with literature , as with art, though this did not prevent him from being a member of several bibliophile societies.

Here's a shot of the library...

A study of the family’s genealogy shows that the family did not fare so well in the intervening years. Moise’s only son, Nissim, to whom he wanted to bequeath the house and its treasures, was killed during WWI and as he was Moise's sole heir ( I don't know why he didn't leave it to his daughter), the house and its treasures were bequeathed to the Union Central des Artes Decoratifs. His only condition—that the museum be named after his beloved Nissim. Later on, Moise's daughter Beatrice and her family perished in WWII.

The family may be long gone but I suppose something of their spirit remains in the house they so loved. Far from being a sad or dark house, it is full of light and in a way, joy. It remains inviting to guests (as it must have been when the family actually lived there) and wandering around its rooms you get a good idea of the vibrancy of the lives lived within its walls.

One of the reception rooms on the upper ground floor...

Le Salon Bleu which was Beatrice's bedroom, turned into a study after she moved with her husband to their new home...

Practical Details...

Musee Nissim Camondo

63,rue Monceau

75008

Opening hours: Wed to Sat 10 am to 5:30 pm