One advantage of transatlantic travel is the early morning rising often following the exhausted tumble into bed after arriving home. I’m taking advantage of the still-dark morning to catch you up on the rest of my trip to Paris.
On the plane home, the man sitting next to me asked what I liked best about my time in Paris. I gave him some stock answer about how it was too difficult to pin down one thing, but the food, parks, perfume, etc., were wonderful. After thinking about it, I came up with a different answer: What I really liked best were the surprises.
For instance, one night March and I had dinner at La Mère Agitée, a tiny restaurant around the corner from our apartment. The Mère herself greeted us with “I’m not ready yet! Another fifteen minutes!” as she rushed between the kitchen and the downstairs dining room despite our having made the reservations the night before at a time she had announced as “parfait“. From the bar (where she was pouring herself a stiff pastis) she said she normally had about five people for dinner, but tonight there’d be twenty. She asked if we wanted a glass of wine, and we suggested maybe a carafe, to which she said “non” then plunked a bottle of peachy Vaucluse white on the table as she whooshed by.
While she fretted downstairs, a fresh-faced boy came by and announced that since there were so many people that night, we didn’t have any choice in our menu. We’d be having duck pâté, ham and mushrooms with a calvados cream and pasta, and a pistachio-dried apricot cake for dessert. We settled back as a diverse flow of mostly men filed in, greeted us with “Bonsoir Mesdames”, then went downstairs. The restaurant was chock-a-block with art and restaurant supplies: a shrink-wrapped bundle of water bottles by the door; towering jars of homemade preserves; an underlit portrait of the Mère’s elderly dog, now retired to a farm in Normandy; a small, beautiful painting of Mary and the baby Jesus; a grainy blown-up photo of a mustachioed man and his silken terrier; dusty plants; and a messy spread of accounts and newspapers on a table by the bar.
Then the wonderful surprise: from below us came the hearty, round voices of men singing. It turned out the large party that night was a men’s choir that specialized in French military songs. Despite the heaping bowls of food that went downstairs, I don’t know when they had time to eat, because nearly two hours of songs about patrimoine vibrated the wood floors.
As we sipped our post-dinner calvados, members of the choir left one by one, most stopping to say goodnight to us. The Mère sat with us to see if we’d enjoyed our meal, and we told her we liked it better than the mediocre dinner and downright laughable service we’d had at Alain Ducasse’s Aux Lyonnais. After that, when the occasional baritone tipped his hat goodnight at us, she shouted at him, “They had dinner chez Alain Ducasse and like this better!”
This post is getting lengthy, so I’ll just highlight a few more of the surprises I loved so much:
The warm, sweet, almost cardboard aroma of the metro platform after a train has left. What is that smell? If I did my own Field Notes from Paris this smell would form its base.
The high school orchestra playing the James Bond theme song in the Luxembourg Gardens on a sunny afternoon while runners competed in the Cours du Senat looping through the park. Also, I loved the park’s rigidly beautiful espaliered apple trees in the corner near where the bees are kept.
The Butte aux Cailles. When I went to graduate school for six months in Paris, I walked within blocks of the Butte nearly every day, but for some reason I never ventured into it. Next time I go to Paris I want to stay on this hill of narrow, winding streets and sit in its cafés, then walk along the leafy Tolbiac street and stop by the Eglise of Saint Anne, patron saint of vintage clothing dealers.
Sniffing tuberose absolute and other raw materials with Denyse of Grain de Musc, both at our apartment and in her lush, bohemian apartment with wild thing Jicky the cat (more on raw materials for another post.) Also, sniffing the strikingly obvious Jacques Fath Iris Gris mixing with ambient cigarette smoke and wondering why — like sunlight or creek water — this fragrance isn’t with us now.
Seeing classics like Rochas Femme and Guy Laroche Fidji on the Marionnaud shelves next to the latest department store flankers shelves.
The streams of bicycle riders, helmetless, coats flapping in the wind, braving the traffic. I don’t remember bicyclists when I was last in Paris. If I’d had a credit card with a chip, I would have been on a Vélib’ in a heartbeat.
Listening to a husky, long-haired piano player sing “The Sunny Side of the Street” as I sipped outrageously priced Armagnac and March a peppery Scotch at the Closérie des Lilas.
Biting into a creamy Paris Brest pastry. Always thinking of it as “Paris Breasts.”
And more. There’s a lot more. But the sun has come up now on my first morning home, I’ve had a few cups of coffee in my regular morning mug, the cat is sacked out in front of the heater, the dog is napping on the bed, and it’s time to get back to reality.
Ed. Note: if you missed the prior articles in this series, see Perfume and Travel, Paris (and perfume): Day One and Paris (and perfume): Days Two and Three. Angie also wrote about Paris last spring — see Paris and perfume.
Also see March’s article at Perfume Posse, Infusions — Paris and Prada.
Top image is Parc du Luxembourg by Eljoundi at flickr; some rights reserved.
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Your writing is beautiful Angela. I loved the part where you described your experience in that quaint restaurant. It’s as if I am also transported right when and where it happened. =)
I dream of roaming around Europe through backpacking and your entries further enticed me to go there. (And to continue to save for the big trip!) Might not happen until about 2-3 years from now but still, it’s fun to be able to take down notes based on other traveller’s’ stories. =)
Definitely save up and do it! Travel is so much more valuable than the “things” we might buy. I don’t have a cell phone or cable TV, but it was worth it to go to Paris.
I totally agree with you what an amazing experience.
It really is amazing!
I’m sure I’ll be berated for asking this outloud, but is it worth going to Paris if you don’t speak or understand French? I’ve heard horror stories and am not sure I want to subject myself to being made a fool of. I’m not a sneakers-wearing American, but I don’t have the thickest skin either.
I’ve dreamed of going to Paris for years, but I have a morbid fear of being screamed at by well-heeled women for not understanding them.
Hi! I’m not Angela, but I think it is worth visiting any foreign country, whether you speak the language or not. You can always brush up before you go and you probably have a head-start on French pronunciation from reading perfume bottles! I grew up in Malaysia, was an exchange student to France, and have been lucky enough to travel in about 25 different countries. I certainly didn’t speak the language of most and some of them were places where large sectors of the population do not speak English at all. Many places do, but in my experience I’ve found that they really appreciate it if you make an effort to show that you appreciate their language and culture even if you haven’t mastered it. That effort is a huge ice-breaker and if you keep a sense of fun and humility about yourself while trying, they will usually do what they can to bridge the language gap. My theory about French reputation for snootyness is that they don’t have the open smiling faces we tend to see in the US (most places don’t and it is disconcerting or even suspect to a lot of people) and the positioning of the facial muscles necessary to properly speak French can make it look like you are scowling. Global economics are not my area, but I do know that tourism around the world has taken a hit, and most places are happy to have foreign visitors especially if a large portion of their economy is based on tourism and luxury goods. It is just my $.02, but I don’t think language should ever be a barrier to travel – you’ll pick it up, along with local mannerisms, faster than you think and will come away richer for having tried. If you need a bad translator I’m happy to tag along!
Hi, Julia,
I’ve certainly found that people in Asia are thrilled when you learn how to stumble through the most rudimentary greetings (and are fairly polite when you screw up and say something like “good night” when what you mean is “bon appetit!”); it’s just that I’ve read about six books by expats who live in Paris and none of them have said “Dont’ worry, you’ll get by here.” It’s mostly a barrage of “Oh, and then this other woman actually threw a tomato at me…” stories.
I’m not a particularly open, smiley person either, so maybe Paris would suit me just fine, but… well, I’m a wuss, is what I am saying.
Andrea, I’ve found Parisians to be wonderfully friendly for the most part. If you know a couple of basic courtesies–for instance, to say “Bonjour Madame” when you go into a store–and to remember your “merci”s and “s’il vous plait”s, you’ll do great.
How long were you there? What did you do your graduate work in?
Thanks again for your wonderful diary.
When I was in graduate school, I was in a special program for international students at L’Ecole Nationale d’Administration (I have a master’s degree in public administration.) Really, though, I learned so much more about beauty and food!
I didn’t know you studied in Paris! I was a student in Aix-en-Provence more years ago than I like to think about, but sometimes it still seems so familiar. Lavender pastilles and Cezanne paintings bring it all back.
“Lavender pastilles and Cezanne” sounds so romantic! I also studied a quarter in Avignon as an undergraduate. Really, my French should be a lot better than it is.
Same here. I actually wound up with a French family who had lived in California for several years and they found it much easier to just speak English to me so my French remained more academic than conversational.
Angela, I adore your posts from Paris. Your writing puts me immediately into the scene, and I’ve read this twice now with such pleasure.
I want to go back to Paris, and find your moments. . .and create new ones of my own. I’m so glad you had such an amazing time, and so thankful for you to share them with us at NST. Merci!
When you have a moment, I’d love to hear your favorite Paris perfume discoveries, and FB purchases, if you don’t mind sharing. I want to live vicariously through you! Be well.
I bought bottles of PdN Le Temps d’Une Fete and L’Etat Libre Like This, and loved the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit at the Petit Palais. I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed these posts, and I hope you get to Paris soon!
Hey, I’m the first to comment! So glad to hear about the parts of your trip we didn’t have the time to talk about… God, there was a lot of ground to cover, wasn’t there?
You know the wild thing Jicky plonked herself down right where you were sitting a moment after you’d gone! And I finished the wine by myself…
So glad you discovered the Paris Brest, it’s a classic and few pâtisseries offer it now — one of my favorites.
About Iris Gris: our sniff inspired me to douse myself with it to attend the French Fifi Awards, and really get a feel for it. It really needs to be re-made, I don’t care what the name is. It’s one of the best things I ever wore. And I got sniffed by *a lot* of perfumers!
Oh Denyse – wouldn’t it be grand if all those “sniffs” should inspire at least one perfumer to try and recreate it, or at least provide their own interpretation?
I’ve given a sample to two perfumers. One of them has the formula… I’m edging my way into getting at least a fresh bottle produced… But I’m not holding any hopes of the stuff being commercialized: no perfumer worth his salt will copy a formula and fob it off as his own. Unfortunately, the company that owns the Jacques Fath licence owns neither the name (it’s been under copyright by Hermès since the 60s) nor the formula, and has chosen to put out a “tribute” instead.
Tribute schmibute. I haven’t smelled Irissime, but reports aren’t good.
D, I sure did adore Jicky, that little vixen, and I only wish I could have spent more time with you! Iris Gris was such a revelation. I’m glad you’re doing your part to hook perfumers into it again. We need it.
Angela – I remember your Paris & Perfume post from last year. I posted a comment about the Luxumbourg Gardens because it was among my most treasured memories from my own trips. So glad you got to enjoy your own trip to this most magical city.
It truly is a wonderful park, and now I’m casting an eye around my yard, trying to figure out where I can squeeze in a few espaliered somethings.
Thankyou so much for taking the time to write…It was a real joy to read…X
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
‘Sunlight or creek water’ really did me in. I would love to smell Iris Gris. Wonderful and evocative writing. The restaurant–amazing that you remembered all those details to give us such visuals. What a wonderful surprise to hear the choir. Sniffing raw materials. Everything sounds so lovely, the liquor, food, and what exactly is Paris Brest?
It wasn’t long enough for me. Thank you.
There’s so much more, too, that I didn’t have space to include!
Paris Brest is a pastry Denyse’s description tempted me to try: it’s two flat rings of pastry filled with hazelnut creme. Really, really tasty.
I’m afraid you had me at “pastry”….
It was so good!
I’m fatter just from reading about it.
You can imagine my waist line right about now.
hhmmm….in that case, we better both get some exercise! Although I can’t blame my recent weight gain on your trip to Paris! (only on my trip(s) to the kitchen!)
But you walk to much you burn it off! And those bikes are great. I love the free bikes in Holland – amazing how humans are capable of behaving when given trust and expectations of proper behaviour. I also like riding bikes in the Netherlands because there are no hills!
It’s walking to all those patisseries that makes the burning off part so difficult!
I love the idea of bicycling only on flat land.
Angela, welcome home, and again – thank you for *your* field notes from Paris. You snagged me with “The Sunny Side of the Street” and the “outrageously priced Armagnac” – I’d have been in heaven as those are two of my favorite things!
You should have been there! Armagnac is so hard to find here, but I’m going to make an effort.
Well, Haunani, I totally agree with you here:) I’m now lemming Armagnac.
I’ve seen it once or twice at my local liquor store, but I doubt what they carry is all that great. But doesn’t it sound good?
I’d suggest a quick online search. I have never heard of Armagnac before and have zero idea what a decent brand name would be. But there is a site where I have shopped before with excellent results (I do like Kahlua and Ameretto, just not together) and I see that they have several brands of Armagnac….couldn’t hurt to check :
WineChateau dot com
Thanks for the lead. Heck, even if it is costly it’s sure to be less than the per-glass price at Closerie des Lilas.
One of our favorite wine and spirits merchants (www dot klwines dot com) has 131 Armagnacs. Most of the prices are shocking, but there are a few good ones on the first page that cost less than some designer fragrances.
OK, guys, true confession… A couple of years ago, my husband were dining in one of our favorite SF Bay Area restaurants, and he ordered me a special glass of Armagnac for dessert. Let’s just say I had a “When Harry Met Sally” moment. The stuff was so glorious that my ecstatic reaction elicited some some smiles from the other tables. I probably should have been mortified, but I didn’t care. Man, was it GOOD!
I bet everyone at adjoining tables was ordering the same Armagnac soon!
Ha! Probably!
I love that story. It makes me want to go to the Redwood Room and order a really orgasmically good something to drink next time I’m in San Francisco.
Sounds like a good plan!
Thanks for the tips, Daisy and Haunani. Went online, but unfortunately I live in one of the only 2 states in America that prohibits buying alcohol online. This is what I was told by a friend who tried to send me wine at Christmas. I’m selling my home.
What a drag! It’s definitely time to move.
That is such a bad rule! Sorry about your situation, Meadowbliss.
Madame! She was such a stitch, telling them to stop banging on the damn table … and that dessert! And it’s a good thing we only had to walk around the corner to get home!
Thanks again for all the company and conversation. Oh, and I got a great whisky at the airport as a souvenir!
Let me thank *you* for the company and conversation! I hope the whiskey you got is as peppery as the last one.
In case you’re interested
Wally’s in LA has a 750ML of Armagnac de Montel for only $1,899.99. Great price! hee hee. Their web page is like Luckyscent–it has a ‘you might also like’ blurb at the bottom of page.
Wow! That’s worth more than my car!
Also check out the link I just posted above. Price range there is $39 to $6900. :-0
Sadly, the $39 is probably also close to the value of my car…
Maybe you could trade your car for a bottle!
I’m sure the Armagnac could take me places my car never could!
**snort**
Echoing *snort*.
Ah, what a wonderful post — I absolutely loved reading about the restaurant (especially the detail of the underlit portrait of the now-retired dog!). So glad you had such a great time and I bet you’re happy to be home with your pets. Thanks for sharing your trip with us!
The restaurant was one of those surprises that makes the whole trip worth it–although the trip was already well worth it.
Thank you so much for keeping a journal during your visit to Paris and for sharing it with us. What a special trip. I really appreciate your wonderful descriptions. I can almost smell the patisserie.
Tasting the patisserie is even better! (Big sigh here)
Wonderful! Delightful! I’ll bet the Mère relished your commendation for quite a while.
Now I’ll have to start saving my pennies for a trip to Paris….
She wanted me to add a comment to her website, but I couldn’t ever get it to load! Just more of the Agitated Mother’s charm, I guess.
It sounds like you had such a wonderful trip! Travel is truly one of the greatest joys of life, non? It’s so nice to step out of our own little boxes sometimes and see how amazing the world really is. I hope you go on a trip soon, it has been very pleasurable to vacation vicariously through you for a little while!
What surprises me now, home a few days, is how the trip seems to have happened in some other life, and now I’m back in the regular grind! Oh to be wealthy and able to travel more often!
Yes its strange that ‘it was just a dream’ quality – but then after a while you seem to remember it more vividly again….
I have a confession, I never particularly wanted to make a special trip to Paris – until I caught perfumitis! I spent a day google earthing and zooming on everything after I first found Denyse’s ‘perfume walks’…and I studied and taught Art!!! Bad philistine!
So all your Paris stories have really fired my imagination – my jock-trips skiing and scuba diving all over and wanting to go to the Calgary Stampede (!) will have to take a back seat to a bit of ‘cultcha’ soon!
I know the trip is still working its magic on me, even if it feels strangely far away–at only a few days past. I hope you make the trip soon!
Welcome home Angela! The posts you’ve made have been wonderful to read and this one, I’d have to say Madame shouting “They had dinner chez Alain Ducasse and like this better!” –is my favorite part! I can just see it!
Great trip….sigh….bet your pets are relieved you’re back.
At last my dog can sleep on the bed again! Truthfully, though, I’m probably happier to see them than they are to see me.
I love that you found the surprises the best part as that is what I usually treasure most as well.
Dinner at La Mère Agitée sounds like it was delightful, complete with unexpected entertainment and menu. One of those “local” experiences you hope to have when visiting another city–what fun!
It really was a gift, we were so lucky.
Angela,
I am impressed you did l’ENA.
W@W! you were certainly a very good student!
Well, it was only a program for international students, but thank you! Public administration, with a focus on foreign policy, seemed so practical at the time. I was nuts. I should have studied something I really loved. Do they offer degrees in Savoir Vivre? I’d sign up for that!
Enjoyed your writing so much Angela and I know what you mean about the trip seeming as though it took place in another lifetime. My Paris suprise was finding the Place des Vosges which I now realise is well known but I hadn’t heard of it- now I want one of the apartments that overlook it! In my dreams…
What a great dream! It would be wonderful.
Thank you so much for letting us vicariously experience this trip with you. It’s certainly true that it’s the surprises that really make a vacation, they are what make’s an experience truly personal and unique.
So true! I guess life can be like that, too–it’s what you don’t expect and can’t plan for that really mold a person.
Angela,
That is what I do here in the States Lessons of International Savoir Vivre, I tell you it is fun , it is a lot of hard work and tons of patience.
I’ll have to look it up! The kind of Savoir Vivre I was thinking of consisted of a lot of champagne, good music, dinner parties, arranging furniture, and sleeping on line-dried sheets. Really, I could get a PhD in that, no problem.
Beautiful writing Angela – I have enjoyed your Paris stories so much. It’s so funny that you mentioned Fidji – I just tried to get some on Ebay today [I've had a nostalgic hankering for it], but lost since the bidding went above my limit. Darn it. Anyway – thank you for your lovely reminiscences and please take me with you next time you go to Paris!
We should do it! We should rent a giant apartment and have a pajama party!
Sounds great. Surely a huge flat that sleeps 18-20 somewhere is bound to be fairly economical?
Maybe a chateau? Hey, maybe Carla Bruni would invite us to stay at the presidential palace!
I say we should go for it. We could certainly round up a fun group here. And since I’ve never even been to Paris, to go with someone who knows her way around would be the coolest.
There’s something delightful in getting lost, too. But you’re right, it would be fun!
Getting lost is best. I tend to travel without an itinerary and without a camera because I ruin my trip trying to record everything rather than living it. I can buy better pictures of the Eiffel Tower or Taj Mahal than I can take, so my time is better spent lounging around the park or meditating in front of the reflecting pool.
I took my camera and ended up only taking one photo, of the fence at the Palais Royal. I do wish I had a visual record, but at the same time I wanted to live things and not be engrossed in documenting them.
Oh, I knew I shouldn’t have left so soon! Sounds like you had a fabulous time-and must go back very, very soon ; )
Very very very soon. I think you would have loved the Agitated Mother.
My son would aver that I am the Agitated Mother, too often!
Hmm. I wonder if he has any part in that?
oh! gotta try out that restaurant!
Absolutely! I also had a fantastic lunch at Les Jemmapes, a wonderful cafe on the Canal St Martin. Highly recommended.
I am so glad you liked you trip there. One of the biggest suprise when I went there was the accent: I have the French-Canadian accent, and they have, well, that very specific Parisian accent. It was quite a shock, let me tell you.
I feel that shock, too, when I hear English speakers from Australia or even the UK!
Beautiful review.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I can’t add a thing. It was a very evocative piece of writing. I love travelogues!
One question, though: I understand the concept of Vélib’, but I’m afraid I don’t understand what a credit card “with a chip” is. How does one make sure one has the right kind of card?
Wiki “smart card” for a visual example. It used to be only debit cards had chips, but now my credit card does too. I was under the impression that every new card issued now has a chip embedded, but it could be that that’s a Euro thing. Dunno really.
Either way, some automated systems or ATMs here only work with cards (debit or credit) that have a chip like that.
In the US, we’re still chipless. I was able to use my chipless card at ATMs in Paris, though.
We don’t have them in the U.S., and I guess there aren’t any plans to make them, but in the EU most credit cards now have chips in them as some kind of anti-fraud device. To rent a Velib, or as I understand it to buy a ticket at one of the big train station kiosks, you have to have a card with a chip.
Joe – have you read Sunrise with Sea Monsters and The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux? Two of my favourites and he traveled extensively in my beloved Malaysia. Somerset Maugham’s Malaysian stories also rank among my top ten travelogues.
I have not read Theroux, Julia… and I’m so woefully behind on my reading, but thanks for the recs! I appreciate it!
Loved the dinner description! Mère Agitée sounds like quite the character. You’re quite right, surprises are always the best part of travel. That, and people. They tend to surprise me, too.
People can definitely be surprising!
I keep reading your post over and over, since I don’t want to leave the city and atmosphere you conjure so exceptionally well in your writing. Love it! It could easily have been 10x as long… Thank you so much for sharing.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Believe me, I could have gone on and on and on….
Such a beautiful review Angela, and I am forming a picture in my mind of St. Anne, the patron saint of vintage clothing dealers – LOL!
I’m glad you enjoyed the post! i did a little research on St Anne, and it looks like she was Mary’s mother, Jesus’s grandmother. She’s also the patron saint of childless women and a few other things I can’t remember.
Angela, welcome back, and thanks so much for sharing these delightful insights from your trip to Paris! It is quite a compliment for EdOL Like This that it is one of two that you bought – I’m really looking forward to sampling it.
It is so tantalizing that the formula for Iris Gris still exists. Every now and then I layer my peachiest and purest iris fragrances in the hope of catching a glimpse….
And what are those two fragrances, Noz? Do tell!
And yes, unbearably tantalizing to think about Iris Gris and what could be.
I really have been enjoying Like This. I only were it were louder, I like it so much.
Sniffing Iris Gris was wonderful. The weediness of the iris was the perfect counterpoint to the round, sensuous peach. It’s crazy that someone hasn’t reconstructed it.
Angela,
Welcome back and thank you for your beautiful writings of your Paris experience. Although it was long ago when I was there, reading your blog brought back so much of it to me.
A votre sante!
I hope it brought back the good parts!
Oh yes, the good parts!
Angela,
That of course only what I meant!
Except that the sheets need to be in silk from Avenue Montaigne, and the Champagne rose!
Well, I can definitely live with that! Where can I apply to your school of Savoir Vivre?
Angela, mille mercis for recounting your Paris adventure with us. You made me feel as if I had been there with you – which I wish I had been! It sounds as if you had a glorious time and now have so many wonderful memories to keep. Not to mention a couple of bottles of perfume.
Thanks for taking us along with you.
Now if only we could sniff Iris Gris through the blogosphere, lol!
It was such a gigantic privilege to smell Iris Gris. I have the scent strip by my bed now, even though I barely get a lactonic whiff from it. Still, the memories…
Angela,
I tried to send you a secret recette of savoir vivre but the email did not go through, I mean the one the site gives?