Paris, casually – Daryl Lee, Photographer

Dec. 16

One nice thing about traveling independently from a tour group, and returning to a place that we’re familiar with, is that we can move at an unhurried pace. And so it was today, our first full day back to Paris after our excursion to Alsace. We awoke to an inviting view:

To get such a view, either book well in advance, or arrive at a time when the hotels are experiencing a 30% cancellation rate, and get lucky with an upgrade, all of which fell into place for us. There are red geraniums all over the place, including our hotel room’s window. Temperatures in the 50s (warmer than Albuquerque) make strolling around the city very comfortable.

We slept late, and after a leisurely stroll, we found the next place on our “must-dine-at” list, Au Vieux Paris. The owners, Georges and Odette, claim it to be the oldest restaurant in Paris. Still on my to-do list is to identify all the restaurants making that claim. In the summer, the wisteria are in full bloom, almost hiding the entrance.

Anita chose the vegetarian omelet, served on a nice crystal plate, and I had good old reliable duck a l’orange “with many vegetables.” I guess “four” equals “many.”

The maitre d’ here, Frederico, seems to be quite a celebrity. He greeted us in French, heard my accent and switched to English to ask where we were from, missed the “New” in New Mexico and then switched to Spanish before we finally agreed on English. He was most helpful and insisted that we see the Creche at Notre Dame, about a block away. So, after becoming warm and well fed, off we went.

You’ve seen creches. But this one. This one should be seen. It’s from Krakow, Poland, where there is a tradition of creche-building. Each year there is a city-wide competition, and this is the 2010 winner. It’s the tallest ever submitted to the competition at sixteen feet high and required 10,000 man-hours of labor to complete. Each window represents one of Krakow’s sixteen churches. The central frame is the actual manger scene, with a rocking crib. It’s really an incredible piece of work.

And seeing such a scene reminds you that you skipped desert at lunch, and it’s now time to settle that issue. Anita’s foot was bothering her, so we opted for a nice pedicab ride to the other island, Ile St. Louis, which is home to the most famous ice cream shop in Paris, Berthillon.

Berthillon has a little walk-up counter (the open door on the right) for those who want to keep moving while the slurp their cones. We opted for the tea room on the left. I mean, if you have time, why wouldn’t you soak up this ambience?

We opted for double-dippers, Anita choosing chocolate while I went for cherry and raspberry. After my first bite, she reminded me of my photographic duties.

Tomorrow, the Louvre and a concert at Ste. Chappelle.