Plus ça change….

“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose”      – French proverb

Paris – Les Awards

Newest pan-gender fashion trend: Male or female – doesn’t seem to matter, just throw a skirt over a pair of pants and sashay down le boulevard.

Most stylish haircut while in town: Merry people seen through hairdresser window nibbling de la charcuterie and sipping wine at 8:30 in the evening at Salon Medley. Howard’s turn for a coif. Stylist:Thomas

Perfect Cafe for just pretending to be Parisian: Cafe Bonaparte; “In Saint-Germain-des-Prés, life is effortlessly chic and all things are beautiful” – all this, and a cup of Joe. Honorable mention: La Village Cafe, off the Rue Royale – 7 euros for a café crème  – “if you have to ask…”

New Restaurant discovery: L’Esquisse – Out in Montmartre. Informal, friendly staff, and the most inventive fresh cooking and presentation we found in Paris, by chef Laetetia Bret.

Always reliable restaurant when too tired to find something new: La Rotonde –  Classic French brasserie on Boulevard du Montparnasse, with the integrity to maintain standards, and the skill to always have us feel welcome. Tarragon chicken that could make a grown person weep.

Big Fun in urban transportation: Navigo card with our photo emblazoned – hop on/get off the conveyance – bus, metro – of your choice. The Parisian Metro operates well – no need to run for a train, there is always another within minutes.

Classic View of the Seine without leaving “home”: our apartment overlooking le rive and Notre Dame from front balcony, Tour Eiffel in back. We cheerfully looked past the recently raised construction scaffolding – “don’t worry, they don’t work too much most days”

Trés romantic locale for drinking vin in the afternoon: in the garden terrace at hotel Pavilion de la Reine in the Marais, just off the Place des Vosges. Paris is for lovers.

Highly incomprehensible French holiday: Ascension Day –  it’s another holiday …or a strike day. In any case, let’s take the day off and promenade with the family.

Note-worthy Parisian civic improvement: “Fast food” à la Parisian  – restaurants serving transportable, prepared food that is tasty, healthy, and doesn’t require homage to a liveried wait-person. Runner- up: Monoprix markets – groceries, toiletries, shoes! – a mini-Walmart buried inconspicuously under the Latin Quarter.

New Chinatown Secret (way out in the ‘hood): Pho Tai – “Where all the celebrity chefs go when they finish work, late into the night”.

Heavenly Preserves: La Trinquelinette, farm-produced “plus de fruit -moins de sucre” – Garden of Eden in a jar – from Le Bon Marche. To live for…

(possibly) Contraband item brought through customs at SFO – and past Snoopy the sniff dog: pound of Payson Breton butter per a distant plea from our daughter, Rose.

Spectacular opera staged in a large cardboard box: Rigoletto. San Francisco Musical Director Nicola Luisotti conducting the Paris Opera. I know we say it often, but this was Major League Opera – perhaps the best we have ever seen.

Use of real estate under the Louvre: L’Apple Store at the base of an inverted glass pyramid reflecting light and … joi de shopping.

Absurd cause for a demonstration: Proposal to reform French labor laws, hinting it might be possible to actually hire, or fire someone. Massive anti-riot response by French gendarmerie – bored, well-armored cops smoking and snoozing in vans.

Unexpected simple pleasure: sitting in the Place des Vosges on a perfect afternoon (for the hundredth time), and “getting it,” once again. Close, but no cigar: swing dancing in front of the Museum of Modern Art – it was like ’45 and the yanks had just liberated the joint!

Sentimental Parisian Moment: tossing a glass “wedding” ring into the Seine and making a secret wish to return again…

All Photos taken on iPhone6s+

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