Monday evening we have the best time watching French TV. The French are big on game shows so we watch a couple of those programs but then we find a culinary show. It is hilarious! The host of the show somehow finds a home chef that is confident that a particular dish that s/he loves to prepare is truly delicious. I think it is a “friend” that turns them in to the show because “a friend” of the home chef is featured in the program. The first “chef” in the program makes the most god-awful looking crepes (more like pancakes that were burned). Then he proceeds to turn the crepes into a roll filled with (wait for it): salami, olives, bananas, Nutella, and whip cream out of a can. YIKES! The chef is a body builder that probably can’t comb his hair due to the size of his muscles. He is TOTALLY immune to any criticism of his culinary abilities. The host teaches him a much better, more delicious way to make crepes but I’m not sure the “chef” was convinced.
The host of the program has the perfect facial expressions—we do not need to know French to understand what is going on. The next “contestant” is a woman who loves to make a rolled sponge cake concoction. It was clear that her feelings are incredibly hurt as her skills are criticized. We don’t laugh as much with her story. But none the less it is a very entertaining program.
We also really enjoy the commercials. I’m sorry I cannot replay the commercial hilarity but we enjoy hearty belly laughs as we watched them. Here are a few funny ones off the Internet: https://www.fluentu.com/blog/educator-french/funny-french-commercials/
Back to Tuesday afternoon during our taxi ride in the rain, lightening and thunder I tell our driver (in French) that we have nonrefundable tickets to the Eiffel Tower for 10pmthat night. Mind you, the storm is at its full peak while we are discussing this. He says “Quel Domage” (too bad) and oh la la (in a sad voice). But the story has a happy ending—by the time we need to leave for the Eiffel Tower the rain had stopped.
So dinner before our Eiffel Tower experience…we decide to try L’Amor Vache (The Love of Cows) just a few doors from us. The guys there are were sooo welcoming and friendly. It is another place where the people WANT to speak English. Although I try my French and I am complimented on it. (They are being nice and hope to get the same compliment on their English.) We all order cocktails—I think the French are not into cocktails as much as the US. Gail orders a black vodka & lime (there is such a thing as BLACK vodka); Larry orders a Jaimason whiskey; H orders a G&T; and I order a terrible cosmopolitan (although I didn’t know how terrible it would be when I ordered it). We all order steak & fries. Except for Gail, we all want our steaks medium rare. Gail orders hers medium. ALL the steaks turn out to be rare. (This is just the first of Gail’s many disappointments in the cooking of her steak. We tell her she must believe us—she will NEVER receive a medium steak here.)
The Eiffel Tower is an incredible sight! When we booked the tickets, 10pm seemed way too late for us! But truly it was a beautiful time to see Paris all lit up. We did not get to bed until 1am!
After our late night at the Eiffel Tower, we sleep in on Wednesday morning until about 11-12. Today we plan to go to the Musée d’Orsay but first we go back to our neighborhood restaurant, Bouillon Julien, for lunch. We have a super nice, cheery, English speaking server. Larry orders fish and the rest of us order the steak and potatoes. Two of us are disappointed with what they are served: Gail’s steak was rare and Larry got a steak instead of his fish. But I must say the steak was delicious and the potatoes were one of the tastiest preparation of potatoes that I’ve had. I don’t think Larry was too disappointed with his steak—he agreed it was really good. But, I think Gail now realizes that she’ll never have her steak cooked that way she likes it.
Off to the museum! The problem with visiting the museums on a rainy day is that everyone thinks it’s a great idea to visit the museums on a rainy day. Even though it is crowded we are able to enjoy much of the great works of art. This sculpture is particularly moving; read the description of the story behind the sculpture: https://www.tripimprover.com/blog/ugolino-and-his-sons-by-jean-baptiste-carpeaux#
Or how about this one? This one is titled something like: Hunter of alligators. YIKES!
I love this sculpture of a young ballerina by Degas. He’s incorporated fabric.
I particularly like the Nabi painters:
Just as we run out of gas, we turn the corner on level 5 and find a cafe with the most interesting decor. Lots of orange color and bright metal, modern chandeliers. I don’t believe we found this cafe on our earlier visits to the museum. Our server is incredibly friendly, chatting us up in English.
Before we leave the museum we are sure to show Gail and Larry the elegant formal restaurant. A new addition to the gilded room since we had lunch there a few years ago, is multicolored plastic (!) dining chairs. It actually looks pretty neat.
It is raining when we leave the museum at closing time. On our way back to the apartment we stop at the corner butcher shop to look for pre-made dinner options. The young fellow who helps us is eager to speak to us in English. We buy a middle eastern “pizza” of sorts. The crust tastes like corn meal and ground beef and other vegetables/ seasonings were sandwiched between 2 layers. It is quite good but we could have easily done with half the amount we purchased.
All 4 of us are totally awake and out of bed sometime after midnight. We chat and read and everyone but Gail go back to bed about 2-3am. Poor Gail does not sleep for the rest of the night.
For all you Harry Potter fans:
