Paris: Day II

On Friday morning, at 9:30, we had a reservation at Musée Jacquemart-André to see the Fra Angelico and the Masters of Light exhibit. This was very exciting because it was the first time that so many of his pieces along with those of some of his teachers and contemporaries (most of which are held in Italian collections), would be shown in one place. Because so much of his work was done on wood, most curators object to moving or lending the delicate pieces.

We absolutely had to get to the museum by 9:30, otherwise we would lose the reservation. They limit the number of visitors who can enter at one time so that it doesn't become too crowded. Although we generally prefer to walk as much as possible when we're discovering a new place, we decided to take the Métro - easy: St. Michel to Strasbourg-St. Denis on the 4 line, switch to the 1 line and get off at Miromesnil. The museum is on Boulevard Haussmann. Even though it was just a short walk (mad dash), it was drizzling and chilly, so it was a relief to get there. 

Visitors are not allowed to take photographs, so here are some Fra Angelico images from the museum's site:

And here's what the inside of this lovely museum looks like:

The exhibit was really spectacular. Here's a nice review. We were so glad we'd made an early reservation because by the time we were leaving, it was starting to get pretty crowded, both inside the museum and outside in the rainy line to get in.

From there, we walked down Haussmann toward L'Arc de Triomphe, stopping at several high-end used book stores... the kind where you walk in and make it very clear that you aren't going to touch anything (you demonstrate this by either putting your hands in your coat pockets and never removing them or by clasping your hands behind your back so the clerks can see that you know to look and not touch!). Oh, but how we wanted to touch and have so many of these printed treasures!

We stopped for lunch at Le Balzac Café - a little place where we had a delicious lunch and some respite from the raw weather.
 
And then we got to L'Arc de Triomphe.

It's big. There were lots and lots of tourists. We took a few photos and kept walking down the Champs-Élysées until we got to the Place de la Concorde. It was windy and cold,

but the light was spectacular:

From there, we went up Rue Royale toward Place de la Madeleine to see L'église de la Madeleine- yet another gorgeous church. I never get tired of seeing these ornate, extraordinary places.

From the steps of La Madeleine

After we left La Madeleine, we had a quick coffee and made our way to a shop/atelier I'd read about in Paris Made by Hand (see this post) run by Alexia Hollinger. She makes bags. Lovely handmade bags. I'd emailed her before arriving just to make sure she wouldn't be closed during our trip. I was so excited to get there that I think I might have startled her a bit - like a Golden Retriever bounding in, blond fur flying, and jumping up on this poor stranger. Well, not exactly, but I was VERY. PLEASED. and told her so. She was gracious. We looked at all of the bags and other objects in her shop. I left with one.

A totally unsatisfactory photo of a great bag - grey tweed, patent leather handles, and pewter button. Lovely.

From this charming atelier, we wandered around outside the Palais Royale, taking pictures

and walking slowly until 5:00 - we had reservations for a wine tasting at Ô Chateau, a wine bar that promised to give a relaxed, fun, informative introduction to French wines. We'd booked the Tour de France of Wine: a two-hour tasting, with 6 wines, including one champagne. Others at the tasting included two Swedish guys and a mother-and-daughter from California. We liked the Swedes quite a lot - in fact, we had a drink afterwards with them - but the American women were... well... loud, and we didn't really want to talk to them. 

A few minutes into the very charming sommelier's presentation, we heard more loud voices entering the room. An American family of 2 daughters, a son, and a father. They were also from California. Or, put more accurately, "OH. MY. GOD! YOU'RE ALSO FROM CALIFORNIA? THAT'S SO AWESOME! WHAT PART? DO YOU KNOW blah blah blah blah...." It was terrible and embarrassing. The only consolation was that now M and I were completely free to ignore the Americans and just chat with the Swedes. But it really did feel awful to cringe each time one of them spoke. I love many Americans. I am an American. But the reason why Americans think French people are mean and hate them is because they are obnoxious. There. I said it.  

It was quite a fun tasting, and it gave us exactly what it promised. We are better at reading French wine labels. We have a better clue about what varieties are grown in what regions. We know to ask for the region, rather than the grape, when ordering. We know how to look at the color of the wine and how to smell it. We know what that sucking thing is when you're tasting the wine. It was fun.

The bar's owner, Olivier Magny, wrote a book called Stuff Parisians Like: Discovering the Quoi in the Je Ne Sais Quoi. We now have that book. It's a fun read. After a glass of wine in the upstairs wine bar with the Swedes, we began walking toward our hotel, planning to find dinner along with way. We ate at a nice bistro: La Taverne de l'Arbre sec. 

It was a busy, but rewarding, second day in Paris.