Pour Toi France

Just a quick photo today for Missing Paris Day 

which has been absent for a bit.

This memorial happens to be in the Passy Cemetery 

in the 16th arrondissement but

most little villages in France 

have one of these somewhere along the road 

memorializing the villagers lost to the 

"Great War." 

Most churches in France, 

somewhere within,

have a list of names of the lost souls 

inscribed on its walls

with the dates 1914-1918.

Inevitably, on these walls

we usually find The Chef's family name

often with a slight variation of letters. 

When you see these memorials 

standing alone on the side of the road 

at the entrance to a small village, 

often with a little pot of flowers,

it evokes a sweetness but mostly a sadness. 

Yesterday, July 28th in the year 1914

marked the beginning of "The War to End All Wars."

Would that it were so. 

(Photo copyright: Kirsten Steen)

Restaurants in the 15th Arrondissement

One thing about visiting Paris during the holiday season

is the inevitable restaurant closures in our neighborhood. 

So this visit we returned to a place we haven't been in far too long:

Restaurant de la Tour.

Located close to the Tour Eiffel

(thus the name)

it is owned and run by Chef Cedric Robert

and his wife Carine Robert. 

We went for their lovely New Year's Eve dinner

and to say hello after too long away.

One of my favorite things in Paris is Foie Gras.

I know I shouldn't love it but...

can't help myself. 

We devoured our main courses. 

Not even time for pictures.

And the desserts were as divine as they looked. 

With one of the restaurants we wanted to go being closed,

we finally tried a small bistro close to home for lunch

that we've spent years walking past. 

The Bistro Dupleix is just steps from us

and, while basic traditional French food,

served a perfectly delicious lunch. 

Gotta love the French's idea of a salad,

like this one covered with potatoes, ham, egg and cheese. 

And there's nothing better than sitting and watching 

the French world go by. 

Restaurant de la Tour

6, rue Desaix

75015 Paris

+33 1. 43.06.04.24

Bistro Dupleix

62, Blvd de Grenelle

75015 Paris

+33 1.45.77.24.96

(All Photos copyright: Kirsten Steen)

Heloise and Abelard

Heloise died on this day in 1164.

If you walk along the Seine on the Ile de la Cite not far from Notre Dame,

you'll come upon this plaque announcing that Heloise and Abelard lived here in 1118. 

We've all heard of their tragic love story. 

There are books, songs, poems and plays about them. 

Pierre Abelard, a canon, theologian, philosopher and teacher 

requested room and board in exchange for tutoring Heloise

in the home of her uncle where the young woman lived. 

It's not long before Heloise is pregnant. 

Once her pregnancy was discovered, 

Abelard sent her to Brittany to be looked after by his family

and it was there that their son, Astrolabe, was born. 

Her uncle insisted Abelard marry her and he agreed

 but only if it could be kept secret to protect his reputation and career. 

Heloise was not interested in a secret marriage,

or as it sounds from some of her letters, in any marriage.

Her written opinions about marriage 

are quite strong and unusual for women at the time. 

But she finally gave in. 

She was brought back to Paris where they were secretly married. 

However, to punish Abelard, the uncle lets it be known. 

To protect Heloise, Abelard sends her to a nunnery where she had spent her early years. 

The uncle, believing Abelard has discarded his niece after using her,

sent some of his friends to Abelard's room to castrate him. 

Following this, Abelard also took up the life of a monk

and made Heloise take the habit, again against her wishes. 

Their child is barely mentioned in any of the letters between them over the years

and little is known of his fate. 

Many years later, Heloise becomes the Prioress of her nunnery

and a respected physician thanks, in part, to Abelard's tutoring. 

In reading more about her,

I didn't realize (or remember) that originally she was a reputed scholar in her own right,

well-known for her brilliance in her studies. 

According to one source, this was the reason Abelard chose her. 

And to this day, she is considered an important part of 

French literary history and the Epistolary genre.

In Paris in the middle ages,

schools began with the School of Notre Dame

located on the Ile de la Cite and taught by the clerics.

By 1200, the Left Bank had become a hotbed of schools and monasteries

which gave rise to the University of Paris. 

Abelard was just one of many teachers

and this was just one story 

which became famous through their writings. 

Wonder how many other stories like this one were never told?!

(Photo copyright: Kirsten Steen)

Paris Market Tarts and Spring Flowers

Missing these gorgeous tarts from our

Grenelle Open Air  Market in Paris. 

In fact, I'm missing just about everything about spring and Paris right now.

I am flat on my back with a disc issue and nerve pain

and scrolling/strolling through the many photos of

spring in Paris on Instagram. 

Everybody is posting stunning and tantalizing photos

of blooms in luscious colors all over Paris.

If you're on Instagram and interested in seeing them,

here is a list of a few of the Paris photogs I follow:

 a parisian moment

paris mon amour

wonderlust paris

vivre paris

girls guide to paris

paris online

a perfect day in paris

herve in paris

lily paris

Each of these, even if a few days back,

has some dazzling spring flower shots to share. 

You can also follow me on Instagram: @ steen.kirsten

Guess I should share a Paris spring shot here too.

Here's one with a little spring color in the background...

Hope you are enjoying spring wherever you are! 

(Photos copyright:Kirsten Steen)

Patisseries... and loved ones on my mind.

Missing Paris today... and my in-laws. 

We spent this past weekend at my mother-in-love's 

cleaning out the last of her furniture

as the house has now sold.

A sad task and the final round

of dividing up her belongings,

deciding who keeps what 

and making the last painful trips to the donation center. 

Remembering their visit to Paris 

at the end of our year of living there,

I couldn't help but think of the bustling little boulangerie/patisserie

that sat just across the street from us on the corner. 

When my In-Love's had tired of trekking through the streets of Paris

or long drives and cathedral and chateau visits in the Loire,

they LOVED sitting on the blue couch in my dining room

staring out the French window

watching the people coming and going

through the doors of the boulangerie.

Something tickled them about the number of people

emerging with baguettes or pretty-ribboned pink boxes 

filled with pastries and chocolates. 

Often there was a line out the door and a dog or two 

also waiting with their owners on the end of a leash. 

My father-in-love had a healthy sweet tooth

and nearly daily made his own trek across the street

to come home with a pink box and his favorite gateau.

He started with the smallest one

and worked his way up to the largest. 

Some days he suggested we skip lunch

and just have gateau.

The sweet little boulangerie on that corner is gone now...

as are my in-laws. 

On that corner now sits a(nother) bank. 

And in my home here in the Pacific Northwest

sit a few items that remind me of my mother-in-love

who just left us this year. 

But in my heart is the sweetness of the memory

of the two of them together, enjoying the view out the window, 

chuckling as they pointed things out to each other while they held hands.

(Photo copyright: Kirsten Steen)

French Wine Harvest Lowest Since 1945

It appears this year's French wine harvest,

as predicted, 

is the worst in over 70 years. 

Spring frosts decimated vineyards, 

(twice this past April)

causing the harvest to be 18% lower than 2016

which was the lowest in decades. 

And not just in France.

Austria, Germany, Hungary and Switzerland 

were also hit hard. 

The losses have varied anywhere from 25 to 90 percent

despite some vineyards employing old-fashioned 'smudge pot' techniques

using fires in oil drums and fans to hinder the damaging cold on the vines. 

Climate change is also a challenge to this business. 

One article suggests that global warming will cause

grapes to ripen earlier causing low quality wines and higher alcohol content

(which the French I know do not care for.)

But the article also stated 

that while this year's grape harvest quantity will be down,

 the effect of the warm, dry summer weather

means the quality will be high.

So at least there's that!

May want to stock up on your favorite French wines

in case of price hikes.  

While I'm a fan of American (specifically California) reds,

I'm not partial to the French reds.

And just the opposite with whites. 

I love French whites but not so much American whites. 

It will be interesting to see how the French, 

in all their brainstorming on how to deal with their challenges,

will end up handling climate change

and how the business, and the wines, will change. 

à Votre Santé.

(Photos copyright: Kirsten Steen

Info via articles in The Guardian and The Daily Meal.)

Trip to Launois in the Champagne region

There's been much said recently about 

champagne helping to deter dementia and Alzheimers. 

A 2013 study found that three glasses a week

can help prevent memory loss. 

So we did our part to save our minds by making a trip to the Champagne region.

One of our main goals was 

to pick up some bubbly for Christmas

at Launois.

So we made a stop at the Launois tasting room and office

in the town of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger,

a village in the Cote des Blancs area

south of Epernay.

A very young pretty woman.

who spoke almost no English, 

served us a tasting of the Blanc de Blanc,

'white of whites' made mostly of Chardonnay grapes,

then took us back to the office.

Though I didn't get many snapshots,

the entire place,

every surface and every space on the walls,

 was filled with lovely things.

And since I collect angel photos,

I had to get this one. 

Since we had family coming in for the holidays

and knew we would be surrounded by loads of people

for our actual anniversary the night before Christmas Eve,

we picked a little town in the region to spend the night,

(which I'll show more next time)

and celebrated just the two of us

with champagne and dinner.

So sweet to steal away and relive some of our travels

during our time of living in France. 

Since champagne was our First Date cocktail together,

it seemed fitting to celebrate with a trip to the region.

And if bubbles will also boost my brain,

then I'm all for that! 

Happy New Year to all!

(photos copyright: Kirsten Steen)

Our 25th Anniversary at Reims Cathedral

We are in Paris for the holidays 

and this past week the Chef and I celebrated 25 years together

with a trip to the French countryside and Reims (pronounced Rance) Cathedral,

lunch on the square

and a complimentary glass of champagne. 

Our first date 25 years ago

involved Champagne Cocktails. 

And this week, as we stood a couple of blocks from the square in Reims

perusing menus in restaurant windows, wondering where to have lunch

before touring the church on our anniversary,

a man walked up, handed us a brochure and told us

if we took it to a certain restaurant on the square 

and showed them the picture, we would be treated to a glass of champagne. 

Not having found anything else we were interested in,

we wandered over to the restaurant and had the perfect lunch,

at the perfect place, right on the square

... with champagne. 

Angels were smiling on us.

And if you look closely, you'll see that

 the very first figure to the right of these doors 

looks like it could be one of the Smiling Angels of Reims. 

Below is a picture of the famous Smiling Angel

on a votive holder.

The cathedral was built in the 1200's

over the site of an earlier church

where Clovis (the first king of the Franks)

 was baptized in 496 A.D

(the original being built about 400.)

It is the church where the Kings of France were crowned. 

Like Chartres, a labyrinth was built into the floor

but here it was later destroyed. 

In its number of statue-laden portals,

Reims is second only to Chartres.

In 2011, the cathedral celebrated its 800th anniversary

with the installation of 6 new stained glass windows

by German artist Imi Knoebel

and nearly 6 months of celebrations

including light shows, concerts, performances, exhibitions.

Click HERE for a Guardian article

 (his first newspaper interview ever given)

with Imi Knoebel (a man of 700 colors) 

and a photo of the actual windows.

During the first world war, 

it served as a hospital

and many of its stained glass windows 

were sadly damaged or destroyed. 

With help partly from the Rockefellers,

it was restored and reopened in 1938. 

And above, the gorgeous Marc Chagall windows in the very far end of the cathedral. 

**************************************

Tomorrow starts 2017, ready or not. 

In numerology, 2016 equals a 9

which is an ending year. 

And with all of the loss this year, 

it certainly has been that. 

Loss upon loss upon loss...

And with 2017, I'm wishing you a magnificent one!

A new beginning, a cycle of abundance and joy

giving the future now what we want to reap. 

I wish for you all the miraculous beauty you can hold within your heart.

A vous, Bonne Annee!!

Til next year....

(Photos copyright: Kirsten Steen

Info via Wiki)

Must See French Films of the Millennium~ Part 2

So here is Part 2 of  TheLocal.fr's list of Must See French Films of the Millennium:

* Jeux d'enfants (Love Me If You Dare, 2003)
* Paris Je t'aime (Paris, I Love You, 2006)
* Le Nom des gens (The Names of Love, 2010)
* La Guerre est Déclarée (Declaration of War, 2011)
* Camille Redouble (Camille Rewinds, 2012)
* De Rouille et d'os (Rust and Bone, 2012)
* Mon Roi (My King, 2015)
* Divines (2016)


Sad to say, I've only seen two of these this time. But that will change. And what I LOVE about doing these posts is that I always learn something interesting... LIKE a group called Lost in Frenchlation hosts French films with English subtitles some Friday nights at Cinema Studio 28 in Montmartre.
They'll soon be showing at several more independent cinemas to help give the international community more neighborhood flavors. When they realized that for most Internationals in Paris, it's difficult to watch French films because of the lack of English subtitles so they decided to rectify the problem themselves. For more on how they got started, click on Je t'aime me neither.
And you can find Lost in Frenchlation on Facebook Here.

And since Divines' director Houda Benyamina won the Caméra d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for this film, might have to start with that one.

Cinema Studio 28
10 rue Tholozé
75018 Paris
33.1.46.06.36.07
Cash Only, No Cards!

List of Must See French Films of the Millennium

TheLocal.fr has published a list of Must See French Films of the Millennium which include:

* Mesrine: Killer Instinct and Public Enemy #1 (2008)
* Entre les Murs (The Class, 2008)
* Etre et Avoir (To Be and To Have, 2002)
* Les Intouchables (The Untouchables, 2011)
* Martyrs (2008)
* Les Choristes (The Chorus, 2004)
* Polisse (2011)
* Bienvenue Chez les Ch-tis (Welcome to the Land of the Ch'tis, 2008)
* Un Prophete (A Prophet, 2009)
* Amour (2012)

I've only seen about a third of these but as we are planning/hoping to be in Paris for the Christmas holidays this year, I may try to get a few more in before then. They've also published a Part 2 which I'll post later. I've included the trailer for one that we were actually told was a Definite Must See by French friends some time ago. It's a bit silly but since I often say the French sense of humor is akin to a 14 year old boy, it fits perfectly. One of the others we were told not to miss was Les Choristes which is a lovely film.

Two that I would add and particularly loved:
Little White Lies (Les Petits Mouchoirs, 2010, otherwise known as Le Big Chill by the Sea) and
Haute Cuisine (2013)

Highly recommend both of these!

And since it's been way too long since we've been in France, I finally did something I've been wanting to do: signed myself up for online French classes. I just went to check things out and found a really reasonable monthly price through Babbel. And while other versions just seem to wear me out, I really enjoy working the class programs. It's exactly what I've needed. And it's up to you what you want to learn with plenty of options. Wish I'd gone there sooner! If you're interested in learning a language, check out Babbel.

********************************************************

Click the link below for trailers and descriptions of above films:

Must See French Films

A bientot!

New Fines on Paris Metro

According to TheLocal.fr, 

fines just went up in the Paris Metro. 

So many people dodge travel costs 

(over 220,000 people/day costing 1 million euros/day),

transport chiefs are going to make it hurt more if caught. 

And the hike in fines not only targets those who don't pay

but also those who make too much noise, talk too loud, play loud music,

don't muzzle their dogs, beg or forget their bag on the metro.

They are so tired of having to issue alerts for suspicious bags

that usually (thankfully) turn out to be nothing, 

they will now fine you if they have to issue an alert due to your forgetfulness. 

Fines for not having your metro ticket 

if stopped by the controls now

is 50 euros. 

Up 50% from when we made the mistake of not keeping our ticket 

in our pocket until we got outside the metro. 

Note to self: 

When traveling the Paris metro,

make sure to keep your used ticket on our person 

until you have exited the station. 

You can use the extra 50 euros on entertainment in Paris! 

(Photo copyright: Kirsten Steen)