Paris at Lunch Time- a new vision of Elegance - LouLou

 

A panorama that could not be more Parisian, restaurant Loulou is connected to the museum des arts decoratifis (my favorite museum in Paris). One of the most beautiful summer terraces in all of Paris. Italian menu ( OK I forgive them) is just the place to find romance in this over the top romantic city.

Located between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde

The most beautiful villages in the south of France - so many, where do I begin?

 So where do I begin?, welt, that's easy..you need to not look any further than...Mougins

Located in the hinterland of Cannes, as the south of France does best, old Mougins is a real Provençal postcard. On the heights, you can wander through small stone streets, climbed by ivy and squares where fountains are enthroned. Not to mention that you can see, in the distance, the Mediterranean which borders the Croisette.

The 'only way to fly' is taking the train in Europe

 Having just returned from 3 weeks in Germany, having taken the train everywhere,  was to me, the best and only way to travel.

Exploring France, Italy, Spain and Germany by train is immutable and green means of transport which constitutes in itself a journey. 

 Crossing the countryside, pastures, towns and villages, skirting wild creeks. The spirit that wanders freely with no other formalities than a simple piece of luggage and the joy of climbing aboard.  

A chance to sit back and relax and meet locals.

Champs Elysees - is described as the world's most beautiful avenue, but only by people who have not been there for several decades.

 In practice, it is a 'disaster' according to renown French architect, Philippe Chiambaretta. He says and I totally agree and most Parisians too, the avenue has become tacky, polluted and hated and the French tend to avoid it if at all possible. The only one who walk its broad avenue are tourists, in the thousands. 

BUT, The  city is seeking to being back this glorious avenue to its history with reducing traffic, widening pavements, planting trees and redesigning store fronts. 

The avenue which was in the middle of the woods until Emperor Napoleon III ordered the design of the French capital  in the second half of the 19th century, was long liked by Parisians. It used to be a very nice and fashionable part of the city. Parisians would love to  go there, essentially to walk amidst nature.

But the last 30 years its turned into an outdated and unpleasant area, 11,000 cars an hour producing tons of pollution. It's become  a highway and a terrible shopping mall.  Why would anyone go there, the locals ask?

The area is about to be redone, the first stage of re-enchantment has begun to bring life back into the area with much greenery..

Mimi Sheraton, New York Times food critic dies at age 97....

 As a rule, I never, ever read food critic reviews, as rating food is so subjective. Ah! but I did read always ( and collect all of his books) the late food writer and critic, James Villas, because ( like me) he waged an uncivil war against voguish gustatory gimmickry.

I knew upon reading his books, that we had a firm bond in our love of all food, and I loved in that he could talk and love all kinds of cooking and foods, but also, could waxed well on the joys of peanut butter and canned tuna!

I will admit that I never read any of Ms. Sheratons books or reviews, but in reading her obituary this morning, I was intrigued by a column she penned a few years ago, called the ' my 10 most memorable meals' and it ended, with her single best meal of her life. Where? You guessed it - France!

By far, she said, was a visit to Paris and the bistro Chez L'Ami Louis many years ago. She writes after spending a few weeks in Paris  to report on the new nouvelle cuisine created by the "young turks", she became exhausted by the cleverness of the new (My feeling always) , and that She cried out for traditional French cooking.

She described a visit to Bistro L'Ami Louis and found his food so totally stunning and soul satisfying ( Now, that woke me up as to her reviews) that it virtually wiped out memories of the new (Something I agreed with her) .

Decadent foie gras simply served with chunks of bread toasted over a wood fire, the sizzling giant snails, the roseate garlic and thyme-scented gigot of lamb, the legendary roast Bresse chicken, the blood-red entrecote and the crackling roasted kidneys - while most of her memories of the nouvelle creations have long disappeared, its the traditional French cooking that, those
melodies do linger on. 

Late in her life, she remarked that while everyone is looking to the right (or the new) , its better to check up on the left (or the old).

                                       Bravo, Ms. Sheraton.

Discovering the secret Paris that is hiding in plain sight.

 A flaneur ( which, I think of myself as, for as long as I can remember) is a stroller, a loiterer, someone who ambles without apparent purpose, but is secretly attuned to the history of the streets he walks. 

I walk the city ( cities) in order to really experience it.

My greatest pleasure in traveling in a foreign city lies in the unplanned journey. Ditch your map and itinerary, I say!

Someone wise once said ( Maybe it was me?) 
The only way to known a city well, is to waste time in it.

Being a Flaneur is about taste, and discernment, recognizing that the smaller overlooked sights are often the best. It's all about knowing you can't see it all and not wanting too.

People say get 'off the beaten track', but I say no, within that well worn beaten track lurks hidden treasures, if you know where to look.

The next series of  blog articles are about where to find those hidden treasures, not only in Paris, but in France's wonderful countryside and other charming towns and villages. 

I'm embarking this May, on a new railway adventure that will take me across the heart of Europe - to explore the Belle Epoch of pre World War 1 Europe.

 

I'll be using my 1913 Bradshaw's continental railway guide which opened an exotic world of foreign travel for the British and American tourist.

It told travelers where to go, what to see and how to navigate the thousands of miles of tracks crisscrossing the continent.

Now a century and a half later, I'm using my copy to relive an era of great optimism and energy, where technology, industry, science and the arts were flourishing.

I want to rediscover that lost Europe ( that period, of my Edwardian grandparents who traveled during that time) that in 1913, couldn't have known, that it's way of life would shortly be swept aside by the advent of war.  

PS: I have already done, Pre WW1 - France and Switzerland

I'm back and ready to travel again

 After 2 plus years of being confined to home, because of Covid19, I'm back and ready to travel, eat and drink my way through  France and Continental Europe.