the view. A remarkable aspect of this monument for me was the storytelling displays. They had interactive screens where a character from the 15th century – a noble, a pilgrim, a merchant – share what their lives are like living in Bordeaux. There was this amazing table, where as you pushed a slide and a screen would activate to show you life along the banks of the Garrone River, and many roles people played in this bustling port. The views were gorgeous. Learning WordPress. Well, I’ve reached a limit with Canva and now need to move this blog site to another site. I’m having trouble with it, so I’ll keep posting here but removing old posts to make room. Hopefully, I can get the other site to work…I’ve lost my writing momentum which has been frustrating in the meantime, which I hope to recover…
We made a field trip to Pondesac – see Ponderings – Mascaret and along the way we stopped at Chez Fred, the only restaurant open for lunch in this tiny town. Chez Fred was like going to a family’s backyard and eating at little tables on the lawn. The vibe is slow, relaxed and like your uncle is in the kitchen firing up some delicious food. I had some of the biggest grilled shrimp paired with some greens and a mashed carrot puree which was divine.Those of you who have dined with me know that I like to eat and move on. That is not the French way.
Lunches are typically 2 hours, dinner 3 hours. If you do drinks, dinner and hang out it may be 10:45pm before you know it. You will occasionally see people eating and walking, but its not really the French way. If you are going to eat, eat. Drink, drink. You don’t wolf down food, you graze. Water and bread will keep coming, but you need to flag down the waiter if you want a check. They won’t rush you out. It wouldn’t be French.
Popping up to Paris. We have long followed YouTubers The Frenchies for years, and last year we met Colleen and Antoine in person. They occasionally hold Zoom calls as well as meet-ups in Paris. We decided to pop up and attend a meet up. 2.5 hours on the TGV, to Gare Montparnasse, switch to the SNCF metro system and voila! We are in the 9th Arrondissement. Dropping bags at Hotel Chou Chou, we headed out for lunch across the street at a Chinese restaurant where the specialty is handmade dumplings.
We watched this woman, over the next few days, make dozens of beautiful dumplings, day and night.The food was delicious. We cracked up when we saw a sign that instructed patrons on how to enjoy a soup dumpling.
Now if you travel with me, you know I like to do some pre-planning. So what’s in the 9th ? We found ourselves in the heart of the Opera district. First stop was the Musée Parfum – yes, a museum about the art of perfume making, the tools and the of course, the smelling! So a true perfume maker uses what’s know as a perfume organ (pictured below) that categorizes the different scents. Take for example, Belle de Nuit (beauty of the night). They’ve shared the recipe of the base, middle and top notes, Just fantastic.
Next, the Palais Garnier, the home of the Paris opera and ballet. Commissioned by Napoleon III, it took 14 years to build. Probably the most well known opera venue because it was the setting for, “Phantom of the Opera”. I am so glad I secured tickets in advance as it was a bit of a madhouse. Even with timed entrance, it did feel wildly run over by tourists. It is a working opera/ballet theater, so we were lucky to get in. The red velvet chairs, the gold railings, plush carpeting felt luxurious and indulgent, but the marble and stunning mozaic tile hallway floors were breath-taking. Can you imagine designing a building to withstand the ages?
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