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Paris in the rain
Today it was grey and spitting with rain. Better that than pouring I suppose. Nevertheless, there is much one can do underground or inside. So I made my way to the Gare de Lyon to have the anticipated tussle with the automatic ticket machine in advance of my 8.04 departure tomorrow. Sure enough the machine rejected my Canadian credit card, and the ticket agent tried to as well, but luckily she persevered and managed to coax a ticket out for me.
Onward I steamed, this time to la Librairie Gourmande.. of all the bookshops in all the world.. I found a copy of some required reading (en anglais) — a (how could it be otherwise) heavy paperback called Paradox of Plenty: A Social History of Eating in Modern America, by Harvey Levenstein. That should keep me from floating away during tomorrow’s train journey.
I passed by Shakespeare & Company which didn’t open till noon, and so headed up to the Marais. En route I emerged at Metro St-Paul where we were treated to an all-singing Manifestation (Tous en Greve) by a large throng of cheerful protesters.
On I went to check out Chez Marianne, where I had a wonderful assiette – caviar d’aubergines avec cumin; salade turque (tomatoes, peppers, fennel, onion, I think); salade d’artichauts; and some excellent felafel on top.
Though I drooled at the windows of Florence Finkelsztajn I thought it more prudent to taste only with my eyes… Have you ever seen such strudel?
Travelling back I passed through the Metro station at Bastille where they seem to have above average buskers. Imagine 11 hearty Ukranian men in full voice and full orchestra singing their hearts out, and there you have Les Musiciens de Lviv. Fabulous.
Why oh why would anyone Wal-mart?? -
Paris in the sunshine
It’s been a beautiful day in France. Started off well in London but the clouds had gathered by the time my enormous bags and I got to Waterloo (thank you again Andrew) to board the Eurostar. An uneventful and comfortable journey, with a helpful taxi driver at the Paris end; we confessed our mutual inabilities in one another’s languages and faltered through a little small talk (mostly about the beauty of the Italian language) while he followed his GPS directions to (l’Hotel St-Louis Bastille (thanks Sue: great tip – very nice hotel!).
The weather was so gorgeous I hopped on the Metro and went for an afternoon wander: caught Notre Dame streaming with the last of today’s sunlight,
the Seine looking lovely – the trees still leafy,
the plant and flower stalls selling beautiful things,
and the Galeries Lafayette lit up like a temple carpet.
A nice plate of salad in their 6th floor cafeteria and home I hurtled on the Metro – even travelling at rush hour it felt positively commodious after London and the crush of the tube. Resting my feet and self in preparation for my one day of sightseeing tomorrrow. -
Fish for supper
Where it all began, at the Fish Works on Regent’s Park Road in Primrose Hill.
A lovely table in a lovely flat.
Starting in style: marinated anchovies from Sainsbury’s, plus artichoke salad and Lebanese Coleslaw from the Green Valley.
Red mullet hits the table and we fall over in delight. A little thyme and wine and olive oil in the preparations. Lovely with steamed new season brussels sprouts ‘n carrots, and baby roast potatoes with rosemary. Thanks Leah!
Quick before it’s all gone… cheese from Neal’s Yard cheese shop in Covent Garden. The stilton in particular caused some happy moans…
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In her latest collection, Rhona McAdam navigates the dark places of human movement through the earth and the exquisite intricacies lingering in backyard gardens and farmlands populated by insects and pollinators, all the while returning to the body, to the tune of staccato beats and the newly discovered symmetries within the human heart.
“…A beautiful, filling collection, Larder is a set of poems to read at the change of the seasons, to appreciate alongside a good meal, and to remind yourself of the beauty in everything, even the things you may not appreciate before opening McAdam’s collection….”
Rhona McAdam is a writer, poet, editor, and Registered Holistic Nutritionist with a Master’s in Food Culture from Italy and a deep-rooted passion for ecology and urban agriculture. Her work spans corporate and technical writing to poetry and creative nonfiction, often exploring the vital links between what we eat and how we live. Based in Victoria, BC, and available via Zoom, Rhona is always open to new writing commissions, readings, or workshops on nutrition and the culinary arts.
