The aftermath of the strong storm that hit Central Park on August 18, 2009:
The Central Park Conservancy, the non-profit entity that helps maintain the park, has posted an appeal in case you want to donate to contribute to the cleanup effort.
The Phillies lost to the Yankees in Game Three of the 2009 World Series at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia:
We also bought this bootleg T-shirt with the only-in-Philly poignant (unintended?) double meaning at a bar in Port Richmond on Friday night the day before the game:
Two games at Citizens Bank Park that we posted before the World Series moves down to Philadelphia for Game Three: Phillies vs. Mets (9/12/09) and Phillies vs. Marlins (10/4/09).
The game on October 4 was interesting for the shadows on the field, which the Times talked about during baseball’s different division series. You can see how the shadows move across the field over the course of an afternoon during the early fall:
We also saw the Spectrum before it will be demolished:
If you still need a costume idea, you could do worse than dress in drag and walk around with a “Queens For Mike Bloomberg” sign:
See also: Bloomberg For Mayor 2009.
Our long-dormant EZ-Pass got a workout towards the end of August, when we borrowed a friend’s car to go to and fro. First stop, Jacob Riis Beach in the Rockaways, which is actually not as nice as the City-run Rockaway Beach:
Later that day we got takeout at Karam’s Restaurant in Bay Ridge:
Traveling between Rockaway Peninsula and Brooklyn meant traversing another bridge, the Marine Parkway Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge between Brooklyn and Queens:
Mom and Dad were in town, so we spent time doing more touristy things in and around the area at the beginning of August . . .
August 1, 2009
Dinner at Agnanti in Astoria, including their Rooster specialty dish:
The kids went to Shannon Pot after dropping off the parents:
August 2, 2009
It rained in Ridgewood, New Jersey:
But we had a nice view of Midtown from the Secaucus Junction Train Station on the way back home:
August 3, 2009
One of the aforementioned Mets games at Citi Field.
August 4, 2009
August 5, 2009
A trip to one of Mom’s favorite NYC stores, Fishs Eddy:
We tried impressing the parents with the soft serve at Dessert Club, ChikaLicious:
August 6, 2009
Dinner at Taverna Kyclades in Astoria:
August 7, 2009
We rented a car to go up into the Hudson Valley for the day. This was the first car, a Chevrolet Aveo:
By the way, Old Yankee Stadium is still there:
We made a pit stop at the Palisades Interstate Park Commission Visitor Center (otherwise known as a place to go to the bathroom) on the Palisades Interstate Parkway:
On the way out, we (I) hit this mammoth pothole and popped a hole in the front left tire of the Aveo:
The nine-dollar-a-day insurance came in handy, so we returned the car to Budget at Stewart International Airport. This required a detour through Newburgh, but not before a stop at the US 9W Overlook above West Point:
Everything looked different than when we visited there last fall:
The detour through Newburgh, New York:
Then returning the car at Stewart International Airport. I had never been to Stewart, so it was a chance to check it out. While there, a well-intentioned State Trooper asked why I was taking a picture of the terminal. The folks cheerfully explained that we had a website where we put up pictures of anything and everything. He was alarmed, and took a look at the pictures we’d taken. Exterior shots of the airport were OK, but this image had, in his words, “no apparent aesthetic value,” language which I remembered hearing about:
You may wonder what the purpose of the Big Map is. Fair enough. I think the pictures have many purposes, including aesthetics (sometimes!) but also in terms of transmitting information. In the above image, there is an ad for Nyack in the foreground, the airlines that fly out of Stewart in the background and people in 2009 dressing a certain way and using particular types of luggage (carry-ons!). Many years from now people might be interested in these details. When I look at archival photos I’m often more interested in details that the photographer probably overlooked — stuff like clothes, cars, advertisements. Our own photos have adjusted over time with this in mind; it used to be that I’d avoid cars in a street scene until I realized that those details were what made images. Places like strip malls then become interesting — this is how we live today and what it looks like. Spots like IKEA that you wouldn’t normally think are interesting then become interesting — incidentally, I think the reverse is also true: sometimes those closeups of historic cornices are lame in that they’re interesting to contemporary audiences who get jazzed about old stuff, but they’re chronologically out of context (I’m not judging, either — I get sidetracked by cool old cornices all the time — but I also know that series of images of landmarked neighborhoods have a staleness about them; those are places that by definition remain static, and there’s less of a reason to run out to photograph them — of course those are the places that people love to look at). It goes on and on. But anyway, like I was saying, I think the purpose of photos changes over time. The utilitarian look of Stewart might be interesting years from now, even if it looks pedestrian today. In a way, it’s silly to talk about stuff like this, but the State Trooper made us think about it, so it’s worth remembering as you peruse the Big Map photos. (By the way, I’m smart enough not to take photos of the security areas, but those kinds of images will be interesting one day, too, in showing among other stuff how we live today.) For me, why do I want to take a picture of Stewart? Because I’ve never been there and I want to know what it looks like. And I want to fill in the spaces of the Big Map . . .
After seeing art, we stopped by Woodbury Common Premium Outlets to run errands:
Oh, and in case you hadn’t heard:
August 8, 2009
I took the car back to LaGuardia early in the morning, and waited for the bus home by the MTA Bus LaGuardia Depot. Again, a security guard asked why I was taking pictures, but he seemed satisfied when I pointed to this cool old bus:
So you see, an old timey-time bus is fair — and fair enough, more reasonable people will look at that and think, “Oh, cool!” and it makes sense that you’re taking a photo of it. But there are also the newer buses there — and in time they will become cool, too. Or maybe transportation will look totally different years from now and all these vehicles — or even the idea that there’s a depot to begin with — will have a different meaning to people. We — I — don’t know.
You can’t take pictures from the upper levels of the Guggenheim, but that leaves a lot to enjoy in the big rotunda on the ground floor of the museum:
Later, a drink at Pier 66 Maritime:
August 9, 2009
A visit to the TKTS booth in Duffy Square:
We got tickets to South Pacific at Lincoln Center:
I think Mom and Dad had a nice visit.
A new page that finds a home for all the Bloomberg for Mayor ephemera we’ve been getting:
You can also follow the timeline of third term-related blog posts on the right column of the page . . .
Three Mets games at Citi Field . . . and we discover how to park for free near the stadium!
The first game was the Mets vs. Diamondbacks on August 3, 2009. We located the sad old Shea Stadium Home Run Apple:
An excellent sunset over Manhattan:
I complained before about the obstructed views from the upper rows of Section 538, but the dirty secret about Citi Field seems to be that there are obstructed views nearly everywhere, including Section 524:
And it’s not just in the 500 level. A friend said he came across tickets seven rows behind the Mets dugout and couldn’t see the right field corner (his regular seats, part of a season ticket, are above the Spongetech sign in the outfield where he can’t see most of the left field corner):
We sat a little lower in Section 426 for the game against the Phillies on August 21, 2009 and still couldn’t see the left field corner:
And there is a lot of interference when looking at the field from that part of the stadium:
I know part of the knock against Shea Stadium was that it was so cavernous, but at least you could see the entire field from most (if not all) the seats. How you can spend $800 million and have obstructed views of any sort seems strange. And charging people what the Mets are charging seems outrageous. The face value of our Section 426 seats was $42. For that you had to listen to the crowd to discern whether Gary Sheffield gave enough of a shit to catch the ball. Weird.
Then there’s the out-of-town scoreboard that doesn’t feature “2s,” so you didn’t know that the Yankees were actually beating the Red Sox 20 to 7, instead of 10 to 7:
Before the game we took a walk from Hinton Park in Corona to Citi Field. This is also known as a way to avoid spending $18 to park, a tip I learned from the Mets Police blog. In only eight minutes, you can get from here, at 34th Avenue and 114th Street:
To here, the Left Field Gate at Citi Field:
Along the way you get to walk along the Whitestone Expressway:
The Monday day game against the Phillies on August 24 was a perfect day:
These seats, in Section 518, actually had a full view of the field. You know things are bad with the sightlines when StubHub sellers boast that a particular seat has a “full view of the field.”
That weekend the Mets were celebrating the 1969 World Series-winning team with specially mowed grass and painted “1969s”:
It was the day after Phillies utility man Eric “Beardo” Bruntlett made a super-rare game-ending unassisted triple play, only the 15th in the history of major league baseball:
An aside — I happened to be at Yankee Stadium to witness the 11th unassisted triple play in a major league game in 2000 — on the scorecard, see Shane Spencer’s sixth-inning at-bat, with the “4U TP”:
You can change the stadium but you can’t change the flightpath — I actually love watching the planes fly into LaGuardia, even if they’re a little loud (and the city somehow believes they can develop Willets Point when planes fly through there until late into the evening every night . . . hmmm):
The late-afternoon shadows fall over the field and Mets fans endure yet another loss:
Late July down in Cape May County, New Jersey — Wildwood and Ocean City. We got down there by taking the new ACES Atlantic City Express Service from Penn Station, which is nice and pretty cheap (for now at least — $29 each way), though it does follow a circuitous route into North Philadelphia and back out to the Jersey shore along the Atlantic City-Philadelphia line (it’s still faster than the bus, I believe, and obviously more comfortable):
First order of business was an evening on the Wildwood Boardwalk:
We dined on Curley’s Fries and Kohr Bros. frozen custard while watching the Friday Night Fireworks, and enjoyed the Wildwoods Sign before going big at the Gateway 26 Casino and Olympic Casino. We did not spend long at the Boardwalk Chapel, though the folks there seemed nice enough.
Wildwood is always a little bit of a crapshoot. In 2004 we caught the infamous “Wack The Iraq” display before it was taken down:
This time there were some slightly embarrassing T-shirts for sale, and I don’t mean those of the “Flip Cup Master” variety:
Elsewhere, some remnants of Wildwood’s “Doo Wop” style remain, though the old 50s-style architecture is endangered:
Day two was Ocean City, where we saw a giant tuna being taken apart on a dock. It smelled like a sushi joint:
The main event of the weekend was Ocean City’s annual Night in Venice celebration, a rare night of partying in this dry town:
The idea is to decorate pleasure craft and parade them through the inlets on town’s bay side. Bay side residents typically have big parties that last well into the evening. It’s kind of difficult to photograph, but this YouTube gets across the basic idea:
Night in Venice 2009 YouTube Video
The Dim Sum Lunch A La Carte at Chinatown Brasserie in Noho is a good deal:
And the Soy Sauce Crispy Baby Chicken at Fuleen Seafood Restaurant in Manhattan’s Chinatown works magic with Pringles:
While you’re at it, watch these asshats post no bills:
A game at Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George on Staten Island reminds you how baseball can be experienced. Not so much for the level of play — the oldest players for the short-season Single A team were born in 1984, and the youngest ones were born in (ugh) 1990 — but rather for the experience of visiting a basic stadium that has a complete view of the field (try that at Citi Field) and which isn’t completely overpriced. The added-value charm of the ballpark in St. George is the panoramic view of New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty, the passing freighter ships and Midtown Manhattan. Neither of the two major league parks take advantage of their views in this way (owing in large part, I imagine, to the tradition of aligning the third base foul line along the north-south axis, but still . . .).
On a nice evening dusk emerges in the midst of this panoramic view, and you watch the colors slowly shift. It’s mesmerizing:
The passing ships are equally mesmerizing:
The prices are great — $5.25 for a draft beer, cheaper than many bars in the city, and tickets starting at $12. And the team, like many minor league organizations, makes a real effort to engage the fans. In all, Staten Island Yankees games continue to be one of the finest baseball experiences in the city or elsewhere. Thank god there is still a place in this great city that features the Cotton Eye Joe Dance:
The first Jelly Pool Party of the summer took place on July 12 at a new venue, East River State Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn:
The setting on the East River with the Midtown skyline behind the stage was gorgeous, and it’s nice to see the park put to such good use — again, it seems like the State Parks Department is doing all the cool stuff these days. The only drawback with having the stage set up with that stunning backdrop was that the setting sun was a little bright behind the bands, but if you stood to the left of the stage (stage right?), it wasn’t too bad.
This is not a photograph:
One of the strangest, most loopy and generally awesome things I’ve seen in some time was Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz introducing headliners Mission of Burma (unfortunately, I missed the first part . . .):
The Tisch Children’s Zoo:
More Central Park Mall photos:
Dial and Discover Balto:
The Shakespeare in the Park Virtual Line Policy at the Delacorte Theater:
In May, the City closed Broadway between 42nd and 47th Streets to traffic and set up lawn furniture. The result is the Times Square Pedestrian Mall:
The original lawn furniture was hastily purchased from a local vendor and before it was recently replaced, gave the space a sort of whimsical beach look:
We’ve taken visitors there and it’s a hoot. It’s also been profitable as an event space and a bonanza for vendors. No word yet whether it is actually better for traffic — the ostensible reason for the experiment — but people have their theories.
Three states (four if you count a wrong turn near Bristol, RI), four days via car and ferries . . .
July 2, 2009: Queens to New London, CT
I have been to the Interstate 95 Northbound Service Plaza at Fairfield more than once. And while in Fairfield, don’t miss Super Duper Weenie.
We drove through Mystic and had dinner at Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough in Noank, Connecticut (highly, highly recommended):
Alas, spent too much time enjoying ourselves at Abbott’s, so we got to Monster Mini Golf in Groton too late to play a round . . . but we did sleep at a Holiday Inn.
July 3, 2009: New London, CT to Newport, RI
Breakfast at Kitchen Little in Mystic, Connecticut, then to Newport, Rhode Island, over the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge, where we drove by the mansions on Bellevue Avenue and walked a portion of Newport’s Cliff Walk, where it was cloudy up there on the hill:
We also took a sail around Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay:
We finished the day watching the Fourth of July Fireworks over Bristol Harbor . . .
July 4, 2009: New London, CT to Nassau County, Long Island via Bridgeport, the North Fork and Montauk
An early wakeup to catch the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry Across Long Island Sound:
Lunch in Riverhead, then out to the North Fork to Shinn Estate Vineyards in Mattituck and Croteaux Vineyards in Southold — both are excellent. Shinn has started selling nice wines under $20, which was different than when we visited there in 2005 and Croteaux has perfected Long Island Rosés, which is great for summer. Croteaux has a nice tasting, and the sangria they made was unusual and fantastic (recipe at the link). The grounds of Croteaux are beautiful as well:
Then the North Ferry to Shelter Island, and the South Ferry to the South Fork, and we were on our way to Montauk, where we made a pit stop to buy shoes and I saw a man steal an American flag at Gosman’s Dock:
No kidding! Who steals American flags right out of the planter?
Then the Montauk Point Lighthouse:
Dinner at the Clam Bar at Napeague just outside of Montauk, then ice cream at Scoop Du Jour in East Hampton, where we walked around a little before heading back to our Nassau County base for the night . . .
July 5, 2009: Nassau County
An afternoon at Jones Beach followed by lobster at Jordan’s Lobster Farms in Island Park (not as good as Abbott’s, but then again, there is probably nothing as good as Abbott’s south of New Haven). Oh, and ice cream in Lido Beach.
We were lucky enough to get to see the Yankees play the Mariners at New Yankee Stadium just before July 4th weekend. It’s quite a place:
Everything about it is better than the Old Yankee Stadium, which (if you think about it) was kind of a dump. One big noticeable improvement is that the open concourses allow you to stay connected to the action on the field:
The huge HD jumbotron is another very cool part of the new stadium. It’s really, really big, and really, really clear — so much the better to ogle Jorge Posada’s beautiful mug:
And — astonishingly — the Yankees have generously allowed all ticket holders to go down to the field level where you can watch the game from the concourse. Whereas in the old version of the stadium you were isolated from the lower levels, in the new version you can get this close:
Like I said, pretty generous.
And you can compost in the new stadium!
The only thing missing is any explanation of what to compost or how to compost, but whatever.
Hey, the Frieze!
For the most part the sightlines and views are good, as you would expect from a stadium that is very similar to its former version, but there are some lame spots, including the notorious Sections 201 and 239, parts of which have one of the more obstructed views in baseball. You can tell how the fans avoid those blind spots:
The biggest downside is obviously the cost. The thing was $1.3 billion or whatever, which is what it is — stuff costs a lot in New York, blah blah — and although the cheapest tickets at New Yankee Stadium are still less than the cheapest tickets at Citi Field — $14 versus $19 (though the Mets do have “value” dates that are as low as $11) — everything in New Yankee Stadium is a lot more expensive. There’s no need rehashing the absurdity of the “Legends” section seats, since that’s not a reality for most people, but suffice it to say, this beer in a souvenir cup was $10:
And these “retro beers” — Schlitz and PBR in tall boy cans — were $9, if memory serves:
If you get food, expect to pay close to $10 per item for the good stuff, though hot dogs could be had for $5.50:
The closed captioning, which we had read about, was fun, too. This is between-inning George Thorogood music:
When are they going to finally bring down Old Yankee Stadium? It’s still there:
And as for poor old Cotton-Eye Joey, he seems to have been retired. Whatever happened to tradition?
Squirrel on Squirrel Action, Andrews Grove, Hunters Point, Long Island City, Queens, July 11, 2009:
Misspelled, “Beefstake Tomatoes,” Food Cellar, 4-85 47th Road, Hunters Point, Long Island City, Queens, July 11, 2009:
Another visit to Philadelphia and environs . . .
Dinner at Rib Rack in Northeast Philadelphia:
Dessert — radioballs (Jen wants to know when the local name “radioball” turned into “gelati”) at Custard’s Last Stand nearby:
To Bethlehem to see the Bethlehem Steel site and the new Sands Casino:
Another Phillies game, just before the team went on its huge winning streak before the All-Star Break . . . finally getting video of the Fan Warning after the end of the first inning (although you can’t hear it as well as I’d hoped — maybe try again later):
(Now I have video of that, the SEPTA subway race, the national anthem and the home run-signaling Liberty Bell ringing . . .)
Then dinner at James on 8th (recommended!):
We missed the train back home from Suburban Station, so we walked across the John F. Kennedy Boulevard Bridge to 30th Street Station to kill time:
We made yet another trip up to Malouf’s Mountain Sunset Camp in the hills next to Beacon, in Dutchess County:
Malouf’s website explains the deal:
Wow!! Camping without a car? No camping gear? No problem! Welcome to Malouf’s Mountain Sunset Campground, a hike in, hike out, fully catered camping resort. We can supply you with almost everything needed to spend a relaxing weekend in the woods.
Whether coming from the south or north, enjoy a scenic train ride on the Metro North Hudson River Line. From the Beacon train station our shuttle will take you to the hike of your choice. Hikes range in duration from a half hour to five hours. While you hike in to the camp, enjoying the views, we transport your gear to the campground and place it at your site for your convenience.
They didn’t mention the stop at the trailhead at the general store where you can buy your beer, which they’ll also transport to the campsite; that’s also important.
More:
Upon arrival, the first thing you’ll notice is the privacy of each site. You will find a stack of firewood and your fire pit for cooking. You will see your covered platform which is especially nice because you’re not stuck in your tent if it rains. There is also a cover over your fire pit. You can bring your tent or rent one of ours. Then, there is our chow box — it has everything you will need for your stay, from pots and pans to a pad of paper and a deck of cards.
They also have a bathhouse with showers and toilets, big sinks for cleaning and dryers, too. Basically you need your sleeping bag and that’s it. This season they added a shuttle service to and from the train station at Beacon. It’s fantastic and we’ve been there three times now in the past couple of years. It’s about $60 a night for a site for two people. Highly recommended.
The idea is to do a long hike, and end up at the campsite. Here’s the portion of the map of the trail we took:
(You can buy the map here.)
Along the way we took more pictures of and from the old Casino site up on the ridge:
Then we checked in on the Rusted Red Car along the Casino Trail. It’s still there:
And the animals on the trail, what I think was a “Red Eft Newt” and a “Black Rat Snake”:
On the way back to town the next day we had time to poke around the Beacon Farmers Market, held Sundays on the ferry dock next to the train station:
Then one of us dropped by the 7th Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party at Madison Square:
The other one of us was way too tired . . .
Two New York City parks opened recently — the much-heralded High Line on Manhattan’s West Side and the much less-heralded (and clunkily named — at least the label for it I discerned on a map at the park) North Recreation and Interpretive Area portion of Gantry Plaza State Park in the Hunters Point corner of Long Island City, Queens.
We visited the High Line both during the day and at dusk. First things first, it’s cool — a nice way to “repurpose” an industrial relic. Nicolai Ouroussoff was elated. The project has received nation wide and world wide attention. It will surely raise property values in a once-blighted part of the city (though it hasn’t really been that blighted for twenty or thirty years now as property values there steadily rose anyway). The plantings are very artful, though as a friend remarked, she’ll also be excited to visit the High Line in the winter, when it will likely resemble its former state.
The High Line is also really, really expensive. The entire project, once it is built up to 30th Street, will cost $152 million, $108 million of which coming from the city, according to the papers (and with private donors chipping in $44 million, you can bet that they’ll feel a great sense of ownership over it). And it’s like 30 feet wide. So yes, it’s cool and all, but $108 million could build a lot of playgrounds, and that $44 million is $44 million that won’t be available for other philanthropic endeavors (even other non-profit park endeavors). (And remember that West Side redevelopment remains one of Bloomberg’s legacy projects.)
But for now, it’s cool to see New Yorkers and visitors so jazzed at the novelty of the High Line. I just hope Ouroussoff’s “shifting narrative” is worth it in the long run.
Maybe you like billboard advertisements in your parks. If so, you’ll love the High Line:
Then there’s the Standard Hotel, which is (I think) the only new building that the High Line runs through:
Reports are that it has become a hotspot for exhibitionists and voyeurs alike, which is what it is; it’s got a bunch of glass, after all. But then the Standard people apparently started actually soliciting “hot” “erotic” photos, which is when it gets into the realm of media whorism, verging on fucking disgusting. So why not tax those assholes all you can? Yay, gross people humping in a window! Enjoy it — that’s your Meatpacking District. Hoodely doo.
While Mayor Bloomberg and whoever else were cutting ribbons at the High Line, another park opened in Queens, with more modest press. At the risk of sounding all Armond White about it, yeah, the High Line is cool, but have you actually seen the new North Recreation and Interpretive Area portion of Gantry Plaza State Park? Now that’s a park. There is room to sit, stroll, play, relax or whatever it is people do when they patronize public parks:
And they’ve got hammocks:
Where the views from the High Line are intriguing (an old warehouse from the vantage point of the second floor — I get it), the views of the city from the new part of Gantry Plaza State Park are stunning:
And then there are the Adirondack chairs:
And I don’t think this park cost $150 million, either.
The other salient point is that Gantry Plaza State Park is, as its name indicates, a State park — not a City park (as the High Line is — sort of, now that it’s maintained by a non-profit conservancy, which is another issue altogether). At some point these past couple of months I began wondering if the State is actually building or putting together all the greatest parks in the city now. This new spot in Long Island City is one, but there’s also the crazy popularity of Governors Island and then even stuff like the reconstituted Pool Parties at East River State Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Where the Bloomberg administration seems preoccupied with development — not only around the High Line but also at Coney Island, the people in charge of the city’s state parks seem more interested in people actually using open space. That’s something to think about.
Shut out of the 1 p.m. ferry to Governors Island because of the 2009 Jazz Age Lawn Party, we wandered around Lower Manhattan, wondering what to do. First went over towards The Battery and Pier A, which they seem no closer to renovating, except for some fancy signage:
So we decided to take the IKEA Express Water Taxi to Red Hook:
There’s the new Erie Basin Park there:
Truthfully, Red Hook was a little hot that day (83 degrees, 77 percent humidity), so we returned home via the B61.
In Greenpoint, a word of warning, and some good advice in general:
Not that we’re in the market for a new mattress or anything, but good to know . . .
Things are looking even bleaker for Counterfeit Triangle:
Negronis at Forlini’s:
Had only been to Golden Unicorn for dim sum a while back, but dinner is good, too:
The ubiquitous Employees Must Wash Hands sign at Golden Unicorn had been existentially reduced to a single “employee” — the first time I’ve seen that:
Walked back north and passed by the new building at the Cooper Union, which had just been reviewed very favorably in the paper:
The Queensboro Bridge Centennial Fireworks Display, May 31, 2009 over the East River:
A YouTube of the finale:
Five days in Paris at the end of May.
Day One
Lines were way too long at the Eiffel Tower on a Saturday of a holiday weekend (Friday had been a bank holiday throughout France):
But the morning sun was good for a picture at least from Champ de Mars:
Went to Rue Cler, where we got a “tranche” of gold medal-winning Fromage de Tete (head cheese) at Charcuterie Jeusselin:
Then walked by or through the Esplanade des Invalides, Petit Palais, Champs Elysees, Place de la Concorde and the Jardin des Tuileries, where we visited the Musee de l’Orangerie:
And then the Musee d’Orsay:
After, we went back to the Hotel Malar, the hotel in the 7th Arrondissement where we stayed, via Place du Palais Bourbon.
We had dinner at Bistrot Victoires in the 1st Arrondissement, then walked around by the Louvre, Eglise Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois, La Samaritaine (which is closed until 2010 or something) and Place du Chatelet before getting Maison Berthillon Ice Cream on the Ile Saint-Louis. Then we walked by Notre-Dame at dusk:
Day Two
An Antiquite Brocante street sale outside the cemetery:
Lunch at L’As du Fallafel in the Marais:
The Musee Carnavalet city history museum, where you can see Proust’s bedroom:
A Bateaux-Mouches river cruise:
Snack at Lenotre and dinner at Restaurant Ma Bourgogne in the Place des Vosges:
Day Three
We delayed our Trip to the Top of the Eiffel Tower until Monday, and fortunately the weather was just as nice as it was on Saturday when the lines were too long. It still took a long time. We got in line at 12:33 p.m., reached the second level (first elevator) at 1:42 p.m., then waited in line for the elevator to the top for at least 45 minutes and finally got champagne on the top level at 2:42 p.m.:
Yes, you can “do” the Louvre in under two hours, at least if you hit the highlights:
Dinner at Les Fetes Galantes in the 5th Arrondissement (recommended):
We swung by the Pantheon and Saint-Etienne-du-Mont, stumbled on a night of street art at Place Saint-Sulpice, and saw the Eiffel Tower at night from the Hotel National des Invalides:
Day Four
Picked up victuals at Rue Mouffetard:
Ate a breakfast in the Jardin des Plantes before boarding a RER train at Gare d’Austerlitz for Versailles. We didn’t realize that the employees who hand out audioguides would ever go on strike, but there they were, on strike:
The other group of workers on strike that day were the people who sold tickets, but the work action only meant that instead of being able to buy a pass for all the Versailles attractions in one place at a reduced price, you had to pay separately for each. And that is when France turns into a parody of itself.
Dinner at Chez L’Ami Jean in the 7th Arrondissement (highly, highly recommended):
A note about the 50 Euro tasting menu at Chez L’Ami Jean: It is totally, totally worth it. Remember that the service is included in France (and most of Europe), so 50 Euros (which today is $71.09) is really reasonable for a meal of this caliber. For comparison’s sake, a tasting menu at WD-50 is $140 and one at Momofuku Ko is $85 — those are just two examples of places we’ve eaten at that seemed (sort of) similar in experience (and that we’ve like a lot). Chez L’Ami Jean was $70, service included. Unbelievable value, and as fantastic a dining experience. Like I said, highly, highly recommended.
Day Five
Food shopping around the Place de la Madeleine was just window shopping except for macarons from Laduree, which were consumed just before visiting the Palais Garnier, or Paris Opera:
Then we took in the view from the roof of Galeries Lafayette:
A final croque-madame at a place in the 7th Arrondissement:
Also . . .
We saw the Arc de Triomphe and Sacre Coeur but didn’t visit either one. At least one of us used one of those fantastic free Sanisettes on the street. And not only is the Paris Metro a convenient way to get around but they also have funny cartoons of rabbits:
