I have taken so many medications over the last few days that this morning I feel as if I have been run over by a truck and hit hard in the head! The good news is that they work. Also, that their effect has been to give me a sleep lasting ten hours: so this morning I woke feeling refreshed, non-achey and as if the worst is over.
I needed a really slow start to the day so L. went out for a long, fast walk to discover some of the old lanes round the back of the Bastille that used to contain wood working shops. The wood was brought down the Seine and easily transported the few metres to these shops. Unfortunately for us tourists the little workshops have all gone, to be replaced by more up market boutiquey shops.
By the time she returned she was famished: after a slow start for me and very little breakfast I was more than happy to accompany her! We had decided on a Bistro we have been to on previous visits down in the St. Paul district. We knew that B, L’s husband, had very fond memories of this bistro and would be pleased that we had revisited it. On the walls were photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy, and other film people I did not recognise, perhaps producers/directors: all people who had eaten here in the past! Knowing how full it used to get we arrived there bang on 12.00 noon and already one table was occupied. It is run by an Italian family but the menu is not what I would expect Italian food to be back in the UK. Very little pastry or pasta so plenty of choice for me.
L chose a tomato, aubergine and pancetta ham starter and a pasta and calamari dish for her main, followed by a panacotta mould with a sweet orange sauce. L loved her starter and dessert but found the pasta to be too al dente for her liking although the calamari and its sauce were lovely so she filled up on the bread as she loves French bread anyway.
I missed out the starter, and went for rabbit with a ratatouille sauce.which had olives and raisins in it, followed by a confit of aubergines with orange zest and frozen ricotta. The dessert sounded so strange and not at all nice, but I always feel that when abroad one should take every chance to experiment (providing one is hurting neither man nor beast) and it was a revelation. Aubergines had been slow cooked in a syrup with candied orange peel and served in layers inbetween which were curls of very dark, very bitter, pieces of chocolate. The ricotta also had pieces of the bitter chocolate in it and had been frozen. The depth and mix of flavour was intense. I had to leave some because they had been overgenerous with the portion. This is what it looked like:
and it was out of this world!!!!!!!!!!! The whole, taken together, gave explosions of flavour which were amazing. I was so glad I had taken the chance and ordered it.
We ate slowly, savouring everything, as the restaurant filled up to overflowing, and the wine and the talk increased. It was interesting to hear French spoken with a very obvious Italian accent by both the ‘patrons’ and some of the customers! After a really lovely meal, we both left feeling very well-nourished and walked gently round the St. Paul area after which we walked to the nearest SCNF office to buy our rail tickets for our two outings next week. We are not sure how the rush hour will affect our timings on those days and thought that at least we could avoid having to queue for tickets. They didn’t speak English and were kind enough to say that my French was good, which it isn’t, but I suppose it sufficed for the interaction! With all tickets safely bought we split up, with L going on to further exploration and me needing to go home to rest up again. So a liesurely walk home doing some shopping on the way for the holiday weekend: as well as groceries, I bought some flowering branches and some decorations I found reduced to make my Easter branch to add a holiday flavour to the flat. But at least I managed to get out for a bit and think I am on the mend.
In the early evening I rose from my bed again and we regrouped over a cup of tea and decided that the rain was just too fierce to wander forth again instantly, so it was some hours later, after a light supper, when it had cleared up a bit that we went for a saunter to buy L a special ice cream:)
On our way out we passed people going into the Synagogue with lots of food for a Passover meal, and as always, armed soldiers on guard. I am sure we passed two plain clothes policemen outside too, because they stopped talking as soon as anyone walked past them.
I went round taking photographs of the chocolate in some of the specialist shops. During Easter, the confiseries and chocolatieres, are filled with beautiful and delicious chocolates. More often than not, these chocolates look more like exquisite works of art than mere sweets and certainly put our cardboard-boxed, foil-wrapped Easter Eggs to shame. So for the rest of this post, revel in a chocolatey extravaganza: by the way everything is made of chocolate and is edible!
Much like peering at a masterpiece, many a Parisian, and I, can be found staring into the windows at the chocolate.
The pieces are quite extraordinary and very expensive but they are works of art, even if they did not all appeal.
Many French Easter traditions revolve around chocolate, chickens, rabbits, fish and church bells. Of course a lot of countries celebrate Easter with chocolate in some form and often with chickens and rabbits, but I think it is unique to France to celebrate also with fish and bells.
I have already mentioned the tradition of the April Poisson: when mischievous French children stick paper fish on to the backs of as many unsuspecting adults as possible, then run away yelling “Poisson d’Avril!” The custom is for the tagged adults to respond by giving kids gifts of chocolate fish. Swarms, or should it be shoals, of chocolate fish fill shop windows all over the City of Light. They come in varied sizes, some packed in shiny tin boxes holding small schools of fish all wrapped up in foil.
They are also sold unwrapped, by weight, with the larger sizes often molded to resemble either a pike or a carp.
So, whilst there is no direct correlation between chocolate fish and Easter, since they usually begin appearing in the shops just in time for April Fool’s Day, and you will often find them still in stores around Easter time because of its close proximity to the holiday, fish have become an Easter tradition also.
Le Notre had as its theme this year a Treasure Island, so alongside the fish, there were parrots, pirates, treasure, pearls, etc.
Alongside these intricately decorated pieces, one can also find chocolate bells. These “flying” bells directly correlate to the resurrection of Jesus, and with the end of Lent
What about the bells? Cloche volants or ‘Flying Bells’ are another important symbol in the French Easter tradition. Much of the country (about ninety percent) considers itself Roman-Catholic in culture whether they are truly practicing Roman Catholics or not. Churches, with their soaring architecture and revered history, are an intrinsic part of this culture and you hear the bells ringing out several times each day to announce the times of the old monastic services.
On Maundy Thursday evening, just before Good Friday, all the bells in France become still and silent in remembrance of Jesus’ suffering and death. This is quite a sombre remembrance and a real change in the texture of daily life. Traditional belief holds that on Good Friday all the church bells in France miraculously ‘fly’ off to the Vatican carrying all the grief of those mourning Jesus’ crucifixion. To ease any disquiet or fears of children, parents tell them that all the church bells have flown off to Rome to visit the Pope.These flying French bells then return to their steeples on Easter morning just in time to ring for the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection and the children are told that the bells have flown home again. The bells also bring back chocolate and decorated eggs in time for children to collect when they wake up on Easter morning. Hence, the appearance of chocolate bells at Easter time
And last, but not least, I took this photo especially for Coco the Scottie Dog, from Walkies on Table Mountain – see my side bar of blogs I follow:)
LOVE the chocolate Scotties – thanks for including it! Looks like you had an amazing time in Paris.
LikeLike
Yes, I did! Interesting about the Scotties, I saw no other breeds of dog moulded in any sweetmeat. I wonder if they are a particular love of the chocolatiere. My elderly cousins always used to keep black Scotties but I don’t know anyone who does.
LikeLike
Took me a little while, but I’ve caught up on the Paris posts so far. Those chocolates and cakes are so cool. Hope you continue to feel better!
LikeLike
Thank you. Wow, that was some catch up! They’ve been frequent and long I’m afraid but I didn’t want to lose any of the detail:)
LikeLike
So glad you’re feeling yourself again. From that dessert to all the chocolates to your vivid descriptions, you fill up my senses!
LikeLike
Thank you, the whole trip filled up all MY senses too, to overflowing!
LikeLike
My partner would swoon to be in your shoes. She ADORES Monet. I always like looking at the bedrooms of people like Monet and I sit there and wonder what they thought about when they awoke in the middle of the night….
LikeLike
If Bing likes Monet she might also like my latest post with some of his paintings on it! I love looking at buildings, especially peoples’ houses, their decoration and furniture, but do not wonder what they think about in the middle of the night;) I think about the kind of lives and relationships they may have had.
LikeLike