Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Sexy Pompiers and Gigantic Tiramisu


Now that my location has been revealed -- and it is indeed Paris, not Blackpool -- let me tell you a little about what we're doing here. Dave and I both thought a short break away from home would do us some good. After Olga's decline and death, we needed an escape. So in the midst of my grief I bought a couple of Eurostar tickets and made some reservations.

Looking at the receipt later, I saw that I paid about £720 for these tickets, which seems insane to me. I didn't even realize it at the time. Fortunately we're staying in an inexpensive hotel -- the Hotel Flore in Montmartre -- that has long been a favorite of mine, so that balances everything out.

We got here Monday afternoon and wandered up to the Place du Tertre for some cafe-sitting and people-watching. The place was mobbed with tourists, as you could see in my photos yesterday. But I love this part of town, its scenic streets and steep stairs, and we had a good time.


Yesterday morning I got up early and went back to Sacre Coeur, and it was a much better experience. There was virtually no one around, the sun was shining, and I bought an almond croissant and some coffee and ate sitting on the steps overlooking the city. A group of hunky guys wearing matching running clothes went by (top photo) and I realized they were members of the Paris Fire Brigade. I suddenly felt in desperate need of resuscitation but sadly they were too busy exercising to notice.


After walking along Rue des Abbesses and peeking inside a neighborhood church, I came back to the hotel, collected Dave (who was sleeping in) and we made our way to the cafe above, where we had coffee and croissants beneath the shady locust trees along Rue Caulaincourt. Then we headed into town to see some sights on the Ile de Cité.


I wanted to see the newly refurbished Cathédrale Notre Dame, and Dave wanted to take another look at Saint Chapelle, which he visited with a school group but was unable to see well because of renovations and unruly students. We did Saint Chapelle first -- and it was indeed beautiful with its acres of stained-glass windows depicting scenes from the Bible. (It's still under renovation, though.)

Notre Dame was remarkable (above). You'd never know there was a fire. Some of the walls and ceilings look fresher than they did, but not jarringly so, and the windows and the art are intact and displayed as usual. I'm sure there are differences that people intimately familiar with the building would notice but I was just happy to once again see the rose window I photographed back in 2013.


Here's another view. Pretty amazing restoration!


We had omelettes and wine in a cafe across the street (as you can see there's still scaffolding on the exterior of Notre Dame). This cafe is one that my father photographed on his own trip to Paris as a college student in 1957:


It was much quieter then! (And it had a different name.) Dave insisted I show our waiter this photo. "She's not going to care!" I said, knowing that French waiters are notoriously busy and somewhat curt, but I tried anyway -- and indeed, she did not care.


We walked over to the Left Bank and had a coffee in a cafe with a view of a busy roundabout on the Boulevard Saint Germain. I ordered a tiramisu that proved to be as big as a baby's head. I couldn't begin to eat it all.

Afterwards we went back to the room for a rest. I did some blog reading. I know I'm behind on responding to comments but let me just say THANK  YOU to those of you who identified my mysterious moth on Monday as a common footman! I'm so glad to know what it is.

Last night we had a bit of a fiasco. Soon after booking this trip, while still in London, Dave made a dinner reservation at a restaurant he'd read about online called Benoit. When we checked the location yesterday on Google Maps, I simply typed in Benoit and showed the results to Dave, who agreed that was our restaurant. So we hopped on the Metro and made our way there, arriving just in time for our 7 p.m. reservation. The place was completely dead, and when I said we had a reservation the host simply gestured to the acres of empty tables and told us to sit anywhere. We sat and looked at the menu, and Dave said, "Is this the right restaurant?"

And sure enough, it wasn't. We were expected at a different restaurant Benoit a mile away. So Dave and I bid our host a hasty adieu, explaining we were in the wrong place, and once again hopped on the Metro. We got to the correct Benoit a half-hour late but they seated us and we had a fine dinner and a good laugh.

Back to London today!

68 comments:

  1. Despite the slip-up, a worthwhile trip...and the shadows in the first photo with the runners and steps is really good!

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    1. Believe it or not, the shadows caught my eye first. :)

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  2. Feast for you eyes. Was it crowded otherwise?

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    1. It's not noticeably crowded outside the very touristy areas.

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  3. Sounds fabulous. I am glad you are enjoying your impulse break.

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  4. "Dave insisted I show our waiter this photo. "She's not going to care!" I said..." Surely then - you had a waitress attending to you and not a waiter! By the way, I found your father's photograph quite charming and it is so nice that you kind of replicated the scene. If only your photographic ability was on a par with your father's talent! Keep practising lad!

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    1. I think "waiter" is like "actor" -- a word that connotes both genders these days. Some people think "waitress" and "actress" are sexist.

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  5. Goodness, that price for your Eurostar tickets is steep!! My sister and I paid nowhere near that, even though she booked much later than usual (she thought she‘d already done it but somehow had not). I know it also depends on the day of week one travels, so maybe yours was just an unlucky combination of travel dates and spontaneous booking.
    Love it how at the café all chairs face the boulevards - the perfect place for people watching!

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    1. Yeah, it depends on day of the week, time of day, and various other factors. I just picked the trains we wanted and didn't pay much attention to price. I'm sure if we'd gone early in the morning or later at night we'd have gotten a better deal.

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  6. Check and double check when making bookings. I bet you've not been the only people to make the same mistake.
    Your father's photo is nice. I am not surprised about the waitress being uninterested. Wait staff in busy tourist areas can be very offhand, and as we discovered staff in Paris have perfected it. The weather looks quite good, too.

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    1. PS. I must be getting old. I noticed the interesting shadows on the steps in the first photo.

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    2. It is a great shadow pattern.

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    3. Yeah, the weather wasn't bad! A bit cloudy on our last day. I'm not too concerned about the booking -- I deliberately went for the trains we wanted and didn't check price. So I can't complain.

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  7. You can't keep up with comments and I can't even keep up with blogs! I visit daily but some of you have put up two or even three blogs overnight! Paris looks beautiful.

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    1. Ha! Well, I never blog more (or less) than once a day, so everything is pretty stable around here. :)

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  8. I haven't been able to keep up with the Blogs either so I am glad to hear you took this Trip as a balm to your Soul after losing Dear Olga. Paris looks Beautiful, I haven't been to France since I was a Child. It was always one of the Favorite Countries of my Parents, they always said that the French knew how to 'Live'.

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    1. I think it's true, though I wonder how true it is today. I suspect the French are under the same pressures as the rest of us to make money and pay the bills. Perhaps more so than they used to be.

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  9. It sounds like Paris is offering exactly the kind of solace and quiet renewal you both needed, woven with beauty, memory, and just the right touch of serendipity.

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    1. Yes, it was the perfect solution for a quick getaway.

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  10. Nice getaway. I've been there quite a bit but never as a tourist. As a student being herded from class to class, and later working as an au pair. So I lived like a resident and missed the classic sightseeing! I remember the endless climbing in Montmartre though.

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    1. Living like a resident must have come with its own charms!

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    2. One of them being looking down on tourists ;)

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  11. Love that Notre Dame is coming back; so nice to see that.
    And the waiter not caring is so French.

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    1. You should have seen her -- classic dead-eyed shrug.

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  12. The first Benoit was probably a hidden gem of a restaurant but I guess you'll never know now. I once had a boss call me from Grand Rapids, South Dakota asking for me to verify the address he was supposed to be at for a meeting. I looked on his calendar and told him he would miss his meeting as it was in Grand Rapids, Michigan!

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    1. Ha! That's funny. The first Benoit was definitely not a gem. That's how we knew we were in the wrong place!

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  13. I wish I was the kind of person to get up early & roam around while my husband was still asleep, but alas, I am Dave. Ha!

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    1. I was Dave the next morning, when I slept in!

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  14. Look- money is well-spent when it takes you to Paris for a little trip when you need some relief from such sadness. I think you made a very good decision, expensive tickets or not. Notre Dame surely is looking amazing. I vaguely remember being there which is rather sad.
    I loved your line about suddenly being in desperate need of resuscitation.

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    1. You're right -- this is exactly what money is for, right? Why else would we have it?

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  15. I'm glad you had a little getaway. Everytime I see an ornate church or cathedral I think about all that money spent to the glory of god instead of going to the poor and downtrodden as Jesus commanded. At least the artisans got work.

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    1. I'm amazed there are enough people in France with the skills to rebuild an edifice like that, and to do it so quickly!

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  16. The difference in Notre Dame is amazing. My photos taken a year before the fire are so dark looking. I'm glad you also went to Saint Chapelle. That has to be my favorite spot in Paris. When the sun is shining through those windows, it's sort of magical. I'm a bit jealous of those croissants. Nobody makes croissants like the French.

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    1. Yeah, my earlier photos are darker too. It's possible my iPhone was lightening up the interior a lot as well.

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  17. Your brief get away is one for the books! You know how to do it right. Having studied the language I am sure that you knew exactly what to do, though your accent might get in the way - Paris being itself. Photos are fabulous, as usual but even more so because- Paris! The running firemen and step shadows is a. splendid first prize winner. Cat graffiti- yes, Olga approved! Her little dog body gone, her little non dog body leaping beside you. That is what I think, anyway. Glad you are doing spontaneous trips without having to fret over logistics of Olga in her old dog body. London is the perfect stepping stone. thank you for the stunning photos of the town across the water.

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    1. I love your image of Olga's "non dog body leaping beside (me)." She is with me always. My language skills are adequate for basic survival, but often I would try to speak French and the person I'd be speaking with would switch to English. The French aren't as snooty about that kind of thing anymore.

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  18. Quite the adventure, your eventual dinner must have been good.

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    1. It WAS good. I'm glad we got to the right place!

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  19. Ooops ... I thought Dave arranged this little getaway! Thanks for sharing Paris with those of us who have never been and will never be in Paris! I get all my traveling done via the blogs I read ... saves me bunches of money! LOL

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    1. Well, we arranged it jointly. I actually bought the tickets but we both discussed it. :)

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  20. You are having a very busy time. going back to look at things adds more to what you've seen.

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    1. I really wanted to see Notre Dame after its renovation.

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  21. These photos make me want to go immediately to Paris and sit in a cafe with an almond croissant. I didn't find that Parisian waiters cared about much. LOL That's amazing that you made it to the correct restaurant after all. Sainte Chapelle is one of my favorite places in Paris.

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    1. Those waiters are usually so busy! They have a lot of tables!

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  22. Well, even if the waitress didn’t care, I love the old photo and comparing to the new. But then I’m not Parisian and am probably much too enthusiastic to fit in there. This looks like such a great time. So glad you got to the right restaurant!

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    1. I'm not sure she understood what I was trying to show her. She probably thought it was just some old photo I dredged up online.

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  23. Haha.... I didn't even notice the guys in the first photo. I was too taken with the fabulous shadows on the steps! The only thing better than a stained glass window is a rose window in stained glass. Beautiful!

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    1. I was trying to photograph the shadows when the guys ran through the frame, so it was seredipitous!

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  24. I love the old and new photos. And I think an escape to Paris was a brilliant idea. There is so much to see and do it's hard to zero in on the thoughts in one's head. Not always restful but maybe activity is just the thing. I love Ste. Chappele. Which I always spell wrong and probably did there, too. And I'm impressed with the Notre Dame reno. So glad you figured out the restaurant snafu before your ordered!

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    1. Yes, thank god, the minute Dave looked at the menu he knew it was the wrong place. (He'd researched the menu of the correct one!)

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  25. When we were in Paris in 2015 we really wanted to see Ste. Chappele. Alas, alack, it was closed for some reason. It's amazing how crowded Paris is, I'm glad we went back in the early 2000s. Welcome home.

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    1. We didn't notice the crowds except in the immediate vicinity of Saint Chapelle and Notre Dame. I was there in 2000 and loved it!

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  26. Paris makes the perfect get-away!
    I've been a few times and as your photo shows Notre Dame is being beautifully restored. The iconic re-created rose window and soaring ceilings are perfection.
    Paris sidewalk cafes are also so enjoyed. Small tables and chairs filled with happy people enjoying wine, coffee, croissants... it is all great.
    Your dinner sounds fabulous. French cooking is rich, flavorful, and beautifully presented.
    Note: Your 6th photo from the top standing front and center shows a Mary Moon twin! Very Parisian looking, wearing a sheer blue/green mist oversized blouse over slacks and sexy dark sunglasses.

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    1. I don't think the rose window was re-created -- I think it's the original, preserved from the fire. As I understand it all the stained glass pretty much survived. The ceilings, on the other hand, must have been rebuilt, but it's hard to tell where the reconstruction began and where it left off. Is Mary Moon following me around? Or maybe it's Marie Lune, her French counterpart?

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  27. It's amazing to me that you can just hop over to Paris whenever you feel like it. How exciting! Glad you are having a nice time. Looks fabulous!

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    1. Just a quick (or semi-quick) train ride! About two hours.

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  28. Oh no, getting to the wrong Benoit restaurant is like a classic travel mix-up, but it is great that you ended up having a fine dinner and a good laugh about it.

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  29. When one can laugh in Paris, it is a good experience.

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  30. I love Montmarte, I remember standing right where you were when you took that picture of Sacra Coeur. And we're pretty sure we stopped for a coffee at that brasserie in the 2nd photo.

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    1. It's a great little cafe, one of the prettiest in that neighborhood -- La Cepage Montmartre, it's called. (Cepage means "grape variety," so I guess it's like "The grapes of Montmartre"?)

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    2. "Sacre", typing too fast. Yep, that's it. https://mindtrip.ai/restaurant/paris-ile-de-france/le-cepage-montmartrois/re-GZRKTsnd

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  31. Hi Steve,
    Enjoyed reading your blog, and you take excellent photos.
    I have to say I found your father's photo of that same spot in the 50s incredible. It's funny how clunky buses looked, and otherwise it hasn't changed that much.
    I was in Paris with my partner last year and the Notre Dame was still being repaired. So definitely on list for the next visit.
    And the eurostar is outrageously expensive.
    Liam.

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  32. I loved the contrast between 1957 and today. I really enjoy photos like that.

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  33. Im guessing Eurostar prices are higher for this month due to families wanting to travel during school holidays in the UK. We paid about £540 for train plus 3 nights B&B last month. I didn't go inside the Notre Dame as there were queues so was good to see your pics. Your dads iconic photo has so much to like - the bus, the pram, the way people dressed! Betty

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