**** Sorry, not much food in this one, but if you like amazing stained glass…..
Our train from Stuttgart arrived right on time to Paris 'Est. We then caught the metro to Les Halles to the apartment where we'd be staying. On our last visit to the Missus's favorite city, we found that we really enjoyed staying on the Right Bank and I found an apartment close to a street we loved on a prevous visit. After getting the keys to our flat and freshening up for a minutes….well, you know the Missus, She wanted to get out and about. I had a route in mind and we headed East on Rue Grenata and then took a quick turn on the corner. The Missus was wondering why I seemed to be going around in a circle when we came to my first destination….to which I replied to Her "voila!"
This is Passage du Grand-Cerf, a shopping arcade if you will. Created in the 19th century, these glass ceiling shopping arcades once numbered over a 150….but most are now gone. There are a few left; the most well known….at least to me is Galerie Vivienne. There is such charm in places like this….it transports you to a different time. The window shopping….or as the French call it "lèche-vitrine" which literally means "window licking" is fun. I'm guessing those folks with their faces right up to the windows….steaming it up with their breath do look like they are licking it. We've all seen (or done) that, right?
From here we headed down to the Seine, taking Rue Sainte-Denis until we came upon this square right in back of Les Halles.
The rather lovely looking square has quite a grisly history. It is now called Les Fontaine des Innocents and was once the site of a cemetery. I had read that the cemetery had become so full that the bodies were pushed into the cellars of nearby residents. Eventually orders came down from Louis XVI to move cemeteries out of the city for sanitary reasons.
And so the residents of Holy Innocents' Cemetery were moved. But it doesn't quite end there. Apparently, all the intact skeletons were moved to what is now the tourist draw, the Catacombs of Paris.
And it's not only large squares and fountains. Right on the corner of Rue de la Reynie and Rue Saint-Denis I saw this.
Which for some reason grabbed my attention. After doing a bit of searching…luckily the inscription on the monument is readable; I came to find out that this is a monument to Eugene Scribe a 
popular Playwright and Author.
That's the Tour Saint-Jacques ('Saint James's Tower'), which is all that remains from a church, Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie ('Saint James of the Butchers') which was sponsored by the butchers at the nearby Les Halles. The church itself was destroyed at the end of the French Revolution. But by contract the tower was saved. There's something around every corner in Paris it seems.
Our last trip to Paris had been in November of 2018 (this was the end of May 2019) before the horrible fire at Notre Dame in April of 2019. We were horrified watching it on the television. We took a walk past….the fire had just occurred the month before and we were wondering what we'd see.
We were happy to see that Notre Dame was still standing; but saddened at the damage.
We crossed over to the Left Bank on he Petit Pont and strolled around for a bit…this is the lovely Square René-Viviani.
Then passing the super crowded (with tourists) Shakespeare and Co.
And then decided to go turn around and head back…..and grab a café allongé on one of the cafe's near to where we'd be staying.
And so, we ended up at Café du Centre on Rue Montorgueil a half block from where we were staying.
There's something about this mostly pedestrian market street that we enjoyed.
It was lively. And yes, there are tourists. But there seemed to be the hustle and bustle of everyday like as well.
I'm wondering how much Covid-19 has affected the café culture in Paris. There's something wonderful about sitting outside with our café allonge….you can spent 10 minutes or 3 hours with your coffee if desired….you can read a book, a paper, socialize, or just be like us and watch the world go by. It just seemed so therapeutic.
Losing this would be tragic.
Café du Centre
57 Rue Montorgueil
75002 Paris, France
After spending a good amount of time just chilling, we headed back to the apartment.
The evening we had reservations at a place I posted on earlier. Before dinner, I wanted to grab a cocktail from a nearby Cocktail Bar I had read about named Jefrey's. It was just one street down from where we were staying.
**** Jefrey's has closed
It's a cozy little place with both upstairs and downstairs seating. We had two of the four seats at the bar. We loved the service here; the folks working were so friendly.
While working through a round of the standards….you know, an Old Fashioned for me, etc. We chatted with the bartender who was so knowledgeable and friendly.
After mentioning that I enjoy smoky flavor profiles he recommended that I try the "Smokey Monkey" made by, well, Monkey Shoulder. It was really wonderful. Sorry to say, I was told that while Monkey Shoulder is available in the U.S.; Smokey Monkey is not.
We were happy to have found a place to grab a cocktail in the neighborhood and would revisit on later trips.
Jefrey's
14 Rue Saint Sauveur
75002 Paris France
Sadly our dinner at Le Pont de Sichuan didn't live up to the first visit. But that was ok……
The next morning I got up and did a couple of things online; then it was time to grab a croissant.
I decided to head to the oldest Patisserie in Paris, Stohrer which has quite a history, dating back to 1730 and just happens to be on Rue Montorgueil.
Another claim to fame that Stohrer brought the Rhum Baba to France. It is claimed that the modern version of this cake was in this spot sometime around 1835.
I stood in line and ordered a croissant au beurre, which looked lovely, nicely lacquered, crackly, but on the dry side and not quite to our taste in terms of the butter flavor.
It was not bad….perhaps I should have gotten a rhum baba as well, but it seemed to early in the day.
Stohrer
51 Rue Montorgueil
75002 Paris, France
After having the croissant, we headed out. I had purchased advance tickets for Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie. We got to the location right before opening and were quickly allowed entrance.
The very gothic exterior of Sainte-Chapelle is somewhat obscured by the surrounding buildings. And you really don't get the full scope of the chapel.
And then you enter and are simply awestruck at the beautiful stained glass.
There are over 1,000 biblical scenes depicted in the stained glass of the upper chapel in the photo below!
And the lower chapel!
Originally built over the period of ten (!) years – 1238-1248 as a Royal Chapel by Louis IX to house relics including the supposed Crown of Thorns.
The chapel was damaged during the French Revolution, but restored in he 19th century.
Amazing!
Sainte Chapel resides in a large complex of structures originally called Palais de la Cité, now called the Palais de Justice.
Right next to the Palais de Justice is a place with a grim and dark past; once a palace, the Conciergerie became a place of detention after the French Revolution. It is where the Revolutionary Tribunal tried "enemies of the Revolution". During a two year period (a year of which is called "The Reign of Terror") almost 2800 people were executed by guillotine.
Entering the barren and haunting halls is quite an experience if you know just a bit of French history.
And even in the most somewhat innocuous places, the reality strikes you. The lovely courtyard looks so peaceful…..
Until you look up and notice the scary looking spikes; still in place, to keep prisoners confined.
There's a memorial room in La Conciergerie that lists out the 2,780 names of those condemned to death, with some very familiar names.
Whew….we needed a break.
So, we headed back to the apartment and decided to stop for another caffeine break. This time at the place next door to Café du Centre, Café Montorgueil. We actually found that we enjoyed this café quite a bit….it had more of a relaxed local vibe and was actually cheaper than the place next door, go figure?
We enjoyed our Café Allonge; while watching time and people slowly pass……
Café Montorgueil
55 Rue Montorgueil
75002 Paris, France
Before we knew it, an hour had gone by. We decided to head back to the apartment for a short break……
Before heading back out to do more exploring, shopping, and then of course; dinner!
For those that took the time to read this rather long and rambling post, I thank you! And I'd especially like to thank both Kerri and LaurieH who both mentioned missing our travel posts….thanks so much for the kind words!
The outdoor dining area for Sushi Yaro was gone! And the reason for that soon became clear. So, now there was a decision to make….yes, we're in the "Red Tier" which means indoor dining can operate at 25% capacity, yes I've had both vaccines, yes the restaurant was just opening so there were no other customers in the place, and yes, Sam called out my name when he saw me and waved me over to the sushi bar. And so it came to pass, 380 days since I last dined indoors I decided to have dinner at Sushi Yaro. After all, I really wanted to support Sam and see how he was doing.
I'm not really going to go into the food this time around, I'll do that in a future post….except to say, it did hit the spot. Especially the sashimi which was perfect on a day when temps were hitting the low 80's….so much for spring, eh?
