Let’s continue to explore Paris, the parts that are seemingly hidden but actually just right there, quite easy to miss. They don’t boast Hausmannian buildings that we are familiar with, but retain the charm of small, green streets, with very little traffic passing by. Today, we take a peek into rue des Thermopyles, Cité Bauer, and rue du Moulin Vert. Just three streets, nestled in between Pernety and Alésia in the 14th arrondissement.
When we last looked at Villa Santos-Dumont, I briefly mentioned the name Chauvelot. We’re revisiting this name, which is today honoured through rue Chauvelot that is mere minutes walk away from Villa Santos-Dumont, for without him, we may not have rue des Thermopyles today. Alexandre Chauvelot was a successful real estate developer in his time, and had contributed towards the growth of the neighbourhood around Vaugirard, Pernety/Plaisance, Vanves, and Montrouge. Part of the old village of Plaisance, what we find on rue des Thermopyles is a narrow, picturesque lane, seemingly a favourite spot for photoshoots.
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What does one do on a sunny Saturday afternoon? Well, F and I went out for a walk of rediscovery. Early last year, we have came across streets neatly tucked away from the public eyes – quaint, lush, calm – the little pieces of paradise anyone would wish to have in a bustling city like Paris. We certainly would love to live on one of these hidden-yet-within-Paris streets with a village charm. Today, let me introduce you to villa Santos-Dumont (formerly villa Chauvelot), named after a Franco-Brazilian aviator.
Villa Santos-Dumont is a serene and picturesque cobblestoned impasse that branched out from rue Santos-Dumont in the 15th arrondissement, a short walk away from Parc Georges Brassens. Brassens himself famously lived on 42 rue Santos-Dumont, after a 22-year stay on 9 impasse Florimont, another few minutes walk away from here.
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Now that daylight saving has finally kicked in, at last, I could write a little show-and-tell about Le Mary Celeste, although the spotlight would be more on the French-Asian fusion cuisine and less on the interesting cocktails. (We’re terrible drinkers, really.) Up until now, the somber winter had rendered it quite difficult to photograph the dishes – the menu changed daily – in the dim interior, so we’d whole-heartedly piled our attention on the food that tickled our tastebuds.
Situated in the Marais, this is undoubtedly a place where many of the chic and the stylish hang out. I’m not quite that cool, so you won’t catch me perching on one of the bar stools and chatting casually to the bartenders. Instead, I tuck myself into a corner table with F or my friends, eye the menu hungrily, and mentally ponder how to persuade all at the table that we should order one of every item there is on the menu. Not that a lot of convincing was ever needed. ;)
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A couples more passages couverts can be found on rue Vivienne: one aptly named Galerie Vivienne, and the other called Galerie Colbert. Traditionally rivals but today each with its own activities, the former is a bustling passage with cafés, bookshops, print-sellers and hidden apartments while the latter housing university departments and administrative offices which inevitably also means security presence at the entrances that dissuade most that it’s a passage no longer open to public.
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Steps away from the métro station of Grands Boulevards are various covered passages of Paris, some more interesting and better kept than the others. Passage Jouffroy is my favourite among these; I could spend time window shopping at leisure here, and there are always something new to distract and wow the visitors strolling through. They are colourful, they are stylish, they are vintage, they are fun.
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River Seine snakes around Paris and Île de France, and with it, a number of small islands grace the region. We know all about the Île St Louis and Île de la Cité within central Paris, where the city’s history began with the settlement of the Parisii, but other islands are very much “invisible” to many. I should definitely explore more of them!
To the west of Paris, straddled between the communes of Levallois and Neuilly-sur-Seine, lies a small, picturesque island called Île de la Jatte, aka “Island of the Bowl”. We stumbled across it quite by chance, when Chloé and I went to Levallois for lunch at the weekend. I struggled to pinpoint why the name sounded familiar, but Chloé knows it well – it used to be a favourite hangout among Impressionist artists. Seurat’s Un dimanche après-midi à l’île de la Grande Jatte (now housed in Art Institut of Chicago) is indeed a very well-known painting to many!
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It is too quiet at home. F is currently trekking in the Moroccan desert with his friends, boys-only trip. It’s an adventure where they have camels to carry their bags, a guide to lead the way, and a chef to prepare all the meals. Tough life ;) Sadly for me, he took the 100D with him too. Yes, yes, I know, it’s his camera, and it’s to photograph exotic locations including the Sahara – all’s fair in love and, err, photography?
Not one to sit and grumble, I whipped up my good ol’ compact and went out exploring parts of Paris unknown to me. I was pleasantly surprised to discover the blocks of glass buildings around Levallois, reflecting back at one another while taking on the colours of the sky and cloud. It almost felt like I’ve been away in another city myself, until I hit the River Seine and saw other familiar sights.
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Sometimes – actually, most of the time, in my humble opinion – one simply go for a random walk around Paris to be better acquainted with her. After our lunch at Frenchie To Go on Sunday, that was pretty much what Chloé and I did. We just walked, chatted, took some photos, and walked some more, as we made our way from rue du Nil to Belleville. We even snuck by the windy streets near Buttes Chaumont for some pristine views of the city.
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Something must have lined up in the celestial. I am constantly in search for good grub in Paris, but I am by no mean someone from the “in” crowd who score tables at the latest gourmet openings in the city, not to mention our eating out budget doesn’t quite stretch that far to be a fixture in the dining scene. Imagine my surprise at easily snagging a table for two at Frenchie (via La Fourchette), albeit two months in advance, and then successfully wrangling Chloé to lunch at Frenchie To Go in matter of days.
Tucked away in rue du Nil (very near to the Passage du Caire, of course) and adjacent to Gregory Marchand’s other ventures – Frenchie and Frenchie Wine Bar – it wasn’t too crazy busy when we were there on a warm Sunday afternoon, but clearly well-loved, as we just about snagged the last two seats in the cosy café-deli. ***
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F and I marked our anniversary with a small splurge – dinner at La Table d’Aki. Promptly at 8pm, the window cover was raised, and we stepped into a dining room about the size of the living room in our cosy Parisian apartment. Definitely minimalist in decor, monochromic palate of white (except the draft-blocking curtain and the low wall, both in red, by the door), as we were seated, I whispered to F: “16 covers only!”
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