Ah, Paris... (pt.1)

Wednesday evening, and after (eventually) meeting Sheryl at Heathrow, with her flight having been delayed for almost 2 hours, we headed home for some hasty re-packing as well as much catching up to do over a few fine whiskies. One of her duty free bottles had survived the journey, despite a fellow passenger’s best attempts at destroying both of them.

An early start for Thursday saw us leaving for Kings Cross International in the wee (and frosty) hours. A quick and fairly empty tube ride (thanks to it being before “rush hour”) saw us arrive with enough time for a leisurely breakfast before boarding the Eurostar for Paris. Forget flying and the 2-3hour check-ins, as we were through customs and baggage check in around 15mins. A quick bag x-ray, walk through the metal detectors followed by a quick fondle, and you’re through to the platform for boarding. In a little over two hours we had been whisked through both English and French countryside, as well as the Channel Tunnel to be pulling into Gare du Nord station in Paris. All too easy.
It was from here that the fun started as we navigated the Paris Metro train system (read: hotch-potch and far cleaner London Tube system). Once we’d sorted ourselves out with tickets and directions and trainlines, it was rather easy, and soon we were meeting our landlord and settling into our apartment. A much better option than a hotel too!
After a bit of a refresh it was time to head out and explore the Marais to gain our bearings and just see what we could find in the way of stores/cafés/restaurants/etc... A very pleasant way to spend the afternoon and evening as the sun had set before we knew it! And by that stage, we’d also picked up items from a few of those stores, including a cheese shop that contained no cat, nor a bouzouki player (for those of you inclined towards Monty Python). A relaxed evening in with wines and cheeses rounded out the day. Especially nice that one of our neighbours turned out to be quite an accomplished pianist too!

Friday saw us head out to a nearby café (recommended by the visitor’s book) for breakfast. Such a classic little place, that probably hasn’t changed since the 30’s (or thereabouts). From here, we headed into the south of the Marais to stroll, look about and locate a few other places mentioned by both the visitor’s book and my Rough Guide. Such a lovely and classic part of Paris.
We eventually found ourselves at the Seine, and proceeded across onto the islands. I was a little disappointed to discover that the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation was closed as I’d hoped to show this amazing little place to Sheryl. Anyway, we continued to stroll alongside Notré Dame, before crossing into St Germain and discovering Shakespeare & Company. The name caught our attention as Sheryl is a bit of a Shakespeare fan, which I must admit to being as well after my experience at The Globe Theatre a few years back. This turned out to be an amazing little bookshop, that not only just having that quirky and somewhat historical feel, didn’t appear to have much to do with Shakespeare at all. Think of some hokey home from the 1700’s where the owner collected books of all sorts and you’ve pretty much got it - complete with old typewriter in a letter writing booth for you to use (right), or the piano, the couch... well, you get the idea.
With a book each we left here to continue to see what else we could find in the lanes of St Germain. Poking about in all manner of shops to end up in a certain patisserie/tearoom that you may recall me mentioning during my last trip here: Ladurée. For those who don’t recall, Ladurée is a patisserie that dates back to the mid 1800’s. The tea rooms are exquisite (typical French elegance - left), as are their products, with their macaroons being their most renowned. On our arrival, the queue in the patisserie was almost out the door, and we had about a ten minute wait at the tea room for a table. A grand setting for coffee and pastries, but they were more than worthy of their setting.
Once done, we moved on through St Germain with the sun setting, deciding that perhaps a drink in one of the many “hokey” bars in the area would be worthwhile. (We had spent quite a while in Ladurée, and it was far too early for dinner.) After a drink in one small bar, along with some tomfoolery with the ever-lively staff, we continued on to another more upmarket bar. This one had a great atmosphere and setting, which meant that before we realised it, we had settled in for a couple of drinks.
With our hunger awakening for dinner, we strolled around St Germain looking for somewhere that caught our eye as a place to dine. None of which caught our fancy that evening (thankfully), so we decided to look for a restaurant near Notre Dame that PB & Judy had recommended... but alas, we didn’t find it. What we did find turned out to be something that we’ll probably never forget as far as memorable evenings go.
It was getting late, and just past Notre Dame itself, we found what looked to be a small, tacky little place that had one thing going for it - it was open. On the outside were painted dead trees with rather tatty toy finches scattered in them, but when we looked through the window, we saw people inside what looked to be a rather homely little room. We entered by the bar, which had no seats, but a direct view into the kitchen, to be met by a friendly fellow who invited us to come in and stay.
Sure, and he then led us upstairs to the dining area instead of the little pub-like room we’d seen through the window. What we saw, was this...
Certainly not what we’d expected! Naturally, they worked out that our French wasn’t so good and that we were from Adelaide. One of the staff had friends who had moved there, so instantly there was a connection and the two waiters were like old friends. Wine list? er... no. You selected your bottle by going back downstairs, past the bar and into the wine cellar to take your pick. Thankfully, they had each rack labelled with the prices (ranging from €29 - €179 and even some up to €300!). Upon emerging with your bottle, they then did the rest while you returned to your table.
The food? Well, we were later to find out that their head chef was an elderly lady, that was also the owner (with her husband), making this a bit of a “ma n pa” style restaurant - Odette and Georges. What she made was excellent. Coupled with the wine (which was more a fluke on my part - having no real idea about French wines), it made for some excellent dining.
To top it off, as we were nearing finishing, we heard some exquisite piano playing wafting through the room from somewhere. Apparently, one of Paris’ favourite concert pianists was dining tonight as a friend of Odette’s, and had decided (maybe co-erced) to play [the piano by the bar]. It did not take long for one of the two waiters to appear, tell us about this, and then invite us to join them all down stairs in the small “pub” section behind the bar.
Shortly after their handing us two glasses of red, they discovered that it was Sheryl’s birthday. The chef left the room briefly to return with a scoop of a chocolate mousse and a half an orange with a candle (read: “Roman” styled candle, which you can see on the table on the left). As she carried this to our new table, all of our fellow occupants struck up ‘Happy Birthday’.
By the end of the evening, it was just us, the staff and what appeared to be their friends. The restaurant had closed long ago, but the wine still flowed and we experienced what felt like the sort of homely hospitality one would associate with a small local village.
At some time after 2.30am, we all bid each other farewell and headed off to our respective abodes. Quite an unexpected, yet wonderful find and evening - a birthday that I’m sure Sheryl will long remember.

Oh, and the restaurant’s name is Au Vieux Paris and has been a family owned restaurant since 1750!