the girls stayed up late talking last night. jj is so happy to have her good friend visiting.
this morning, she took her out to show her around. first, they went up and down our road, rue du commerce – which is a shopping street. then, they went to the champs du mars and took bikes under the eiffel tower and across the river to trocadero. going to trocadero involves crossing a really big road, so this was a little more adventurous than i was prepared for, but jj insists it was not a problem. jj called p to help her find a drop off spot for the bikes. then they took the metro to the department store, printemps. jj wanted to take f to the roof deck to see the view, but she had to call home twice for help finding it. she hadn’t realized that there were two buildings connected by a bridge, and she was in the wrong one. when they found it, they had lunch in the little cafe there.
amazing, isn’t it? jj, a 14 year old american girl, freely wandering around paris, showing her friend her favorite places. she’s not totally independent. i laugh that she calls me to ask me questions – like, “where is the roof deck at printemps?” instead of being so independent and asking the salesclerks. she calls or texts over and over, with various questions like this. she still has problems seeing things that might be right in front of her. i roll my eyes, when i get these calls, but at the same time, am pleased to still be connected to her, to still be needed by her. she has a range of allowed places, it’s just that the range is getting bigger and bigger. she knows how to use the metro, but we review ahead of time, how to go somewhere. i ask her to send me status reports – where she is, what she is doing. cell phones are wonderful for allowing more independence, while still keeping tabs on her. paris is very safe, but i know that nowhere is perfectly safe. i still tell her to be careful crossing the road. anyway, we marvel at how lucky she is to be able to do this.
the girls came back because jj had to go to orchestra rehearsal. she went to meet her friend, s, at the metro, and i took f. back to the ile st louis. they have rented for the week, a gorgeous tiny apt, in a 17th century building. the stone stairs were very worn down with the centuries of feet climbing them. the apartment had probably 14 foot ceilings, a large gilt mirror with all the baroque details and a tall window and balcony looking right out at the river. i was going to do an errand after i dropped her off and then go work on my blog, but f’s mom suggested i look at a gallery on the middle road of ile st louis. i haven’t walked down that road for ages and it’s really lovely. there were several galleries, 3 of which i thought were very interesting. one was the one f’s mom recommended but there was also one selling cool japanese children’s fantasy watercolors and another one that was selling paris rooftop paintings. in fact, i really felt that my rooftops were better than some of the ones they had there, so i am feeling confident that i should show them mine. afterwards, i went to do my errand at BHV which is a department store with an amazing basement – which is like a mega hardware store. by the time i was done, i didn’t have time to work on my blog and had to go pick up jj at orchestra. we went home and then met f and family for dinner at “le veraison”, the restaurant where my paintings are hung.
i mentioned already that f’s dad was into old french cooking of innards and such. on the menu was “riz de veau” and we got into a discussion of it. i had thought it was something like veal kidneys or brains or something like that, but he and the chef explained to me that it was the “thymus” of the veal – the gland that allows the calf to digest its mother’s milk. they told me it was very subtle and light. this is probably the most objectionable thing to eat for principled vegetarians (the ones that are vegetarians because of principle). sorry to them for this, but i decided i needed to be daring and have a new culinary experience. i asked the chef to recommend a glass of wine to go with it. i was given a choice of red or white, because, both go with these. i chose white. now, i have tried kidneys (by accident) and i have eaten livers and even a taste of brains. i am not a fan, but this was totally different. as they promised, they were light and subtle. they had the texture of pure animal fat. this might not sound appetizing, but they were delicious. the combination with the wine, was amazing. it was, as they had promised, light and subtle. fat has a lot of flavor, but i have been trying to live on a low fat diet. i was concerned about this. i asked the chef how much fat there was and he told me “none”. i told him (in french) that i felt enlightened and that it was the beginning of a new era for me. i admit, i was exaggerating a little and i’m not going to be eating these often but they really were great. f’s dad assured me that it was difficult to cook them and this chef had done an amazing job.
jj wanted f to meet her friend, s, and stay overnight too. s is jj’s twin from boston. s had been at orchestra practice that afternoon too, but went home first. i think that she didn’t want to impose on our dinner. they were trying to figure out how s would come over, since it was getting late. the parents of s decided that they would bring her and then go to a movie nearby, afterwards. by the time they arrived, it was too late for the movie, so we invited them to stay for dessert. it was great, it was a very festive feeling evening. we had good food and good conversation. i had wanted jj to taste the caramel creme brulee that this chef made, but jj ended up ordering ice cream, and getting a caramel flavor. it too was very good.
i liked this restaurant from the beginning because it was charming and had a reasonably priced menu. however, one CAN rack up a bill if you order the more expensive items. the evening ended up not being cheap, but i shouldn’t complain, since it included enlightenment.
s and f got along fine. they are all boston girls.
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