An Organic Farmers Market in Paris



Farmers' markets fascinate me. The idea that a kind of society has grown up linking urban dwellers with food growers and producers. The weekly markets have drawn me since I first learned of the one at Arlington's courthouse area several decades ago. So as I began to read about the organic market on Blvd. Raspail in France, and realized that it is almost next door to the familiar apartment, I promised myself that I'd find it. And this summer I persuaded my friends that it would be a treat.   Just a few blocks from where we were staying.

What follows are a series of photographs that I took in late June this year.

my friends, from right to left:  Barbara, Debbie, Ashley, 3 generations, 1 family

fetching veggie presentation

these are all soft cheeses

"try this fresh apricot"

many sizes and varieties of honey

a delight to lovers of confiture (that's jam, to Americans)

someone with a refined sense of style and order did this

no, despite my love of charcuterie, I bought nothing here

My thought on taking this pic:  Ham and Eggs, anyone?

olives, artichoke hearts, peppers, garlic cloves, cheese  . . .

hothouse roses



She has a very large shopping cart.



apple juices (not cider, which would be alcoholic)



on the right:  two cider vintages:  2010 and 2008



Arlington's market does not see such elegance

the Jack Daniels sweatshirt made one feel more at home

A glimpse of Versailles

In the South Parterre, behind the Chateau

There are a hundred and more things about Versailles that people really like.  Most important to me are the fountains, but only when the water flows.  Because the pumping mechanisms are several hundred years old, that doesn't happen every day.  Just in the summer for a few hours on selected days.  I made sure that my friends and I made it out there at the right time.


The sun rises when Apollo's horses arise from the sea.  He is, after all, the Sun-God.

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Apollo in his chariot rises from the water.




A pretty fountain near the Latona fountain.



Two of the three fountains in the Bosquet.



There are some great figures under all that water.



very cool place for those statues; I wish I could join them.

Latona was mother to Apollo & Diana; she appealed to Zeus when the peasantry was mocking her kiddies.  Zeus turned the peasants into frogs and turtles, and this fountain depicts the change.

One additional aspect of the fountains in summer:  Recorded music is piped into the area; and it's all music from the 17th and 18th centuries when the gardens and fountains were constructed.

A week after Derecho

Last Friday, June 29th, I returned from a week spent in Paris.  Great to be home, despite the amazing heat.  Being quite tired, I went to bed early and, it seems, slept through the incredible storm that messed up the subsequent days for a lot of people.  Joe and I were among the very fortunate; we lost no power and no damage to our beautiful maple tree.  The butterfly bush was cut in half.  That was all. 

Discordant circumstances in my Westover neighborhood (in Arlington, VA):  the Post Office was lit and it was cool, but they could only sell stamps; the system for calculating postage, processing passport orders, and so forth were impossible.  Ayers General Store had lights but no air conditioning, its register was a bit balky and no credit or debit cards could be used.The Safeway had no ice and very little bottled water; at the checkout, only cash and credit cards could be used, no debit cards, and NO cash back for anything.  On Lee Highway, of the four gas stations between George Mason Drive and Lexington Street, only one was open and its line stretched back to Lexington Street.

Having heard and read reports of the tempest, I expected to see lots and lots of damage in my heavily-treed neighborhood.  This is an old suburb (my neighborhood was platted in the 1930s.  Nearly every street has utility poles and a confusing web of lines).  I was surprised to see less damage than I expected.  Still, there were some whole trees that by some miracle fell only in yards, on fences, into the street, and very few on houses.   In the 1700 block of Longfellow, one tall poplar lay across the front yard and had brought down lots of wires and a utility pole; yellow "caution" tape stretched across the road because, I assume, the wires were hot.  Farther on, along Patrick Henry Drive, another section had yellow tape stretched across the road - - more downed wires along with trees and branches.

By Sunday morning, many many people had cleaned up the downed branches (except where they entangled with utility wires) -- how do you tell which wires are electric and which are cable and which are phone - - and are all dangerous?  I drove to the C &O Canal's Swains Lock (where I'm the Canal Steward), and saw that the Park Service has cleared the towpath there.  There were many large branches that had fallen along the campground's perimeter.  In the parking lot behind the lockhouse, what appears to be several small trees fell from the hillside across the gravel.   Our Canal Stewards plan to clean that up on Friday.

Back home, one very large tree on No. 11th Street is now doomed.  Joe and I used to walk past it frequently, and we'd marvel that its double trunk leaned far over the road, casting the road into deep shade.  And, I admit, we'd walk a bit more quickly past, fearing that its great size would bring it down.  No longer will we do so.  It's now about one-third the size it was last month.  And the remainder will be removed shortly.  

The Washington Post article yesterday described this as having an 18-foot circumference and an age of 250+.  It was a huge tree squeezed between the sidewalk and the street.

The larger part of the trunk broke away and fell across the road, damaging some fences on the opposite side.  A portion of it damaged the roof of a nearby house.  Below is an image of the tree pre-derecho:


Rest in peace, beautiful tree. 



Paris, June 2012

If I don't make a really quick list, I won't remember what we did.

June 21 - depart on AF 0027,  Dulles Airport for Paris with Barbara, Debbie, Ashley
June 22 - Arrived Charles de Gaulle Aeroport, Paris; after baggage claim, customs & immigration, got euros from an ATM and bought Paris Museum Pass; and taxi into the city.
         Met property manager at the apt; apt. was cleaned and ready for us = yippee:  we could take possession and grab a nap, have tea/coffee/pastry at Bread & Roses, visit Lux. Gard. & grocery store, explore neighborhood.
         Dinner =  Chez Clement
June 23 -  Bread &  Roses not open; another one was; bought variety of pastries. 
         Figured out how to get RER via Metro (Solferino station); RER to Versailles, walk all over the gardens with fountains flowing, quiche at Angelina cafe, Petit Trianon, M/A's little village, lemon sorbet (v. sour) and walk up to Three Basins, then to Lantone for more fountains, then into the chateau and walked, walked, walked through throngs, ending at another Angelina's for something to drink; RER back to Paris.
         Dinner = ?? the place where B & A had vegan pasta??
June 24 - This morning = rain
         organic farmers market a few blocks down bvd Raspail - many photos
         Metro to Concorde, transfer to Louvre, entered through Carousel; museum pass saved time, if not $$
         The big three:  Winged Victory, Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, with lots of other paintings and lots of crowds in between; look for cafe, another line but food was plentiful (beef & veg wok with green beans; wine).  Headed to the St. Anne exhibit (separate ticket) and was overwhelmed by the exhaustive scholarship.  Met Barb 4:30 at Info Dsk (1/2 hr. late!); note: PO was open and we each bought stamps for postcards.
         Dinner = Leon de Bruxelles; quiche?
June 25 = Paris skies change constantly
                sunny-cloudy-partly cloudy/partly-sunny.
        Time for a long walk down rue Bonaparte, pop into St. Sulpice, window shop at YSL, on down to the river, then walk along the quai to Pont Neuf, which we crossed to island.
        Notre Dame tower climb after sandwich & drinks in the park = long wait in line, then 400 steps up to enjoy to view and 400 more back down (claustrophobic spiral stairs that are 800 years old!)
        Walk around inside the cathedral; light candle.
        Visit to Ile St-Louis looking for ice cream (Bertillion closed); Pom' Cannelle = nice and tasty and cool.
         Home via Cite metro station to ?? and then ??
        Dinner =  LaMamma so Ashley could have pizza? Salade Caprese & Bruschetta for me. It's a nice place - must remember it on rue Vavin.
June 26 = Rain again
       More coffee and pastry for bkfst?
       Metro to Musee d'Orsay where HUGE crowd awaited; bare semblance of a line, pushers-in unsuccessful. Headed straight for "VanGogh & Gauguin in Arles" which had dozens of works by VG and fewer by G; managed to avoid the awful beaux arts sculptures; 5th level had wonderful Imp. & Post-Imp ptgs. Exh. on "Misia", an arts patron of last century. No photos allowed anywhere except in the cafe; corner table = quieter; c/n recall what I ate.
        Batobus = boat that makes 8 stops up and down the Seine; took it to Jardin des Plantes which is lovely, but all bldgs. closed on Tuesdays!!, so back to the boat to Louvre stop, bus to Opera, and walked around to Galeries Lafayette to see the stained glass dome, the cafe, the rooftop views, but we were too late for food and roof. Very nice boat trip down river to Eiffel, turn round, and back to Orsay & metro home.
         Dinner = Cafe Solferino - huge salade nicoise
June 27 =  Bright morning.
        Day for bus rides:  Musee Rodin closed for renovation except some rooms and garden and marbles in the chapel.  Such a beautiful garden, but so few sculptures on display there.  Tea in the garden cafe.
        Eiffel Tower:  long line for tickets because only one Pilier had working elevator; Barb et al got in line and I scouted places for lunch then waited in the shade for nearly 3 hours but they were in line for 2 in the heat and sun.  lunch very close by.
        bus to Arc de Triomphe just in time for the military ceremony for soldat inconnu; up all the stairs to the top and back down again.  Bus back to Montparnasse and sales at Monoprix (shirts for boys)
        Dinner = not, because lunch was around 4:30
June 28 = hot & hazy
        today was to be sort of unplanned & lazy - Metro to Abbesses for Sacre Coeur = MORE stairs to the surface.  Funiculare up the hill, and more stairs to the basilica.  Mass in progress so we sat in a pew til ended. No photos allowed inside. 
        Walked round to Place de Tertre and easel artists (wanted Ashley to see that), then down more stairs looking for cafe.  Nice one 1 block from Metro; had full meal:  onion soup, chicken & potatoes; choc. mousse.
       Into Lux. Gard. for a tour:  carousel, kiddy playground, petanque players, bee hives, espaliered fruit trees, long lawns near Obervatory, out to bvd. St-Michel for ice cream, Medici fountain, and exit to rue Vavin, window shopping here.
       Dinner = La Mamma again; she spoke english which startled everyone.  Tortelini or tagliatelli very good
       back at apt = time to pack everything and figure out how to get to CDG (taxi stand on rue Raspail)
June 29 = drizzly rain
       up at 6 am, eat everything that's left in fridge; head out and flag taxi; figure out how to navigate CDG for boarding pass,  check baggage, find gate, long wait, long plane ride, finally back in USA.
       Pick up by Joe; home and throw everything in the laundry basket, take long nap, talk with Joe, sleep through the tempest.

Have two sets of photos on flickr.com