Low Bridge, Everybody Down: Barging in Europe: May 2017

Springtime in Paris

After 5 wonderful nights in New York (a city we love), it was time for our annual move back to our 39 meter 1929 barge named Rabelo in Burgundy, France. Whenever we come to France I need my Paris fix! While three nights isn’t much time for such a beautiful city, with every visit we try to visit new exhibits as well as return to some of our favorite haunts. The same with restaurants, we go back to some favorites and then try something new. We arrived on a Sunday when France was voting for their new president. We’ve never seen traffic as light as it was that day. We thought we could visit a few museums and visit the Vermeer exhibit at the Louvre. It wasn’t meant to be. Monday was a holiday, and Tuesday many museums are closed. In spite of these obstacles we managed to see a few museums and walk through the Luxembourg Gardens. The Luxembourg Museum had a beautiful (as well as large) exhibit of Camille Pissarro who contributed to both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism art. Tom and I used headsets and learned a great deal about Pissarro and the evolution of his work. The next day we went to the Mamottan Museum. We didn’t realize that they were also doing an exposition on Camille Pissarro. We again did the audio tour and learned even more about Impressionist painters. The Marmottan has the largest collection of Monet paintings in the world and the exhibit was worth visiting.

A taste of the Luxembourg gardens in Springtime.

Luxembourg Palace

For generations children have sailed boats in this little pond.

Anyone can rent a boat.

Wonderful children's playground.

The weather was beautiful between showers so we walked from our hotel Le Littre all around Paris and wandered through the Luxenbourg Gardens. The gardens are famous for their green chairs, and the myriad of rules governing the gardens. People can only sit on designated lawns. In defiance of this rule, when the summer heat hits, people sit in their chairs along the pathway and place their feet on the edge of the lawn. Where people can jog, play music, etc can only be in designated areas. Since it’s spring the flowerbeds are in full bloom. The flowers are changed 3 times a year. Many of the 106 statues are surrounded by magnificent flowers.

Paris is famous for food! While there are many famous chiefs with restaurants that may be difficult to get into, and you leave with a much lighter wallet, we try to find places to eat that (in some cases) aren't as well known. Semilla was a restaurant on my list. We had accidentally discovered Semilla a few years ago when we wandered in for lunch. It was wonderful and I promised myself we would return for dinner. We were not disappointed! The food delicious and service impeccable.

Vegetable salad

Beautifully presented grilled calamari.

A deconstructed apple tart (which was the weakest part of the meal)

It's rare to find an Aligote. It ranks right up there as one of my favorite white wines. It is light and is meant to be drunk young.

Another restaurant I looked forward to trying was the Daniel Rose restaurant Spring. Here you should be an adventursome eater as it is a set menu. They will ask you if you have any food allergies or special dietary restrictions. I am extremely allergic to Mackerel which is rarely offered, but must be mentioned because my reaction is so extreme. Yes, Mackerel was on their menu that evening but they substituted another fish for that course. They will alter their menu for dietary preferences. Understand that it is a Prix Fixe menu. The meal was amazing! Each course was a visual and culinary treat. An explosion of perfectly paired flavors. Service was impeccable. I enjoyed watching the food prepared as the kitchen was in the middle of the restaurant. While it is possible to have a private conversation with my husband, we wound up talking to people at the different tables. After all, part of travel is meeting new people and sharing experiences.