Impressionists, Macarons and Mustard

Peach and marjoram scented bubbly water. Divoon.

With the Musee de l'Orangerie as the destination, I decided to take the bus instead of the metro. The bus takes longer, but you get to see more. I got off at the Place de la Concorde, at the foot of the Champs-Élysée.

The obelisk once guarded the Luxor Temple - was a gift to France from Egypt in 1829

There was a guy blowing big bubbles (he was rocking a 50% success rate, from what I could see) for a large audience of enthralled tourists. Next to him was something I absolutely did not expect to see...

He was playing a wooden flute and singing to a boom box accompaniment - Hooked on Native American Music, sort of.

Jardin des Tuileries

Next to the Place de la Concorde lies the Garden of the Tuileries. Created by Catherine de Medicis as the backyard of her palace in1564, it has been a public park since the Revolution in 1789. During the Revolution, when the monarchy was abolished, they brought Louis XVI and his family from Versailles to the Tuileries. He and Marie Antoinette (and their family) made an ill-fated escape from the palace, dressed as bourgeois folks accompanying a Russian baron.  They were caught, and returned, and executed by guillotine in the Place de la Concorde, which at the time was known as Place de la Revolution.

The Musee de l'Orangerie was wonderful. No photos allowed. The special thing about this museum is that Claude Monet himself helped to design two rooms to showcase some of his colossal water lilies paintings. It was incredible. The reflets verts panel was luscious. I probably spent an hour sitting in different spots on the central bench in those two rooms. Got teary once.

The lower level has a nice little collection of Renoir, Cezanne, Gauguin, Picasso, and some others....including one artist I was unfamiliar with, but totally fell in love with. Chaim Soutine. His stuff is amazing. He is buried in the Montparnasse cemetery too - if only I had known!

L'Eglise de Madeleine

I walked away from the Tuileries, going on a macaron and mustard hunt. First to Pierre Herme - a very fancy chocolate and macaron shop. They also forbid picture taking...but I got a few macarons. On to Laduree, where the line snaked around the block. No thanks. Then, on to the real destination...

I love Maille dijon mustard, and sure, you can get it at most well-stocked HEBs, but this store has many different boutique flavors, plus, fresh mustard on tap. Since 1747.

 

moutarde aux fines herbs, violette, and piment d'espelette

Got my little crock! I can bring it back "next time" to be refilled. More likely, it will hold change on my office desk.

Next stop - Maison du Chocolat.  Another sleek, chic place, but soooooo friendly! They offer each customer (even if she is only buying 3 macarons) a sample, handed over on a plate. Delicieux!

Fragonard, the perfume place, has a store in this neighborhood too - but this one has a museum of perfume attached. Free, and really neat.

Air pump

Still

I thought this next thing was neat - it is a pot-pourri. To perfume the air, fresh herbs and flowers were mixed with salt and placed into a decorative, ventilated pot. When the mixture got funky, they would add spices and other elements.

"Perfume Organ" - essential oils, ready for mixing

From Fragonard, I walked past the Opera Garnier to Lafayette Gourmet - the foodie heaven located inside the Galeries Lafayette department store. It was, indeed, terrific....but swarming with people and they were out of the famous Bordier butter I had been seeking. So, home I went, for a macaron tasting.

Herme on the left - the flavors are salted caramel, rose, milk chocolate/passionfruit, and pistachio/cinnamon/cherry. Maison du Chocolat on the right - raspberry, caramel, and chocolate. Herme was the winner in this taste off - I tried half of the caramel ones from each place, plus bits of a couple of others. WAY sweet, but very delicious.