Mellow Wanderer

Category: FRANCE

  • Alluring Paris Sweets Almost Too Pretty To Eat

    Alluring Paris Sweets Almost Too Pretty To Eat

    To this American tourist, walking into swank 86Champs, the Champs Elysees L’Occitane-Pierre Hermé shop, was beyond anything I expected. Who pairs skincare cream products with pastry? An unlikely marriage for sure, though it appears to be a relationship that is working. Visiting a pastry shop was on the “to-do list” we emailed to our Paris guide before meeting her for a city tour. She picked a delightful place for a late afternoon guilty pleasure. In fact, for Parisians, it seems to be the norm. The shop was bustling as the workday ended during our visit. Pierre Hermé is a renowned award-winning French pastry chef who has several shops in Paris and around the world. After the hostess seated us, my wife and I scanned the elegant glass showcase of pastries, displayed like expensive fine art or prized jewelry. The decor was fashionable but not snooty, with friendly, attentive service. We felt very comfortable in our casual attire, but a bit ruffled and weary from a long day of touring. We had also just navigated our way through a labyrinth of demonstrators near the Arc de Triomphe, in what we later learned are weekly scheduled public worker strikes. I honestly don’t know exactly what I ordered, except I know chocolate was involved, and it was extraordinarily light and smooth; the natural pure taste of goodness unpolluted by additives or preservatives. Chocolate is also a French delicacy. Paris has more chocolate shops than any other city in the world- more than 300- according to ChocoParis, an internet blog dedicated to articles on Paris chocolate, ice cream, and pastry shops. Almost everywhere we walked in Paris we came to a chocolate shop. About a block away from our rented Saint-Germain one-room flat, we discovered Pralus, a small corner pâtisserie specializing in on-site fresh-baked pralines and fine chocolate. François Pralus began his career as a pastry chef and then became a master chocolatier. Pralus’ website says he fell in love with Madagascar and has owned a cocoa plantation there since 2000. Then there’s chocolate with a flair of fun and humor at the shops of Maison Georges Larnicol.The chocolatier builds towering structures, statues, and playful characters to the delight of children and adults. Larnicol even built a one-ton sailboat from chocolate, including chocolate sails, and launched it into a French harbor, powered by an outboard motor. Surprisingly, it did not sink. Chocolate is a symbol of French indulgence, a mainstay of the national palate like champagne and the croissant. A sweet experience to savor and remember.

    86CHAMPS

    86Champs Cloth Napkin & L’Occitane Perfume Ribbon

    François Pralus

    Pralus Tropical Pyramid Of Chocolate (Papua, Indonesia, Sao Tome, Trinidad, Venezuela, Tanzania, Ghana, Madagascar, Colombia, and Ecuador)

    Maison Georges Larnicol

     

    Maison Georges Larnicol
    Maison Georges Larnicol

     

    Steve (Mellow Wander) and Susan Geiger traveled to Paris in June 2018 when they experienced this adventure in chocolate.

     

  • Gothic House Of Worship Stored Jesus’ Crown Of Thorns

    Gothic House Of Worship Stored Jesus’ Crown Of Thorns

     

    In the center of Paris’ historic district, Sainte-Chapelle stands as a religious sanctuary fit for a king. Thank King Louis IX for his lavish spending on all things of grand scale. The bold gothic style Sainte-Chapelle is in the center of the royal residence known as Palais de la Cite´. Built in the 13th century between 1242 and 1248, Sainte-Chapelle is a stunning work of architecture. The spire rises 75 meters (246 feet) above street level. Construction on Sainte-Chapelle finished 80 years after Notre Dame Cathedral.

    Sainte-Chapelle’s moody exterior adorned with gargoyles around the perimeter of the roof is a stark contrast to the ornate interior of the upper chapel, with its more than 1,300 stained-glass panels. The upper chapel is a breathtaking work of art. A walkway connected the sanctuary to the royal residence so the ruling family could have exclusive access.  The upper chapel was also used for royal weddings and coronations. Louis IX had Sainte-Chapelle erected to store the Holy Relics of the Passion of the Christ, which came into his possession a year before construction started in 1239. Among the possessions was the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus during his crucifixion.

    When the French Revolution broke out in the late 1700s, angry Revolutionaries stormed Sainte-Chapelle, and other iconic symbols of royalty and privilege, and ransacked the sanctuary, except for the stained-glass. Many of the Holy Relics disappeared. Some were later reclaimed, including the Crown of Thorns, and stored at Notre Dame Cathedral. Those same relics also survived the devastating Notre Dame fire in April of 2019. Sainte-Chapelle is an excellent tour to learn French history and heritage, art, and religion.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

                                                                                                                                                                               Here are a few links to help you plan a visit:

    Paris Museum Pass

    Paris National Monuments

    Paris Information Guides

    Paris Transportation