The First Known Selfie by Charles Arthur Bourgeois
Photograph by DiscoverParis
A bronze sculpture representing a man posing for a selfie with what appears to be a prototype iPhone stands in the Luxembourg Garden. Cast in 1868, the statue is the earliest representation of what many have, up until now, believed to be a modern phenomenon.
Entrance to the Super Barquette
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
I learned about the Paris Street Food Festival several days in advance of the event and was all a-twitter with excitement as I made my way along quai Austerlitz to find the stands that were selling street food there:
Fish and Chips by The Sunken Chip
Super BBQ by My Food Montreuil
Burgers by Le Camion qui Fume
…and mouth-wateringly more!
Woman with Brochure
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
A lovely young woman was distributing brochures that listed the names of the food stands and the types of street food that they were serving. She invited me to purchase a raffle ticket for 1€; otherwise the entrance to the event was free.
People Feasting at the Street Food Festival
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
I walked onto a deck overlooking the Seine and saw that a lot of people had gotten there before me. I arrived at 12:30 p.m., which I thought was early enough to permit me to get some food and sit down for lunch. But I was wrong…
Standing in Line for BBQ
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
There were long lines everywhere. For the BBQ…
Serving up Fish and Chips
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
…for the fish and chips…
This Way to the Beer
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
…but, surprisingly, not for the beer!
Alexandre Bournonville of Distrikt Beer
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
So I purchased a bottle of amber beer brewed locally in the town of Thiverval-Grignon, not too far from Paris. That’s all that I had at the street food festival!
BBQ Cooker – My Food Montreuil
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
The Monstrously Long Line for BBQ
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
The food stand for BBQ was the most popular. How did it measure up to Texas BBQ? I’ll never know, because I didn’t want to wait in the monstrously long line.
But I enjoyed the Distrikt amber beer!
Marisa Williamson as Sally Hemings
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Artist Marisa Williamson came to Paris recently in the guise of Sally Hemings, the slave-mistress of Thomas Jefferson. Williamson was turning a film about Hemings, who could have chosen to remain a free woman in Paris rather than return with Jefferson to the United States to live as a slave.
From left to right: Avery Williamson, Charlotte Bayer, Monique Y. Wells, Marisa Williamson
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Dressed in period costume, Williamson played the role of Hemings, a young woman who was “struggling to decide whether to claim her freedom in a foreign land, or return home…” She interviewed a number of African Americans to learn why they came to Paris and how they perceived themselves as blacks living in France.
Marisa Williamson and Monique Y. Wells
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Williamson was assisted by Charlotte Bayer, who filmed the encounter of Hemings with our own Monique Y. Wells on a park bench in Paris, and her sister Avery Williamson, who photographed the shoot. The film is scheduled for release in August 2014.
Information about Marisa Williamson’s film project can be found here: Hemings in Paris.
Bistrot Mavrommatis on Rue Duphot
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Monique and I were recently invited to sample a new line of Mediterranean dishes that Bistrot Mavrommatis, a restaurant, catering, and take-away service, offers for business luncheons and seminars. The tasting took place in the upstairs dining room of the restaurant, located at 18, rue Duphot in the 1st arrondissement of Paris.
We entered the handsome food shop, where I saw several customers at the sales counter ordering take-away, and made our way up the spiral staircase to the dining room. There, on a table on one side of the room, we saw all of the “coffrets” (individual servings of food assembled as a four-course meal) laid out for our inspection. Each assembled meal was arranged on a tray, and each had its own name. All were inspired by Mediterranean cuisine: Italian, Greek, Spanish, Moroccan, French, and Mid-Eastern.
Coffret Petra
Photograph courtesy of Mavrommatis
For example, Coffret Petra contained a tabbouleh salad, a cucumber stuffed with tzatziki (thick yoghurt with herbs), thin slices of lamb stewed with cumquats and baby vegetables, Kasséri cheese, a red-fruit crumble, and a bread roll. Each course was protected in its own clear plastic box, which were all carefully arranged on a serving tray. Mavrommatis offers eleven different coffrets, and all of the food (except for the cheeses, bread, and certain desserts) is prepared in its kitchens.
Assortment of Appetizers
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
After we viewed each of the coffrets, we proceeded to another table where samples of the food were presented as little appetizers. These we got to taste.
I particularly enjoyed the tabbouleh, a salad made from chopped dill; the aubergine caviar, a preparation of smoked eggplant; the dolma, which are rice- and meat-stuffed grape leaves; and the pissaladière, an onion and anchovy tart. All good…all appetizing. While we dined, cocktail-style, a waiter circulated to pour white and red wines. The crisp white wine called Santorini Argyros – 2012 – Assyrtiko, went especially well with these dishes.
Desserts
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
The big surprise came when the desserts were served…and how sweet it was! I tasted baba, a yeast cake soaked in limoncello and served with a small dollop of pistachio paste. The chocolate tart was rich and bittersweet; and the traditional Greek baklava was sublime.
Eric Julien – Sales Director
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
We met the sales director of Mavrommatis, Eric Julien. He and his staff readily answered all of our questions about the ingredients of the food that we tasted. Orders for the coffrets can be made up until 5:30 p.m. on the day before the business event.
Bistrot Mavrommatis
18, rue Duphot
75001 Paris
Telephone: 01.42.97.53.04
Tom Taking Photograph of Fesses in the Former Delorme Passage
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Most of the covered passages of Paris were built in the first half of the 19th century. Essentially, they were shopping malls that led from one street to another.
Built in 1808, the Delorme passage linked rue de Rivoli at number 188 with rue Saint-Honore at number 177. It was destroyed in 1896, but several bas-relief sculptures that decorated the passage have been preserved. They can be viewed at the entrance of the apartment building at 177, rue Saint-Honoré.
All of the sculptures are of women. One bares here lovely fesses, with her tunic slipping demurely below the level of the fanny.
Follow the link below for a close-up view:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/411586853417946246/
We recently attended the opening of a house for sale in the Belleville district of Paris. I found its boxy-looking appearance, with 127 m2 distributed on three floors, to be quite striking. A terrace on the top floor gives a view of Paris rooftops and quiet courtyards below.
Belleville House Designed by Architect Frank Salama
View of Terrace
Spiral Staircase
For information about how to contact the real estate agency that handles the sale of this dwelling, contact us at the following link with your name, e-mail address, and your telephone number: Paris Insights – Contact.
Thanassis Parparoussis – Winemaker
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
We recently had the pleasure of tasting Greek wines from the Parparoussis Estate, a winery near the port city of Patras on the north coast of the Peloponnese. The tasting was hosted by Mavrommatis, a wine shop located at 49, rue Censier in the 5th arrondissement of Paris.
The Parparoussis winery was founded in 1974. Second-generation winemaker Thanassis Parparoussis (pictured above) presented a remarkable sampling of reds, whites, and fortified wines to the delight of invitees and passersby.
The Gifts of Dionysus
A Sideritis Varital
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis
We were quite impressed by a white table wine made from Sideritis, a grape that is cultivated throughout the Peloponnese. Called “Τα Δώρα του Διονύσου” (The Gifts of Dionysus), it is appropriately named. It is a crisp wine, very pale gold in color, with a mild citrus bouquet and delicate minerality. We thought that it might accompany goat cheese well, so we purchased a bottle to taste later.
We then went to the nearby Fromagerie Veron and purchased a pyramid of Valançay goat cheese from La Ferme des Cossonnières. This cheese has a smooth, chalky texture, is slightly pungent, and tastes somewhat like rich cottage cheese. Back home we tasted both together and learned that our hunch was right—the wine and the cheese married quite well. Thank you, Dionysus, for your gift!
Mavrommatis
49, rue Censier
75005 Paris
Fromagerie Patrick Veron
105 Rue Mouffetard
75005 Paris
Just across the street from the Censier-Daubenton metro station in the 5th arrondissement stands a tiny hot-dog stand that sells the best American-style hot dogs we have ever found in Paris.
The soft, ultra-fresh bun cradles a tender wiener that practically melts in the mouth when bitten into. This is the best part that I remember about eating hot dogs in the U.S.A.—they are so soft that they only require a few quick chews to devour them. It’s almost as easy as inhaling!
We added genuine American mustard, slices of dill pickle, relish, and fried onion flakes to embellish our dogs. What a trip down memory lane!
Photoshoot of Monique in the Luxembourg Garden
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
When a freelance journalist working for the Ohio State Alumni Magazine wanted to photograph our own Monique Y. Wells for the article that he is preparing about her, we took him to the Luxembourg Garden for the beautiful backdrop that it provides.
Click here to learn about our tour entitled Black History in and Around the Luxembourg Garden: http://discoverparis.net/entree-to-black-paris-most-popular-walking-tours
Monique and I attended an art exhibit yesterday evening.
Floor Work by Unknown Artist
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
On the first floor, we came upon a horizontal work by an unknown artist.
Dyed Fabrics by Unknown Artist
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
In a small room nearby hung some dyed fabrics.
Ceramics by Unknown Artist
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
On the top floor, ceramic works were displayed.
Margherita Muriti from a town near Venise, Italy
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
And on the top-floor terrace, Margherita Muriti from a town near Venice, Italy served clementines, red Côtes du Rhône wine, and Reissdorf beer.
The exhibition ends this Sunday.
Memory of Color – A Group Exposition
68, rue des Cascades
75020 Paris
Friday: 6 p.m. – 11 p.m.
Saturday: 2 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
 | Tom Reeves - author of Paris Insights - An Anthology and Dining Out in Paris - What You Need to Know before You Get to the City of Light. |