Wednesday March 22 was a gloomy day with a high of 15C. When the sun is not out and it is windy, it can feel a lot cooler. We slept in a bit and then did most of our pack. Today is our last full day in Paris before we head to Toronto tomorrow, March 23.
|
We stumbled on the Drawing Now Art Fair which starts tomorrow. My cousin Karen's husband Daniel has a few drawings in the fair. While it appeared open today, we think it was only open to the artists and the media.
|
We wandered around a bit and then eventually got to Bouillon Julien on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis in the 10th arrondissement. We had read an 2019 article in the New York Times about the new affordable dining trend and the comeback of the city's bouillons-the working class restaurants that thrived during the 19th century. We had booked Bouillon Julien for the only time available: 6:30 p.m.
 |
Bouillon Julien. "Ici, tour est beau, bon, pas cher..."
The restaurant is located in one of the most beautiful dining rooms in Paris: a landmark 1906 vintage Art Nouveau space with an original pewter-clad mahogany bar by the famous Art Nouveau artist Louis Majorelle, and four stained glass murals by Louis Thézel, inspired by Alfons Mucha.
Until a few years ago, the space was called Brasserie Julien, part of the now-defunct Brasserie Flo chain and meals were quite pricey. When the new owner, Jean-Noël Dron bought it in 2018, he wanted to reboot it for the 21st century, so he followed the motto of the founder, Edouard Fournier: Ici, tout set beau, bon, pas cher" (Here, everything is beautiful, good and inexpensive). Prices were lowered.
|
 |
| Amazing ceilings |
 |
| The art nouveau pictures on the walls |
 |
| Peacocks made by Armand Ségaud. |
 |
| Alain waiting to order- it was very quiet when we arrived, but not for long... |
 |
| Another view |
 |
Another Art Nouveau woman. Louis Arézel depicted four women inspired by
Alfons Mucha's iconography. |
 |
| Alain when we first arrived |
 |
| Story of the Bouillon |
 |
| Cheers! We shared a beet, goat cheese and greens starter. |
 |
Alain had flank steak and potatoes. My meal is in the foreground. Grilled chicken and frites.
We shared a carafe of red wine. |
 |
| Yum! |
 |
| The ceiling again. |
 |
| The restaurant was almost full when we left at 8:30 p.m. |
 |
| Mahogany counter attributed to cabinetmaker Louis Majorelle |
As we left the restaurant, we noticed that there was a line-up waiting to get in. Definitely, it was wise to make a reservation in advance. We took the Métro from Strasbourg- Saint-Denis to Chatelet and then transferred to another line that got us to the Métro stop near our place. We were back at the apartment before 9:00 p.m.
 |
Strasboug-Saint-Denis reminds me of one of my favourite pieces by trumpeter Roy Hargrove, which has the same name. We saw Roy at the Jazz Club New Morning just minutes away from Bouillon Julien
two weeks before he died in November 2018. |
It was back to the apartment to finish our pack. Tomorrow is another General Strike day in France. We had dropped in at the Tourist Office at City Hall to see if they knew anything about transportation cancellations. They thought that the RER (Railway to the Airport) service might be spotty. We have decided to take a taxi, though when we tried to book on-line, they said there were no cars available. We think the dispatchers may be acting in solidarity with the unions, so we will take our chances very early in the morning at the nearby taxi stand.
Hopefully, we will be flying home on the 11:40 a.m. flight with Air Canada. The App is still saying the flight is a go as I finish this post. We are due in Toronto at 3:35 p.m.
We have had a wonderful five weeks in France. Thank you for joining us on our adventure. We bid Paris adieu until the next time.
P.S. A quick update. Thursday March 23 was another General Strike day. We had been worried about the frequency of RER trains to Charles de Gaulle airport, so decided to take a taxi. We walked to the nearest Taxi stand at about 7:30 a.m. and saw a number of taxis pass us by with red lights on. About 20 minutes later, we were just about to give up and try the bus/RER connection, when we were able to hail an available taxi. A quick 35 minute ride and we were at the Airport at 8:30 a.m.
Due to the strike, there were only a minimum number of passport control staff, so it took us around an hour to make our way through a snaking, though orderly line, to have our passports stamped. There was a small spontaneous demonstration at around 9:00 a.m.
 |
| Small demo in the airport |
 |
| Mostly Air France workers |
We finally reached security, where they were randomly going through even small carry-ons with a fine toothed comb, a security supervisor standing there doing nothing except glaring. Of course, we had to go through the ordeal. We also had to wait until a number of flight crews had their baggage searched. We got to chat with the co-pilot of our Air Canada flight, who told us he always brings back two bottles of wine from each trip to Paris. They can still take wine back in carry-on luggage but it had to be checked by security. We finally got to our gate at 11:00 a.m., just in time for boarding.
Then it was smooth sailing (or flying). We left on-time and arrived 30 minutes early at 2:55 p.m. There are now so many customs kiosks at Pearson, that we actually got through customs in about 10 minutes. Caught the UP Express and our friend Grace picked us up at the Bloor stop. Back at the apartment at 4:30 p.m. Phew!
Comments
Post a Comment