Friday night at the Louvre

One of the best things about living in Paris for a few months is being able to go back to museums like the Louvre and the D'Orsay and really spend some time there.  Usually, when I am travelling, I make a mad dash through the museums and then on it's to the next place.  

The Louvre is open until 9:30 pm on Friday nights and since D was working late, I took advantage and spent a couple of hours enjoying it.  It is so vast!  I don't know if it is possible to see the entire museum even in multiple visits.  Plus, I usually end up people watching as much as anything.

Pita!

We have found the best Pita Sandwich in the world!  It comes from L'As du Falafel on the Rue des Rossiers in the heart of Jewish Paris, the 4th.  It's pretty simple:  hummus, cabbage, eggplant & grilled chicken in a pita pocket.  Not sure if it's the fresh ingredients or the special sauce they add that makes it so damn good.  On Sundays you will find a long queue down the block as people line up for their falafels and pita sandwiches (which are a super-cheap 5 to 7 Euros!).  Lenny Kravitz endorses it as his favorite restaurant.  How can you go wrong?  

It's funny that in the world's highest temple of gastronomy, this humble and inexpensive pita  has become our favorite meal!  

Jhumpa & Mavis

Went to a reading at Village Voice books in the 6th by Jhumpa Lahiri and Mavis Gallant.  Jhumpa is one of my favorite contemporary writers.  Her short stories are brilliant old-fashioned tales about family, love, loss and longing.  She counts Mavis Gallant as one of her inspirations.  Gallant has lived and worked in Paris for fifty years and she is one of those "writer's writers" whose influence is greater than their sales figures.  

The place was packed to the rafters and full of wealthy, articulate, sophisticated characters who all seemed to know each other.  It felt like we had wandered into a Woody Allen movie!  The reading was wonderful and 87 year-old Mavis in particular had the crowd in stitches with a very funny (and racy) piece she wrote a few years ago.   Jhumpa was very gracious, intelligent, down to earth and self-deprecating and we came away liking her even more.

jeu de palme

grey slush

We got a big snowstorm last night and I went out this morning expecting another winter wonderland.  Alas, it had turned into ugly grey slush by 10 am.  Very New York.  Somehow, I never pictured Paris covered in grey slush.