June 2014 - The Elzevir Apartment

The Elzévir Apartment Newsletter – July 5, 2014 As we return to San Francisco on UA 991, I’ll try to capture some “vignettes” of our twelve days in Paris. Also, we have some new plans for the apartment that I’ll discuss at the end of the newsletter. Early on this trip, we took a “Paris Treats” tour by Michele Morgan. The tour started at a boulangerie on rue de Levis in the 17th where we got a chance to go “behind the scenes” to see the vast workings that make up these day-­‐to-­‐day bakery businesses. You’d think there is just a little kitchen behind the storefront but rather there is a vast artisanal factory on two floors with many people applying their trade. The details are amazing. The rest of Michelle’s tour stops at different stores in the neighborhood where each of the owners tell the stories behind their products, and you do a “dégustation”. We highly recommend you visit Michelle’s website and take a tour with her next time you’re in Paris. One important “astuce”: don’t eat breakfast ahead of time. http://www.paris-­‐treats.com Olive oil shop Wine shop Bagettes just entering the oven Meringue & chocolate at Aux Merveilleux We revisited a few of our favorite restaurants including Derrière and Glou, and wanted to mention two new ones especially for those of you looking for vegetarian or organic options. The first is located on Ile-­‐Saint-­‐Louis near our friend Doug’s apartment. Called Mon Vieux Ami you would think that it would be a classic French restaurant, but it isn’t. They actually have a 100% “legume” menu along with a variety of very original and tasty meat choices. Definitely worth a try, especially if you are a vegetarian or accompanying one. The other star for us was Pincon in the “Haut Marais” area just above rue Bretagne. It is a busy, attractive little restaurant with many ultra-­‐fresh organic vegetable options ideal for a light lunch. Mon Vieux Ami Pincon An increasing trend somewhat related to the above restaurants is the increased number of organic (“bio”) supermarkets. We came across two of them very close to the apartment while we were walking around. I think we’ll see more and more of them in the future. Bien -­‐ rue Saint Gilles going toward P’tit Marché Bio c’ Bon near rue Bretagne/rue Turenne In contrast to the Musée Picasso reconstruction (now pushed out to October 2014), the activity center for the 3rd at Carreau de Temple opened this spring after a well-­‐done restoration. This center will have regular events, concerts and activities in the future. While walking back, I came across a concert in the Square de Temple park where the serious-­‐look band was playing the muppet theme, some nice, light fun for a hot summer afternoon.
Carreau de Temple Activity Center Concert in the park One of our clients, Barbara Wilde, sent me a picture from the Musée Carnavalet this spring and I was puzzled that I had never seen that permanent exhibit before. Determined, I ventured back to the museum for another try and discovered that I had previously missed a whole separate building that contains some beautiful art-­‐
nouveau exhibits and has a wonderful view of Square Achilles around the corner from our apartment. I had always wondered what was in the building behind the square and now I know! Musee Carnavalet – Art Nouveau Square Achilles As always there are many updates to the neighborhood (ca bouge!) including a Uniqlo store on rue des Francs Bourgeois. Download the updated walking tour to see all the changes. http://www.elzevir.net/Documents/TourRev.pdf You can also see more of the photos that I took throughout the trip via the following Shutterfly link (a few pictures are included at the end of the newsletter to entice you). There are separate black-­‐and-­‐white and color albums: https://myviewsofparis.shutterfly.com/ We did a few updates to the apartment including new duvet and pillows for the bed, cushions for the couch, a new bedroom fan and a number of other small items. The big update is that we are planning a renovation for January through March 2015 where we are going to solve some of the quirks that many of you have mentioned. The apartment will be closed for rentals during that time period. We will be working with our architect friend and upstairs neighbor on the 4th floor of our building, Isabelle da Costa. Among the major renovation plans will be: a more functional kitchen with new counters, cabinets and appliances, new tiles in the bathroom to replace the small white mosaic tiles, a full washer and dryer (no more 5 hour wash & dry !), new bookshelves/entertainment center, refinished floors, new paint and air-­‐conditioning. More details and photos will follow when Ineke visits Paris during the work. As an “avant-­‐premiere”, below is the table we bought on this trip from a shop on rue Vieille de Temple, which they are holding for us until after the renovation. We are already receiving a number of “pencil ins” for 2015 and even 2016, so book ahead. Warmest wishes, Bill and Ineke Here are some new photos to entice you to look at the full album: