Café Croissant

My goal this drizzly summer Sunday was to enjoy a croissant and grand crème at the Montorgueil market (2^nd arr. M: Châtelet-Les Halles). Somewhere between the pharmacie and the fruits et legumes I decided if I had two croissants, each from a different bakery, it would be research.

Le Compas d’Or

© 2012 Isabelle Vianu

My idea of a good croissant includes a flaky crust of course, but like Julia Child, I'm in the pro butter camp and prefer a croissant pur beure over a croissant ordinaire which contains margarine, tends to be flakier and is perceived as less “fat” and “less buttery” – as if that were an advantage. My favorite croissant has crunchy ends and when the croissant is pulled apart to expose the buttery middle, there is some elastic tension. The moist springy interior should have a sweet, buttery taste. The ratio of flour to butter varies tremendously from bakery to bakery and while I see no need to dwell on the fat content of a croissant let’s just say that the croissants at Stohrer probably have fewer carbs than those 

at the Boulangerie des Petits Carreaux at the northern end of the street, which for one block, is called rue des Petits Carreaux.

Au Rocher de Cancale

© 2012 Isabelle Vianu

Finding good coffee in a Parisian café is not as easy as one might think. The espresso can be watery and since Parisians are not milk drinkers, the milk used for café crème is often sterilized long shelf life milk in square cartons called briques. It’s the rare café that uses fresh milk. La rue Montorgueil has many cafés to choose from, but I find that the coffee at Le Compas d’Or , across from Stohrer, is quite good. They use Kimbo, a Neopolitain style espresso bean. The terrace is nice on those rare sunny days and on Sundays it provides the perfect perch for people watching, as does the newly restored and significantly hipper Au Rocher de Cancale.

 

Café Croissant

Stoher, 51 rue Montorgueil

Boulangerie des Petits Carreaux, 4 rue des Petits Carreaux

Le Compas d’Or, 62 rue Montorgueil

Au Rocher de Cancale, 78 rue Montorgueil

Paris iPad Apps

I’m neither a technie nor an Apple acolyte, but I love my iPad. It’s perfect for traveling and for tourism. Wireless access is improving in Paris all the time so you really don’t have to spring for a data plan. Since I don't have a data plan on my iPad, I especially appreciate apps that function off-line as well. Below are my picks for French language and Paris-specific iPad apps.

Le Français – Langue et Culture

*** 1) Larousse French-English dictionary ($5.99)

This replaces my Dictionnaire Hachette-Oxford CD-ROM which has no equivalent in the iPad app world and is not compatible with my new computer. (I tried the on-line subscription, but it is inaccessible off line and with the annual subscription fee of about $70, simply not worth it.)The Larousse dictionary works off line and has a voice function for pronunciation. It offers a fairly broad range of options for each entry and pretty much replicates the Hachette-Oxford experience. Now I just need to find a laptop version.

 

** 2) Google Translate (free)

This is a great online app. The translations aren't always perfect, but you can type in a word or sentence and have the translation read to you. You can make a list of frequently needed expressions, but unfortunately you do need to have a network connection in order for it to work.

*** 3) France Culture (free)

France Culture is part of the French state radio system. The app has a radio icon that you press and then select from six national radio stations on a round dial. France Info has round the clock news, sports and weather bulletins every fifteen minutes. Because of the repetition, it's a great resource for French language learners. France Bleu (regional radio), France Inter (general public radio), France Musique (classical music and discussion) and fip (jazz) are also options.

** 4) RFI & MCD (free)

Radio France Internationale airs in ten languages, including French, English and Arabic. The app provides access to live programming on RFI Monde (World) and RFI Afrique, music and the Journal en Français Facile/New in Easy French. “Easy” means that delivery is fractionally slower, the presenters enunciate clearly, there is greater repetition and perhaps more thought given to vocabulary choice, although the overall impression is not one of a learner’s version of the news. The web site provides a very helpful transcript of each newscast, unfortunately inaccessible from the iPad app. I give the app two stars because it doesn’t rotate, which shouldn’t matter since this is RADIO and I’m not looking at the screen, but still.

* 5) France 24 (free)

France24 is the French equivalent of CNN and broadcasts on TV and online in French, English and Arabic. I have problems viewing the video content, but the programming is good so I’m hoping that a future update will fix the bug so I’m not deleting it just yet.

6) Francetv info (free)

It appears that Yahoo news stories were the inspiration for this app. Today’s “top selections” are fascinating titles such as “Pourquoi le nouveau “Dallas” risque de faire un bide.”/“Why the new Dallas may be a flop ?”. Not worth the icon screen space. Delete.

Practical Paris – Daily Life and Tourism

* 1) RATP (free)

The RATP is the Paris transportation system for the métro, bus, RER and Tram lines. The maps can be consulted offline, which is useful. Route planning is possible although somewhat awkward and connectivity is required for most of the tasks.

The itinerary planner is not as effective on the app as on the ratp.fr site. Searches by name rather than address can be difficult. If you attempt to request an itinerary from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower, typing Louvre in the 'place' space, one of the options is the Collège Les Louvrais, a middle school in the Paris suburb of Pontoise. "Musée du Louvre" is the sixth suggestion.
Since you need to be connected for all but the most basic tasks, and the random mixing of French and English is not particularly helpful, it may be more helpful to go directly to the www.ratp.fr site, which has an English site button.

** 2) J'aime Paris ♥ "Free Paris" ($2.99)

Free and Frugal paris - Sutro Media

Free and Frugal Paris is written by Christopher Pitts, an American writer living in Paris. A dial in the upper left corner lets you filter for topics such as “Practical” “Picnics” and “Architecture” and very importantly “Wi-Fi Hotspots” which explains in detail how to connect to the free city wireless hotspots. 

The site offers a nice selection of low cost and free things to do and see in Paris off the beaten track. Each entry has a photo (or two or more), a description with address and telephone, and a map. If you touch the photo for an entry, a slideshow will start with multiple photos for that entry.

I don't care for his breakdown of Paris neighborhoods, although I see the reasoning. It would be useful to add the arrondissement number to each of the neighborhoods, for example, his section on the Louvre, located in the 1st, includes entries in the 1st, 2nd and 4th, well out of the neighborhood traditionally associated with the Louvre. There is a nice, detailed city street map and the app functions well off-line.

A very nice and friendly touch, one I haven’t seen on an app, is the space for comments and suggestions from users.

** 3) Fotopedia Paris (free)

This is great armchair travel. The photos are gorgeous and it’s enjoyable to just flip through them. Choose from a selection of 36 themed ‘stories’ from the ubiquitous ‘Paris with Kids’ (but with interesting entries such as the Bercy Kitchen Garden) to more unusual ‘Ceilings’ and ‘French Words’ (one of my favorites). Photos and interesting entries can be saved under “My trips”. After each mini slide show, you’ll be subjected to images from other Fotopedia publications, but they are so beautiful you find yourself dreaming of the next vacation rather being than annoyed by the intrusion.

*** 4) mPassport Paris ($0.99) – Doctors, Dentists, Pharmacies

This is an amazing app and one that travelers should have on hand. The drug glossary alone is worth the download. Drugs are listed with the generic and commercial names in the US and in Paris as well as the preparation types available. Emergency numbers are listed, along with Emergency Rooms and hospitals. A localization function tells you the address of the closest doctor, dentist, hospital or pharmacy. The doctor profiles list their training, languages spoken and you can even request an appointment online. The medical phrases and terms translator is very useful and there is a voice function, although mine doesn’t function and updating the application did not fix the problem.  

Paris Pratique II: Paris Layout

Paris intra muros (literally, within the city walls) is organized by arrondissement.  There are twenty of these administrative districts laid out in a snail pattern beginning with the Louvre and most of the Ile de la Cité in the 1^st arrondissement, spiraling around clockwise and ending midway through the third loop with the 20^th arrondissement at the north-eastern edge of Paris, abutting the Parc de Vincennes. Each arrondissement has its own city hall, or mairie which all coordinate with and report to the Mairie de Paris, located at the Hôtel de Ville in the 4^th. The Seine river runs through the city, further dividing the city into rive gauche (Left Bank) and the larger rive droite (Right Bank). This is not only a geographical division, there is also a historic ‘town and gown’ distinction with banking and business institutions traditionally located on the rive droite (town), and the universities, beginning with the Sorbonne in the 13^th century, on the rive gauche (gown).

Addresses are given with the street number, name and arrondissement, often including the closest métro station as well, e.g., 9 rue Malher, 4ème, M: St. Paul.  The 1^st-4^th, 8^th-12^th, and 16^th-20^th arrondissements are on the rive droite (Right Bank) and the 5^th-7^th, and 13^th-15^th arrondissements are on the smaller rive gauche (Left Bank).  Famous Left Bank neighborhoods are the Quartier Latin/Latin Quarter (M: St. Michel, 5^th), the historic university quarter centered around La Sorbonne and the elegant St. Germain des Prés (M: St. Germain des Prés, 6^th).  The Marais (M: Arts et Métiers, 3^rd and M: St. Paul, 4^th arrondissements), with its eclectic mix of garment district, gay nightlife and Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods; the Bastille area (M: Bastille, 4^th, 11^th, 12^th arrondissements) that fans out from the Place de la Bastille with its Colonne de Juillet, commemorating the July Revolution of 1830 and not the 1789 taking of the Bastille; and the Sacre Coeur church up in the old village of Montmartre (M: 18^th) are on the Right Bank. 

Streets are numbered beginning from the Seine.  On the Right Bank, the street numbers increase as you go north, or away from the Seine.  On the Left Bank, they increase as you go south, or away from the Seine.  On streets parallel to the Seine (generally east-west oriented), numbers increase following the current of the Seine towards the west.  Street numbers are even on the right and odd on the left as the numbers increase.

Asking for Directions: Où est _____? Où se trouve _____ ?

Parisians generally orient themselves in relation to the river and not in east-west terms. They will often point you in a general direction and suggest that you go for a while and then ask for directions again. A common reaction for American tourists is to ask a policeman for directions. This is almost always a bad idea, unless you just want to chat with a gendarme, because they generally are not from Paris and have been deposited on their street corner with little knowledge of the neighborhood. You’d be much better off asking someone with a rolling shopping cart, a parent with a young child in tow or an older person, all of whom are more likely know their way around the neighborhood. People who work in an area are often only familiar with their immediate surroundings. 

Paris par arrondissement

Quick overview of Paris arrondissements :

1er/1^st             The Louvre and the Palais Royal (M: Palais Royal), are located in

the western half of the district.  Les Halles (M: Châtelet-Les Halles), the former site of the city market and now a huge underground shopping center and métro and RER hub currently undergoing massive renovation occupies the eastern side of the district along with the Châtelet theaters and the western half of the Ile de la Cité where 13^th century Sainte Chapelle and the civil courts are located (M: Cité). 

2ème/2^nd        The lively Montorgueil market, pedestrian zone and fashionista hangout (M: Etienne Marcel), the financial district Paris Stock Exchange (M: Bourse) and the old Bibliothèque Nationale are here along with numerous 19^th century shopping arcades, or passages from the Galerie Vivienne to the Passage des Panoramas and the Grands Boulevards. The second district touches on the Place de l’Opéra (M: Opéra).

3ème/3^rd        Along with the 4ème arrondissement, this neighborhood makes up the Marais, a once swampy area drained in the 13^th century.  Home to the oldest Chinese community in Paris (rue au Maire, M: Arts et Métiers) and site of many 17^th century mansions,  quiet residential areas (along the rue de Bretagne with its covered Marché des Enfants Rouges), wholesale leather goods  and clothing shops, the Jewish Art and History museum, quirky shops.

4ème/4^th         The center of the Marais, this is a lively neighborhood with a strong alternative lifestyle scene as well as lots of trendy bars, shops, and restaurants. The rue des Francs-Bourgeois ends at the Place des Vosges, Paris’ oldest square.  The area around rue des Rosiers and rue Pavée, the Pletzel and hub of Jewish life in the years before World War II, retains its Jewish identity with kosher shops, a synagogue and yeshiva, within an eclectic jumble of cutting edge fashion and resale shops. Notre Dame and the Ile-Saint-Louis are also in the 4^th.

5ème/5^th         The fabled Latin Quarter. This neighborhood takes its name from the Sorbonne, where Latin was the common tongue for all students during the Middle Ages. There are many small cinémas along rue Victor Cousin and rue des Ecoles. Dance on the quais of the Port Saint Bernard near the Institut du Monde Arabe and the Jardin des Plantes. The rue Mouffetard, beginning with the Place de la Contrascarpe, retains its student atmosphere with many inexpensive restaurants, shops, student bars and cafés.

6ème/6^th         St. Germain des Prés. Once the hangout for bohemians and intellectuals, now filled with upscale boutiques and art galleries. Don’t miss: Rue Buci, Saint-André-des-Arts; rue du Four, rue de Rennes; Café Flore, Les Deux Magots, and of course the Jardin du Luxembourg, the beautiful gardens behind the French Senate. Nice children’s playground (small fee), ponies and puppets, and picnics.

7ème/7^th         The Eiffel Tower, Quai Branly, Musée d'Orsay, the Invalides with its grassy esplanade and military museum, the Rodin museum and gardens and the rue Cler market street are to be found in this very upscale neighborhood.

8ème/8^th         Home to one of the most famous avenues in the world, stroll down the Champs Elysées with everyone else and enjoy the show. The Parc de Monceau is worth a stroll, especially after a visit to the nearby house museums, Musée Nissim de Camondo or Musée Jacquemart-André. The Gare Saint-Lazare and the Eglise de la Madeleine, in the middle of scrumptious luxury food offerings, form the eastern border of the 8^th.

9ème/9^th         A diverse residential area popular among an artistic crowd. The Paris Opera and the Printemps and Galeries Lafayette Grands Magasins, or Department Stores, are located here. Farther North is the Place Pigalle, famous for its dancing halls, the Moulin Rouge and Les Folies Bergère. The Passage Jouffrey houses the Musée Grévin. The Olympia, is a well-known concert venue on the Grands Boulevards.

10ème/10^th     The two great train stations in Paris are here, the Gare de l'Est and the Gare du Nord. Rue du Faubourg Saint Denis is a great market street with restaurants and food vendors from Turkey, India, Pakistan, and African countries. Passage Brady is known for its Indian restaurants, the rue du Château d’Eau for its African hair dressers. The Canal Saint Martin offers a nice stroll, a drawbridge and swing bridge and hip cafés.

11ème/11^th      A lively area for evening entertainment on Rue de la Roquette and excellent Thursday and Sunday market at Richard Lenoir, beginning at the Place de la Bastille.

12ème/12^th      Place de la Bastille and the Opéra Bastille are found here. The Marché d’Aligre, the Viaduc des Arts and the Promenade Plantée which lead to the Bois de Vincennes, and Bercy Village along the river.

13ème/13^th      Residential Right Bank neighborhood, that includes the new Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF) as well as another Chinatown around Place d’Italie.

14ème/14^th     Montparnasse and the Cité Universitaire are found in this residential district traditionally known for its lively cafés and restaurants around the Blvd. du Montparnasse. La Coupole and Le Dôme are on the 14^th side.

15ème/15^th     This large primarily residential neighborhood ranges from very upscale in the area bordering the 7th arrondissement and the Seine, to more affordable in the more outlying areas. Numerous medical research institutes are here, near the Institut Pasteur and the Children’s Hospital, Necker Enfants Malades. The Parc André Citroën borders the Seine and the exhibition space at Porte de Versailles hosts giant food fairs like the Salon de l’Agriculture.

16ème/16^th     Bois de Boulogne, Trocadéro. Although it is not as exclusive as the 7th arrondissement, the 16th is widely regarded as the neighborhood for the wealthy. The Esplanade at the Palais de Chaillot (Place du Trocadéro) offers the best view of the Eiffel Tower.

17ème/17^th     Rien à signaler, abbreviated as R.A.S., meaning nothing to report or no comment.

18ème/18^th     Touristy Montmartre with the Sacre Coeur and the Place du Tertre, residential and artsy Montmartre at the Place des Abbesses, hidden Montmartre on Villa Léandre.

19ème/19^th     Parc de la Villette and the Cité des Sciences, Canal de l’Ourcq, the Parc des Buttes Chaumont.

20ème /20^th    Belleville and the Père-Lachaise cemetery (resting place of Jim Morrison and Molière). The area is becoming quite lively due to influx of many young residents who appreciate the relatively reasonable cost of living.