A walk on boulevard Haussman and the Tuileries Gardens

May 17, 2019 — Day 8 (Friday)

The Musée d’Orsay web site said our Orsay tickets were good for eight days tor a free non-guided visit to the Garnier Opera so this morning we took Metro #7 to Opera and wandered around until we found the well-hidden entrance. When we presented our Orsay tickets for free entry, they tried to charge us 16 euros. We questioned it and they said it was not free but a four euro discount so we decided not to visit the Opera. It’s supposed to be beautiful but we didn’t feel like validating false advertising. If we want to see it, it will be there for a while and it would be more fun to attend an opera.

Ed wanted to walk down blvd. Haussman so we walked over and started down the boulevard. Stopped in the Boutique Comtesse du Barry at 13 blvd. Haussman to buy some souvenirs. We came to the Passage des Princes, a galerie, and went in to photograph a gorgeous dome then continued on to the Galerie des Variétés that connects to the Passage des Panoramas with restaurants and philatalists shops. We took pictures and continued on what had become blvd. Montmartre. Looked at menus along the way but nothing appealed. Then I looked down a side street and saw a sign for Chartier and remembered our landlady had recommended it so we walked over and checked their menu which looked good.

The restaurant was Le Bouillon Chartier and is sort of a communal and first-come first-served Paris tradition. You share tables, bread and water and order your own meal and wine. We were seated at the end of a table for eight beside a son taking his father out to lunch. Ed got the confit de canard and I got the eleven euro special of museau de porc vinaigrette, colin and moelleux de chocolat. Ed got red wine and I got white to go with my fish. Both meals were excellent; the place was packed; service was outstanding and the company fun. We had a great time . . . a neat Paris experience. [Le Bouillon Chartier, 7 rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 75009 Paris; +33 (0)1 4770-8629] Click here for the Bouillon Chartier Restaurant web site

After lunch we continued on to Galerie Vivienne where they were painting and it looked completely different from our last visit in 2012. We walked on to the Jardin du Palais Royal and found a double chair by the fountain and relaxed as the sun tried to come out. As it got warmer, we walked on through the Buren Columns, past the goofy Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre Metro station to the Tuileries. We were horrified to discover the area between the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the gardens is now full of touts selling little Eiffel Towers and other tourist junk. It used to be a nice place to get photos of the Obelisk, Arc de Triomphe and Grand Arche de la Defense lined up. No more; it’s a busy, trashy mess where you watch your wallet and are harassed by vendors. Fortunately they haven’t invaded the gardens that are as lovely as ever. We found a bench and watched people and ducks until we saw storm clouds approaching. We walked back to the Metro going around the side to miss the sales force. It worked and we were soon on a very crowded #7 Metro to home.

Stopped at the apartment to get our grocery bag and walked down to Franprix to get cereal, orange juice, pears and cookies, then over to “our” boulangerie for bread. They recognized us. Funny . . . we are regulars.

Had a pleasant French picnic and are still waiting for the rain.