Day 4: Architecture and the bunny

After the wonderful dinner at Le Temps de Cerises we slept late-ish and enjoyed a quiche made by one of my companions for breakfast, a meal I don’t usually eat. It was made with Comte cheese from Laurent Dubois’ shop and smoked bacon from a Left Bank butcher. Fabulous. We had some berries and good Eric Kayser bread as well and mediocre coffee.

Then there was some sight-seeing planning for the next couple of weeks, and I decided to start at the Pavilion d’Arsenal (above) on the Boulevard Morland (4th) which houses a history of Parisian architecture and city planning. Free admission. Steps from the Sully-Morland Metro.

The second floor offered an exposition that offered a deep analysis, in remarkable detail, of Baron Hausmann’s transformation of Paris. This being a French museum exhibit, it was a little read-heavy and look-short, but all the exhibits were in English as well. I learned a lot, but the level of detail could be overwhelmed.

The first floor’s permanent collection displayed a massive display of Parisian (and Ile de France) architecture and city planning dating back centuries but much more focused on the last 100 years. Again, lots to read but lots of really cool photos and maps.

Verdict? If you are really interested in architecture, yes, absolutely. And it’s free. There’s also a cool statue of the French poet Arthur Rimbaud in the park across the street.

I went shopping for some things for the flat – Badoit water, bathroom supplies, and wine (Lillet Rose, Lillet white, Bordeaux, two bottles of Loire red, a bottle of Aligote, sharp white from Burgundy).

Then I skipped lunch – well, I had a ham sandwich from a supermarket and a 51 pastis – to go along with a friend on a shopping expedition for tonight’s dinner. We got very good coffee (yay!) at The Caféothèque of Paris, Faillot mustard, the best Dijon there is, at Izrael, a specialty shop of exotic foods; produce at various supermarkets, a bottle of 51 pastis, and a whole rabbit (head and all) from a spectacular butcher shop, Boucherie Gardil. My aunt, cousin and sister would have been appalled at the head. It did say whole rabbit (lapin) and that is what we got!

Regrettably, I was feeling oddly poor when we returned from shopping and even more poorly thereafter and fell asleep. I woke up in time for a spectacular dinner of rabbit a la moutard, dilled carrots, Kayser’s country bread, pate de campagne, buttered radishes and a 2013 Chambolle-Musigny from the remarkable winemaker Ghislaine Barthod’s domaine.

Unfortunately whether it was nap hangover or a stomach upset from rumbling with no lunch or something, I could hardly enjoy the dinner. I had a piece of rabbit in a miraculous sauce, a couple of carrots, a few radishes and a small glass of wine, which was harmonious, smooth, berry-esque and luscious. But I had no appetite for more – sadly.

I did recover enough to have a glass of Lillet Rose out along the Seine where we watched the Eiffel Tower lights and chatted for a while and felt better, suddenly – very strange. Suddenly hungry, I had some of that Kayser country bread, dense and crusty, a tart and creamy lemon tartelette, and some well-aged Crottin de Chavingol (goat from the Loire) cheese to make up for such a small dinner, and then went to bed.

Pavilion de Arsenal

21 Boulevard Morland, 75004 Paris

http://www.pavillon-arsenal.com/en/

The Caféothèque of Paris

52 Rue de l'Hôtel de ville, 75004 Paris

Boucherie Gardil

44 Rue Saint-Louis en l'Île, 75004 Paris