On to Italy, pt 2

 

Got to Nice in good order and my car was waiting.  It’s very cute (Peugeot 207CC hardtop convertible) but quite dirty from the rain.  I still don’t know quite how they do this but the car is new and registered to me as the owner.  I think there’s some advantageous tax deal (no VAT?).  Driving was a challenge particularly when I hit the evening rush around Genoa. On the radio I kept hearing “traffico  intenso” and it sounded as though it was all over the country. Overnight in Rapallo, Portofino’s overlooked big sister. Had a nice dinner with a most interesting dish – gnocchi neri – colored with squid ink.   Today, to Umbria.

On to Italy, part 1

 

Settled into the continental time zone, I head for Italy — Italia — I now need to start thinking, speaking in Italian.  Two days in France probably are not the best ways to prep but I have a hard time passing through this part of the world without visiting Paris. I’m surprisingly comfortable there.  I easily found the store that carried the items left on my flight.

 

Yesterday (5/29) consisted of a couple very long walks sandwiched around meals.  Lunch a L’Atelier de Joel Rubechon was somewhat disappointing.  The service in particular was indifferent and, worst of all, rushed. My plat arrived before I’d finished my entree. (Both were good – an egg poached in a cup atop some pureed herbs and topped with a tobiko speckled foam — quail with an herbed potato puree with a slice of summer truffle.)  At dinner, I dined with an internet-arranged companion who gave me an ex-pat’s view of Paris.  She chose the restaurant – Repaire de Cartouche – in the 11th Arr. I enjoyed getting away from dining rooms full of English-speaking tourists.  A chilled fish soup with a lobster base, full of flavor, along with a terrine of veal “en croute” started us off  My plat was a pork chop with the fat that would ordinarily be bacon (this wasn’t cured) attached.  Visually interesting, but it didn’t add much flavor.  We finished with a soup of rhubarb and strawberries.

 

Now I’m speeding on the TGV to Nice where I’ll collect my Peugeot convertible. My fellow travelers include a party of 8 French who are as noisy a bunch of magpies as any group of American tourists.  And nobody seems able to sit still. The Americans in the car are rather quiet.  Perhaps we’re tired. 

D+1 Paris

Well, I made it further than Ike did on D+1.  Aside from leaving some desirable but unessential items aboard the airplane,  the trip was on-time and uneventful.  Pleasant.  I found out you can take the Underground from Heathrow into London for 4 pounds instead of a 45 pound cab ride that takes just about as long. I found out you get a pretty nice meal with wine on the TGV from London to Paris (salad, chilled salmon with soba noodles, pickled onions and strawberry pot du creme) in first class.  It was certainly more interesting and creative than the Premium Economy meal on Virgin Atlantic.

The weather’s dicey but no rain and warm.  Great for walking.  And Paris might be one of the best walking cities ever. Language barrier aside, i think that I am more comfortable in Paris than in New York or L.A.

Ironic that I’m in the place where they laid Jim Morrison to rest.  I often think of his lyrics when travel from home — “People are strange when you’re a stranger.  Faces look ugly when you’re alone . . . .”  But that goes away after a couple of hours, even in France.  Many Americans carry around the idea that the French don’t like us, are rude, etc.  My experience is just the opposite.  Just as rudeness begets rudeness, friendliness begets friendliness.  I speak about 10 words of French and can stumble through a menu, but “s’il vous plait” and “merci” work wonders.

Dined at a little traditional place in the 5th Arr.  Le Petit Pontoise.  Very pleasant, only about 40 tables and even the American tourists spoke French.  I started with a very agreeable tuna carapaccio, followed with a magret de canard (duck the likes of which you only seem to get in France) and a simple cheese place.  All washed down with a ‘04 Cotes de Provence Rouge.  Got in a conversation with some Angelinos, walked back along the Seine and had a Calavados.  I definitely got further than Ike on D+1.  

D-day

With all the pre-planning, last-minute work and general chaos, I thought today would never get here.  And then it was here too soon.  Now the limo arrives in an hour.  So I have to dash this off and clean up to last all the way through until tomorrow evening when I arrive in Paris after a flight to London and the “chunnel” to France.  Sure the trip is to Italy but what better way to ease into a 5-week trip than a couple of days in Paris, cramming in fancy meals.

PS – Yes, you smarties looking at my header, I know there are no harbors in Umbria, but I don’t have any pictures from Umbria yet!  This is Monopoli in Perugia (thanks, Joan).

 

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