MyQuest | my thoughts on life's journey

Portland

Tuesday I flew to Portland, Oregon, where my friend Dan Morrow, an Episcopal priest, had invited me to give a presentation as part of his Philosophy and Faith Lenten lecture series.  I had never been to Portland, to Oregon, or to anywhere in the Great Northwest.  Which is why it was so much fun, after he picked me up from the airport, that we drove up the Columbia River Gorge.

The highest concentration of waterfalls on the North American continent is in this gorge, and we saw quite a few of them, including the stunning Multnomah Falls.  The Columbia is quite lovely, living up to one's expectations.  Though it was rather placid that day -- no "Roll on, Columbia, roll on."

We drove as far east as Hood River and stopped for a brewery tour.  When he learned that I'd never been to Washington state either, we crossed the river at Bridge of the Gods and spent a little time in Washington (state number 36 for me, with Oregon being 35).

The next day, my 39th birthday, I hung out with Toni McDowell, who also resides in Portland.  We went thrift store shopping, ate good food, and saw the theatre she works for.  My brunch that morning, at a place called Toast, was pork belly on a bed of Brussels sprouts and sweet potato with a duck egg on top.  Delicious.

That evening the presentation went very well, with around 70 people in attendance.  They had purchased a birthday cake for the occassion.  Afterwards Dan, his wife Theresa, and I went for Scotch.

Thursday was food, books, and art.  A Reggie at Pine State Biscuits, also very delicious, followed by Powell's Books.  I only bought ten books, mostly philosophy and religion.  Tasty fresh fish blue plate special at Jake's (with beer of course) followed by a Voodoo Donut.  Then we spent a little time in the art museum and took a peek inside the First Congregational Church across the street -- they have a fascinating Venetian-style tower unlike anything I've ever seen on a church.

For dinner we all went to Pok Pok, a fun, creative Vietnamese place most famous for their very hot chicken wings.

A relaxing final day in Paris and some observations

After the Musee de Cluny, we walked over to the Pantheon.  Tom had never been inside.  Rob and I both appreciated that it has been significantly improved with banners explaining who the people buried in the crypt are.

Then we sat in the Luxemburg Gardens and drank beer.

That night we returned that night for dinner at the Polidor.

A few final observations on this trip to Paris.

Paris itself felt more like New York to me than on previous visits.  By that I mean the big, active city and not just the pretty, romantic, historical, artsy place.  

The mix of people has grown even more diverse.

The fashion, while still being significantly better than America, has loosened up.  In 2000 most Frenchpeople were clad completely in black.  There was much more colour and casual wear this time.

They are smoking less.  Thank goodness.  The overall city is cleaner with every visit.

They also seem happier.  In 2000 Jennifer told me to quit smiling on the metro because French people didn't smile in public.  This time I saw much smiling and laughing.

Musee de Cluny

Room 14, on the second floor of the Musee de Cluny, and described in the guidebook as "Room of Paintings and Sculptures from the Late Middle Ages" was revelatory.  The guidebook said, "The sheer diversity of the materials, forms and themes of 14th and 15th century sculpture is amply illustrated in this room."

I have never seen medieval sculpture like what I saw there.  Nothing of that caliber either in skilled execution or in conveying emotion.  Normally medieval work appears flat, but these were fully developed characters.  There were also a number of figures displaying joy or delight, moreso than what one recollects of most medieval sculpture.  [Note: I didn't take pictures of much of it.  Not sure it would have been well-captured.]

Sacre Couer

In 1995, Mom and I separated from our group in order to go see Sacre Couer.  We made the mistake, however, of exiting at the wrong Metro stop.  The one we picked had an incredible number of steps up.  We were exhausted when we made it to the street.  Then, we approached the church from the side, and only saw more steps.  Halfway up those, Mom said, "What is the name of this mountain?"  "The mountain of the martyrs."  "Now I know why."  When we got to the top, we saw the funicular.

In 2000 I got there the correct way, and after touring the church visited the artists' square behind it, where I bought a little painting of poppies and had a nice chat with the artist.

This time we visited the church and walked down Montmarte.

It was my favourite visit to the church.  This time I understood more of the art and iconography than on my previous visits (you can't take pictures inside).  I particularly enjoyed the images in the mosaic above the chancel.  For instance, a dragon crouches beside St. Martha.  Only a couple of years ago did I encounter the story of Martha as a dragon-tamer.

Rob and Tom enjoyed my explanation of church, and said that they appreciated it more than they ever had because of this.  Rob also said it confirmed his longstanding opinion that Sacre Couer, unlike many of the other churches in Paris, is propogandistic for the Catholic Church while also seeming very pagan.

After visiting the church, we drank some beer in an Irish pub, enjoyed Artists' Square, walked down the twisting streets, ate lunch, and went by the Moulin Rouge.  We then traveled back to the Opera neighborhood, where we did some shopping.

Absinthe

It was the best piece of beef I've ever eaten.  Here's the story.

 

That Tuesday night in Paris we wondered around looking for a place to dine.  Tom had gone to the grocery store earlier in the day and said when he returned, "There are a number of restaurants north of us.  We should go that way tonight."  So, we did.  For Rob, who has stayed at the same hotel over 50 times, the restaurants a few blocks north were a surprise, new to the area since he had last wandered that way.

We just couldn't seem to pick any place, and finally were lured in by the menu of a place called Absinthe.  And boy were we glad.

I don't remember what the other guys had, but I selected the Grilled Prime Rib-Black Angus.  It came with Baby potatoes and garlic confit.  

As I wrote at the opening, it was simply the best piece of beef I've ever eaten.   It was so tender, it melted in my mouth.  And the flavour!  I said to our excellent waiter Sylvain, "This is the best beef I've ever had, and I'm from the Great Plains.  We know beef!"  He smiled a devilish smile.

As we neared the end of our main course, the table behind us ordered absinthe itself, and we decided that we must do the same.  I'd never had it before, but really enjoyed it.

Then, we ordered dessert.  I had the home made ice creams and sorbets.

Afterwards we all agreed it was the best meal we'd had in Paris.  Tom kept saying it was among the best meals he'd ever had.  I agreed.

Strolling along in the Left Bank

After leaving the d'Orsay, we spent the bulk of the day walking along in the Left Blank, mostly down Rue St. Germain du Pres, taking in the sites, sounds, and tastes of the city.

We lunched in a sidewalk cafe filled with young people.  Fun people watching (and overlistening) there.  

We stopped in the church of St. Germain du Pres.  It obviously has not experienced the restoration that other churches have.

I popped into this great chocolate shop, and Rob and I both spent some money.

We were headed for a cheese shop that Rob had heard about.  He bought a lot of cheese.

We then began heading back toward our hotel, stopping to look at St. Severin on the way.

There is a satisfied look on my face in this picture, taken in a garden across from Notre Dame.

They Glow

We walked into the newly redesigned galleries exhibiting the Impressionists and were amazed.  "They look backlit," Rob said.  And they did.  Eventually we determined that there was a new lighting technology being used.  Each painting had three separate, very different lights directed at it.  Each fixture emitted a slightly different colour of light.  Together they had the feel of natural sunlight.  

The paintings seemed to glow.  

If you've seen these masterworks before, but not in this light, then you've got to see them again.  They are a completely new revelation.

The entire Musee d'Orsay has not been redesigned like this, but a handful of other galleries have been (and have, thus, been moved around).  The Van Gogh in particular benefit from the new lighting.

For Rob and I, the new lighting of these paintings was the second best part of the trip.

Le Petit Prince

That Monday night in Paris, we went to dinner at Le Petit Prince, a favourite of both Rob's and Tom's.  Typical for Americans, we arrived after 7 and were still the first diners to arrive.  We had a cocktail to begin the evening's festivities.

For the first course, I had Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup with hazelnuts, smoked duck, and ricotta.  

Tom had Zucchini and Sea Scallop Flan with toasted spice bread.

And Rob had Tapas of lightly marinated Foie Gras and smoked Duck Magret (with mango, black radish, arugula, and green asparagus).

For the main course, I had Duck Magret with shallots and wild mushrooms, potato and bacon brochette.

Tom had Noisette of Lamb, red pepper sauce, green olive tapenade.

And Rob had Turbot Steak and zucchini slivers, Monbazillac sauce.  

Dessert was Three Mousses (dark chocolate, white chocolate, coffee).

We walked home across Pont Neuf.

The Louvre

On the Monday morning of our trip, we finally went to the Louvre.  The French holiday weekend was over and the lines weren't as long.

We'd all been to the Louvre before, so we didn't feel the need to spend all day or tire ourselves out.  We'd focus on some things we hadn't seen before, and a few favourites.

There is a new exhibit on Islamic Art, and that is where we headed first.  The area has been built in a courtyard.  The roof is undulating and suggests sand or tents.  The exhibits are very contemporary, suggesting what the 21st century Louvre will be like.  There were multi-media maps spread throughout the exhibit which illustrated the history of Islam and the successive waves of conquest from Central Asia.  

We spent a few hours going carefully through it.  Afterwards Rob said he had learned more about Islam than he ever had before.  One of the things we discussed afterwards was that almost none of the art came from Arabia; that has not historically been a culture center of Islam.

Before lunch I ran through some favourite galleries in order to look again at some favourite paintings.

After lunch we went through the archaeological area where you can see some of the old medieval parts of the Louvre.  Tom had never been through it before, and I had, but not all of it (which I didn't realize).  

Then, Rob took us to see his favourite sculpture.  On the way there we went through some ancient near eastern art, including discoveries from Ugarit and Mari.  We also saw the stele with the Code of Hammurabi.

Rob's favourite sculpture looks as if it comes alive at night.  

Then we stood at a window and watched the rain.

Let's make it a stained glass day

While we were in the Basilica of Sant Denis, the sun had come out, fortunately.  As we left, I said, "Let's make it a stained glass day and go to San Chapelle."  I did not make the famous chapel on either of my previous visits.  In 2000 it was overcast much of the time.  We had been having overcast skies this trip, so it seemed good to go now that we had sunlight and time to spare.

Unfortunately half the chapel is covered over, as its windows are being restored.  And, by the time we made it, we only had direct sunlight on half of the wall.  All this means that I must return sometime, probably during the summer, when there is bright sunlight bathing the building.

This chapel was built by Saint Louis to house the holy relics -- a piece of the cross and the crown of the thorns.  It is a jewel box.

After the visit we enjoyed beer at a cafe across the street.