Cousins, Calories and Great Fun
Bonjour mes amis,
Amid a gray and slightly rainy Paris, Pierre and Laurie arrived by train right on time, and the rest of our day was busy! We had reservations for lunch at Café Lepérouse in the Hôtel de la Marine at La Place de la Concorde. The lunch was so much better than the first time we ate there weeks ago followed by a 2-hour tour through the museum. We all ordered the same thing for lunch, not the Croque Monsieur!
Before the tour of the museum, here’s a little history. The Hôtel de la Marine was built between 1757 and 1774 and was originally called Place de la Louis XV with a facade by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, the First Architect to the king and designer of this famous square. It originally belonged wholly to the Crown and housed a chapel, library, stables and many apartments. With the relocation of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in 1789 to the the palace which is now the Louvre, it housed the Navel Ministry.
The interior was designed by Jacques Gondouin, inspired by Piransei, and became an important step forward in 18th century taste. After France fell in June, 1940, the navel forces of Nazi Germany set up headquarters until 1944. The building housed the French naval staff until 2015 when renovation began. The rest of the block is the very lovely Hotel Crillon. This is undoubtably one of the best views in all of Paris.
You’re about to see ornate furnishings on par with Versailles, beautiful doors, and in-laid wooden floors that were breathtaking. Hope you enjoy.
Dinner for the evening was at the brand new Cheval Blanc hotel next to Le Samaritaine. There are several restaurants and we chose Le Tout-Paris with a view that was unfortunately marred by the rain. The food and service were superior.
Check out all the comments about the Christo project on Monday’s blog. Seems we have a love/hate thing going on.
Still raining today…what a shame but we will be runnin’ and gunnin’.
À bientôt
L & B
September 15, 2021 @ 11:05 am
I was not aware of this museum and have been to many around the city over the years. Thanks for the information. We will try and see it in a few weeks.
September 15, 2021 @ 2:28 pm
It has only been open about a month! So, yes, I hope you get a chance to see it. A few mistakes on my blog. After Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette left Versailles, they did not move to Le Lourvre but to the Palais de la Tuileries where the garden is today. It was destroyed, burned down actually, according to Bernie’s cousin, Laurie. The current Hotel de la Marine was a series of ateliers or workshops for artisans and a place to store furniture, not ever a residence. I need to do some more research. Time was short this morning.
September 15, 2021 @ 12:31 pm
I hope you have another good family get together. You always seem to have a good time.
September 15, 2021 @ 2:03 pm
The pictures were stunning. I could focus simply on the floors for a long time! The French do know how to “ do it up” as we say in the South. Enjoy those cousins. Treasured time.
Nancy Colin
September 15, 2021 @ 2:35 pm
We are planning to be in Paris in May 2022 (we live in Florida). Could you inform us about how much your lunch and dinner cost? Also, might you consider a list of your favorite places to eat from casual (inexpensive) to very nice (not exorbitant).? We are new subscribers and are most definitely enjoying your blog.
September 15, 2021 @ 4:04 pm
So delighted to have you reading along. I can best answer your questions by recommending my book “Bernie’s Paris” available on Amazon. Of course, things change over time as the book came out in 2016, but basically the information still holds true. I will say that lunch at a local cafe used to be about 40-45 euros. Now it’s more like 50-60. If you leave off the wine, you can go cheaper, but Bernie will never do that!!
September 15, 2021 @ 4:50 pm
thank you.
September 15, 2021 @ 7:06 pm
In 1871, in the midst of the Franco-Prussian War, 12 arsonists set the palace aflame. 48 hours later, about 90% of the palace was in smoldering ruins. In 1883, it was decided to tear it down.
September 15, 2021 @ 8:00 pm
Thanks for the info!!! It takes a village to get it all correct!
September 16, 2021 @ 3:22 am
What a beautiful luxurious palace! My mind is always brought back to all the servants needed to maintain that level of opulence. The maids who managed the bath. The ones who changed the bedding and made the beds each day. The ones who cooked served and cleaned up from the amazing dinners! The poor little maids tasked with polishing the silver and washing and drying the glass ware! The ones who swept, mopped and waxed all those luscious parquet floors! Not to mention the groundskeepers, the gardeners and the stable hands ! It goes on and on, all for the maintenance of the royalty who occupied these glorious dwellings. I revel in the beauty and at the same time can’t help but envision the invisible throng that maintained it all. Glad it has been preserved for us to see and overwhelmed by the inequality of wealth.
September 16, 2021 @ 3:49 am
Juste poisson ordinaire? 🙂
September 16, 2021 @ 3:48 pm
I think it was some kind of trout.