Tapestries and a wonderful trip to Sète

It's been a few days since our last blog.  Last Thursday, June 2, we went for a run, did a Montorgeuil market visit, had a fallafel at L'As du Fallafel for lunch, walked over to the left bank and had a late afternoon drink at Chez Julien on the right bank, facing the Seine.  Quiet day for us.

Friday was a busy day.  We walked down to Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins, the royal tapestry factory located in the 13th arrondissement.  The tapestry factory, founded in 1662, was named after a dyer (Jean Gobelin), who owned the site.  There was a special exhibit called L’Éclat de la Renaissance italienne (the Splendor of the Italian Renaissance)/ Tissages d’après Raphaël, Giovanni da Udine, Jules Romain.  There were about 20 tapestries from the 16th and 17th centuries, previously part of Louis XIV's  collection.  Two tapestries woven for the Medici family were included in the exhibit.

I was able to take pictures of the amazing tapestries, the colours of many surprisingly enduring.

Entrance to Les Gobelins

Poster of show

Ceramic

After our visit to Les Gobelins, we walked up Rue Mouffetard (one of the oldest market streets) and had a delightful lunch at La Salle a Manger.

Large salad we shared for lunch

It was a beautiful warm day, so we walked back to the right bank and I had a kir violette at Pere et Fils, a bar on Rue Montmartre.

Toby with kir violette

We then had my cousin Anna (from Sète) over for an apero and then went out to dinner down the street.

Saturday June 4 was the hottest day so far in Paris - 29C.  After doing some errands and wandering around the north Marais, we walked over to Ile St- Louis to have some sorbet at Berthillon, the famous ice-cream maker.  Lots of people out and about.

Line up for ice cream at Berthillon

A budding artist?

After a short walk, we headed back to Brasserie de l'Ile St -Louis for a colourful lemonade with syrup.

Menthe

Citron

Later that evening we met Pat and Peter, who had just arrived in Paris after walking for 11 days from Orleans to Poitier.  During our drinks at Les Deux  Magots, we heard thunder and lightening and just made it home before a heavy downpour.

Toby, Pat and Peter

Sunday June 5, we woke up early to catch the 7:20 TGV (fast train) to Sète to visit my cousins Karen and Daniel.  We arrived just after 11:00 a.m.   Sète is 800 km from Paris, and it only took 3 1/2 hours to get there.  Ah, if only we had such a fast train in the Windsor-Montreal corridor.

Sète is a port town, home to oyster and mussel beds, canals and a long sandy beach.  It is a major fishing port, with a population of around 40, 000.  The area, which is very close to Spain, has its own language- occitan, and many regional specialties.

View of Sete from a lookout on the hill

My cousins live in the former summer home of Daniel's parents - a wonderful cottage-like home with a huge terrace, garden and a studio for Daniel, a well-known French artist.  It is located on the Sète hill, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

View from the terrace of their garden and the Mediterranean Sea

The terrace and room where we stayed

Toby and Karen in the garden

Our first lunch

Daniel, Karen and Toby

The weather cleared in the afternoon and we went for a long walk on the beach.  Dinner, which is a lighter meal in the south, was fish soup, salad and fruit.

The beach

On Monday, we had beautiful weather.  Karen drove us to the beach, where Alain ran on the promenade.  His running counter had slipped from km to miles, and he ended up doing a record 7 miles (11.2 km) run (Alain's Sète marathon).  I took a more leisurely hour walk.  

Marathon man

We then went to Bouziques, a nearby town, and had a wonderful lunch of oysters, clams, crevettes, and squid pie right near the water at a restaurant called La Tchep.

Daniel and Karen and the oysters!

The oysters

Karen, Alain and I then went to the beach where Karen and I braved the cool water for my first swim of the season.  Home to a delicious boudin blanc with courgettes and potatoes.  

Tuesday June 7 was a coolish cloudy day.  We went to the market with Karen to get food for the dinner party Karen and Daniel were hosting that evening.  We bought wine from her neighbour's kiosk.

Toby and Karen checking the fish

Wonderful fresh fish

You lookin' at me?

We walked around the neighbourhood in the afternoon, had a nap, and then a wonderful fish meal with three American expats, a Doctor, anthropologist and virologist- all interesting and lovely people.

   The dinner party

On Wednesday June 8, we went to the weekly outdoor market.  The fruits and vegetables were just gorgeous--- abricots especially, were very sweet and flavourful.

Spectacular vegetables and fruits

In the afternoon, the weather cleared again and we took one last walk on the beach before heading to the train station.   It was a wonderful, relaxing trip with a great chance to catch up with family.

Karen and Daniel

Thursday June 9 was a "recovery day"- a morning run, food shopping, walking and then resting-a cool, cloudy day in Paris.