Shopping, Reprise

Sometimes we amateur golfers have the opportunity to play in an event called a "pro-am", in which amateur golfers play alongside professionals.  In most cases, the overwhelming sensation on the part of the amateur is something along the lines of "Wow, he sure does that differently from the way I do it."  Today I felt like I was the amateur shopper in the company of two professionals.

I mentioned a few days ago meeting Guylaine (pronounced ghee-LANN) at our local hangout.  She was attracted by Anita's hat, and when we struck up a conversation, she recommended a guided shopping tour, which happened today.  These two ladies are cut out of the same cloth.  They have similar tastes, similar budgets, and the ability to spot beauty tucked into a corner of drab normality.  Before our seven-hour excursion had ended, they were like this:

 

I mentioned a couple of other famous department stores earlier.  Today we started with Bon Marché, which is also big; but instead of attracting the tourist crowd, it attracts wealthy locals.  Consequently, it was not nearly so crowded.  Part of the business, but operating under its own name, La Grand Epicierie (The Big Grocery) was the best grocery store ever.  Before I learned that photos were not welcome, I snagged this look at their wine cellar.  After an hour walking around the department store we returned to the epicerie, picked up some cheese, bread, cherries, yogurt, and "tarama".  The tarama revealed how similar the three of us are.  Guylaine pointed at some hummus and said, "Have you had this?".  I said "Yes."  She then pointed at some tzatziki (for greek salads) and we repeated the exchange.  Finally she pointed at the tarama and asked the same question.  I said "No" and she picked that up and put it in the basket.  Not even a  "Would you like to try it?".  I think she knew that we were both up for something new and different.  And for those of you who haven't had it, tarama is a paté whose main ingredient is salmon roe.  Try it sometime and let me know what you think.

After enjoying our little picnic at a nearby park that she frequented, we went off to some of the less-traveled streets in the St. Germaine district, making our way to Les Deux Magots (The Two Figurines, named after a couple of statuettes that figure in its history) where we had coffee and pretended to hang out with the likes of Hemingway, Sartre, Picasso, Joyce, and Camus, who used to be regulars.  (We confess--neither Anita nor I were particularly thrilled with Woody Allen's recent Midnight in Paris, but we've decided to see it again and see if it resonates better this time).

Finally, something very amusing about Paris (I can't say it isn't done elsewhere, but I've only seen pictures like this from Paris).  It may come as no surprise that there are Parisians with money who dislike ugliness.  Scaffolding is ugly.  When you combine those two observations, sometimes you get novel solutions to a necessary problem.  Here, the remodeling on the Opera Gallery is being conducted behind a skin that not only hides the scaffolding, but gives the passersby a preview of what the finished product will look like.  We saw two examples today, but this was easily the most compelling.  It is an example of trompe l'œil, an art technique that tries to fool the eye into seeing something that isn't there.

I think we're done with shopping.  We have five full days left, and are in the miscellaneous section of our visit.  We still have to hear the organ at St. Sulpice, see the Paris beaches, and experience Paris at night.  Wish us luck.