Monday, October 22, 2012







Angus trots along happily to a number of exhibitions. The Raphael exhibition in the Louvre, Hair and Trinkets in the Branly ( did you know that until a hundred years ago it used to be common to weave the hair of a dead family member into a ring or a bracelet ?), a new art gallery at the Porte de Pantin.  However, an exhibition on Impressionism and Fashion is one cultural step too far. Long ago this ageing Calvinist worked out that anything that has the words creative dance, improvisational theatre or fashion in the title should be avoided. 'The font' makes a half hearted effort to chivvy me on - "You'll enjoy it " - before muttering something about travelling with a grizzly bear and giving up. Some visits are best undertaken alone.  After an expensive cup of tea in Mariage Freres and an unscheduled trip into a butchers to ask about the melon de poulet Orloff in the shop window it's time to head off to the Scottish Pub.

For a moment Angus wonders what the French make of the sign on the front door that says '' Crivens awa ... and bile yer heed ye big mealie puddin ". The barman speaks French with a near impenetrable Kirkintilloch brogue. ' Bonjour Pal . Whi canna ger ya ? " He's happy to meet a fellow countryman.Soon the widescreen television is on,  the Rugby channel tuned in and  a pint of Bellhaven freshly poured. Angus is in heaven. Outside it rains. Barman and customer agree that it's as wet as Dunoon in February

Dinner in a restaurant with the unlikely name of Pamela PoPo. We're 'walk ins' but they quickly find us a table. Our French must be improving. The waiters treat us as equals , or if not as equals at least with limited disdain. Afterwards to La Perla to watch serious American students on a semester at the Sorbonne try to convince their visiting girlfriends that this is where the worlds best martinis are served. The cosmopolitan American girls , by and large, look unimpressed.


Scots smoked salmon in a fishmongers window. $65 a pound at todays exchange rate.

15 comments:

  1. We'd be skipping the salmon.

    Love the signs.

    XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy

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  2. Definitely not what I pay for Salmon!
    Could you pass on the explanation about the melon de poulet Orloff for us all too?
    Glad the trip went well despite the cramped accommodation :)

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  3. Interesting flag on the Shetland Salmon. Swedish?

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    1. Well spotted. I went in to ask. It's the Shetland flag. One lives and learns.

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  4. All sounds like great fun!
    I get the rest, but what is 'Drookit'?
    Have a great day.
    Teena & Merlin
    x

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  5. And how was the hotel room? That's what inquiring minds want to know!

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  6. Oh mealie pudding! My dad used to eat that all the time, haven't had it in years! That's a rather expensive salmon isn't it? I like the part of the sign that claims the sun is oot. My grandfather always used to say, don't shed a cloot till May is oot....I guess that's when the sun comes oot! ;)

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  7. A diverse and international experience. Love the Scottish pub.

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  8. wow. you've captured the cool autumn greyness of paris perfectly. i can almost feel it.
    and i've never been there! lol. the closest i ever got was old calais. not nearly the charm!
    in your last post . . . couldn't help thinking what a great title for a book . . .
    'the last room in paris.' still waiting for the book that's in you!
    hey. and speaking of books. your finding your homeland's pub and watching rugby with the barkeep made me wonder if you've ever read any of the 'hamish macbeth' series by m.c. beaton. they're WONDERFUL!!!
    i like her agatha raisin series too. but hamish is set in scotland and he's a village police constable.
    he is delightful in every way. and they're usually pretty good mysteries too!
    hugs,
    tammy j

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  9. Something for both of you to enjoy. Sounds like a fine time.
    Mourning jewelry; very interesting subject. Really no different than hair in a locket, but still seems a bit unsettling. Probably no more than today's "LifeGem", a precious stone created from a lock of hair or cremated remains of your dear departed family member or pet.

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  10. I'm glad you found your 'oasis' in the middle of Paris when you needed it!

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  11. You sure are having a true Paris experience...a little bit of everything good, interesting and absurd.
    Loved the pub sign....really cute.
    Fine dining at Pamela PoPo .....what more could one ask for??

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  12. Such a funny evening - have an american journalist visiting and his after shave has some musk in it to the delight of the puppy who is clinging to his leg - both proceed like this through the house. Tomorrow he will not use that alluring smell... he promised. The South Italian gang

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