My daddy loves Chartier - me, not so much...

...when Mama came to grad school to study French Literature in the 1980's, her friend led her to Chartier and ordered her "rognons à la moutarde". Jet-lagged and hungry, she barely realized she was eating kidneys.
When Mama brought Daddy here to Paris for the first time in the late 1990's, she took him to Chartier. He ordered snails. Now, we all know that Daddy loves a bargain and he's not always that particular about food. So the combination of snails for a few francs (it was before the Euro), the beauty of the interior of the place and the finest details of both the service and the history had Daddy hooked for life. My parents make everyone go there - even if sometimes, the food really isn't so great.

We went the other night: Creed & me, Mama, Gillian & Manu. We walked from our apartment past the rue Montorgueil and near the garment district where Mama used to go to design school. Creed & I were so exhausted - the grown-ups always tell us it's not far but Creed can see how far we really have to go and then I can tell by how much he complains. We had a fun walk but both of us had to be carried a bit.



Everyone was in a good mood even though our dinner was eaten at breakneck speed - I refused to sit down because it was too noisy and ate my chicken standing up. I also made friends with the people at the next table, as is the style of Chartier. But overall, it really wasn't my kinda place - maybe when I am older and can appreciate the craziness. Or maybe if the waiters would scribble our orders in Braille on the paper tablecloths!


BUT, the crepes on the street after dinner were fantastic! I am hooked...

A visit with Niki Saint Phalle & skeletons...

...yesterday started as a dreary Sunday, but it was our first day waking up in our own apartment - merveilleuse! We're on the 3eme étage sans ascenseur (that's the 4th floor american without an elevator) - it makes me so happy because I love to climb steps. You enter the apartment and immediately go down a beautiful flight of those curved old wooden steps with one of those gorgeous old Parisian railings. I can play on those steps whenever I want to and Mama doesn't have to worry about me because I have perfect balance. At the bottom of the steps is a small entry/office - Creed likes to work on his projects there. I then walk into a long kitchen with a small bathroom with a shower on the right and a nice sunny window that looks out on the street at the end of the room. (I hope you are all closing your eyes as you read this and try to imagine discovering our apartment from my perspective.) At the window/wall, turn left into the salon...there's a table, 2 comfy couches (Gillian sleeps on one) and a desk with a computer. Sometimes we watch TV, but usually we just hear French radio. Then, there's a bedroom with a queen size bed - that's where I sleep with Creed & Mama. Each room has windows that can open onto the street and give us all of the fresh air, noise of the morning and sunny days that we need. So lovely...

But one of the best parts of our home is the location, we are 2 blocks from the Centre Pompidou and the fun fountain of Niki Saint Phalle. Yesterday while Creed & Giilian took the métro to Denfert and waited in a horrendous line to see the skeletons of the Catacombes (Mama had already done that years before),



I decided we should ride every escalateur (escalator) at the Pompidou and climb every flight of steps. It's fun to do 'cuz if you don't go into see any expos, it's free. And then the best part was when Mama surprised me with the huge Stravinsky fountain. It whirred, it splashed, it groaned and I could feel the water. It's located in a big retangular pool with rounded edges and surrounded by a continuous stainless steel bench. I sat and let my hand dip into the water and I listened. Then I did the perimeter of the fountain on my own - oh, so many times. I was so confident at the end and of course, wouldn't let Mama help me. What a day...


I was so tired but Mama made me walk home and I did really well on the street with my cane. Manu came over and we all went to Chartier for dinner. Mama used to eat there a lot when she was a poor student and it's my Dad's favorite restau before it's unpretentious and old but it's crazy & noisy and sometimes the food isn't great. Mama, Gillian and Manu had to drink a bottle of Bordeaux very quickly because Creed and I were impatient. Giant crêpes for dessert and home on the métro because we (Creed & I) were too tired to walk...