Islands in the Seine

/ Greg / Leave a comment

A grey, slightly chilly March morning was a perfect backdrop for some wandering around Île de la Cité and Île Saint-Louis. I love Paris, and maybe it’s unfair to say this given how spectacularly beautiful Paris is, but those two islands and the views from both are, for me, quintessential Paris. So this will be a bit of a love letter in photographic form to the Seine and one of my favourite locations in the city of lights.

The Seine

Love letter might be the right term – especially on the Pont Neuf where so many have placed a “love lock” on this bridge.

Love locks on Pont Neuf

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There’s more than wine

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In the days leading up to leaving for France, the most common question asked of me was some variation on “How many wines are you going to try over two weeks?” No one asked me if I was excited to sample some French craft beers. While I have almost built entire trips around craft beer tastings, you just don’t do that in France. You could. Not that there isn’t an ample and growing beer community, but there’s really so much else that’s worthy of attention. So on this trip, while leaving most of my time to wine (I’ll be writing much more on that soon) I fit some beer in along the margins.

On a late morning (if there’s something I love about Europe, it’s the laissez-faire mentality to a moderate amount of morning drinking) where my wife was getting a few extra Zzzzzs, I popped into Académie de la Bière just down the road in Montparnasse from our hotel and enjoyed a just before noon amber ale from La Parisienne. Nicely balanced, my first craft beer in Paris gave me hope I’d find a few hidden treasures over the two weeks.

Beer at L'Académie de La Bière

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Cemeteries in Paris

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About five years ago, on a quiet Sunday morning in Uppsala, Sweden, I walked through a park-like cemetery and from a distance watched an older woman tend to the grave of her recently deceased husband. It is one of those moments that’s burned into my memory for being both terribly sad and incredibly beautiful. That morning, and through a few other visits to European cemeteries over the years, I have come to learn that some of the most beautiful parks in many foreign cities are in fact their graveyards.

While in Paris back in March, I made a two trips to cemeteries within the city. The first was a morning visit to the Montparnasse Cemetery in the same neighbourhood as my hotel.

Montparnasse Cemetery

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A rare clear day

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I was under no false pretences when I booked a February trip to Portland, Oregon. I used to live on a coast and I get that winter weather can be grey and dreary. I was looking for somewhere warmer than Saskatoon, even if I’d be dealing with damp winter days. Imagine my pleasant surprise waking on my first day in Portland to crystal clear blue skies and unseasonably warm temperatures (no jacket needed!). I couldn’t let the opportunity pass me by – I had a rare February opportunity to view the mountains off in the distance from Portland.

After a short train ride south of downtown, I took the Portland Aerial Tram to the top of Marquam Hill and feasted my eyes on this – a stunningly clear view of Mount St. Helens:

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Returning to the 14th

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March 13, 2017 – Paris

This is the first time my wife and I have returned somewhere in our travels together. Ok, that’s not entirely true, but ruling out Philadelphia and Pittsburgh for football game trips, it’s true. Not only did we return to Paris, but we consciously returned to Montparnasse, the 14th arrondissement.

There is a very comforting feeling returning here. Our first visit in 2009 was a great one, and we loved the slightly out of the way, definitely not overly touristy, authentic Montparnasse. Returning here eight years later, not much has changed. Such is the way with great neighbourhoods. Boulangerie, fromagerie, wine merchants, restaurants, gorgeous parks – all still here. And all as lovely as eight years ago.

Luxembourg Gardens

Being back here in Paris, not even twenty four hours after arriving, I’m comforted. I don’t feel a rush to get out to see the sights – we did all of that the last time here. This visit, I’m envisioning a much slower pace. Lingering in cafes, strolling streets and parks just for exploration. Simple stuff really.

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PDX public art

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Of Portland, I expected nothing less than some funky and interesting public art. Audacious, touching, poignant, curious – I got the full menu of art experiences from just walking around the city. I love how public art enlivens urban spaces, but perhaps nowhere was this more evident than outside the Oregon Health and Science University Hospital. In a small garden for patients and their families is Sophie Ryder’s sculpture “Standing Lady Hare with Dog.” On one level as simply an animal lover, this is touching. On another level, I love how the tenderness shown in this piece reflects what occurs mere feet away inside the hospital.

Sophie Ryder's Standing Lady Hare with Dog

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A great beer destination

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One of the main reasons for choosing Portland for my winter escape this year was its abundance of craft beer. Many say Portland has the highest per capita concentration of craft breweries and beer bars in the USA – that was good enough for me to book my flights! Once I arrived in the city, I knew I would be dedicating at least a couple of afternoons to some beer tastings.

My first afternoon “crawl” started at Rogue. When you arrive here, they pour you a sample to welcome you. For me, it was their Chocolate Stout, which ended up being my favourite of the visit.

Rogue Brewery, Portland

They have so many beers on tap it was difficult to make a selection of only four. I knew I’d be hitting two more breweries, so was trying to pace myself. My favourite of these was the 4 Hop IPA on the far left which was very full flavoured for a lower alcohol beer. By far one of the most intersting samples of my trip was their Beard Beer (second from the right) using wild yeast from the brewmaster’s beard. It was a touch sour with a hint of hipster.

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Rip City, USA

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When I planned my short February escape from wintery Saskatoon, I had a few criteria: (1) somewhere I hadn’t been before, (2) cheap airfare and hotel, and (3) get to attend at least one professional sporting event. Portland fit the bill on all of those including a Monday night Trail Blazers basketball game.

I probably follow basketball the least of the major North American sports, but always enjoy attending the game live as it’s much better in person than on TV. One thing I love about getting to an NBA game is arriving early, sneaking down to the lower level, and watching the players warm up. The size of the guys is amazing and seeing so many nearly 7-footers in one place is kind of cool.

I’m also always up to explore a new arena. Even though most of the new ones are fairly similar, the Moda Center in Portland had some unique touches including outposts of a couple of favourite downtown eateries. That let me fit in an extra meal here of a very respectable Bunk Sandwiches cuban sandwich. In fact, my meal came with this great view of the arena from one of the lower level corner seats.

Inside Moda Centre for Trail Blazers game

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