Spring in almost Spring: Street theater today, asparagus next week.

As Colette and I pranced down the Rue Bailleul today in springlike weather (55 and sunny), it was magical; except for the large vehicles chopping up the street and big burly men cutting down stanchions with saws.  What was going on?  And what is Sean Penn doing driving a pile driver?

 
Well, all was soon to be revealed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Signs had gone up on the street yesterday saying the street was to be made a la, la rue Montorgueil and Sean and his merry band showed up this AM for two days of pounding.  Meanwhile we had an incredibly divine piece of incredibly softly cooked quail with an incredibly flavored dozen tiny mushrooms a la grecque and some sort of exotic beet was it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pound-pound-pound (I don't know how many of my gentle readers have actually worked a jackhammer, I have in my mis-spent youth and it's loud).  But it was going away and coming on was a tiny cup of intensely reduced chicken broth flavored with ginger, curry and was it piment?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My goodness, it would appear to be getting closer and our host and I conferred.  But then came the mackarel from St Jean de Luz with an oyster from Brittany and watercress from 17.76 km N of Paris and veal sauce from - well, you get the picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next came some sparks from both the gasoline-saw and the black piggy with swisschard, sweet-tenderly cooked onions and fancy mashed apple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colette said to our host "what are they going to do with those stanchions, it would be neat for you to have one" and our host went out to hondle - no luck.  Now, we usually skip the 12 E cheese board pp here but something said to me, this is an afternoon to have another wine and some cheese and watch the passing scene.  The munster, Brillat-Savarin and goat were all the right thing to go with sparks and wine.

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were three desserts, in addition to finishing up the street-scene, a passion-fruit pavlova, cocolate sorbet with prune and coco, and a hazelnut "cracker" with hazelnut cream.

The bill after two bottles of wine, no bottled water, fine bread and 3 hours of first-class free entertainment, was 126 E.

Go?  Well, the breaking-up is over tmrw but I suspect putting in the cobblestones, fancy new curbs, etc., will take two French years, so of course.