Dressing up the Louvre

Paris, France The lines were long and the air was nippy. But having reserved ahead, we were moved right into the priority lane at the Louvre. We kept thinking that June crowds these days must unimaginable. There are inadequate toilet facilities, few eating options, and no way to avoid being bumped into by teenagers or run over by strollers.

We’ve seen Venus and queued for Mona Lisa with the rabid crowds of selfie takers, so this time we focused on a special exhibit — “Objets de Culture, Objects de Mode.” The interweaving of centuries-old artifacts with relatively current items of great design and craftsmanship just works. Every French designer you can name was represented, from Chanel to Givenchy to Yves Saint Laurent.

We started in a gallery of medieval religious treasures, even more beautiful with today’s accompaniments.

Then we moved into the apartments of Napoleon III’s minister of state, which proved that the lessons of the French Revolution had been completely forgotten 100 years later.

After a tea break, we toured some shops and then headed for home. There is only so much gold leaf one can admire in a day. But we left completely convinced that no one, but no one, does excess better than the French.

Don’s Food Corner

Still in search of classic French dishes, we tried a different brasserie near our hotel.

We were intrigued with how the eggs mayonnaise would appear this time. Similar to our last encounter, the hard-cooked eggs were topped with piped mayonnaise. Today’s version, however, featured added ribbons of ham, a little mound of salad, and tiny croutons stuck into the mayonnaise. Another delightful interpretation of this classic.

Jo moved on to scallops in a basil sauce with mashed potatoes. I had remembered from our last trip through France that the French almost always serve scallops with the roe attached. This is never seen in the U.S. The roe is always removed on the boat immediately after the scallops are harvested. That’s because of concerns of the roe containing toxins from the sea. Also, the roe deteriorates very quickly and basically it has to be consumed within a day — or preferably on the day — of the scallop harvest. That’s possible in France where the sea is nearby and the delivery system from sea to table is fast. Not so in the U.S.

I decided to have a charcuterie board of a mixture of preserved meats and an array of cheeses. Here, too, we could sample versions of French cheeses unavailable in the U.S., most notably, the camembert. In France, this famous cheese is made from raw, unpasteurized milk. That is not allowed by law in America. If you want to taste camembert the way it’s supposed to taste, you’ll have to come to Europe, or, more specifically, France. And, wow, the difference is amazing.

A similar thing is going on with Roquefort cheese. The real stuff comes from a specific region in France and is processed in a specific and regulated way. And, again, you can really tell the difference.

The entire charcuterie platter was too much to eat, but it was like taking a complete tour of France. Very special.