Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Paris Greys

Yesterday in New York was a very grey day.
Incredibly windy and rainy and GREY! UGH
Paris is grey all the time and who minds? I don't. Do you?

I've written about Paris greys over and over again... Frankly I can't get enough of Paris greys... Even the Luxembourg park is grey...so poetic.
It can be grey inside too at the Musee des arts decoratives. I've heard Parisiens rant on how Paris is so grey it's suicidal. How they ADORE New York's blue skies...hmmm
Parisiens dress almost exclusively in greys and neutrals, so I'm not sure why they complain so about the greyness.
But I had an 'Ah ha' moment as I was gazing at all this lovely greyness. Isn't this why Paris patisseries are such a welcome refuge?
All the wild colors and frivolity...
All the insane playfulness and innovation...
While French cuisine may be dragging it's heels as Michael Steinberger says in Au Revoir To All That, certainment French patissiers are busy kicking up their heels like crazy non?
And isn't French pastry the best antidote in the world to greyness?
Especially after a long day tramping around in the damp, cold, wet, grey, cobbled streets of Paris?
BONJOUR PARIS GREYS!

23 comments:

  1. Paris is such a nice city, but for me, I don’t think I would ever leave New York if I could live there! I have family who live near Central Park and try to visit them during the summer.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree with your "ah-hah" moment! The city might be grey with atmosphere and stone BUT the stores are full of bright pops of color. Where else can you purchase pink mustard?

    ReplyDelete
  3. To be honest, we could do with a bit of sunshine and blue skies. France seems to be going through a grey month.

    Meant to say in my comment on your last post that the TVA has been reduced in restaus, bringing the price down. All our local Routiers are now packed to the gunnels and one has to book a table, even for lunch!

    ReplyDelete
  4. After looking at today's pictures l am drooling and can imagine the taste - that fruit flan is to die for.
    We had a "manky grey" wet day yesterday...
    I think the name manky describes it well.
    Going to have another drool lol
    Jill

    ReplyDelete
  5. Janinne11:30 AM

    Brill a ha moment!
    Of course the pastries are there to brighten everyone's mood
    Including mine today
    merci

    ReplyDelete
  6. I really marvel at the detail in their food and pastries.....although NY has some great pastries too. I grew up there most of my life. Thanks for the photos. The French architecture is stunning. So how grey is it there? What is the best month to go to Paris?

    ReplyDelete
  7. I suppose the pastries need to be so brightly colored because a little bit must go a long way: Parisians only take a tiny bite each evening, in order to fit into their grey flannels no matter how grey the weather! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for the beautiful bursts of colors and pastries. After weeks of rain here in Calif. it was a wonderful reprieve. And what is that delicious caramel colored mound fo pastry?

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love that shot inside the museum - nice glow of golden light tucked in the corner.
    Hemingway hated winter in Paris so much that he headed for the Alps every winter :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. MERISI-Where Parisiens put those bites of pastr is a mystery yet to be solved malheuresment...

    NIKON-back in Hemmingway's day, the desserts were not so fine in my opinion - he had to go somewhere else.

    CORINE- New York has bagels and cupcakes I guess...
    Pastry non non non

    PATRICIA-that delicious mound of caramel is exactly that =
    C A R A M E L !!! Something indescribable by Pierre Herme

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hello, I love your blog!
    Here is a lovely blog post on baking blog about making your own macarons!
    Keep up the good work,
    Jaime

    ReplyDelete
  12. You are so right; Paris is often grey. So, I miss the NY light.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Everything is better in Paris, even gray! LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous6:14 PM

    Both times I've been to Paris, it was in January and gray. But really it's Paris!! I live in NY and feel the winter blahs, but in Paris not so much.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thank you for that "Ah-ha" moment-- your theory has got to be true!
    Jill

    ReplyDelete
  16. Like you, I am partial to the Paris grey and gray. I love the way the tree branches reach starkly to the sky, the softness of the Seine, and the way the grey sky looks with the gray stone on the buildings.

    Gris is good, je pense.

    Loved the pastry pictures. What a terrific contrast.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Gray? Well, that does it; I'm not going! I have had plenty of gray right here!
    BTW, that gorgeous saturated yellow "sarah" had me puzzled since it only serves three quarters of a personne... or maybe 3 out of 4 persons? :-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous9:39 PM

    I love the grey......

    ReplyDelete
  19. William Ternay, Jr.11:21 PM

    For those of us who paint "Pleine Aire", gray days are great.
    Instead of chasing the ever moving sun, on gray days the light is pretty consistent, and shadows are soft, throughout the day.
    Bill

    ReplyDelete
  20. La grisaille non!!!!!
    mais les gâteaux colorés OUI!

    bonne journée

    manon

    ReplyDelete
  21. Annie in SF5:25 AM

    I love gray cities.
    I live in the Richmond in SF.
    Very foggy.
    Love to walk in the fog.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Yes, the bagels and cupcakes are yummy. I guess compared to French pastries not the same, but there were a few bakeries on Bleeker and in Soho that I quite enjoyed. I guess I need to be in Paris to make the correct assesment :)

    ReplyDelete

Love hearing from you