The world in the streets of Paris

Lion on the Saint Sulpice fountain.

August 25, 2017 -- As we were walking along the Boulevard Garibaldi on our way to dine with friends R and E, I glanced off to the right at a narrow, brick street called rue Clouet.  There was an Orthodox Christian church.  (I’d found all the Russian Orthodox churches earlier this summer.) This one was not Russian Orthodox, nor was it called Eastern Orthodox.  Actually a chapel, it appears to be a mission church of the Orthodox Christian denomination.  It is closed for the month of August, except for masses that were celebrated on August 4 and 6. 

Notre Dame de Tendresse Orthodox Christian chapel on the rue Clouet in the 15th arrondissement.

According to Wikipedia, an Orthodox Christian church is one that adheres to the creeds of the early church.  Photos on the rue Clouet chapel’s Facebook page reveal that this is a racially diverse church – perhaps it is a part of the Oriental Orthodox communion.  The Oriental Orthodox church is not the same as the Eastern Orthodox church, despite the similarity in name.  

According to Wikipedia, “the Oriental Orthodox communion is composed of six autocephalous churches: the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.  In total, the Oriental Orthodox churches have more than 80 million adherents worldwide.”

Ah, you can learn about the world just by walking the streets of Paris.

We followed the boulevard Garibaldi to the familiar intersection of the rue Lecourbe, avenue de Breuteuil, and rue de Sevres.  This last street led us directly to R and E’s neighborhood near the Place Saint Sulpice.

We sat and stared at the imposing church and fountain on that square until it was time to see R and E. The fountain sounded like a veritable waterfall. 

E had a terrible fall on a city bus in May.  She crushed a vertebrae in her back and is lucky that she can still walk.  The recovery is ongoing, but at last she is well enough to enjoy dinner out with friends.

Church and fountain on Place Saint Sulpice in the 6th arrondissement.

After we heard from R and E, we cancelled our reservation at Stephane Martin so we could be with them in their neighborhood.  The four of us dined at the Café Tournon, on the rue de Tournon.  Tom and I had not been there for a few years; the place is looking good – all cleaned and buffed up to Parisian café expectations.

The Tournon now specializes in meat, so three of us ordered the lamb chops, and R ordered a salad with all kinds of things on it – from shrimp to foie gras to duck breast and more.  The four of us shared two Babas au Rhum, and then sat and talked for another hour after that dessert.  We slowly walked and talked up the rue Tournon after dinner, admiring especially the BonPoint children’s apparel shop window; those displays are always so artfully arranged.

BonPoint shop window on the rue Tournon.

Catching up with R and E was delightful.  We share political points of view, so we had much to talk and laugh and cry about.

My bass and langoustine bouillabaisse on Wednesday night at Intuition Gourmande,
on the rue Petel, was delicious.  Tom had a pork and mushroom dish (below)
that was equally good.  Desserts were fine, too.  Intuition Gourmande has
become one of our favorite restaurants in Paris.