Wednesday, January 12, 2011--OK, So Where Is It?

The weather on Wednesday was also grey and rainy.  We lingered in the apartment and then decided to take a walking tour of les passages, the arcades (enclosed shops) that date back a couple centuries.  Our grand walking tour book took us down familiar territory--Rue de Rivoli--and then had us turn up into an area we had never been.  

Our first destination, Gallery Vero-Dodat, we found and strolled through.  One would think we knew what we were doing, and hope, "that feathered thing that resides in the breast" (like that Kurt; it's from Milton), rose high.  Upon exiting we could not find the street we were supposed to traverse; we wandered and finally found the Palais Royal, walked through that, but no Rue des Petits Champs.  We wandered, wandered, wandered (saw Hotel du Louvre though), and then walked back through the Palais.  Still no Rue des Petits Champs.  

Gallery Vero-Dodat with ceilings

baseboards Vero-Dodat

garden of Palais Royal

Hotel du Louvre

Finally we turned to another map and found the street, but then could not find the passages.  Finally after walking, retracing our steps, trying something new, and then retracing again, we found three passages.  The most beautiful was Gallery Vivienne.

Gallery Vivienne

more Gallery Vivienne

We then found--out of guidebook order--Passage Choiseul, which was older (sorry, no pix).  Next we found Gallery Colbert, also a gem.

Gallery Colbert

Ever hopeful, we continued down the Rue du Quatre Septembre, looking for Rue des Colonnes.  Never found it, but got plenty of rain.  We walked, and walked, and walked, and finally decided to chuck the whole thing.  We thought we knew where we were going; we didn't.  Needless to say, we covered miles of territory but would up seeing only half of what we sought.

After resting up, we went out to a restaurant we visited four years ago (and which we've passed many times this year on our treks), Soprano's.  It is named, as one might guess, after the inimitable Tony, a poster of whom is prominently displayed on the main wall.  Fuggedaboutit.  It's a stone's throw from the apartment, but guess what, we got totally, utterly lost again.  We nearly gave up when we finally stumbled on it.  Truly the end to that day.

home of Il Capo di Capi (you got a problem with that!)