As a concierge at the elegant Pavillon de la Reine hotel in Paris, Arnaud Ilisca dresses in tails. His manner is elegant yet personable; his advice comes in flawless English with just enough of a French accent to lend legitimacy. On any given day, he can arrange a private cruise on the Seine or land a difficult reservation at a three-star Michelin restaurant. In other words, he is the kind of person I never run into in my frugal travels.
阿诺·伊利斯卡(Arnaud Ilisca)是高雅的巴黎皇后亭酒店(Pavillon de la Reine)的礼宾员。他身穿燕尾服,举止优雅,风度翩翩,以无可挑剔的英语向客人提供建议,只带有一点可资证明权威性的法语口音。随便哪一天,他都能给你安排塞纳河上的私人游览,或者在米其林三星餐厅搞到难得的预订。换句话说,他是我在穷游旅行中永远遇不到的那种人。
But there we sat, on a recent Thursday afternoon, in the Pavillon’s bar in a building off the Place des Vosges that was once a royal residence. Mr. Ilisca was formulating a perfect Paris day for a fictional well-heeled guest. Cost: about 1,000 euros (or a little more than $1,100). I was sipping espresso, taking notes for the task ahead — creating the most similar day I could for one-tenth of the price.
但是前不久的一个周四的下午,我们坐在皇后亭酒店的酒吧里。该酒店位于孚日广场(Place des Vosges)的一座建筑之中,那里曾是皇家宅邸。伊利斯卡在为一位想象中的富有宾客设计完美的巴黎一日游。费用约为1000欧元(约合1100多美元)。我一边喝着特浓咖啡,一边为自己的任务做笔记——我的任务是以十分之一的费用,设计出与他的规划最接近的版本。
I commenced a deep dive into the online rabbit hole of Paris blogs and personal advice from Paris-based friends and colleagues (including Seth Sherwood and Pamela Druckerman, contributors to The New York Times, and Meg Zimbeck, the founder of the blog Paris by Mouth). I made one tweak to Mr. Ilisca’s itinerary: He had suggested an à la carte lunch and prix fixe dinner; I flipped those, since prix fixe lunch can be an excellent deal in Paris. And then I was off.
然后我开始深入研究网上数不胜数的巴黎博客,以及我在巴黎的朋友和同事们(包括《纽约时报》的撰稿人塞思·舍伍德[Seth Sherwood]和帕梅拉·德鲁克曼[Pamela Druckerman]以及博客Paris by Mouth的创立者梅格·泽姆贝克[Meg Zimbeck])的私人建议。我对伊利斯卡设计的行程做了一点修改:他的建议是午餐按菜单点菜,晚餐选择固定价格套餐。我反了过来,因为在巴黎,午餐时选择固定价格套餐可能会很实惠。然后我就出发了。
Breakfast
早餐
High
富游
The prix fixe petit déjeuner at Carette, a fancy patisserie with tables nestled beneath the arches that skirt the Place des Vosges, is 18.50 euros, or $20.64 at $1.12 to the euro.
高档法式糕点店Carette的固定价格早餐套餐是18.50欧元,按照1欧元兑换1.12美元的价格计算,约合20.64美元。这家蛋糕店位于孚日广场边缘的拱门下,店里有餐桌。
Low
穷游
I traded in the regal Place des Vosges for a sidewalk table across from the leafy Square Trousseau, the perfect spot to watch the 12th Arrondissement awaken. I was at Blé Sucré, a patisserie with a deceptively everyday look; it is run by Fabrice Le Bourdat, the former pastry chef at Le Bristol, the three-star Michelin restaurant that is now called Epicure. Along with my espresso, I had a kouign-amann, a caramelized cross between a palmier and a croissant that comes from Bretagne and has been positively compared with the Cronut. Blé Sucré’s decadent version costs just 1.76 euros.
我把堂皇的孚日广场换成了绿树成荫的特鲁索广场(Square Trousseau)。这里是观看第12区苏醒的绝佳地点。广场对面的Blé Sucré糕点店其貌不扬,店主却是米其林三星餐厅Le Bristol(现名Epicure)的前任糕点大厨法布里斯·勒·布尔达(Fabrice Le Bourdat)。除了特浓咖啡,我还点了焦糖味的kouign-amann,它来自布列塔尼,像是蝴蝶酥和羊角面包的结合,经常被与羊角甜甜圈(Cronut)相提并论。Blé Sucré糕点店的这个低级版本的售价仅为1.76欧元。
With an espresso, my breakfast was 3.26 euros, but I did miss the glass of fresh juice I knew was in the Carette prix fixe. Luckily, an elegantly dressed older woman eating alone at another table had been humoring my rusty French and directed me to the nearby Aligre Market, where the gorgeous produce made me wish for a kitchen. (I settled for an Instagram post.) A juicy orange was 65 cents.
加上特浓咖啡,我的早餐总价为3.26欧元,不过我的确很想来一杯Carette糕点店固定价格套餐菜单上的鲜榨果汁(我知道它家的菜单上有这个)。幸运的是,在另一张桌子上单独就餐的一位穿着优雅的老妇人顾念我法语生疏,把我引到了附近的Aligre市场(Aligre Market),那里超棒的农产品让我有下厨的冲动(我在Instagram上发了张照片聊以慰藉)。我在那里花65分买了一个多汁的橙子。
Shopping
购物
High
富游
Mr. Ilisca sends guests to the haute couture shops of the famed Golden Triangle: Champs-Élysées, Avenue Montaigne and Avenue George V. Let’s grant our fictional fat cat 300 euros for something modest from Gucci or Prada.
伊利斯卡建议宾客们去著名的金三角(Golden Triangle)的高档服装店购物:香榭丽舍大街、蒙田大道和乔治五世大道。让我们假定我们想象中的富翁花了300欧元从古驰(Gucci)或普拉达(Prada)买了一件普通的衣服。
Low
穷游
My first thought was the gargantuan Les Puces flea market at faraway Porte de Clignancourt, but a great web page directed me to smaller, more occasional markets by arrondissement. (Find the list at bit.ly/ParisFlea.) In fact, my shopping started after I finished my Aligre Market orange, at the flea market adjacent to the produce stands. For 1 euro, I bought a yellowed 1951 issue of Temps Modernes, the journal edited by Jean-Paul Sartre. (It listed a piece called “Is God Photogenic?,” and I had to know. It turned out that the article was actually about the state of religious films at the time; the headline was clearly a clever ploy aimed at American tourists 64 years in the future.) Three markets later, at Village St.-Paul, I’d fall for a small, lovely powder-blue wall-mounted coat rack. I bargained it down to 22 euros from 28 by claiming to be a “pauvre Américain.” (They didn’t believe me, but it got the conversation started.)
我的第一个念头是去偏远、庞大的科里尼安古尔门(Porte de Clignancourt)跳蚤市场(Les Puces),但是一个很棒的网页按区列出了那些更小、更随意的市场(你可以在bit.ly/ParisFlea找到这个列表)。实际上,我吃完在Aligre市场买的橙子就开始在旁边的跳蚤市场购物了。我花一欧元买了1951年的一期泛黄的《新时代》(Temps Modernes)杂志(这期上有篇文章题为“上帝上相吗?”我很想知道这个问题的答案。结果发现,那篇文章实际上是谈论当时的宗教电影状况;那个标题显然是个聪明的计策,足以吸引64年后的美国游客),编辑是让-保罗·萨特(Jean-Paul Sartre)。逛完三个市场后,在圣保罗村(Village St.-Paul),我看上了一个可爱的粉蓝色小壁挂式衣帽架。我自称“贫穷的美国人”(卖家不相信,不过这么说算是起了个头),把价钱从28欧元砍到了22欧元。
Lunch
午餐
High
富游
L’Arpège has three Michelin stars and a No. 25 spot on Restaurant magazine’s world rankings. Its chef, Alain Passard, is famous for his farm-to-obsessed-chef-to-table ingredients, especially vegetables. Tasting menu (remember, this was supposed to be dinner): 340 euros.
L’Arpège是米其林三星餐厅,在《餐厅》杂志(Restaurant)的世界餐厅排行榜上排名第25位。它的大厨阿兰·帕萨尔(Alain Passard)以选用“从农场到痴迷大厨到餐桌”的食材而闻名,尤其是蔬菜。主厨精选菜单(注意,这个菜单本来是为晚餐准备的)的价格是340欧元。
Low
穷游
I tried, really I did, to find a reasonably priced prix fixe at a contemporary, cool and vegetarian-friendly spot. No luck — vegetarians, beware. But a blog post about farm-to-table spots I had found during a search for L’Arpège also raved about Le Timbre, where Charles Danet’s three-course lunch fit the bill, literally, for 26 euros. That’s in part because everyone eats the exact same thing in this pleasantly cramped space the size of a postage stamp, which is what “timbre” means.
我努力(我真的努力了)在一个现代时髦、适合素食者的餐厅寻找一个合理的固定价格套餐菜单。可惜我没找到。素食主义者,要当心哦。不过,我在搜索L’Arpège餐厅时找到了一个关于“从农场到餐桌”的餐厅的博客帖子,它对Le Timbre餐厅也是赞美有加。该餐厅大厨查尔斯·达内(Charles Danet)的三道主菜午餐售价为26欧元,刚好符合条件。其中一个原因是这里的食客吃的东西是一模一样的。这个温馨的餐厅像邮票一样小巧,timbre就是邮票的意思。
Seth joined me, and as the last lunch guests to arrive, we got a step-by-step preview of our meal from those seated (very) nearby. It turned out to be false advertising — the kitchen ran out of both the starter (hake) and the main course (duck filet). “On a mal compté le canard,” our very apologetic server said. But we enjoyed the cod starter substitute (as if I could tell the flaky, white difference), served with puréed celery root and lovage, and were impressed at how crunchy pine nuts and spicy bits of chorizo took to a moist cut of guinea fowl. When everyone started getting gorgeous dollops of chocolate mousse around us, I impishly asked, “On a mal compté le chocolat?” They had not. It was delicious. My share of the bill: 29 euros.
塞思和我一起去那里用午餐。我们是午间的最后一批食客。我们一道菜一道菜地看了邻座(真的跟我们紧挨着坐)的午餐,相当于预览了自己的午餐。结果呢,看也是白看。开胃菜(鳕鱼)和主菜(鸭肉片)都卖光了。“我们算错了鸭肉的量,”服务员满怀歉意地说。不过,我们很喜欢替换的开胃菜(好像我能辨别出这两种薄薄的白鱼片的区别似的),它配有芹菜根泥和拉维纪草。主菜换成了柔软多汁的珍珠鸡块,它配上松脆的松仁和西班牙辣香肠块,效果令人惊喜。当旁边的顾客纷纷开始享用诱人的巧克力慕斯时,我顽皮地用法语问道,“巧克力没算错吧?”没算错。很好吃。我们均分账单,我那部分是29欧元。
Afternoon Stroll
下午漫步
High
富游
Mr. Ilisca’s guests often request a personal tour of the cobblestone streets of the shopping and art-packed Marais. Cost: 240 euros.
伊利斯卡的客人们通常要求在充满商店和艺术画廊的玛莱区(Marais)的鹅卵石街道上来个私人向导游览。费用:240欧元。
Low
穷游
There are reasonably priced walking tours of the Marais, but I opted out of being part of a group clogging its already tourist-packed streets. Instead, I simply downloaded a very helpful self-guided version at Paris48.com, and ended up at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, a gorgeously bright space where I got absorbed in the dreamily textured works of the Spanish painter Miquel Barceló. Free.
玛莱区有一些价格合理的步行旅游团,但我决定不参团。那里的街道本来就挤满了游客,那些旅游团更是添堵。我在Paris48.com上下载了一个很有用的自助旅游向导。最后来到华丽明亮的Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac画廊,那里正在展出西班牙画家米克尔·巴尔塞洛(Miquel Barceló)的作品,我被它们梦幻般的质地迷住了。全部免费。
Dinner
晚餐
High
富游
Mr. Ilisca recommended a meal of veal sweetbreads (52 euros) from Allard, a classic bistro owned by Alain Ducasse. Full meal, about 100 euros.
伊利斯卡推荐的是Allard餐馆的牛羊杂碎(52欧元)。Allard是一家典型的法式小餐馆,店主是阿兰·迪卡斯(Alain Ducasse)。一顿丰盛的晚餐总共约需100欧元。
Low
穷游
Seth may not wear tails, but he was right on in taking me to Le Bistrot du Peintre, near his home in the Bastille. If it hadn’t been around since 1902, I’d say the Art Nouveau décor was overdone. Everything is dreamily wavy, from the massive wood mirrors to the vines painted along the tops of the walls, even the precariously twisting stairs that lead to the kitchen. For dinner, we split a 17-euro bottle of fruity 2013 Gamay from the Loire Valley, and a very generous bone-marrow starter. To make up for my duck-less lunch, I had the duck breast, seared in an oil-free pan, baked and served with raspberry sauce; Seth had a tender braised paleron of beef, loaded with tomatoes and olives, Mediterranean style. My half of the bill was 32.50 euros.
塞思也许不穿燕尾服,但他的建议不逊于伊利斯卡。他把我带到巴士底他家附近的Le Bistrot du Peintre餐馆。要不是这家餐馆始创于1902年,我会觉得这里的新艺术装潢太多了。所有的东西都充满梦幻般的曲线,从巨大的木镜子到墙顶绘制的葡萄藤,甚至包括通往厨房的扭曲摇晃的楼梯。我们分享了一瓶来自卢瓦尔河谷的2013年果味佳美葡萄酒(Gamay,17欧元)以及一份份量很大的骨髓开胃菜。为了弥补中午没吃上鸭肉的遗憾,我点了一份鸭胸肉,它是在没抹油的煎锅上煎出来的,配有树莓酱。塞思点的是地中海风味的嫩炖牛排,里面有很多番茄和橄榄。我那一半账单的费用是32.50欧元。
Nightcap
睡前小酒
High
富游
Where else would a concierge send a classy guy like our stand-in jet-setter but the Hôtel Costes, the ultrachic hotel lounge where a cocktail runs you north of 15 euros.
豪华酒店的礼宾员在给我们想象中的富豪推荐睡前小酒时,肯定会推荐Hôtel Costes。在这个超级时髦的酒店雅座酒吧里,一杯鸡尾酒的价格在15欧元以上。
Low
穷游
Hotel + bar = cheap? In travel-writer math class, that’s what we call a false equation. So why does the lively young crowd at Hôtel du Nord pay just 5 euros to drink a glass of Bordeaux along the Canal St.-Martin? Answer: Because it’s not actually a hotel, but a restaurant named after a 1938 film. Did I mention the 5-euro wine?
酒店+酒吧=便宜?在旅游作家的数学课上,这样的等式是错误的。那么,为什么北方旅馆(Hôtel du Nord)活跃的年轻人们花五欧元就能在圣马丁运河(Canal St.-Martin)边上喝一杯波尔多葡萄酒?答案是:因为北方旅馆不是酒店,而是以1938年的一部电影命名的餐馆。我刚才说了吗?那里的一杯葡萄酒售价仅为五欧元。