You don't know Paris
Lucie Young
...like Kristin Scott Thomas knows Paris. From Left Bank to Right, bookstore to boîte, the British expatriate explores the secret places and subtle shadings of the City of Light.
Kristin Scott Thomas left England at age 19 after a drama coach told her she would never act professionally. Paris was the nearest place to reinvent herself, and, despite her quintessentially English screen persona, it's easy to imagine she was born here, with her fine bone structure and pitch-perfect French. This city, where she lives with her French husband, Physician François Oliviennes, and their two preteen children, has been home for the last 20 years. "The French think I'm very English, and the English think I am very French," says Scott Thomas, who this month plays an English widow in fascist Italy opposite Sean Penn in the romantic drama Up at the Villa. In Paris she is a fearless explorer, walking everywhere, as happy ensconced in soigné tea rooms on the Right Bank as she is truffling for bargains in flea markets and discount marts. She revels in the city's ineffable nuances, "the gray of the roofs and the river ... the light," wandering dreamily through the 17th-century courtyards to come upon what she calls "the unobvious, the furtive, things that don't look like much from the outside." Hers is a Paris privé, filled with echoes of favorite movies like Hotel du Nord and visible only if you look beyond the monuments, behind the elegant facades, and into "the old-fashioned places that still have a bit of soul."
Marché Mouffetard Minutes from her apartment, this market in the Jardin des Plantes quarter, on the cobblestoned rue Mouffetard (one of the curviest streets in the city), is a favorite of Scott Thomas's. The jumble of stands offer up fruit, cheeses, fish -- even Turkish sweets. Like most Parisians, Kristin shops daily for the freshest fare. "Paris is more compact than London, and much more friendly," she notes as a handsome cheese merchant pleads for a kiss (she politely declines). She mentions a friend who lives in a tiny apartment overlooking the market. "It's terribly romantic except you get awakened every morning at 6 by the men coming to set up the stalls."
Charcuterie Traditionnelle Charles "The way to my heart is through my stomach," says Kristin, eyeing the rows of trophies and awards and sausage-filled wicker baskets in this St. Germain shop. "Isn't it funny, the French giving each other medals for sausages?" she says. "But then, eating is a national sport in France." She comes to this particular charcuterie for its delicious boudin blanc. "I haven't a clue what's in it. I think it's chicken all mushed up with mushrooms and truffles." (Well, not exactly.)
Marché boulevard de la Chapelle Going to this African and Arab market on the border between the 10th and 18th arrondissements is "like being in another country," says Kristin of the exotic produce and colorfully garbed shoppers. "I love the African ladies with their babies bundled on their backs. It's comforting to me that Paris is a city where there's this kind of diversity. It's not all mini-malls." Her preferred treat here is sugar cane, which she sucks on like candy. She also buys giant bags of dry goods such as sultana raisins or rice. "There is something nice about the bags. I am obsessed with unusual packaging."
Marché St. Pierre "All that fabric!" Scott Thomas marvels at this emporium below Montmartre. "And the people! You see fashion designers, and bluestockings with Hermès bags ... I go to have a snoop. I have an old Singer sewing machine that belonged to my granny. I used to make a lot of things for my daughter."
Palais Royal "I discovered this early on," says Kristin of the 17th-century Palais, now housing the Conseil d'Etat, or state ministry offices, off the rue de Rivoli. "I was an au pair. It was dusk and I stopped in my tracks, it was so amazing. Like a secret garden." The peaceful square, filled with artist Daniel Buren's black-and-white-striped columns, is surrounded by such shops as Muriel Grateau's, which sells delicate china and jewel-colored linens.
Canal St. Martin Gardens and cafés pop up along this sleepy canal, in the 11th arrondissement, where barges still ferry construction materials. "I would like to live here because it's not in fashion. It's peaceful and real. The bridges are only for people. It's a mythic place from films too," she notes, conjuring an image of veteran actor Jean Gabin standing around in a mac looking mysterious, waiting for a Vamp.
Diptyque "Figs? Carnations? Church!" She is playfully renaming scents. "If you spray this on Sunday mornings, you can skip going!" The wooden racks of the St. Germain parfumerie remind her of an old-fashioned English chemist's. Her favorite scent: L'Ombre dans I'Eau (Shadow in the Water), a mix of black currant and Bulgarian rose. "My mother-in-law wears it, which you'd think would put me off, but I've always thought it was just the best." As she leaves, the owner offers her a bag of candles and scents. "Merci, merci, mille fois! she says, a thousand times grateful for another sweet encounter in her own perfect Paris.
Tati Forget Galeries Lafayette or Bon Marché. Kristin likes rummaging through this French equivalent of Woolworth's, with stores throughout Paris. "You see all sorts in there, usually little old ladies kicking each other in the shins to get to the bargains. I love the name, as it is completely tatty."
L'Arbre à Lettres "Books are my weakness," she says, riffling through this Left Bank shop. Her favorite authors include Saki, Ian McEwan, Michael Ondaatje and Jane Austen. Since buying a country house in Burgundy, she has become an avid reader of gardening books, particularly the writings of Gertrude Jekyll. "I love the old books that start, `First, get a man to dig a hole ... ,' " she says, chuckling. She turns up her nose at the glossy fêng shui books and Zen thoughts-for-the-day. "I am proud to say I have never bought a self-help book."
Closerie des Lilas This flower-draped Montparnasse bistro with cane chairs was a haunt of Hemingway, Matisse and Picasso. "When I first came to Paris, this is the kind of place I felt excited going to. I don't care if everyone here is over 90," she says, admiring the striped tented ceiling. She loves the oysters, steak tartare and cream-filled desserts. "I'll eat anything. And you know, they mix a proper martini."
Musée d'Orsay "This is my favorite place in all of Paris," Kristin announces, walking among the great Impressionist paintings and stopping in front of the Monets. "This is fabulous, isn't it? You have seen them in every suburban home, but they are still beautiful." The former Left Bank train station is an architectural gem full of nooks and crannies. A tiny aerie offers a magnificent city view. "I feel like a pigeon up here," she says, peering out through a giant clock face. "I used to come here when the kids were in strollers. It's so serene."
