Parisian Debate: To Work, or Not to Work on Sundays

It has been another fun day – Montmartre for lunch, the area around Les Halles and Saint Eustache in the afternoon, refreshments on Rue Montorgueil in the evening, and dinner at a great little Italian restaurant to cap things off. We made the short walk back to the apartment and settled in for the night.

We were too stuffed from dinner to go to bed, so we turned on television. The big story on the local news was a debate about stores in Paris being either allowed or prohibited from opening for business on Sundays. Continue reading “Parisian Debate: To Work, or Not to Work on Sundays”

Les Halles and Le Ventre de Paris

We’ve had quite a day, visiting Place du Tertre at Montmartre with throngs of other tourists, taking a break in the afternoon, then walking over to where Les Halles used to be.  To get ourselves in the proper mood, we were thinking about Emile Zola’s book that takes place in Les Halles, Le Ventre de Paris. (The Belly of Paris). The main character, a fellow named Florent, had been found, barely alive, by a lady at the head of an early morning procession of vegetable carts heading to market at Les Halles. Continue reading “Les Halles and Le Ventre de Paris”

Montmartre and Les Halles

We’re in the central square, Place du Tertre, in Montmartre, outside under the canopy of trees here. Restaurants line the square. Big canvas sunshades are set up in the center of the square so people can eat outside and be protected from the elements. The atmosphere has a circus-like quality to it. Everyone seems to be having a good time, including the servers at Au Cadet de Gaston.

We’ve just finished lunch with a whole bunch of people who must have had the same idea today as us. The place was packed. Even though this place is unquestionably touristy, everyone sitting around us had been speaking French. Interesting, eh? Continue reading “Montmartre and Les Halles”

Montmartre for Lunch

It’s the middle of the night, but we’re lying in bed, wide awake.   We were both asleep for a while, but we’re wide awake now. It’s pitch dark. What time is it, anyway?   2:00 AM. Ugh. I guess we haven’t gotten all the jet lag out of our systems yet. It’s 6:00 PM yesterday back home.

On the other hand, maybe it’s because of the sugar ingested in last night’s late-night taste test of macarons. Not likely – my wife only had one small bite. I had to do the heavy lifting myself. If that was the cause of me being wide awake at 2:00 AM, it was worth it! Continue reading “Montmartre for Lunch”

Cocktails on Rue Montorgueil, then Frenchie

After lunch at the pizza place, we went back to the apartment and took it easy for awhile. We made a dinner reservation at Frenchie.  By pure luck we managed to get in even though there was supposed to be a month-long waiting list.

When we were ready to head out again, it was cocktail hour.   That meant that the outdoor cafés along Rue Montorgueil would be filling up with people enjoying snacks, refreshments, and people-watching. We’d soon be among them. Continue reading “Cocktails on Rue Montorgueil, then Frenchie”

Pizza in Paris

We had a fun and adventurous morning on our first day waking up in Paris.   After my early-morning foraging trip, we went to two of the great old Paris department stores to look around and to pick up some macarons from Ladurée and Hermé for a taste test.

When we had the macarons in hand, we took the Metro back to our neighborhood and went straight to a place we had pre-selected for lunch. They’re supposed to have extra-good sandwiches, pizza, and coffee. Mmmm.   We were really hungry, so we went straight there from Galleries Lafayette. Continue reading “Pizza in Paris”

Au Printemps, Galleries Lafayette, and Macarons!

It’s our first morning waking up in Paris.  We’ve had coffee and breakfast, and now we’re heading out to visit two of Paris’ most famous department stores, Au Printemps and Galleries Lafayette.  It’s fun to see these great establishments, and as a bonus, two of Paris’ premier macaron makers, Ladurée and Hermé, are located within.  We’re going to have our own little macaron tasting contest.  Which one will be our favorite — Ladurée or Hermé?  It will be fun finding out!

Continue reading “Au Printemps, Galleries Lafayette, and Macarons!”

Paris Starbucks, Ladurée, and Hermé

I’ve been out foraging for provisions on our first morning in Paris. I was ready to head back to the apartment when I realized I had forgotten to get coffee when I was in the supermarket. I had been out for quite awhile, so even though we were in Paris, I decided to go to a Starbucks. – Yep, that’s right, Starbucks.  There was one just down the street on the corner.

Inside the Starbucks, there was a line, just like any Starbucks at home.   But that was where the similarity ended. Quite a few of the drinks on the menu board didn’t have the same names as the ones I’m familiar with. Continue reading “Paris Starbucks, Ladurée, and Hermé”

First Morning in Paris – Buying Bread

I’ve been out foraging early on our first morning waking up in Paris. The item at the top of my foraging list is buying bread. In French, that would be “pain.” It doesn’t sound like “pain,” though, when it’s pronounced.   It rhymes with “pan” as in “frying pan,” but instead of the hard “n”, you make a nasally sound so it ends up sounding something like “panh.”

After checking out my bread buying options, I decided to go into a “Kayser” boulangerie to get my “panh.” I went in, looked around, then got in the short line with other early risers waiting to be helped. They had all kinds of bread in there. Continue reading “First Morning in Paris – Buying Bread”

First Morning in Paris

Huh?   Wha..? Where am I? Oh!… I just woke up after our first night’s sleep in our Paris apartment.   We landed yesterday around noon, got situated in the apartment, took naps, went out for awhile, had dinner, came back here and conked out.

We tried to stay up late enough so that we wouldn’t wake up at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning and be wide awake. It seems to have worked, because we both slept the whole night through, and I feel pretty good this morning. Certainly good enough to go out and do some early morning foraging. Continue reading “First Morning in Paris”