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| The view from my window |
Dear friends, it’s been a crazy week here, what with all the things I’ve had to do for my little project hence the long silence on the blog. It doesn’t help that the news has been so grim with the disaster in Japan and now the bombings in Libya. It has made me feel like what I’m doing in the scale of things is frivolous and too lighthearted by far. It has made writing difficult, to say the least.
Today, I look out the window and the sun is shining brightly. It is officially spring in my corner of the world. The sky is this wonderful blue that I haven’t seen in awhile. All this reminds me that part of the purpose of this blog is to share all the little beautiful moments that can be so fleeting. Yes, Hobbes had a point when he said that life is nasty, brutish and short, but it can also be light filled and full of beauty, humor and grace. We have but only to look closely.
And so, I want to share with you photos from a lovely little jaunt we took in the Rue Montorgueil area. Rue Montorgueil in the 2nd arrondissement lies just behind Chatelet-Les Halles but feels like a world apart. It gives one a good idea of old Paris back when it used to be a little village. This pedestrian only street is lined with wonderful bistros and cafes some dating back to the 19th century, numerous little specialty shops and of course, chocolate and pattiserie shops. Grocery shopping here is done the traditional way, meaning one has to pay a visit to the butcher to buy meat, the fish shop if you want some sea food and the cheese shop for some gorgeous fresh cheese. No one-stop shopping for the folks who live in this neighborhood.
The street abounds with patisseries but the must see is the Patisserie Stohrer. It was founded in 1730 by Nicholas Stohrer ,who was the pastry chef in Versailles. He is also credited with having created the Baba au Rhum. The shop itself is beautiful and it was extremely difficult to tear our eyes away from the luscious goodies on display. But I did take note that they’ve kept the original ceilings whose mural was painted by Paul Baudry back in the mid-19th century. While Baba au Rhum is the house specialty, we went for the éclair as it is renowned for being one of the best in the city. I’m happy to report that the éclair was extremely good, by far one of the nicest I’ve had so far!
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| The storefront display |
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| Delicious eclairs |
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| Other goodies including the cannele |
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| Another chocolate shop which carried a large selection of violet candies |
Heart the gorgeous view from your window. And Rue Montorgueil sounds like a perfect retreat from the hurried pace of the city. I'd be charmed to do my groceries the traditional-way. In Montogueil's case, the rue is a village! :)
ReplyDeleteOoh, thank you so much for that little carpet ride! We are starting to have some more sunny days here too - it makes such a difference :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining my Linky Party - it wouldn't be the same without you XoL
Oh my... all those treats are making me feel hungry!!!! Ang the window displays! How tempting!
ReplyDeleteI think the Monumento in Caloocan might be quite a sight painted in gold just like the one you see out your Paris window.
ReplyDeletelou in san fran
To anonymous and Happy Homemaker UK: thanks for dropping by!
ReplyDeleteTo Grace in Full Measure:Yes it was very hard to walk away from all those treats!
To Lou in San Fran: Thanks for dropping by. I have to say, I can't remember anymore what the Caloocan Monument looks like but I agree that painted in gold would probably quite the sight!