Looking through

I walk by this courtyard and wonder at what's inside. 

All walled in, it looks prim and proper but 

I'm certain there are tales for waiting ears.

Watch out the grass is sleeping

 You'd never guess it, but this man here is the rabid gardian (watchman) of the Place des Vosges.  Let me tell you why. There is a funny rule here that the grass that grows in the park needs to rest. Yes,  rest.  The Place des Vosges has different patches of grassy areas where theoretically people could spread a blanket and soak up the sun. Every so often though, they'll close off one patch so that the grass could rest and grow. Most people are really good at following this rule. And when they get stubborn, the gardian is there to make sure they leave the grass alone! I didn't really believe this till I saw him in action.

A few minutes before taking this picture below, tons of people were literally sprawled on this patch. But, the gardian arrived and chased everybody off with his whistle. Pretty impressive feat huh? Unfortunately I wasn't fast enough to take a picture of him in action and in hindsight, maybe its better I didn't, because I don't want to get kicked off the park!

Luckily for us, there were other patches of grass where we could sit or lie down.  And on such a beautiful day, it would be criminal not to linger and enjoy as much as we can.

There were even two ducks enjoying the cool waters of this fountain. Isn't that sweet?

Here they are enjoying some sun on their backs.

Rabid gardian aside, I love this place. Its probably one of the prettiest squares, I've seen in the city.

You never know what you'll see out of the window

Today's view

H & M and Marni

 I had a few hours free this morning and what did I decide to do? I decided to queue, along with what seemed like hundreds of like minded individuals, over at H and M to await the unveiling of their collaboration with Marni. As far as queues go, it wasn't too bad. I was in line outside the store for about an hour and to prevent general chaos from descending, we were let in by groups of 35.  Once inside we were given 10 minutes inside the designated Marni zone to choose and we were limited to 5 articles.  I realize how crazy this sounds but as I had made it to that point, it seemed even crazier to just up and leave.  I suppose its organized this way so as not to have general chaos but once inside the zone, it was a free for all. People grabbing stuff off the racks, with some becoming really aggressive.

I wanted to take more photos inside but only managed to snap one whilst holding on to my Marni of choice.

Once the ten alloted ten minutes was up, we were literally herded out of the zone to make room for the next set of people. Whew!

Whoever started this trend of designer collaborations with high street brands particularly H&M has to be patting himself in the back now.  Its such a genius idea really. It makes certain designer brands more accessible  while upping the cachet of high street. The thing I realized once I had left the zone and could observe the people to my heart's content is how varied the people inside were. You literally had all sorts of women--young fashionistas, old to be my mother types,  working women  and social wise- I think they came from all strata.  There were a number of women there who looked like they could clearly afford the "real"Marni but had nonetheless been in line and had grabbed stuff for themselves. One woman even did the queue twice!!  Is it because they're Marni fans and as such, will buy at any price? Are they looking for a deal?

I remember last December when Marks and Spencer re-opened people queued 3 hours to get in!  I remember thinking, what a crazy thing to do. And I found myself this morning, a fine one too, after days of rain, standing outside H&M. What makes any of us, otherwise sane and reasonable people, queue outside a store, for clothes? This isn't the first time, nor I think will it be the last.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this one..

Paris Plage

 You won't guess it from these photos, but the last two weeks have been cold and rainy and not at all summer like.  Yesterday was the first real sunny summer like day. To celebrate the return of good weather (may it continue like this!), we decided to take a walk and check out Paris Plage.  For the past couple of years now, for a month during the summer, the quai of the Right Bank turns into a beach.  Yes, you read that right, a beach.  Sand is brought in, bright blue beach chairs and umbrellas are set up, hotdog and ice cream stands all line up, ready to serve the beachgoers. And while there are some who sniff at the idea of such artificialness, there are more than enough people who come and enjoy what's on offer.

Where there are normally cars whizzing by, this part of the quai has been turned over to bathing suit wearing sunworshippers.

 There are several outdoor cafes, such as the one pictured below, which come equipped with lounge chairs.

 I wonder where they get the sand....I suppose people don't care, they just lay their mats and get ready to tan.

 And because it can get scorchingly hot, they've even put cool mist dispensers...

 Nothing says summer like ice cream and this one is proving to be a huge success!

Secret garden

I have this little routine that I do when I come home after being away so often.  The day after I arrive and after doing the chores that have accumulated in my absence, I take a little walk around our neighborhood. Getting reacquainted if you will, with the people in the neighborhood--the cheery folks selling fresh vegetables, my favorite boulanger with my preferred bread. I even take a peek at the couple who take in all our drycleaning.  We visit the park that's next to us, just to see if there are still as many pigeons there.  Its a nice sort of way to ease back into the home routine.

After Madrid, we decided after the walk to head further out and maybe do a bit of window shopping. We headed towards the Bon Marche but along the way, we got distracted. 

In the middle of all the Haussmanian buildings, there seemed to be a quiet square that I had never seen before.

 Its small with a few benches but enough trees to make it seem like a secret garden. Its the perfect spot to sit and read a good book. Or to make a little break from the hurly-burly of daily life (snacks are optional).

 There's even a little slide, perfect for a little one with a yen for big adventures.

What a nice homecoming treat!

Fruits of the season

In an effort to make more healthy meals for the family, I've been trying to buy vegetables and fruits that are in season.  Now Monday is normally the day when our usual vegetable seller is closed. Fortunately there is another place which remains open on Mondays and I was pleasantly surprised to find them carrying such beautiful produce. 

Just look at these gorgeous tomatoes of all colors. They were labelled les tomates du village and I'm sure would make a wonderful salad with...mozarella cheese!

 Up until I read Market Man's post (read here), I'd never seen a red basil in my life. Imagine my surprise to find it here! Sitting all quiet next to a juicy looking watermelon.

 Apricots are now in season, along with cherries, and these looked and smelled divine!

 Okay, I said I'm trying to buy only those in season but these ...are my favorite! Take a guess what this is?

Clue: they are tropical fruits, are extremely sweet when ripe, but are wonderfully sour when unripe and perfect for salads!

The return of the brocante post

 Its been awhile since I did a Brocante post so I thought I would share photos from the last one I visited. Remember the Marche de Place d'Aligre (read post here) I visited a couple of weeks ago? It turns out that on Easter Monday, a big brocante takes place there with about a hundred stands.  As befits the nature of the neighborhood, there was all manner of stuff available for sale. And as it was a bright and scorching hot day, droves of people turned out for the brocante.

Unlike other brocantes, this one had more than its fair share of vintage clothes.  There were a few stands selling what seemed to be the dustiest and raggediest looking clothes I ever did see. Its a measure of how dusty they were that I didn't even attempt to wade through them though it didn't stop a good number of hardy souls. I couldn't even take photos that's how packed they were!

So I left them to it and wondered around looking at other stands and look what I found....

A stand selling someone's collection of pencil sharpeners from the 50s! These were made in Spain and are in metal and came in various shapes and forms.  How neat are these?

Baccarat crystalware...

One stand had stacks and stacks of scarves but her prized piece was an Hermes one, proudly set aside from the rest ......

But my absolute favorite was this antique travel vanity case.  It came complete with a mirror, little tweezers,brushes and perfume bottles in this beautiful leather case. It really must have been something to travel like this before all the size and weight restrictions.

Easter and its chocolates

I'm sure its not too late to wish everyone a Happy Easter! 

All over the city the chocolate shops went all out with their window displays to celebrate this most wonderful of feast days.  Here are a few that caught my attention...

Chocolat noir et blanc

Chocolat au lait

Don't you just love the detail on this window?

An orange bunny 

Even Tintin got involved

Don't they just make you feel like splurging on one of these treats?

To the market we go

Before moving to Paris, I wasn't much into food markets or cooking for that matter. I'm quite happy to eat and to eat well  at that, but the whole process of coming up with the plate on the table, is one that I was quite happy to skip.   Having your own hearth and home changes everything though.  Cooking is still a chore for me but it helps a lot that its quite easy to find fresh produce with which to make our family meals.  Today, I discovered the Marche de Place d'Aligre. It is one of the biggest of Paris' markets and consists of the open air market with its numerous stands selling fruits and vegetables and the covered portion.  Its one of the biggest markets in Paris and one of the few remaining ones with a covered area still in use as a market.

The name by which it is known now is a bit misleading as the actual name of the marche is Marche Couvert Beauvau. Aligre was the name of a benefactor of an old hospital which became the site of a square called Square Trousseau. This part of the 12th arrondissement is renowned for its tradition of artisanal furniture thanks to all the ateliers that could once be found here in the area. There are still a number of them to be found in the little side streets that branch off from the big avenue. 

The Marche itself is a huge affair with produce coming from everywhere. Asian and African fruits and vegetables are well represented here.  It is also significantly cheaper than other markets and the stands vie with each other for the customers. It makes for a loud but friendly cacophony and locals rub shoulders with the increasing number of tourists who come to experience a Parisian market. 

I was a bit overwhelmed by all the vegetables and fruits so lavishly displayed. There is even a stand of organically grown vegetables and fruits.  I wonder where they got their pineapples. This stand was easily one of the busiest in the market.

 Loads and loads of deliciously succulent and plump strawberries called gariguettes.  They are in season right now and are served everywhere as the dessert du jour.

All around the market, there are a number of nice little restaurants which have all set out their tables and chairs outside, the better to take advantage of this unseasonable sunshine and warmth.

Even La Gazetta, a cool restaurant with a Swedish chef and Nordic inspired cuisine, have set up their own terrace.

A wonderful area worth many repeated visits. Never has going to the market been more fun!

Merienda time

A friend needed a bit of a break from work and I didn't need much prompting to go with her.  In my book, any reason is a good reason for a merienda or gouter break.  We headed off towards the Marais, as is our wont but this time, our destination wasn't the usual cafe or tea place I'd gotten accustomed to. Instead, we headed towards the Swedish cultural center.  The center is housed in a lovely hotel particulier called Hotel de Marle which was built towards the end of the 15h century. The center has been in residence since 1971.

Its a lovely place with a big courtyard where they'd cleverly set up chairs and tables for their cafe.  Normally its packed but as the day proved to be fresh with a brisk wind, only two people were brave enough to sit outside. More prudent souls like ourselves headed inside where we were welcomed by the aroma of freshly baked bread and cakes.  The atmosphere is casually friendly and convivial with paper lanterns providing much of the light. Folks line up and point to their cake of choice and then grab one of the tables. 

Of course, I went for a cup of hot chocolate and a slice of cake. The chocolate was served steaming hot with a more than generous dollop of chantilly cream. Delicious...

 But the real stars of the cafe, as far as I'm concerned are their wonderful cakes. They are freshly baked everyday on site and flavors depend on the season. Their best seller is their carrot cake and unfortunately somebody had grabbed the last slice so I had to go with another choice. Luckily, their banana chocolate cake more than made up for missing the carrot cake. It was just yummy. It hit just the right balance between the chocolate and banana and there was a flavorful explosion in the mouth.  This, I thought to myself, as I devoured my cake, was what we're talking about when we say merienda time!

A shot of their cakes, the empty plate was the carrot one

Making up for last week's rain

After we finished our walk along the Coulee Verte, we found ourselves in the 12th arrondissement.  The heart of this largely residential arrondissement is arguable the Place Felix Eboue with its magnificent fountain of lions. The two major streets of the 12th criss-cross here and becomes a busy hub for the residents when they gather for the twice weekly market. The market features a dizzying array of vendors selling fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry and seafood. There are even several cheese stands to choose from.  It is reputed to be the longest and oldest marche in Paris.

That weekend though, the space was turned over to a huge brocante of over 250 stands.  And unlike last week, it was a beautiful day so everyone was in a great mood, perusing the different wares.  I wasn't really expecting to find anything as the sellers were mostly professional ones selling major items like furniture and silverware.

So I meandered about taking a few pictures here and there...notably this man's collection of apothecary jars

This stand's beautiful chimney cover... when I spotted it, I had a pang of regret that our chimney has been bricked over ....

 It wasn't till almost at the very end that I spotted something that made me gasp in surprise. Well, it was more like a squeak of surprise since it was totally unexpected. Do you remember the stand from last week's brocante selling the old mini lamps? Well, there he was with his crates of lamps! Unfortunately his wares were significantly diminished but I did manage to find a pretty one.  Just take a look? Isn't this just adorable? I love how the fact that its all glass reduces the kitsch factor. Now if I just have to find oil and we're good to go. That and make sure our house is insured!

The lamp alone made my day and I was happy to go home but I had one more unexpected find and its this pretty crocheted collar necklace sewn with glass beads. Its so pretty and I can perfectly imagine it sprucing up my basic shirts.

Here it is hanging from my vintage frame

A close up shot of my lovely collar

 Needless to say, I went home happy and pleased as Punch!

A secret

Today, I'm going to let you in one of the city's best kept secrets....

Come along, I promise you won't be disappointed.

It begins right above where the Viaduc des Arts begin

I want to take you to La Coulee Verte, this magical strip of planted area built high on top of an ancient railway track.  Where the Opera Bastille now stands used to be the end of the line that ran until 1969. Its here that you will appreciate the city planners genius because instead of completely destroying the line, they took off the tracks and created a pathway planted with the most gorgeous chestnut trees, cherry blossoms, fragrant roses, bamboo and other flowers whose names I wish I knew.  In addition, they created little pockets where one can sit on a bench and take deep lungfuls of air that suddenly feel cleaner just because we're higher up.

Its not very long, only 4.5 kilometers long but once up there, you have a feeling of being outside the city.  Paris with all its noise and stress suddenly seems very far away. Here on the Coulee Verte, you can stroll and linger and not have to scurry to and fro as is our wont during our every day lives. Or you can sit quietly immersed in a good book as the sun warms your face.

I love cherry blossoms and here they are in their full glory...

 A peaceful little pond albeit missing a few fishes

Its funny to be this high above the street...

Ah, it ends in a pretty little park complete with a foot bridge.  Time to lie in the grass and catch a few winks...