Happy BirthdayAdam Paris!!! June 11, 1983...I hope you have a great day and see you soon in Tallinn!
Sunday in Paris most things are closed except in the Marais which was filled with people. I think many of the tourists came from the commemorations in Normandie and also from the tennis tournament Roland Garros.
This is a view of the boats from the Bastille metro stop
and of course the monument at Place de la Bastille.
I thought the outline of the Bastille on the wall above a café was a great idea. It gives you an idea of the massive size of this symbolic prison.
I remember in the Tale of Two Cities when Dr. Manette was found in one of the oubliettes. That always impressed me and made me wonder about how huge it must have been. Thank you Charles Dickens for such a wonderful novel!
On the way over to Place des Vosges I saw this poster advertising some special coins!
How marvelous to have Sempe draw the illustration for the coins...Liberté is one man on a bicycle; Egalité has two cyclists on a tandem bike and Fraternité has four people on separate bikes but linking arms across their shoulders! I absolutely love this idea...he is such a "French" cartoonist and...philosopher too! Just read "Petit Nicolas."
The gate to the Places des Voges looks so elegant.
There were young musicians from the Conservatory setting up to play music under the arches and the park was full of Sunday patrons. We went over to a new little pastry shop called Café Pouchkine.
Looks a bit like the Nutcracker Suite in there
and they had delicious piroshki...we got mushroom, cabbage and beef.YUM! The desserts we just admired.
Our destination actually was a cafe restaurant called:
 |
| the dormouse in the teapot |
In a way it reminds me of Genie's in Portland on Division and 11th
...not a single chair matched another, same for tables but the food was wonderful and the lemon meringue pie was legendary.
The meringue was sooo creamy and I do not really even like meringue very much (we split this piece by the way and had lentil salade to start with). Great posters n'est-ce pas??? See Cocteau with Gertrude Stein?
Around the corner on Rue Ste Croix de la Bretonnerie was this very unique sign:
Seems to exactly describe my friend Jaja especially when we are chez elle!!! Didn't know you had a branch in Paris also!!!
People were in a really long line waiting for an ice cream cone at what could be the Paris version of Salt and Straw ice cream.
There are several Amorino shops in the city and they all have long lines...JC and I had lots of gelato in Rome (smile) so I could pass this by...anyway, you DID see the meringue on that pie I just ate right? And I'm really not a dessert person! Hmmmm.
It was fun to look in some windows along the way. I liked the jacket/vest in this store and wanted a closer photo but the vendeuse in the shop saw me and stepped out the door to give me a pointed stare.
Malle said..."You are what they might call a "soft spy" only clothes photos and no killing!"
In another window I liked the pineapple applique on the turquoise shoe...
what do you think Clara???
This jewelry was all made in the shop
...some attractive combinations of materials...I hope you can enlarge it a bit for more detail (silk cording, beading etc.).
This is a sweater cut up and put back together with silk chambray fabric pieces.
What about these mens socks and shoe combinations? Can you make out the purple, hot pink and orange shoe laces??
It was really getting hot in the Marais so we aimed ourselves towards the Seine for shade and a cool drink. On our way we passed this green allée
...so refreshing...and in the allée this colorful shop...
The decoration in the window is a garland of wooden picnic spoons dipped in paint! The store was filled with colorful baskets, scarves and things for the home but was closed so we could not visit.
Near the Pont Louis Philippe I had to take a picture of the Cité des Arts where my sister Lena-Liis lived for two years when she was studying piano in Paris.
She had a studio with piano and small kitchen which looked out towards Notre Dame...something like this:
I remember taking the 74 bus over to visit her when we came to Paris with JC.
I wonder if we really realized then how totally awesome this was!!!???
Another great collection - who says there's nothing to do on a SUnday when the shops are closed??!! Interesting that it's so hot already...unusual? Happy Birthday to Adam! Bet you're looking forward to seeing him and Holly! Think I just gained 10 lbs looking at those desserts and OH! That pie! How do you get those Sempe coins? Are they commemorative? In circulation (like our State quarters?) How much is each worth? What a great great way to define freedom, brotherhood, and equality! Sempe is amazing!
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