Three nice and busy days in Paris part 1

Salut...I'm back! What a good time I've had the last few days. I'm going to share some photos and thoughts from them with you. It was great to have the Navigo transport pass...we can get on and off buses as we pass by things that look interesting and can use the Metro all over...it is worth having! Makes me feel more Parisian too!

A trip up the hill to Montmartre was the direction we headed first.

The sun was shining and it was starting to get hot so we rode the little bus up to the Place du Tertre which was actually mobbed with people.

I was on a hunt for the site of Midnight in Paris ride up the hill into the 1920's...I am still searching for the exact spot but in the meantime here was Dali!!

Walking around Sacré Coeur

we came to the Lapin Agile which is where I once sat next to the actor Paul Newman (yes I did this is TRUE) during a cabaret performance. I thought, in panic, that I was going to be expected to sing something because the people sitting around me started to sing and I did not realize that they were the actual cabaret performers!!!

Not far away is La Maison Rose which is where Utrillo lived...JC says this picture proves that he sees ..."la vie en rose...."!!!

Across from the Maison Rose is the vignoble which actually produces wine. This always amazes me that you can get wine from vines in the center of a big city like Paris!

La Bonne Franquette too was the gathering place of many artists and writers who made Montmartre their home and subject...Aristide Bruant was one of them.

We kept searching for the Midnight in Paris corner as we walked along Rue Lepic towards one of the old windmills...(I was sure it was down there)

and then down past Gaston Leroux's wine store to the rue des Abbesses which has become quite a new boutique area. (I plan on going back again.)

One of the first novels I was able to finally read in French in my early days was "le Mystère de la chambre jaune" which was also written by Gaston Leroux. I was very proud to have actually gotten through a novel in this new language so he has always stayed on my list of writers I like.

The next day the metro Rome was the meeting spot with my cousin Malle who lives in Paris.

We were on to a "gals weekend" together like we do when I come to France. Malle finds all the fun new spots to go and see and I usually give her a list of what I am looking to find. She says I always take her into the weirdest neighborhoods...I'm often on the search for some unusual piece of fabric, notion, notebook or pen!

We began our evening over some very yummy fish dishes at home and then off to bed to be ready for the first day...

which started out at the outdoor marché nearby...

and then on to the neighborhood of "little India".... I was searching for a specific type of sari fabric in shops like these.

No luck this time but I did find a pretty cotton top!

We wove our way through a neighborhood which is on the rise as younger couples move in. Apartments here...

are quite roomy and still affordable for the time being so there is some renouveau starting to show.

See the porte St. Denis at the end of the street?

Our real destination though was "la jeune rue" which I read about in an article from the Wall Street Journal. The plan for this area is to have a group of young designers, restaurateurs etc.open businesses together. It is close to the Ecole des Arts et Metiers

we were hungry now and the whole area is still pretty quite...we walked down the middle of a street with not one single car behind us!!! 

But we found a very cheerful restaurant with young, energetic wait staff and a really bright interior!

We had such a delicious salade composed of warm, sautéed langoustines with grapefruit, orange and green beans...the dressing was made with citrus juice. So GOOOOD!

Can you tell I liked it?

Here's the cute picture on the menu...sort of late 40's early 50's I think:

Nope...did not have dessert!!!

It was time to go over to Faubourg St. Honoré...there is a store there that seems to be the top of fashion and modern ideas...Chez Colette...and it is always a feast for the eyes. Some things are really crazy but others are very nice and elegant. I liked the eyelet in these pieces but I did not dare take more photos for fear of being kicked out....then after we were through browsing we went out the door and there was a sign that said: PHOTO FRIENDLY. Darn it. Well, maybe I should go back??

Down the street is Chantal Thomas who has designed a polo shirt especially for the Roland Garros tennis tournament.What do you think? Sort of Chanel looking right?

It was really getting hot so we took a bus in front of the Madeleine..they had all these flowers set out on the stairs it looked like a garden!

We ended up at Deux Magots in Saint Germain...this is the café Sartre and Camus used to sit in and I like to sit there too because you can see the most interesting people walking by. Nothing much happening in the heat this time however.

Grocery shopping at the Grande Epicerie de Paris is pretty amazing! This is like a Couture Whole Foods store and this seems to be an appropriate statement:

Here one can resist anything but temptation

This is one part of the foie gras section:

choose your own eggs:

then check out the selection of bottled water in glass bottles...such a decorative wall of water!

This bottle costs 59 euros...it comes from Tennessee!

We were pretty thirsty when we came into the store but passed on bling H2O.

It was a great day. I will tell you more next time but now it is time for me to go to bed. Outside there is thunder rumbling and we are going to have rain and lightning for sure. Lights are flickering on and off! Bonne nuit!