French, sex-obsessed?

9 Oct

Thank you Mister Paul for this awesome picture taken at a bakery in le Marais district, Paris.

Une brioche gourmande is a French viennoiserie that you eat either at breakfast or as a snack.

The brioche above had an unusual shape: as you can see, it looks like a cock. Do not get confused though: the most commonly used shape for a brioche is the shape from the picture below.

If I come across a vagina brioche at a future bakery trip in Paris, I’ll let you know.

 

Darker earlier, it’s Autumn

5 Oct

Every time I walk back home from work, I take a shortcut via Parc Monceau.

I know, life is a bitch…

I took some pictures @Parc Monceau

Colors are changing: more burgundy and orange tones, less brightness, 7.30 pm sunset. It’s amazing how light impact the psyche, I feel I should not stay too late at work in the evening and get home earlier

Perpective is changing: now that the trees are getting naked, I will soon grasp a great view of the Arc de Triomphe on my way out. We like the benefits of nudity, afterall we are French…

The energy is changing: fewer people hanging out on the grass, it’s quieter. And I like that, a lot

Expectations are shifting: from outdoor sunbathing and tanning to sweet home and cocooning. I’ve been out of hot water for almost 2 weeks now, cocooning conditions not ready at home…

Tuesday evening is the peak night for runners, they’re jogging and sweating in and out of Parc Monceau. Of utmost public importance, note that the handsome firemen run every day near Parc Monceau, early morning, and that they are really fit.

And last picture is from Paul’s when he visited Père Lachaise in the fall last year.

Paul the cat is the perfect mascot for the season because he can inspire us all whining about the changes. Paul the cat is indifferent to the season’s changes and we shall emulate his attitude. Vive l’Automne!  

    

   

       

Her name is Rosanna-Jazz

4 Oct

And I’m her proud godmother, or, as Gary the grandfather rightly put it, I’m the guard mother.

Rosanna-Jazz, 3 weeks old on this planet, is beautiful. She is my best friend Daisy’s daughter and her first baby.

I held Rosa on my chest and she fell asleep. It lasted about 2 hours and I did not move an inch to keep her from waking up.  There were no other places on earth I wish I would have been in at that point. It was such a great moment, to feel useful and protective of  her, and to allow Daisy for a break. 

Rosanna-Jazz carries a bit of her grandmother Anna in her name and a bit of her aunt Sacha Rose in Québec. And she could not escape Jazz because her mom Daisy is a dance choregrapher.

It was lovely to stop by La Coume, have lunch with all the family and hang out by the river with Rosa-Jazz. It was October 2nd and it felt like Summer, the sunlight on rocky mountains and green valleys of Les Corbières reflected the joy and happiness we had to share some time together. Ohhh Paris, I did not miss you a sec. Simplicity is all I need.

     

Walking in Paris is worth a thousands history books

24 Sep

 

LE MARCHE DES ENFANTS ROUGES

The name literally means “ Market of the Red Children” and according to Eye prefer Paris blog, the name comes from a nearby 17th century orphanage where the children wore red uniforms. ‘Le marché des enfants rouges’ is the oldest food market in Paris, built in 1615 and located in the Northern Marais. The picture above shows you one of the entrance, on Rue Charlot.

Hello, Northern Marais (métro Temple, metro line 3)

Le marché des enfants rouges is located in the northern part of historic district le Marais, and without a doubt, it’s my favorite area of the neighborhood. Le Marais means swamp and the district was originally exactly that on the right bank of the Seine river: it was a flooded area where vegetables were grown from the IX to the XII century.

It wasn’t until the 13th century that convents came to the area and it began to develop life and culture. Around 1650, the upper bourgeoisie invested and bought plots in le Marais to build sumptuous hôtels particuliers (mansions). The upper bourgeoisie later moved to Versailles and followed the King. A new bread of people came to the neighborhood and commerce developed. In 2008, reality TV show ‘Star Academy’, the French equivalent to ‘American Idol’, was filmed in one of them, hôtel Brossier on Rue Charlot. Renting cost: 50.000 euros a month. Needless to say, Le Marais is known as one of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Paris.

Walk up to 35 rue Charlot and you will stumble upon street arts ‘postures-themed’: it’s a wall fully covered by photographs with vintage-like  majorette pictures (a majorette is a cheerleader à la Française) and underneath it, random people dressed up as cheerleader. We have to thank Fabien Breuvard for bringing back the majorette swing at the forefront of wandering minds in Paris.   

 

NOW LET’S GET INSIDE THE MARKET OF THE RED CHILDREN.

I’d never explored this market, what a great found! It was packed and it smelled delicious exotic foods.

    

You can order prepared food at the stands and eat ‘sur place’ as there are many tables spread out through the market. The smell of tajine past the Moroccan stand placed le marché des enfants rouges on top of my ‘try-it-out’ list in Paris.

On the way out, walking southbound on Rue Charlot, I saw a huge and adorable labrador retriever quietly resting by the entrance doors of a museum. I stared at the dog completely enamoured. The click of my camera did not disturb the dog who did not move an inch. Precious napping-time! 

 

To summarize:

If you plan on visiting Paris:

1- make sure you bring a comfortable pair of shoe

2- make sure you go to le Marais (many boutiques, bars, cafés, galleries are opened on Sunday)

3- make sure you walk as much as you can

I guarantee that you’ll always find something that will pick your interest and amaze you. Paris is a fantastic ‘walkable’ city.

If you’re a bike lover, there are many options for you too:

Paris à vélo was started by a girl from Amsterdam who fell in love with the city: http://parisavelo.fr/

The figaro, a french newspaper/magazine- has a couple more options.

http://www.lefigaro.fr/sortir-paris/2011/05/03/03013-20110503ARTFIG00496-le-guide-malin-du-velo-a-paris.php

In a later post, I’ll explore the Southern Marais: the historic Jewish neighbhorood on Rue des Rosiers and the dazzling Place des Vosges where Victor Hugo lived for a while.

In the meantime, contact me if I can be of any help with your itinerary/Paris tour!

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Japanese bento meets French bio

11 Sep

Great brunch at Nanashi today.

Location: 57 Rue Charlot in le Marais, Paris.

If you can see what's Juice doing, I'll make you a camembert bento

If you plan on going to this great Japanese/French organic canteen,  it might be a good idea to call ahead of time and secure a table, especially on the week-ends.

Zoe and Michelle from London, Roberto and Juice. Fun crowd!

If you have not booked a table, come a little bit before noon (like we did) and you should be fine.

Cantine-like, long corridor, daily seasonal fares

 
 

Fish bento = Yummy. Cocktail du jour = a blend of fruits, pears/apples/red berries

Unfortunately, my picture does not do justice to the food. I ordered the fish (trout) bento. The ingredients and vegetables were all very fresh, the grated carrots very sweet, the roasted pumpkins added great texture and flavor to the baby green salad.

My cocktail du jour- a mix of pears, apples, red berries, was a killer. TROP BON!
 
We were very satisfied with our lunch so we missed desert, but FYI- Nanashi pastry chef comes every morning and today she had prepared fig tarts, panacotta/black sesame, cheesecakes, cake matcha (green tea), fruit salads and carrot cakes. I have a thing for carrot cake so I tried the sample: I wonder whether people heard me cry (yes, it was very good). 
 
There are many other food options, all very healthy and tasty: soups, salads, spring rolls…
 
Next time, I will try the tofu burger bento (week-end only).
 

  But where is Juice?
 
 
And to finish, here is the interesting view from Nanashi.

‘Get out of romanticism and manure’.

Located right next to a pastry/tart shop. Tasteful, no?

 

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