La Fougasse -- pattisserie extraordinaire!

We are lucky to have one of the best patisseries in Paris on our block here in the 3rd -- La Fougasse on rue de Bretagne.  Good lord!  Not only do they have some of the best bread and croissants around, also they have killer desserts in about a two dozen varieties.  Tarts in chocolate, lemon, apple, pear, strawberry.  Cakes in white, milk or dark chocolate.  Macaroons.  Eclairs. Chocolate and almond croissants.  Too many to name!  Our favorite has been the trapezienne which is a sort of custard/banana cream pie with a delicious graham cracker crust.  La Fougasse is the reason I have gained ten pounds in the past three months!

Chez Janou

Current fave Chez Janou is about 15 mins away.  We drop in when we are on the way to the movies near Bastille.  The atmosphere is very homey and inviting, warm buttery lighting and a casual low-key vibe.  Food is excellent, of course.  As the French would say, it's a "good, honest bistro."  Had dinner there last week with my good friend Fleur and her Parisian friend Emilie (who also loves Janou).  Amazing ratatouille, duck, spinach salad with goat cheese, braised lamb, grilled tuna, a nice house red and the best chocolate mousse ever.  Damn, I'm getting hungry.

My "brick"

In the mornings, I have been swimming at the Cour des Lions pool and then riding a Velib bike up Canal St. Martin.  On the weekends I ride along the Seine since they close the highway down to cars.  Trying to get back in shape for the Malibu Tri in Sept.  

A Night at the Opera

Arts & Metiers

I've been trying to get out to see as many museums in Paris as I can.  One of the oddest is the Musee des Arts & Metiers.  It is billed as a "depot of new and useful inventions" and it houses all sorts of random, forgotten and downright weird artifacts.  19th century flying machines. Early cameras.  Zoetropes. Magic lanterns.  Focault's pendulum.  Cotton gins.  Steam engines.  

It's like the attic of France.  If you are a fan of steampunk you'll love it.  If not, you still might be carried away by the space, since part of the museum is set in the old priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs.  They've taken this old church and added a very cool modern superstructure to house exhibits.  It's like a movie set.  I think this is the only place in the world you can see a bi-plane flying through a cathedral.

Fashion week

It's fashion week here in Paris and everywhere I go I see fashionistas in their black on black outfits running between designer studios and shows here in the Marais.  American and Japanese buyers have taken over Cafe Charlot.  This is a very creative neighborhood of art galleries and designer ateliers.  In our building Jack Henry, a young american designer, has a studio and buyers and photographers have been making the trek back to his space.  A friend of a friend went to Stella McCartney's show the other night, which was held a couple of blocks away.

It's weird that the recession (the French call it, mildly, la crise -- they make it sound as if the global economy is just having a bad hair day) doesn't seem as intense in Paris as it seems in the States.  Restaurants and stores and the streets; people are out spending money.  The only sign I have seen that acknowledges the problem is a piece of poster/graffiti art that has popped up on walls around the Rue Vielle Temple -- "Protest Rescession, please dress up."

Weekend in Rome

The best thing about being based over here is being able to get on a plane and be anywhere in Europe in two hours.  You can fly off to Prague or Istanbul or Barcelona for about $100.  Spent a great weekend in Rome eating pasta, pizza and gelato, taking in the Sistine Chapel, the Colessium and the ruins of Ostia Antiqa, Rome's ancient seaport.  Got lucky with the weather too:  mid-sixties and sunny.   Real springtime weather.  

I

it's all about gelato!

Chez Jenny -- onion soup

Chez Jenny is a culinary institution on the Place Republique.  A classic brasserie that's been around since the 1920s.  We pass by all the time since Republique is our nearest metro stop.  Finally had dinner there the other night and were treated to the best onion soup I've ever had.  It's mostly about melted cheese!  Chez Jenny is a real meat lover's place -- sausage and sour kraut are the mainstays.   

Velib -- Free Bike Rental System

One of the coolest things in Paris is the Velib bike rental system.   There 1,450 bike kiosks in town.  And each kiosk lets you check out a bike and return it to any other location.  The first 30 minutes are free, each 1/2 hour afterwards only costs 1 Euro.  

What a cool idea to get people out of their cars, which decreases both traffic and carbon emissions.  And it's a cheap, pleasant way of getting around town.  It's genius!  

Les Enfants Rouge Market

One of the best things about where we live in Paris is that we are right next door to the Marche des Enfants Rouges.  It's the oldest covered food market in Paris (since 1615).  Not only can you pick up the catch of the day at the fish stand, wine from the wine stand, organic produce at the vegetable stall or a bouquet from the florist...you can also sit down for a meal or get take out from a dozen stands serving pizza, pasta, sushi, couscous or classic french bistro food.  The atmosphere is very lively and friendly and it is the centre of the neighborhood.  By the way, the market gets its name from an orphanage (which closed about 300 years ago!) in which the kids were dressed in red.

the perfect meal

My all-time favorite meal is roast chicken, a salad, french bread and red wine.  There are a couple of good rotisserie chicken places down the block from us and a couple times a week we buy a bird for lunch or dinner.  The chicken just melts in your mouth.  Perfect!

theatre du chatelet

This is actually from last Sunday, when I went to a morning concert at the Theatre du Chatelet.  I love old European theatres and opera houses with their dusty red velvet drapery and gold filigree.  Heard some Bach, Beethoven and Liszt.