Un Saut à Paris

Our salon in Paris

I could stay away from Paris for now because if all things go well, we will return there one day to live in our little flat near the Arc de Triomphe. The prolonged absence and the anticipation make each trip back sweeter, allowing me to look at the city with new eyes each time, savouring the familiar, marvelling at the new (and there's always something new to discover).

Metro Parisien : Chatelet

Not everybody likes Paris (or Parisians for that matter). It is a very big city, with grey skies, buildings (albeit many beautiful ones) close to one another, noisy boulevards, dog shit everywhere and lots of pollution. But it is also a very old city, I often marvel at how streets mentioned in stories written in the last 2 centuries or even further back could still be found today if you look for them. It has the most amazing boutiques especially when it comes to food or drink and French people, once you get used to them, are quite my kind of folk. I have actually become quite fond of their general grouchiness, measured rudeness, haughty politeness and reluctance to offer a compliment. In any case, most Parisians are foreigners and we are what makes Paris tick, this fusion of the French and the not-so-French. Last but not least, I personally think that French is one of the most beautiful languages in the world. I can spend hours listening to them speak on the radio, on TV, in a café...And now I can even hear myself speak :-)

Stuck in the A3

Passing by Cité Universitaire

A street in the 14th

BHV, Hotel de Ville

Unfortunately, we were in Paris this time but did not get to spend time in Paris. Like in Stuttgart - you are starting to see a pattern, aren't you? We were stuck in a big traffic jam on our way to Paris on Tuesday and upon arrival, I was off to Antony to lunch with Karena while Hub went off to Hôtel de Ville to lunch with his handsome pal Stéphane. And when we found each other again in the afternoon, I just managed to squeeze in a visit to Gap Kids to buy a few sweaters for the children and then it was time to make our way to Ben's house in Asnières for dinner and overnight. No time to catch a movie, a play or an exhibition.

Karena & Angel

Karena's Lamb Tagine with Couscous

Karena's Millionaire's Shortbread

Karena (who's working full-time) made me a lovely Lamb Tagine for lunch. And before that we had a spicy Thai Mung Bean Vermicelli Salad and ended the meal with a very very sinful and rich Millionaire's Shortbread. I think half the 2 Kgs I gained in my first week came from just that meal alone. It was lovely seeing her again not forgetting her 2 gorgeous little girls. Wish we could see each other more often...

Ben's Tournedos Rossini

Dinner at Ben's was also a gourmet one. Ben's Hub's high school friend though he's English and Jewish (but non-practising). His eldest genius of a daughter is also Hub's god-daughter. Anyway, he single-handedly cooked us a Tournedos Rossini dinner tout à fait digne d'un bon restaurant français. I have missed fresh pan-fried duck liver. Yummy yummy...

I miss French bread

My favourite Fishmonger, rue Poncelet (75017) or rue Daguerre (75014)

On our way back to the Vallée de l'Automne, we visited our flat in Paris and spent a small fortune on seafood in the open market at rue Poncelet (near the Arc de Triomphe) where I used to shop for my fresh produce when we were living in the city. I would be eating much more fish and seafood if we were still living in Paris. The choice is amazing.

My flat, my street

Our master bedroom

We also had a quick lunch at Blue Elephant - a lovely Thai restaurant at Bastille. The quality of life in Paris is certainly much higher than the one we are having in Modena - provided that you are not too financially-challenged, of course. Paris, je t'aime.

Set lunch, Blue Elephant

Prawn Curry, Blue Elephant