The art on the streets of Butte-aux-Cailles was my kind of a museum experience. Around each corner something kind of unusual, quirky, fun, completely fabulous, all for free. AND interspersed with all the art, were doors, windows, flower boxes, and the very nice lady who was wearing a knitted vest herself and stopped me to comment on my knitted scarf. Oh it was a wonderful moment, across the language divide we communicated in the language of yarn and making. But let me get back to the art.
It was compelling, unexpected, thoughtful, funny, beautiful. Butte-aux-Cailles is a neighborhood in the 13th arrondissement, if you go to Paris and want a few hours of aimless wandering on cobblestone streets, it will fit the bill.
Three things I have done recently that have been immensely satisfying include the following:
#1 has to be the hours spent watching these baby robins being tended to (very attentively) by a pair of adult robins. So engrossing. One adult watches, one goes and gets squiggly worms, the watcher leaves, the worm catcher pokes them in the upturned beaks, and then it starts all over again. I had a great view of all the comings and goings from my favorite seat on the front porch. This year, for maybe the first time ever, I saw one of the fledglings take its maiden voyage out of the nest. I marveled at the adult just letting it do its thing, trusting the process that all will be as it should be.
#2 is these little 100 piece puzzles. Just enough to take up an hour (or less if you are expert) enjoying the successful placement of one piece, followed by another, and so forth and so on because it is a little bit addicting. I bought these at a great little bookstore on the main street in Council Grove a few months ago and finally got around to playing with them. Good fun.
#3 was going to the theatre to see The Sheep Detectives. Oh jeez, it is sweet, predictable, includes baby sheep frolicking about, and kept Chris and I totally engaged for 2 hours. I LOVED it. He said he LIKED it. There was a young girl who sat near me who told me afterward she LOVED it too. I am recommending it highly. If you liked Babe, you are going to want to see this. A cool, dark, theatre, in the hot, humid, summer is a delight that should not be missed. I told Chris we are going to see The Devil Wears Prada – 2 next.
If there is another summer activity that I should be partaking of, you will of course let me know about it.
To make up for the one photo I took at last week’s rainy market, today I present more photos than are necessary but I could not weed any of them out. I tried. Let’s start with the rainbow cake for Pride Month shall we? I have talked about this before, every single layer a taste treat in and of itself. Plus a cherry on top of each slice.
The cutest bagel eaters you ever did see are below. I mean really.
I got a basket from the succulent table today. A ruby necklace for trailing on the front porch. Plus it contained a few other things to be added to the pot on the back deck that is coming along splendidly.
This gang of girls was headed somewhere on a mission. Very determined walkers, excellent posture, cute dresses.
This was the bouquet I spotted as I walked in that I thought I would need, if it was there when I left.
But there were other contenders available.
Hands down happiest person with the best smile I saw at the market today.
Pure lettuce porn below. Get our your french vinaigrette, some baguette, and dive in.
I caught these 2 from a bit of a distance and was very pleased with the outcome of the photo. I want to hang out with them and get my own Psychedelic State tee shirt.
How about a bacon, egg, kimchi, cheese sandwich?
Seriously, there is a theme here… I need a tie-dyed tee.
Here is what came home with me today.
Vase selected, flowers popped in, then it was on to the 2 bunches of beautiful carrots.
They are getting roasted with olive oil, salt, pepper, and will be packed up for lunches to take to work this week.
The first time sister and I went to Paris in 2005, we mostly went to the open air markets and purchased food to cook in our little apartment at the very top of a building in the Marais. We looked over the rooftops and ate at a wonderful big wooden table in the kitchen. This time we decided to try eating out more, sample the cuisine of a country known for its food… we were not disappointed. I am going to share some “not great” photos of what we sampled… just to give you a sense of it all. Sometimes you care more about eating than composing the photo. This was about the food.
French onion soup, warm goat cheese salads, crazy good pizza. I HAD to get the “Oafs Mayo” which were an appetizer on many menus. So simple, so delicious, especially with champagne on the side. We saw the men at the table next to us having them and followed their lead.
Another standout was the beef bourguignon, an appetizer of white asparagus, and the tandoori crusted salmon on a carrot puree with a side of roasted sucrine.
It was all mostly wonderful. We were waited on by really nice people who were quite patient with our attempts at French. Google translate was helpful for the menus. One morning we had some really wonderful, soft, creamy, scrambled eggs… which sounds so routine, but oh they were good. The pace of a meal is slow and relaxed in France, no hurrying to turn over the table, starters are important, wine essential. We met some really nice people at several eating establishments. Connections across cultures. It was really lovely and I swear it made the food taste better.
Remember way back, when we first discovered”mosaics”, and how fun it was to find photos that we thought went together (or not) and put them into a grid and re-arranged them about a million times and had the best time playing around with it?
Turns out it’s still that much fun. Maybe more so, for the re-discovery of it all. I will be walking around with the camera staring at suitable subjects for use in this fashion. Prepare yourself for an onslaught.
P.S. I use the PicFrame app. Free version. There are more complicated ones with more options, but why make something that’s easy and fun hard and take all the joy out of it? No thank you very much.
It was raining cats and dogs Saturday morning at 7:30 am. Before getting out of the car I donned the rain hat, the rain coat, put a plastic bag in my basket, left the Nikon in the car and grabbed the umbrella out of the back seat. Mercy! It was an adventure. I took exactly one photo with my iPhone at the market. It’s of the very nice women at the Moon on the Meadow booth. I approve highly of the very sensible orange raincoat by the way.
I was smiling as I splashed down the rows, feet and pants completely wet. If the vendors are coming, I am going! That’s my motto.
Plus, I knew the cake of the week was going to be the lime coconut. That rose pistachio cookie next to the cake had to be sampled. And yes that small triangle behind the cookie, just adjacent to the giant radishes is a dark chocolate torte. The first one I had several weeks back was rich, dark, not too sweet, dense but not hard, extremely satisfying, so I decided to be sure that wasn’t a fluke.
This bag of tender young lettuce is going to make a very simple salad tonight with some of those radishes and a couple of pickled beets.
I could not resist showing a close up of the cake, to verify the moistness.
Ranunculus was my pick for flowers this week. I think I chose correctly.
When people ask “what did you do in Paris?”, I tell them we wandered. Wandered around, soaked up the city, all if it with only a very general idea of a plan of where we were going and what we were going to do. The thing is… you never know what you are going to find that might cause you to veer off course which makes planning totally unnecessary. Foolish even.
We explored parks. My favorite, if I have to pick only one, was Parc Monceau. We visited several times and enjoyed sitting on these benches in the filtered sunlight, warming ourselves, watching life in a city that is not our own, float by. Wondering what must it be like to live here.
Ducking into passageways to see what might be there.
And of course, always, hopping on and off the metro and city busses. So much fun… just to see if you can figure things out, the right line, going in the right direction, where to transfer… it’s surprisingly exciting when it all turns out.
On the metro we were up close and personal with all the people of Paris. Sitting, talking, reading, on their phones… all of it mundane and somehow so interesting in a different language.
Photos were taken with ideas for painting, drawing, sketching…
No trip to Paris would be complete without a walk along the Seine. On this day we stumbled upon the most beautiful garden, complete with roses and a man practicing on his harmonica.
The Santa Barbara cat dolls asked to come to Paris and since their passage was included in the price of our tickets, we brought them.
The parks in Paris are replete with all manner of sculptures to enjoy.
Every street had smaller lanes that beckoned to be strolled.
The spots for taking a respite were plentiful. We took advantage of them.
Aimless wandering is a wonderful way to pass the time. So different from the ordinary “structuredness” of normal life where everything is over-planned. The important thing is to find someone who also thrives on the loose flowing nature of it. Happily, sister and I are quite in agreement on this.
One of the most enjoyable things about wandering the streets of Paris, Fontainebleau, Giverny, and Moret-sur-Loing were all the unexpected things you just stumble upon. I am a fan of window displays, window shopping, window art, and the backgrounds you capture in photos of windows. Thus follows my favorite window shots from our trip. In no particular order and not categorized by subject. Sort of a free flowing stroll. With no where to be and no bus to catch.
I did acquire 2 scarves while in France. One cannot go to France and not buy a scarf (or two). It’s a rule. We also purchased and consumed our fair share of baguettes and pastries. My favorite was the pain aux raisins which were sampled at multiple small cafe’s and patisseries. Alongside a cafe creme they were all delightful.
Thanks for coming along on the tour of France windows. More photos to come as I get them sorted. Did I say this was a really great trip already?
On my return to the farmers market this Saturday, after being away for several weeks, I was greeted by a splendiferous grouping of buckets of peonies. Peonies waiting just for me, or so it felt when I saw them.
I carefully observed the offerings, selected a bunch, walked them back to my car, and continued with my shopping. I don’t like my peonies to get jostled in the basket.
These heads of lettuce ranked right up there in terms of beauty. We had the BEST lettuce in Paris. Simply laid on the plate with a drizzle of vinaigrette. It was wonderful.
We also had a wonderful carrot salad from a boulangerie in our neighborhood in Batignolles that I must try to reproduce.
Meanwhile, back at the market, this young entrepreneur, with her perfectly tied apron, stands at the ready to assist anyone who wants to try her cookies.
I had the best time watching this young woman carefully select her juices for the week, then I did what she did – and got the Re-root and Re-energize.
I had been dreaming about the Rye bread I got a few weeks ago from this vendor, alas, she told me I was the only one who bought it previously so she had not made any. Instead, I selected a loaf of her French Sandwich bread. It did not disappoint. Dense, moist, excellent as toast, or just with a dab of butter on the side with dinner. I will be trying all of her breads and other baked items.
Next I happened upon this accordion player and the young woman (who I think was with him) settled in for a session of writing and sketching. They could easily blend in on the streets of Montmartre.
Below you have the Brown Butter Caramel Latte cake. Somehow the flavors of the coffee, caramel, and brown butter were each distinct on my palate and I enjoyed every bite. Every, single, bite.
They were in line in front of me at the Chonky Eats booth. That little miss in the stroller had cookies on her mind.
Oh but it is good to be home and back in my usual Saturday morning market routine. Especially with the fragrance of peonies in the air.
As I crossed over Newfoundland today, bound for JFK, I finished When God was a Rabbit, by Sarah Winman. I think this was her debut novel. It’s the story of Elly and her brother Joe, the childhood events that bind them together and how their relationship evolves through the years. They face tragedies, we meet their friends, and the quirky, cobbled together, family that shapes them.
it is written so tenderly and was a perfect read for the trip to Paris. I tried to limit myself to just a few short chapters each night and then threw restraint to the wind and gobbled it up completely on the plane ride home. There is much to love about this book. The setting that bounces back and forth from London, to Cornwall, to New York City, the writing that is concise but never feels spare, and the ties of love and friendship that change over time. There is an undertone of something magic about it despite the hardships. Very highly recommended. Thanks for another winner of a suggestion Sharron.
Tall Tales from Kansas 