l'apartement

With a grand piano,

art, a wall of books in French,

and fabulous views,

even the laundry looked better 

from this 6th floor window

Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine

75011, Paris

Rue la Feuillade

Rue la Feuillade


Looking from one apartment window towards another,
admiring the architecture,
the tall windows,


...and wishing that I had the blue street sign
in my office.

Rue la Feuillade

75002, Paris

 

Un petit repas

After a full day in Paris

this is my preferred evening meal along with fresh fruit. 

And, yes, that is a very large slab of amazing French butter.

After a recount of the day's adventures

over this simple but delicious repas,

it is back out to capture the night scenes with our cameras.

When you are walking over 20,000 steps a day,

the French butter and baguettes do not "stick on you" for long.

miam-miam! 

l'apartement

75006, Paris



Rue de Sèvres - chez toi?

Rue de Sèvres

As you can see from the staircase wall and the wet floor, 

it was a rainy day in Paris.  

Often you get a sprinkling of rain, 

and one can dart in and out of the scattered showers.  

But on this day it simply poured, 

so I pulled out my underwater camera (aptly named) 

and we made the best of the weather.  

We planned our day around visiting churches, five which we had never seen.

We were not disappointed.

A rainy day in Paris beats a rainy day at home.

(so says Holly)

Rue de Sèvres

75007, Paris

Theme Day - Nourriture à emporter!

Carry-out!

In Paris my favorite "carry-out" is not a single café or bistrot, but the whole row of shops at Place Maubert.  One can start at the wine shop with the friendly King Charles Spaniel; move next door to the fromagerie, to the market on the corner for some fruit, the Charcuterie for saucisson sec, and finally Eric Kayser for une baguette Monge and a pastry for dessert.

You always stop last at Eric Kayser so you can stand in the fast-moving line for baguettes, still warm from the oven.  While you are there grab a little something to have with your café in the morning.  

Eat one of the warm baguettes as you stand on the street outside.

Now I am hungry!

Joining the City Daily Photo bloggers 

on Theme Day, Carry-Out or Take Away Store 

Click here to see all the others from around the world.

Place Maubert

75005, Paris

Métro Maubert-Mutualité

vin, baguettes, fromages, saucisson sec....

A light dinner

 

If I had easy access to this simple fare at home, 

it would be a regular evening meal.

When it was cold and drizzling and we had already walked many miles, 

this scene around our apartment table was a favorite of mine...

-food, wine, and great friends-

the laughter was abundant

(Thank you Alexa and Virginia)

Rue du Cherche Midi

75006, Paris

Room with a view...

Our apartment in Paris last month had this lovely view from the tall kitchen window. 

The lace curtain filtered the early morning sun on the Haussmanian building

across Rue la Feuillades from our apartment. 

Having un café et un croissant while admiring this view,

we almost felt like Parisiennes.

Rue la Feuillades

75002 Paris



Quiet Courtyard

A quiet courtyard in Paris is a great relief from the noisy streets. But in the evening the sounds carry to the open windows above. It is much more comforting to hear the chatter of friends than to hear only the single clicks of a solitary person walking on the stones.

Un apéritif à Paris

What a wonderful time we had... a casual party, in Paris!

From left on front row: Julie of Sydney-Eye; Marie (M); Aude of Paris-ci Paris-la; Back row: Peter of Peter's Paris; Cynthia of Parisian Adventures; moi; Mary Ann of Classic.Casual.Home; she-who-must-not-be named, our concierge; Eric Tenin of ParisDailyPhoto.

I cannot imagine anything better than getting together with friends in a chic Paris apartment. It seemed like playing make-believe at the time.

La Porte

While on a pâtisserie hunt in December during a soft snowstorm, we happened upon this beautiful old door with this interesting door-knocker. If I have 500 photos of café chairs, then I have 1,000 doors in Paris. Based on our June trip last year, I think that mon amie Marie has that many photos of blue doors alone... perfect!

Oh, and we found that little pâtisserie which I will show you tomorrow.

Janeen Koconis -- portrait of an artist and friend

Janeen is the propriétaire of the lovely apartment you saw on my recent post. She is a delightful former New Yorker who sold everything and moved to Paris three years ago with a few black t-shirts and jeans (and 200 books!) She created a thriving business called koco new york in 1989 the idea of which was "to bring meaning to the common greeting card and art into everyday life." She is both artist and author and her story sounds like a dream.

The apartment is exquisite and filled with her original art, much of which can be seen in the gallery exhibits on her website. She lives in the adjoining apartment and maintains two rooms of working studios. Holly and I enjoyed getting to know this talented artist who has adopted Paris as her own. There were many baguettes and glasses of wine (bottles?) during our time with Janeen... lots of screaming laughter, giggling until our sides hurt. Needless to say, we will be back.

Mary and Virginia should be there right now for the week!

Paris apartment, wine, friends....

As you can see from the photo, all of the baguettes and cheese had been consumed and most of the wine. In December Holly and I invited Peter (of Peter's Paris) for un goûter before the paparazzi team hit the streets of Paris.

It just does not get any better than this! (unless we could have stayed until spring!)

Rainy Day in Paris

From a hotel room window frequented by my daughter and me, the street below bustles with neighborhood activity. The season and the weather do not seem to matter as daily life settles into its routine.


I love the French expression "metro, boulot, dodo" to express the weekday cycle of going to work, working, coming home, sleeping and then doing it all over again. Since it is French, I am surprised that there is no mention of divine baquettes, wine, et fromage.

Paris travel tip I

This is not a very sexy post and there is probably nothing in here that a seasoned traveler does not know, but just in case...

Whether I am gone for a week or a month (I wish), I take no more than a carry-on suitcase (less than 6 pounds empty). However, I always pack two or three plastic plates, plastic forks and knives, zip-lock plastic bags, and a tire-bouchon (wine opener). None of these take up much suitcase real estate or add any weight.

As you look at the above photo you can see why. There are times when you started early, ran all day, and when the sun went down at 11pm (yes, in the summer it does!) you were simply too tired to sit in a café (make that another café). So, you grab une bouteille de vin, une bagette, des fromages and you can have a little respite in your hotel or your apartment. It is also handy when you are going to do macaron research -- more another time on that topic (miam-miam).

Regarding le tire-bouchon, I had the simple plastic "hotel-type" opener taken by security as I left Paris headed to the USA, but it had been to/from Paris 4 times, to South America twice, and many other places. So, I feel less certain about transporting than I did previously.

Hung out to dry

Le cinquième étage, window with a view of Paris rooftops, purring appartement chat, quiet locked courtyard, a gentle breeze....

I play an imaginary role as I fashion myself a Parisian, shopping in the market, having "un noisette" in the corner café at "sept heures et demie" each day, greeting the young couple from le deuxième étage as we pass in the courtyard....

It just does not get any better than this! Yet, when the time comes I am ready to return to my regular life, my everyday existence, le quotidien.....

To dream of the next trip to Paris...