Mocha Monday

 

 

Getting caught up on note cards waiting for a friend. 

 

Fête des Mères

 

It's Mother's Day in France.

🌹

- Belle Fête des Mères 2023 -

***

BRUNCH ON A TERRACE

  

 

 

Café on a square

 

Paris' countless cafés are, for many, a hallmark of the city.

Above: a sunny June morning brings out tables and chairs

 

 

Fraîcheur Friday

With glorious warm weather upon us cooling salads are seemingly everywhere.

Above: 1) red cabbage, green onion, carrot, fresh greens, sesame seeds, goat cheese-spinach-sun-dried-tomato samosas 2) salmon gravlax, avocado, green onion, mango, red-&-green cabbage, fresh dill; roasted tiny pommes de terre grenaille w/garlic on the side

 

Café culture

 

It seems the entire city is under construction as Paris updates its metro system and prepares to host the 2024 Olympics, but that hasn't stopped café regulars.

Mocha Monday

  

Stacked receipts behind my café noisette on the zinc counter of a local Paris café.

 

Floral Friday

Inside a private courtyard on île de Ré.

 

Sun Ré

 

We lucked out with sunshine every day, not always the case on the Atlantic coasts.

Above: simple Ré-past (sharing apéro) of beet falafels, baked camembert w/honey and fresh herbs, local oysters, terrine maison; village square dining; morning markets; seaside gathering

Travel Tuesday

 

 île de Ré: a favorite destination

With its quaint white villages, lighthouses, salt marshes and beaches backed by dunes and pine trees, this island off the west coast of France in the North Atlantic (not to mention an easy jaunt from Paris) is a photographer's paradise.

 

Below: ports of call; a secluded pathway; bicycling past vineyards

 

 Tomorrow: more Ré

 

Mocha Monday

 A great way to begin the week.

***

This Week In Paris

 

Matching colors

This woman's colors perfectly match the surroundings.

 

Wine Wednesday

 A bouquet of spring flowers sets off shelves of wine bottles.

 

 

Mocha Monday

Waking up in the French countryside to an espresso and a foamy café au lait.

 

Mother's Day

 

A very Happy Mother's Day to mothers everywhere.

 

🌹

 

***

Mother's Day 2023 in France: June 4 

 

Floral Friday

 Buds and blooms put in an appearance in Montmartre.

 

 

Café calm

 

Paris cafés are more than a place to sit down to enjoy a coffee. They are a way of life and a part of what makes this city so special.

 

 

Wine Wednesday

 

Good wine, good times.

 

Restaurant Le Christine 

1 rue Christine 75006

Abbey road

 A medieval abbey once home to the powerful bishops of Cluny now a museum is accessible from a small street in the heart of the Latin Quarter.

 

 National Museum of the Middle Ages

 28 rue du Sommerard 75005 

Sausage Sunday

 

Saucissons at a butcher shop flavored w/hazelnuts or sea salt.

Floral Friday

 A vision in pink this small fleuriste in the Sentier district is ready for spring.

 

Wine Wednesday

 A casual evening of tasting: good food and fine wine

 

Above: l'art de vivre in a Paris apartment

 

Below: surrounded by the work of our host, a local artist

 

Graffic

 

Graffiti art brightens a street corner in Montmartre.

On the wall: "That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger"

 

 

Mocha Monday

 

Espressos, tea and a neighborhood flea market on a weekend morning.

***

 - Happy Fête du Travail -

 

 

  

 

Sunny Sunday

A sunny terrace on a cool April morning.

 

Floral Friday

 

 A beautiful spring day at The Love Wall.

 

Wine Wednesday

 Tchin! ... To spring weather on its way.

 - Merci LP for permission to use your hand 😘 -

Twisted Tuesday

 

Upside down world.

 Above: mixed media digital art by Lithuanian artist Natalie Shau

 

 

 

Mocha Monday

A French cappuccino on the sidewalk terrace of a Montmartre coffee shop.

 

Street Saturday

 Paris is a walking city.

Above: a side street in the Latin Quarter

 

Floral Friday

 

A new café-restaurant has taken over Le Refuge in Montmartre.

Rita

72 rue Lamarck 75018

 

Wine Wednesday

 Preparing the wine list for the day.

 

Today in Paris

 

 

Above: out and about in the Latin Quarter; a flower vendeuse on a lively market street corner; café-ing in Montmartre

 Below: dancing to accordion music

 

***

 

For awhile now I've been receiving concerned texts and messages with "Are you ok?" or "Paris is burning!" in the subject line and each time, my reply is the same: manifs here are accepted as a part of life and while this one is particularly passionate for many reasons - it's not just about waiting two more years to retire - many Parisians, if it were not brought to our attention that these upheavals were going on, would not even know. The fact is, many of the social benefits enjoyed by workers in France today - whether an appropriate living wage for waiters with benefits or paid vacations for all workers, much more - are the result of this sort of relentless pushback. C'est vrai.

Paris is a large and spread out metropolis with many diverse neighborhoods. And though it is anyone's guess if these protests will eventually engulf the entire city, you can rest assured dear readers that right now, and in spite of what the media is blaring, Paris is teeming with hordes of tourists. Except for the usual blips of grèves such as delayed trains or the recent garbage strike in support of the current protests, ended for now (10 of the 20 arrondissements or just half of the city was affected, without a mention in international news), life goes on. As it should. - BPJ

 

***

Motto of Paris:

Fluctuat nec mergitur!

 "Tossed by the waves, but does not sink" 

 

 

 

Fashion Friday

 

 

  

New: stunning spaces devoted entirely to quality vintage clothing

 

Printemps Department Store

 7th Floor

64 Boulevard Haussmann 75009

Parasol

An open parasol on a Paris street.