Front row seats

With narrow sidewalks and chairs that face outward, people watching in Paris can get up close and very personal.

Spritz twist

Limoncello spritz became my preferred terrace apéritif this summer.

Rue Rustique

Impressionist Maurice Utrillo set up his easel and painted from this vantage more than once.

 

We are French

On a shopping bag of a boutique that sells lingerie:

"We are French. We believe in being sexy independent fashionable and optimistic"

***

French women care about how they look. They care about their weight, their skin, their hair, what they eat, and how they present themselves. Not so much for others as for their own sense of bien-être... and on their terms. It's cultural. There are few self-help books and no Tony Robbinses. No "self-esteem industry" here; one gets on without having to brag, considered vulgar and a sure sign of insecurities. If anything, one's own accomplishments and possessions are downplayed, and when it comes down to it, few care if they're liked, the heart of the endearing French Attitude.

You won't hear, "It's what's inside that counts" because the outside is seen as almost always the manifestation (and result) of what's been knocking around on the inside: all those small daily choices and decisions, spanning years? They had a cumulative effect.

 

Even women of modest means treat themselves to a special accessory or scent; mani-pedis and facials are part of life's routine, and in Paris, there are almost as many lingerie shops are as there are tabacs. One of my French nieces, a young college student at the time, excused herself early from a family lunch so as not to miss her weekly massage - a nécessité, she explained, despite living on a tight budget.

 

While gym clubs and joggers abound, many find other ways to get in their daily exercise, such as foregoing the elevator and taking the stairs, or walking instead of using métro, car or bus. Cities all over France have become bicycle friendly, and not just to reduce pollution. One role of the sacred vacances d'été is to shed the year's stress, and with August coming to a close and everyone sharing stories and photos of where they went and what they did, Paris is re-energized. - BPJ

***
 

Adapted from: 

Seduction and the Art of The French Femme

and

Eating French: Why French Women Won't Get Fat   

a.k.a. A French Paradox: The French Non Diet and The Art of Eating for Pleasure - Barbara Pasquet James

  

Liégeois

Thought to originate in next-door Belgium, ice-cream and chantilly-rich café liégeois is a specialty at many local cafés.

 

*** 

 

This decadent dessert isn't actually from Liège, historic city in eastern Belgium. Originally, it was called café viennois (Viennese coffee) in Paris. During World War I, after Liège heroically resisted the German invasion, the French renamed it "café liégeois" in tribute. The name stuck, but in fact the name is French in origin. - BPJ

L'Hôtel de Ville

A view of Paris' main town hall and fountains.

For every cheese

... there is a wine. 

 

Above: small plates of AOC / AOP cheeses are meticulously paired w/quality wines at a tiny wine bar behind the Montmartre cemetery

Below: selection of charcuteries from France and Spain

  
What we had:

- Cheese: aged cheddar, honey onion chutney, toasted pine nuts

Wine: Thokozani Shiraz Mourvédre Viognier 2018 - shown 

- Cheese: brébis from the Aveyron, fresh peach, chives, poppy seeds

Wine: Catherine & Pierre Breton Epaulé Jeté Vouvray blanc AOC

- Cheese: Gorgonzola DOP, crushed hazelnuts, dried apricots

Wine: Coteaux du Layon Les Terriades Prestige

***

Le Discret

3 rue Eugène Carrière 75018