Montmartre en fête #1

All weekend the butte was alive with festivities celebrating the grape harvest.

Above: scenes from annual parade

Vendanges 2018

Montmartre, its slopes once green with vineyards, celebrates its 85th grape harvest festival.

Above: inside Paris' last vineyard

Montmartre Grape Harvest Festival 2018

[full program w/today's parade schedule]

- This year's featured guest wines are from Portugal -

Working girl

Settled in for the afternoon over a café crème.

The café next door

Small café set up for people-watching on the Left Bank.

Artitecture

Artful architecture signed Frank Gehry at the Louis Vuitton Foundation.

Corner florist

Explosion of colors at a compact flower shop in the 11th arrondissement.

A pancake in Paris

Sometimes the best things in life arrive totally unplanned.

 

*** 

I've never been a great fan of pancakes, the fat American cousin of the French crêpe. 

For me, pancakes were too thick. Too stodgy. In restaurants I'd avoid them and go for the French toast or waffles instead. At university in the U.S. I’d make batches of crêpes for friends, something I learned at home, experimenting with different flours (whole wheat, corn...) and batters (pumpkin, herbs, chocolate, seeds...) and today, I can almost make them with my eyes closed. So when I came across a place in Paris called Pancake Sisters on the internet and mentioned it to an American friend, out of curiosity we decided to give it a try.

But here's what happened: As we stood outside well after what was posted as their opening time waiting for the doors to open, a waiter stuck his head out and with a dismissive, "Tant pis, you'll just have to wait!” he got us to turn our attention to the place next door - where people were streaming in, and it was filling up fast.

And that's how I discovered Holybelly, a brunch restaurant that had been on my might-try list for awhile. It was right there. But as its sister Hardware Socièté, another Melbourne Australian wonder was already in my neighborhood, it was never a priority. It is now. - BPJ

Holybelly

5 rue Lucien Sampaix 75010

October newsletter

Nouveautés