Straw baskets

Baskets for sale on a Montmartre market street.

Bourbon Sours

This no-frills drink, or rather its sibling, the Whiskey Sour, became my go-to in-flight cocktail years ago thanks to a sweet older English lady seated next to me on my way from London to Arizona. She said she "always had one for luck" whenever she flew, and I thought it a great idea. You'll feel like you're flying too after a couple of these. - BPJ

Bar 228 Le Meurice Hôtel
 

Live jazz / piano nightly

 

Chasing the blues

Live music adds to a weekend antiquing experience at the Marchés aux Puces in the north of Paris, just outside the péripherique.

Look for:

La Chope des Puces
(mostly gypsy jazz / jazz manouche, a style started by Romani guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt in Paris during the 1930s)
122 rue des Rosiers 93400 Saint-Ouen
Tel: 01 40 11 28 80

Le Picolo
58 rue Jules Vallès 93400 Saint-Ouen
Tel: 01 40 11 11 19

Chez Louisette
(songs of vieux Paris; blues, jazz, spontaneous dancing) 
136 avenue Michelet 93400 Saint-Ouen
- inside the Vernaison flea market -
Tel: 01 40 12 10 14

Fragments

Exquisite Roman antiquities. Where are they?

(hint: not a museum)

In June newsletter

Egg on his face

A small gallery in the 12th shows off-the-radar contemporary art.

Atelier du Génie
28 Passage du Génie 75012

Pieds dans l'eau

Much to take in biking along the Canal de l'Ourcq.

Above: a stop for tea-and-cake on the veranda of an artsy two-story "house" right on the water, where every room is different

Below: a peek inside; street art

 

(click photos to enlarge)

  Le Pavillon des Canaux
39 Quai de la Loire 75019

Centre Pompidou

The Pompidou Center on a cool morning in May.