Pinterest

Paris: A Walking Tour

Wednesday 24 August 2011
I LOVE the Eurostar as much as I detest airports. I can do away with the long and painful journey to the airport. Checking in takes minutes instead of hours. Hop on the train et voila, you're in the centre of Paris within 2.5 hours. I managed to find an apartment right by Canal St Martin, a rather hip area where the locals love to go for picnics. In fact, I see many local residents with a bag of food and a bottle of wine lazing the evening away with friends by the canal. The weather has been a balmy 22-26 degree Celsius. I can't believe I"m actually seeing the sun for a change!

In the morning, we strolled over to the nearest bakery, Du Pain et Des Idees which was voted the best bakery in Paris 3 years ago by the Gault et Millau. Just in case you didn't know (I didn't either), Gault et Millau is equivalent to the Michelin Guide. According to the Wikipedia, "Gault Millau is most famous for its rating system, on a scale of 1 to 20. Restaurants below 10 points are almost never listed. The points are awarded strictly based on the quality of the food with any comments about service, price or the atmosphere of the restaurant given separately". My Praline escargot was heavenly. The best I've EVER eaten. Judging from the lipsmacking noises Little L and hubby made, I guess their choices were pretty good too.


gault&millau BW1


gault&millau2


gault&millau3


gault&miller4 BW


Du Pain et des Idees
34 rue Yves Toudic
10th Arrondissement
Opening hours: Mon to Fri


I read that there were pony rides, carousels and a mini amusement park at Jardin des Tuilleries but sadly, we missed it by a day. There was a single carousel left at the park. Poor Little L was pretty dejected after being told earlier in the day that it was going to be a fun day with plenty of pony rides.


tuilleries2
All the different rides were packed up into huge trucks ready for their next location.


tuilleries1
Jardin des Tuilleries


We decided to walk to the other side of Jardin des Tuilleries, cross the bridge into the Left Bank. I've underestimated how much they love dogs here. So much so that when their little yappety yap doggies did a massive poo right in front of you, they all go awwwwww...... There were excrement on the pavements, streetlights, in the metro station..... Well, you got the idea. Thankfully, a few kindly locals called out to me when I failed to spot *splutter* *gag* the feces on the ground.

bridge1


bridge locks2
One of the many hundreds of locks found on the bridge.



dog walking


I love the little boutique-y type shops that lined the streets of St Germain des Pres. I think most of the residents have fled Paris seeing how quiet the city is at the moment. You could hear a pin drop in some of the suburbs. It was almost like being in a ghost town. A lot of the mom and pop stores have shut for the whole of August.


bonpoint1
Bonpoint


bonpoint2
Kids' shoes at Bonpoint


fashion origami
What about fashion origami to keep little girls amused?


sushi eraser
Sushi eraser


patisserie
One of hundreds of amazing patisseries in Paris. I just can't help myself. I have no idea how Parisians stay so slim. It's REALLY hard not to get a couple of these pastries each time I walked past a patisserie.


st thomas d'aquin
St Thomas d'Aquin Catholic Church



john lobb
John Lobb is one of the remaining bespoke British shoemaker who still handmake their shoes, one at a time at their Northampton factory.



bridge2



sunset1
While we were standing on the bridge, a storm was brewing. We could see an incredible display of lightning with the blustery wind sweeping up all the leaves and dust in its path.






15 comments:

  1. Beautiful pictures! I am scribbling down things for this winter--particularly this beautiful bakery in the 10e. Thank you!

    It's so wonderful to hear you're having a marvelous time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you, AA! I checked out the epicerie at Temple but sadly, most of the stalls were closed. I can just imagine how delightful it must've been for you when you used to live in Paris.

    ReplyDelete
  3. gorgeous pictures!! i quite enjoyed the "walking tour" through pictures!! hehe i stuffed myself with a ridiculous amount of pastries when i was in paris last year hahah.. i would be SOOOO big if i lived in paris bahaha. omgosh those glitter children's shoes are so crazy adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I always love your travel tips! Next time I go to Europe I'm going to enlist you to be my personal email trip planner!

    http://www.stylish3.com/marylane

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, I am so jealous of your trip right now. Would rather be on the eurostar to Paris then at stupid work right now. When I was in Paris more then a decade ago I gained like 5 pounds in one week. The patisseries were there to taunt you at every corner, there is nothing like a pain au chocolat first thing in the morning. Your post brought back those memories. Yum, thanks for the post!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love these photos! They make me so nostalgic :) Are you going to post some pics of your travels through the world of Isabel Marant? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Aah gorgeous! Thanks for sharing with us!!! Eager for more!

    ReplyDelete
  8. WalrusWants2bFrench25 August 2011 at 09:07

    That fig tart looks AMAZING!!! Can't wait to go to Paris this Saturday! Have a great rest of the trip and looking forward to more photos.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ahhhh... how I love this city!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I miss Paris! Those kiddy shoes at Bonpoint are super cute!

    ReplyDelete
  11. i love st germain st too. beautiful shops, no gypsies asking if you speak english and no dog poo. i think dog poo in paris is so reflective of the general decline in europe. can't understand why they can't pick up their pet's poo. is tt another one of those rights thing?? right to poo in public.
    don't go to tt sacre-coeur basilica. it's such a let down. unless you want to watch the buskers. they are good but tt is the right place to get pickpocketed or fleeced. n the church is, well, not worth visiting unless you hv nothing to do.

    ReplyDelete
  12. love your pictures! :) and the fashion origami is such an interesting idea! :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Gorgeous pictures! Oh, how I miss Paris...

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lisa, I'm glad the apartment doesn't have a scale. I'm too scared to step on it. Eeek. The kids boutiques here are amazing. No wonder they're so well dressed here.

    Michelle, I'd love to live in St Germain des Pres.

    Mary Lane, fire away! I love planning holidays. We're taking it easy this time as traveling with children is quite different. Toilet stops, scheduled meals etc etc.

    Kat, LOL. You read my mind! Yes, I'll write about my crazy search for IM jackets.

    Lily, your wish is my command :P More pics coming up.

    Lauraloo, seeing the photos brings back fond memories?

    DA, I had to stop myself from spending 100€ for Little L's shoes. They're so cute but reality sets in. I doubt she gets a full year's wear out of them.

    Terri, after reading your post today, we decided to go to the Louvre instead.

    breakingrumours and q9y8, thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Amazing pictures, especially the one on the bridge with the storm brewing. (And I'm amazed that you are blogging while on vacation - super multitask talented!!)

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...