Paris: Exploring St Germain des Pres

Despite having immigrated to the U.K more than 5 years ago, I'm still in awe of the fact that I can get to Paris within a few hours. On a train. Without ever leaving the ground (not counting going through the underwater tunnel). I don't have to save for years just to take two 14 hour bum numbing flights (I literally couldn't feel my ass after the long flights) with an additional 8 hour layover. The jet lag was unbelievable after crossing a couple of time zones.

I apologize for flooding the blog with umpteen posts about Paris. I went a little trigger happy with both the camera and smartphone and ended up with backlogs of photos, all waiting to be edited. Most of the popular French food and fashion have made their way across the channel in the previous years. They're more accessible and are readily available online so there wasn't an urgency to seek out yet another obscure Isabel Marant piece.

Our refusal to shop has had a rather adverse effect on our weight. Josephine, Lil L and I ate. And ate. And ate...........






Next stop - Little Breizh (Breizh is the Breton word for Brittany) is a charming but small creperie, tucked away in a narrow cobbled lane in St-Germaine-des-Pres. They offer a 2 course crepe meal for just under €10 or a fancier version with smoked salmon for €14.80, served with either pressed apple juice or cider from a small artisanal farm. The place fills up pretty quickly during lunch time. The ham and cheese with egg crepe was so so but the creamed spinach that Josephine ordered was sensational. Biting into the salted caramel crepe was like tasting manna for the very first time. It was THAT good.




I'm sure the staff at Un Dimanche a Paris thought we were bloody mad tourists. We walked in and sniffed the air like a bloodhound. We nearly passed out in ecstasy at the sight of the beautifully crafted patisserie and chocolate. Alas, we were so full that we simply couldn't stuff a single mouthful of food down our throat. We promised ourselves that we HAVE to make it back to this incredible restaurant/patisserie/chocolatier on our next trip back to Paris.






Outfit: Rick Owens leather jacket (similar), Petit Bateau breton (take 1 to 2 sizes up) , The Kooples sweat pants, Louis Vuitton Speedy Bandouliere 35cm and New Balance 420 sneakers

This time around, I came to Paris prepared for a week long gorge fest. I brought along sweat pants and boyfriend jeans because skinny jeans would've been a torture after scarfing down a meal followed by a visit to a patisserie and a chocolatier...... As for Lil L....her current fashion statement is a pair of Minnie Mouse ears that she insists on wearing everywhere. The large mouse ears drew many chuckles from the locals.

I wished I had popped into Ba&sh because I would've loved to check out this beautiful anglaise broderie top




Speaking of a chocolatier..... Patrick Roger. Master Chocolatier. Undeniably gooooood. We were offered one chocolate after another to sample. I had to say no after my second because I was already waddling about like a duck having eaten a month's worth of sweets in less than 3 days. We staggered out the store clutching a small bag of chocolates. The smartly dressed gentleman behind the counter patiently explained how the chocolates were made (my goodness, are they works of art!). Amazingly, they now ship internationally!

Un Dimanche a Paris
4-6-8 Cour du Commerce Saint André
Saint-Germain-dres-Pres
Metro: Odéon

Little Breizh
11 rue Grégoire de Tours
Saint-Germain-des-Pres
Metro: Saint-Germain-des-Pres or Odéon

Patrick Roger  (they have stores in Madeleine, Faubourg etc)
108 Boulevard Saint-Germain
Metro: Odéon