Bonsoir de Paris

Paris so far is fabulous. I'm staying with three other girls in Eve's cousin's apartment (he's out of town) on Rue de Savoie near St. Michel/St. Germain - so basically on Rive Gauche across from Le Cite where Notre Dame is. The local neighborhood is great. On Friday night we arrived at the flat around 10pm after a leisurely ride on the Eurostar and a quick trip on the Metro; the streets were packed and the outdoor patios of the cafes were full of jovial Parisians and tourists alike, enjoying the warm weather that permeated the evening. We had beers and salads at {insert name} brasserie before eventually turning in at 1am, with the windows wide open on our fifth floor rooftop flat that overlooks the chimney pots dotting the neighbors' building. All evening, the cool breeze felt wonderful, and even the noise from the trash collectors in the morning didn't spoil my wakeup rituals on a Saturday morning.

Saturday morning was already warm by 9am, and we had a buffet breakfast of freshly toasted bread, jam/honey, fruits and tea. We barely left the house around 11am and visited the nearby neighbourhood independent wine store, where we were treated with a tasting of Vouvray as I perused the Rhone Valley wine collection, looking for samples for the next tasting at my house. We also looked through local boutiques, before deciding it would be a good idea to make lunch at the flat as well. Off to the butchers for some ham, the fromagerie for fresh goats cheese, and the fruit stand for strawberries.

At the cheese shop, I was scolded for picking up a wrapped piece of cheese to smell it. I hadn't seen the 'Ne Pas Toucher' sign and I just thought, heck, how am I going to know what it tastes like unless I can smell it?! We choose two differnet goats cheese in the end, but somehow left it at the shop after paying for it. We didn't realise it until we got home and tried to assemble our sandwiches, and we obviously went back to retrieve it. Lunch was fantastic, and a well-fed group of four Brit/American women were off to enjoy Spring in Paris!

We have all spent significant time in Paris before, so touristy sightseeing wasn't on the top of the list. Mainly, we wanted to shop and sit cafes - which we did. We perused the shops of Ile St. Louis (the small island behind Notre Dame) and slowly wound our way over to Le Marais for more shopping and a stop at a cafe. We were entertained by a marching-style band (although I'm not sure what they were playing on about) on Rue de Rivoli and shoes were purchased by more than one of us (ahem) before taking the bus back to St. Michel.

Getting ready for dinner and putting our feet up, we had an aperitif of Dubonnet (a first for me) and saucisson/cheese/bread. We dressed for dinner and left the flat, exiting the typical French building via the building door into the courtyard, and then the large garage looking door onto the street of Rue de Savoie. The streets were even busier than the night before. Everyone was sitting on outdoor patios, standing in ice cream queues and generally wandering the streets to enjoy the weather.

We chose {insert name} for dinner on recommendation from Eve's cousin. The 2005 Crozes-Hermitage was smoother than expected and complemented the lamb shank, duck, ravioli, and salad we all ordered quite well. I skipped dessert, opting instead for a champagne-stlye wine from Vouvray, whose small bubbles and very slight sweetness were a final course on its own.

Tonight I am back at the flat, the windows are flung open, and I'm amazed about how much better I can feel in this warm weather. I'm also just loving Paris - why can't London be more like Paris with it's restaurants, quality of food, flower shops, and local butchers, cheese shops?! I have another day to enjoy it before heading back to London on Monday morning.