There is an urgency to the shopping on Boulevard Haussmann but outside Printemps, Paris’ oldest and largest department store, crowds assemble around each window. Russian stacking dolls open and close rhythmically, in the dead of the forest a table is laid in the finest crystal and women in beaded gowns promenade with fur coated animals. Amid the crowd, in repurposed shopping carts roasted chestnut are peddled by the cone full.

The Costa Brava

tamariu

cadaques collioure

We took the funicular up because she was feeling feverish. Inside the half-sized fridge a dish of tiramisu was waiting, “He made it with nutella,” she said. We perched on the couch eating spoonfuls. Time passed quickly. Night began to fall. Down the steps, traversing the graffiti adorned buildings, the carousel, and arriving at Abbesses, we exchanged kisses on the cheek.

Who would have know we have the same best friend?

Posted on the Desire to Inspire blog, some beatiful rooms from Caryn Grossman's studio, "an ever-evolving installation, a kind of bohemian Paris apartment."

I often dream up my ideal home constucted from their photos. www.desiretoinspire.blogspot.com

bio brunch

Because Cheri is on a health kick I took him to brunch at le Pain Quotidien this afternoon to celebrate his birthday. On the menu was:

fresh squeezed orange juice
cappuccino for me, chocolate chaud for him
granola and yogurt
brioche, croissant or pain chocolate
a bread basket with accompanying raspberry and cherry jam or chocolate to spread
an œuf a la coque
and a salad with cheese and meat or salmon

There was so much food it wouldn’t fit onto our tiny window table so the waiter wrangled a chair for the overflow. Wedging savory between courses of sweet is my favorite way to brunch so I started with the pain chocolate, best ever!, then ate the salad and cheese and finished with yogurt and fruity jams on bread. Everything was organic and delicious.

The atmosphere is rustic and noisy. Large tables are shared between parties and the bakery sells breads and spreads to take. Arriving just before noon we beat the rush. Brunch runs 23 euros a head. I think I’ve found my new favourite resto!

http://www.lepainquotidien.com/

Remedy for Springtime Blues

One stop at the boulangerie for a sweet snack in a paper sac.

One leisurely bicycle ride along the Seine.

Sunshine on my cheeks, frogs croaking, flowers in full bloom, worries dismissed.

Hearing different languages, being introduced to cultures, acknowledging their values, and looking into people's eyes will change your outlook. To me the world seems a little smaller, my woes trivial in comparison to some.

6 Billion Others

The atmosphere at dusk inside the exposition resembled a fair ground, the Grand Palais illuminated in a candlelight glow by chandeliers dangling from long ropes of cord. I warmed my hands on a gifted cup of mint tea and settled on a wooden bench inside. Each of the dozen yurts posed a different question: What are you most afraid of? What is your first memory? How can you sustain love? Standing before the camera those people of the world seemed much like me. I marveled at the beauty of others that were terribly different and could have spent all day in the company of so many strangers.

An abbreviated version of 6 Billion Others available online. Invited to become a part of this social study, a web cam awaits your monologue. I scribed a first memory into the guestbook.
http://www.6billionothers.org/index_en.php

With everything dusted in white, winter is for building snowmen and throwing snowballs but I'd rather be inside.