Sunday Shopping

The sun is still shining, but that doesn't mean we can shed the layers yet.  In fact yesterday was nearly as cold as it had been back in January, but the blessed sun was blazing in a pure blue sky and we decided it was time to go back to the Sunday street market at Bastille and stock up on food.  It's been months since we were there and I craved the sight of fresh vegetables and fruit, shining fish and spring flowers.

Pulling our wheeled market basket behind us, we walked to the bus stop where any one of three buses would take us directly to the market in 10 minutes, but we hadn't counted on the effect of the Paris Marathon, which crossed the bus route and thus cancelled the buses for much of the day.  We'd been eating out for more than a week and were determined to do some cooking this week and I had my heart set on the bounty of the market, so down into the metro we went.  After lots of stairs and corridors, and one transfer, we emerged into the Place de la Bastille at last.  It was clear that we couldn't return the same way once our basket was full.

I had forgotten how much fun shopping this way is, moving down the rows, dodging old ladies and meandering tourists to reach the vendors I liked.  A bit of this, a slice of that, un morceau of the other, a kilo of those and half a kilo of these and we were ready for a coffee.  Sitting in the Place, looking out at the traffic and the passing pedestrians while sipping a hot café crême was an accessible bit of heaven.  Just a lot colder than I thought heaven would be.

Oh, the buses began running again just as we were ready to leave.  Heaven's transportation works.

Bits and Pieces

Got up yesterday and decided to go out to breakfast, so we walked over to BHV to return something and to have our coffee and croissant at le Pain Quotidien, a Belgian chain that is a big hit in Paris and is now all over the world, including the US.  We've occasionally been getting croissants from the local boulangeries but haven't found one we liked.  Pain Quotidien's flaky, fresh, beautiful croissant is the one we've been looking for.  Luckily it's not just around the corner; that would be way too dangerous.

Oh, and the weekly report on service at BHV?  Still good.  This time the woman actually spoke English to help Gene out.  Without being asked.  She seemed to be enjoying it.

               

The sky continues to look like this and we continue to marvel at how lucky we are to have this weather.

We've been taking buses when we aren't walking because the Bastille area is a hub for a lot of lines and because it's just more fun, particularly when you're not in a hurry.

You see a lot from the slightly elevated perspective of the bus.  Who would have known that the tops of many lampposts have crowns made of castles?

And how very picturesque the entrances to municipal buildings can be?

And as for those little space invaders that turn up high on the walls of buildings all over town?  They come in peace.

       

Lazily we float along

Port de l'Arsenal, by objetsparis.

It came as a surprise to me when I found that there was a marina in the heart of Paris, something I discovered a few years ago when I spent a lot of time at the semi-annual Brocante held at Place de la Bastille. In between the stands of antiquaires I glimpsed pleasure craft lined up at the quai and had to go investigate.

If the Blogger software didn't cut off some of the picture you could see on the far right of the photo the column in the middle of the Place de la Bastille. We find ourselves now living just around the corner, sandwiched neatly between that Place and the lovely 17th century Place des Vosges, which we walked through this evening on the way home from a stroll. We keep pinching ourselves.

For some reason I haven't been taking as many photos as usual and having been having some difficulty uploading the ones I do take. Bear with me, I'll hit my stride soon.