hiddenneststudio

I haven't kept up with my plan to visit a market, a park and a shop each day, as I eventually realized that you see pretty much the same produce, cheese fish and meat at each market, though they each have a distinctive character. I like the market at Bastille, which is close to me, and I especially like the sweet man who sells canneles and churros. Even though Idiscovered that Trader Joe's sells a pretty decent version of French canneles (one n, two ls?), I enjoy having him choose just the right one, put in in the bag with a flourish, and look me in the eye as he thanks me as though I am a special customer. I guess this is why I go to the markets.

The best part of my day yesterday was making a small detour to Jardin du Luxembourg. It is one of my favorite parks in Paris, and yesterday I dubbed it "the happiest place in Paris". It was a gorgeous day, and everyone seemed to be enjoying the sun. It was fun to see the boys and their dads or grandpas renting these sailboats to sail in the big fountain.

Each boat was different, and one even had a pirate theme. I know my boys would have loved doing this when they were little. Maybe I will start my own little fleet in Portland.

The plantings were especially lush and beautiful, all in shades of yellows and blues. I am happy that I finally made it here, as it was the prettiest park I have seen.

This just in! The Tour de France just arrived in Paris and I was there on the Champs Elysees to cheer them on. I had some misgivings about being in those crowds again after my experience on Bastille day. But I just could not be in Paris for the finish of that race and not see it in person. It was a much livelier crowd than the group that I stood with for the parade, and the wait was much shorter. I learned my lesson this time, though, and got the heck out of there as soon as the riders whizzed past. I will probably not be posting any photos from that event, as mostly all I saw were other people taking photos.