Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Concluding Seemingly Random Paris Walk, 2026

Our last day in Paris was mostly about packing, cleaning, etc., but we also did a concluding walk, initially headed for the river, but instead exploring some of the lesser traveled (by us) streets and alleys in the area. Old Paris is made for wandering, getting wondersomely lost, discovering new or interesting things at every turn.

A strong market for miniatures and figurines in Paris

A street of nothing but cafes and restaurants, both sides...
Rue Guisarde



At the covered Marche St. Germain (site also of the Apple Store),
wild strawberries, which we've been looking for all over for weeks;
they didn't look too good, and at $15 per tiny barque, we passed; 
our Montana property, just beyond the deck, pond, and raspberry
patch, had a huge infestation of wild strawberries, which we'd harvest
every spring, on hands and knees, crawling up the hill, eating as we
crawled; indescribably sweet complex strawberry flavor

Stopping for refreshment



Typical covering for renovations in Paris; what you're seeing is what
will be there when they finish

The ghost signs are nearly always more interesting, and beautiful,
than the current occupants


Very interesting sculpture...Venus of the Arts...









































I would have called it a synthesis of the arts...wonderfully
conceived and executed

In one of the scores of galleries...probably asking 5 or 6 figures....

So the provenance would suggest; or more

One sees these foot sculptures throughout the Roman world;
usually I ask Vicki to take a picture of me checking for toe jam;
she demurred this time

Interestingly, you've got to use your phone to see what it is
and who it's by...

Institut de France, again

True hole in the wall...just a narrow aisle wide

It's the Echo Karma Vibes and Vibrations store...

Start-up?

Passage into a courtyard

Tudor/Art Deco, or Art Deco/Tudor...no...it's neo-ArtDeco/neoTudor...

Jewelry design ideas...my mother used to kid about
making someone a razor-blade necklace...

Patisserie and sake bar; reminiscent of "Fred's Fill-dirt and Croissants"
(family gag about diversification)

Another beautiful hole-in-the-wall, maybe 10 seats inside

Madame Guan, herself...crepes Chinois, hot dogs (Chinois?),
and other goodies...next time


Monday, May 18, 2026

Paris Out-Takes, 2

Still important in the EU


There are still Minis in Paris

Interesting jacket...Vicki has looked everywhere for it




Has turned up in three different flea markets so far; a repro?!



Still looking for that Sarah Bernhardt Chimaera inkwell for €50

Trump shoe?



Due diligence before purchasing



























































































This watering can at the vide grenier











The shoes are about 200 euro a pair...about 100 pair in the window display...

Fellow bus traveler

Rue Bonaparte



The only film set we wandered onto in 2026...some guy
running down the alley...

Vicki's Biro dream vehicle

Paris is more beautiful in the rain; well, wetter...

Carb fridge magnets



And you thought stockings were out

Three-fer parking


Finally noticed this, after four years, a block from our apartment

Thinking about a new apartment...

Paris Eats, 2026

For whatever reasons, on this campaign we did not get out to the restaurants as much as we might have liked. On the other hand, I managed to gain about a pound a week during our stay...

From a first foray to the nearby Grand Epicerie de Paris, Bon Marche


















Steak and Frites...best in Paris...at the Relais d'Entrecote














Mikhail Reydillet's La Parisienne--triple crown winner 
from the 2025 Fete du Pain-- is just around the corner...
and we had a lot of pastries and croissants and baguettes...





























Lots of pain=lots of gain
























Vicki's baking classes...croissants, then tarts and such...
contributed to the gain
It was perhaps the height of oyster season
Oysters at Louis-Philippe
Oysters at the Marche Bastille

Oysters not pictured at Mollard

Other things, yes


Flaming...

Way too many Belgian frites


We were regulars at the Georges Larnicol shoppes...
kouign amann...the Bretagne orgy of butter and sugar
and chemical traces of flour; above, a emptied pan,
butter having oozed out from the pastry


























My main downfall...crunchy butter...thickly spread on baguettes
with jambon, several times a week...sometimes just on baguettes...
sometimes just...



















Fruits de mer at La Rotonde

Steak

Seriously good pistache at the Parc Floral



And more fruits de mer, at La Coupole

And crepes suzette...it was National Crepes Suzette Day