Lana + Erin arrive!

And now, the moment we have all been waiting for, Lana and Erin's arrival in Paris. Look there they are in line!!! 

False. This is not them. I was fooled by these outrageous identical dopplegangers. I stood at the glass yelling, whistling, waving like a mad women trying to get there attention. Whoops. 

Here we are near my apartment, Lana is equal parts thrilled to be in France and flabbergasted by the French parking rules. 

jujubeezoo's birthday

Friendship established October 2009. 

Julie, you rock. 

le taxi jaune avec mademoiselle madison

I took Madison to Taxi Jaune as a thank you for being a lovely friend. Look at the jolie fille.

I love restaurants that open to the street.

A fresh salad with chilled cucumbers.

A hearty osso bucco over fettucine noodles.

I will miss Taxi Jaune with my whole heart, see more of it here, there, and everywhere.

du pain et des idees

Du Pain et Des Idees has the nicest boulanger owner. She lets me take photos of her little creations, she answers my questions regarding baking, and she is always bubbling with excitement. This world needs more people like her.

How is everything so perfect and delicious?

Perfectly baked buttery brown flaky goodness.

Look at that huge air bubble!

Nom, nom.

le bon marche macarons (+macaroons)

Le Bon Marche is handsdown, the most luxurious grocery store in the world. Yes, the world. It puts all other grocery stores to shame. If I were Parisian, and had all the money in the world, I would spend it all on food here. I got yelled at, per usual, for trying to photograph all the goodies in this food heaven so you will just have to admire the corner shop front.

I came here specifically looking for shredded coconut to make Linnaea's chocolate macaroons for miss Julie's birthday. Here is the recipe:

Preheat oven to 325 (170 C). In a stainless steel bowl, over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate.  Set aside. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the egg whites, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and vanilla extract.  Stir in the coconut and melted chocolate, making sure the coconut is well coated.  If the mixture is too soft, refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Place small 1 tablespoon mounds of dough on parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing several inches apart.  Bake for 30-35 minutes.   

12 oz semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
9 large egg whites
¾ cup cocoa powder
2 ¼ cup granulated white sugar
¾ tsp salt
3 tsp pure vanilla extract
7 ½ cups sweetened coconutPlace small 1 tablespoon mounds of dough on parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing several inches apart.  Bake for 30-35 minutes.  

But just thinking about American macaroons got me craving some French macarons, so of course, I ordered three from the classy dessert bar at Le Bon Marche.

I will never get enough of these little guys.

marche aux enfants rouges

Marche aux enfants rouges....probably one of my best foodie finds. I literally found it one day because of the alluring smells, it's a good thing I have such a large nose otherwise I would have never stumbled upon it. It's a well-hidden market in Le Marais exploding with permanent vendors each serving exotic, interesting, flavorful dishes. Go, eat.

catacombs

AHHHHHH!!!!!!! I don't know how this happened, but it did. I went to the underground Parisian catacombs and clinged to Greg like there was no tomorrow.....

What morbid person put these skulls into a heart?! Ek!!!! If Sarah worked here back in the day she would have done this.

Gaaaahhhh just look at the femurs, they give me the eebeegeebees. 

I. was. the. most. scared.

The only reason I got this close was to photograph it for you Sars, so I hope you appreciate it. 

eclairs et religieuse

one chocolate eclair + one coffee religieuse = bliss.

du pain et des idees avec gregoire

After eating a delicious meal at Le Taxi Jaune we strolled over to Du Pain et des Idees for a dessert, other photos of the outside can be seen here.

Look at that apricot tart. How glorious.

Greg opted for a swirly thingy:

le taxi jaune avec gregoire

Le Taxi Jaune! I love this establishment. If I lived permanently in Paris I would frequent this place at least thrice weekly. I love the butcher diagrams of the animals.

And the minimalist stone walls. And the chalk board butchered maps of French regions. And the antique map of regional fruits. And the lighting fixtures.

horizon perfekt!

As most of you know I am quite obsessed with Lomography cameras. They are so fun, easy to use and create unique photographs. If you haven't already seen what type of images this toy cameras produce, click here to view my supersample photos shot on the Supersampler and here to view my multiple exposure / over lapping photos shot by the Diana Mini. 

Get this - you can rent cameras from the Lomography shop in Paris! All you have to do is put down 300 euro as a deposit and return it within a few days - or only 200 euro like I did since I became buddybuddy with the German owning Lomo shop owners! So, Greg and I moseyed over to the Lomo shop and rented this gem of a camera. It's called the Horizon Perfekt and it takes clean, crisp, incredibly colorful panoramic photographs. Oh and it's only $475. I WANT IT THE MOST BAD. I suggest clicking on every photo for the large version!

Both of there were shot very close to my apartment near La Defense:

Look at that color and sharpness!

This is the bridge over Canal St. Martin, the one where Amelie skips her stones.

Such a great green color in this overcast weather:

Alongside the Quai de Valmy.

Du Pain et des Idees, a superb bakery that I venture to in the 10eme.

Nom nom nom on the freshest most delicious apricot tart!

Place de la Republique. It's enormous, check out this aerial shot.

The inside-out building, Centre Pompidou.

Obligatory lunch date at Le Taxi Jaune, my most prized find of Paris.

Then we went to the outskirts of Paris to rent a little rowboat on the Lac Daumesnil in the park called Bois de Vincennes. I highly recommend doing this during gorgeous weather, we had originally planned to picnic but the weather did not permit. Here are some shots:

Greg in his element.

This shot looks sweet with the burning on the left:

Cheese.

This is what I look like when I row a boat.

Look at those (nonexistent) muscles in action!

Struggling. clearly.

le marais baklava

Back again to Le Marais, the greatest arrondissement in the greatest city for some more baklava, Greg's all time favorite sweet treat, after cookies of course. 

Whenever I'm in the neighborhood I like to come here to sit, people watch and lay in the grass.

I realize I am a girl of hyperbole, but this really is the best baklava, ever.

Seriously, look at that. Look at how concentrated the nut/honey mixture is!!! And the flaky philo dough and they do not skimp on the crushed pistachios either. To die for. 

Greg does not have a head.

Having a grand time eating baklava in the chilly weather.

I model baklava didn't you know?

Mmmmmm my mouth it watering as I type!