Les Bouquinistes

One of my favorite things to do in Paris:  stroll aimlessly.  One of my favorite places to do that:  along the quais near Nôtre-Dame, to browse the book stalls...

Are You a Soixante-Quinze?

As if there weren't enough things by which to get judged in Paris, here's one more:

"The moment a non-Parisian sits in a car, he becomes the last two digits of his licence plate. Immediately. He becomes 'un 78,' 'le 42,' or 'un 29' …The last two digits of a French licence plate correspond to that of the département of registration of the car. Paris is 75. Other numbers smell like mud or depression."

-Olivier Magny, author of the blog Stuff Parisians Like

Trouble in Dannemarie

I know it's not Sunday yet, but I couldn't resist this story:

"A British tourist has spent the night trapped in a French town hall after mistakenly thinking she could book a room at the 'hotel de ville.' "

She put up a sign in the window that read, "Je suis fermer ici. Est ce possible moi la porte ouvrir?"  Poor thing!!!   :(

Oh well...

Boulangerie Weiland, Place Cambronne

Wonderful croissants aux chocolat et aux amandes (if you can get them).  Sweet, flaky, soft, and delicious.  Perfect with a cup of chocolat au lait chaud.

"You got very hungry when you did not eat enough in Paris because all the bakery shops had such good things in the windows and people ate outside at tables on the sidewalk so that you saw and smelled the food."  -Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

Update 2012: Sadly, this boulangerie no longer exists. What a loss for the neighborhood!