Paris, Part 2

When the rest of the family left for Scotland, I left for Croatia.  I just happened to fly to Croatia via Paris . . . and have a 2 day layover.  It is the first time on the trip I have not had some agenda and I took full advantage of it.  I wandered through the Friday morning street fair, admiring the variety and quality of fresh food you can find within 1 city block.  I found a few parks that were beautiful and basically enjoyed journaling and reading while surrounded by humanity. 

Jardin du Luxembourg

Les Invalides

It continues to amaze me how much the United States has saturated the culture here.  The stores and radio stations play American music, 1 out of 2 movie posters is a Hollywood blockbuster, and you find English words sprinkled into the conversations and signs all over town.  We dominate the world in so many ways, and I feel like my American friends have no idea.

Do you think babysitting is a French word?

Oh, and I ate well while I was here :)   

I enjoyed street fare crepes,  homemade sandwiches made from the meat and cheese from the market, and a couple of traditional French multi-course meals.  Well, they were sort of traditional.  During the last 5ish years; Paris has undergone a revolution against the very traditional definition of a good restaurant.  For decades, it was Michelin that determined the quality of a restaurant, and therefore the skill of the chef in this food-centered country.  Happily, post revolution, there are now many small, very non-fancy bistros run by some of the best chefs in the world that will cheerfully serve you phenominal food with a glass of wine for under 35 Euros.  Did I mention they are not fancy?  The good ones are super popular and require advanced reservations for dinner even though they look more like bars than restaurants:  But I could get into almost anywhere at lunch.  And did you know that couple who runs Septime just opened a new restau down the street?  If you're ever in Paris, check out LeFooding.com or google "bistronomie" before you go.

Fish so fresh it melts in your mouth!  With blackberries and radish

Next stop: Split