June 06 slideshow

We strolled past open shops down rue Saint-Antoine to Île Saint-Louis looking for souvenirs, but by 10:30 am, the galleries, clothing, and souvenir shops were still closed. Only the crémerie was open, so we walked to Boulevard Beaumarchais and Merci (a department store) where Sheila shopped and I nursed a coffee in their cozy, book-lined coffee shop before going for lunch at Maison Plisson.

A special lunch. Entree: Eggs with garlic mayonnaise and fennel seeds. Main: Poached chicken breast, fresh morels in a morel cream sauce, steamed spinach and almond flakes with a glass of excellent Crozes-Hermitage. Dessert: Rice pudding with toasted hazel nuts, raisins, and caramel drizzle) and cafe.

After our wonderful lunch and a nap, we headed back to Île Saint-Louis, passing some interesting street art (old and new), and the Hotel de Sens. Built between 1475 and 1519 as the residence for the archbishop of Sens the building and its formal gardens evoke the glory of the past.

The window display at l'Île Flottante, where we had seen a model house we wanted as a Christmas ornament, was a convincing street scene and we had to constrain ourselves to buying only one. Despite the emphasis on tourism, we quite enjoyed the shops and galleries. Jig saw puzzles, pendants, and scarves ended up in Sheila’s bag but thankfully the art was to big to carry.

I love the transfor- mation of a city as day turns to dusk, dusk to evening, and evening to night. The city becomes a differ- ent world. The sky was darkening, the street lights on and rue Saint-Antoine was nearly traffic free as we set off to explore the streets of the Marais.

The last seating for the restaurants were finished or finishing, but late evening munchies could still be satisfied at take-away windows serving everything from crepes to falafel to ice-cream, and even hot-dogs.

Street lights and empty streets gave a special quality to everything from graffiti, to posters, to the early 16^th century architecture like L’Hôtel Hérouet and the late 16^th Bibliothèque his- torique de la ville de Paris in Hôtel d'Angoulême Lamoignon.

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