Saturday is one of two market days in our week at the market we've been going to. The other day is Wednesday, mid week for things you've eaten and need more of. We've only been here four weeks (oh my gosh already one month!!) but I'm not sure we've ever gone to market when the sun has been shining!!!
Mornings aren't the best time of my day so walking this distance is kind of a drag for me. There weren't lots of people as we're finding French people stay up late and don't start their day till later. I knew I had some French in me!!!! Anyway, today we went to a market that has a great view of the Eiffel Tower which, of course, is always nice. Our feeble French still works for us, but I'm so anxious for it to be better and be able to communicate better with the vendors. It does energize me, though, and I enjoy the experience. We got lots of fruits, veggies, some meat, and, again, miscellaneous items. And, of course, flowers!!!! All in our handy-dandy cart!!! There's a little cafe across from the market so we stopped there for a hot chocolate before heading home.
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| See the flowers peeking out-someday the sun may be shining!! |
It was only noon when we got home and we wanted to get out to find David some more reading glasses and stop by Gap (I know....not very French but I'd seen a few things I wanted to pick up!). We decided to go ahead and go since it was supposed to rain (it never did!). Got on the appropriate bus, got off and couldn't find the eyeglass store David was looking for. But we did get to Gap and while I was in there David found another eyeglasses place. Success all around!
We hadn't intended to eat lunch out but were in the neighborhood of Les Deux Magots and Cafe de Flore, two well-known cafes where Ernest Hemingway and other well-known literary/intellectual giants spent much time. There are often long waits and lines for both as many tourists want to visit them. I'd just read an article on both cafes in France Today, and they mentioned a yummy-sounding dessert I wanted to try at Cafe de Flore. So why not get a little culture (or something) and a nice treat at the same????
We got inside pretty quickly, were given a plate of potato chips to munch on (a nice change from bread), then placed our order (I got brave ordering St.Germain soup without asking what was in it-turns out it was pea soup and delicious!) and followed lunch with Coupe Melba, the ice cream dessert with peaches, current sauce on top and slivered almonds. Not cheap but the article said it was worth the euros and the calories.
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| Obviously, the chips were yummy since they're nearly gone!! |
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| Coupe Melba-pretty and tasty! |
Was the dessert worth the euros/calories? That answer lies in the eyes of the eater! I've had lots of desserts, and I'd say "no". However, it was very pretty (which I always like - look at the spoon-shaped cookie that says "La Petite Cuillere" (the small spoon), and it was tasty. We shared it so didn't feel too guilty about the calories!!
So, the first part of our day we felt like Parisians doing our bi-weekly market shopping and the latter part of our day we felt like tourists eating lunch where visitors want to eat because of the history they know. For now, that's okay. Someday, I hope our days will have less "tourist time" and more "real life" time....
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