Blue Sky

by Danielle

Today is the first day I can recall when the sky was bright clear blue. It’s glorious. I’ve not been too fond of the weather here, it’s more gray than I imagined and generally a lot colder than I like. Needless to say, Dan thinks the weather is great! But when you have two kids, a small apartment and no car, it’s ideal to have nice weather so you can enjoy whatever slice of mother nature you can find.

After Rachel took a whopper nap this morning (while Joseph was at garderie) I packed her up and took a 12 minute bus ride to the Marais. This area was home to many French aristrocrats in the 16th century, two of which we have visited (Carnavalet Museum and Hotel Soubise). Currently it’s a popular shopping area with narrow streets and lots of charm. I intended to revisit Place des Vosges but the tourists were out in full force so I pressed on.

I ended up on rue de Rosiers which was (is?) the heart of the Jewish community. Here there are many kosher delis and every little cafe or restaurant has a Jewish star in the window. It’s a pretty touristy spot too, but I couldn’t help but buy a big yummy veggie falafel sandwich which everyone seemed to have in hand. Hmm, I thought they were Egyptian… But no matter, where ever they are from, they are delicious.   

On the way home I plotted my route so I would stop by Picard (the frozen food store) to stock up for the weekend. In typical French fashion, the store was closed for four days (!) due to inventory. Some might think, “Isn’t it great that they don’t feel the pressure to stay open and cater to mass consumerism?” But I say, “Don’t they know it’s the only place I can find bagels?” Picard: zero, 24-hour Harris Teeter: 10.