Le Marais - our neighborhood in Paris

While in Paris we stayed in the wonderful Le Marais neighborhood. Full of great food and shopping but also all of the usual Paris type establishments that make this city so fun - cafes, butchers, bakers, pastry shops and green grocers - just to name a few.

We arrived tired but exhilarated - so we decided to start walking our neighborhood and get a sense of what is and Paris had to offer.

Hungry and ready for a breakfast - we stopped in for a little coffee and Croque Monsieur (a wonderful version of grilled ham and cheese with a bechemal or mornay sauce). This is not your typical breakfast item and garnered some unusual looks from our waitress. But once she knew we were americans it all made sense.

I was amazed at the amount of pastry/bakery options that one neighborhood could support. From basic bread to fancy pastries and confections.

This store had amazing marshmallow options as well as beautiful cakes and pastries.





The butcher shops were so pretty - these people take their craft very seriously and meat was displayed like works of art. Some still had feet and heads attached - it was nice to see a culture still in touch with their food. Not like here where most things are shrink wrapped - boneless and no longer representing the animal that it once was.



There were a great deal of deli type stores - filled with cured meats, salads, cheeses etc. A great place to stop and pick up a meal or side dish. We oohed and ahhed over the aspics and meat gels.





One very cool little chain of stores is called the Daily Monop. Here you can get a wide variety of pre-made sandwiches, salads and soups. Also prepared fruit, yogurt, beverages and dry snacks. There is a variety of fresh-baked bread and rolls to choose from as well.

We stopped by here regularly for little snacks - it was so convenient to say - "I am running down to the Monop", it was so close and handy.

Comments

[Sue Carroll]

WOW.....amazing photos. What fun! Je t'aime Paris!

Must have been truly magical from all points of view! Looking forward to seeing you in person one of these days!

Sue, Sugar Paws