Central Paris

So I have just put Evangeline on the Eurostar to London, and I have a consolation lunch at the restaurant near by. It is one I have been to before with dad and Roger, if I remember correctly, Clare recommended it. Here is a poor photo of the place. 

They serve lasagne but this time salmon based. It is very interesting and comes with a salad that puts Evangeline's salad of yesterday to shame. Yesterday the salad was lettuce with salad cream, and with tomatoes only when these were requested. Today there was shredded carrot as well as lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and grilled mushroom and aubergine. Salad cream was optional with French dressing an alternative. I had both.

I note that there is a call by some in France for restaurants that serve frozen food to loose their right to be called a restaurant. So it was with a little satisfaction that I noted the delivery of fresh vegetables during my meal. The chef came out to inspect them before they were considered acceptable, but from where I sat they looked to be excellent quality.

I left the place and went for a walk down to the river. It's quite a way from the station, but I was soon passing a market that I had seen the entrance to many times. It looked small, but curiosity caused me to walk down the steps and into the market area. This is the middle of Paris, but the space opened up and was surprisingly wide. There were restaurants and sellers of all sorts, including many very fresh vegetables, and more exotic things like octopus tentacles.

Presumably the restaurant gets their produce from somewhere like this. I will be happy to return.

The walk at this point is off the tourist haunts so the shops are more interesting. So too are the people. I found myself walking behind a reasonably elegant middle-aged couple who were pushing a very rickety pushchair. The back wheels rocked from side to side as the lady pushing it walked along. I wondered what the child inside thought, if there was one, so I glanced back as I passed. There was a dog sitting up in the pushchair enjoying his walk and obviously very proud of himself for his control over his owners. Further down, the Rex cinema has a huge moving display in tall thin strips as you can see here. I am getting closer to tourist Paris.

Near the river the shops are tourist style and much more boring. I play "spot the tourist", although "spot the resident" is probably more challenging, and the "Paris plage" is operating. Imported sand allows Parisians to sun themselves by the Seine as if on the beach by the sea. There are zip-wires and slides for the kids and most of the beach space is taken. 

Summer has arrived. But for me it is time to go home. The only trouble is, that the station I want is closed so it is a bit further to walk than I thought!

Cordialement
Terry

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