Thursday 18 May 2012

Well, I spent most of the morning catching up with this and that and then around lunchtime lugged 2 bags downstairs full of bits and pieces I wanted to send home.  I noticed the boulangerie was closed, but thought nothing of it - lunchtime break, I figured.  So I was gobsmacked when I found the post office firmly shuttered.  I had no idea why [I finally figured out it was Ascension Day] - except I knew what it meant.  Schlepping the 6+ kilos of stuff up the 6 flights of stairs again.  Oh well.  I thought a walk to the Bastille would be a good idea - but I ended up on the wrong road and made it almost all the way to the Pere Lachaise cemetary before I realised.  I'd been longing for a hot dog and stopped at a place called My Bagel - and had probably one of the most ordinary hotdogs I'd ever had.

The guys serving were slow, slow, slow.  It was like they were playing at running a food place.  Anyway, it was edible, and kept me going, which was good.  After all that walking I found the right road to the place de la Bastille - pausing to buy a coffee eclair which was sweet and creamy and yummy!  Things were looking up!

Spotted on the way - papier mache bowls with stitching.

 

Mountains of seafood platters being prepared with a backdrop of cascading water.

At Bastille there was a special kind of market - gourmet goods and hand made products.  These hams were dark brown with what looked like mould - a traditional way of curing them.

One stand had boulder-sized mounds of nougat.  I got some of the coffee flavour and the young lass is using a hacksaw to cut a piece for me.

I bought lots of soaps here - made in Prevence.  How can you pass up chocolate, licorice and even pastis scented soap?  I coudn't.

Nearby is the Arsenal marina.  I liked the exuberant colours of this boat.

Quite a large cafe looks out over the water and the boats.  It was nice sitting there for a while.