French by Heart

It is my firm belief if you walk into a Parisien boulangerie, you really could be walking into any boulangerie in France...
No matter how elegant the exterior...
Inside they are all the same, with the same testy vendeuse...
And the same pain au chocolat
OK maybe they are a tad better in Paris...

The same chausson au pomme and croissants...

The same palmiers...

And Lordie! Not to forget the baguettes!!!

Did you know the French government decides the price of a baguette or a croissant and it's the same all over France? Who knew?

So where am I going with this today..? Maybe you didn't notice but on the bus ride up to Boston I had my new book with me. It never leaves my side these days...

I discovered Rebecca Ramsey's French By Heart on someone's sidebar and I dropped by Amazon to read a few pages. I was immediately enthralled and continue to be.

Say you live in South Carolina, but have always dreamt of living in France...
Your husband comes home one night (he works for Michelin and travels a lot) and announces that you ACTUALLY are going to move to France for a few years!
YAHOO

That's right, you and your toddler, your 7-year old and your 9-year old AND the cat are all moving to France! To Clermont-Ferrand, 4 hours south of Paris in the Auvergne. Well really a small village nearby.

The kids will be attending French schools, you will be going to the local bank, and you will be going to the local boulangerie...

And you will have neighbors with a "lace curtain" mentality - i.e. they will keep an eye on your every move and correct you when you don't mow the lawn right or a kid's ball falls on their property etc.

This is a absolutely delightful book about Rebecca's family in France and the challanges and adjustments they faced living day to day.

I forgot to change trains Wednesday and rode 4 more stops with a big smile on my face before I noticed, I was so caught up in the Ramsey's adventures.

I'm only allowed to read French By Heart on the train. I want to make it last. Just 39 chapters to savor.

The point I want to make besides READ THIS BOOK, is even if you travel for a short vacation, there are challanges. Aside from all the local glories of Paris or where ever, you still have to figure out how to stand on line and buy a baguette without the vendeuse yelling at you and a whole slew of other minutia.

Travel reminds me of that line from T.S. Elliot,

"Do I dare to eat a peach..."

I'm sometimes afraid to go in a place in Paris and sometimes I don't because I'm intimidated. Rebecca takes those quotidian tasks and makes them into the most delightful stories. And she gives you courage too.
BONJOUR & MERCI REBECCA!!

Rebeccca has a blog too. Please visit.

Is there some bit of French minutia that drives you nuts?

Do tell...

Noe l'Antiquaire du Vin

Yesterday Ruth said...Dear P.B.
I’ve been missing your drawings but alas, you saved yourself this morning by inserting the macarons stamp!
So I thought I better get on the stick and do a drawing PDQ! And there have been requests for Yorkies too...
Noe l'Antiquaire du Vin is at 12 rue Malar 75007 just down the street from chocolatier Michel Chaudon
And their specialty is antique wines...

Naturally as your PB girl reporter in Paris I was shooting everything in sight...

Out steps the patron and asks,

"Why are you taking a picture of my ugly sign?"

Then the darling guard Yorkie invites me in for a look around...

A truly lovely shop and well worth the visit...

Situated right in a cave/wine celler too...

Don't you love the way bits of grape roots are used as sculpture?

And look at this divine old keg!?

Perfection non?

It should be said that the French let an old wine keg go to waste...

In front of Noe's wine shop a keg holds more fine wines. They are just sitting out there too like this! Good thing I only steal shots hither and thither or I would be tempted...

Here's another wine shop on rue Montorgueil...

With baskets of inviting wine sitting out in the street...

But wait!

There's a guard cow at the fromagerie nextdoor standing watch over those wine bottles.

Whew!
BONJOUR Paris GUARD COWS & GUARD YORKIES!

Macaron Inventory Day...

If you are not a BIG fan of Paris macarons you better leave the room now...ahem
Yesterday I got the comment:
"I find that you very often quote the macaroons Pierre Hermé….you have some shares of his Co. ? "
So I thought I better do a little macaron inventory on PB just to be sure I'm not biased in a certain direction. These macarons are from La Grande Epicerie De Paris by the way. The above macs are from Angelina and Fauchon respectively.
An all time favorite macaron of mine is from Gerard Mulot.
I would not like to think I haven't been even-handed in my macaron researche after all!
I have drunk many cups of tea in the name of that researche and I don't even drink tea as a rule. Hot chocolate is my drink of choice - these macs are from Dalloyau.
Macarons from Sadaharu Aoki.

La Maison du Chocolat

Dare we ever leave out BF, Laduree? Certainment pas!

In NYC I've let you know about Georgia's Bake shop...

And the lovely, pas cher macarons at supermarche CHAMPION (now Carrefour).

My obsession with Paris macaronerie has led me to create mac mouse pads...

I don't like to even think about how many macarons I have painted - hundreds for sure! Way more than I have eaten Thanks Gawd!

My collection of mini macarons is pretty expansive too....

Did I mention that last trip I entered MacDonald's Paris doors to take a look at their macarons? I felt I had to, though I should have tasted one and I did not...

I have filled my Paris Frigo with every brand in the name of that ^%$#@ researche too - life can be tough at times...

Macaron researche is a demanding activity...

So busy measuring...

Color matching...

Flavor checking etc. all for you, darling PB readers....

Who didn't finish?

So now for the so-called "favored" macaron around here.

Well the man is known as the "Picasso of pastry"

Photo by Corey Amaro and Pierre Herme

The Defense will now rest it's case.

YOU get to decide now. Am I biased? Does it even matter?

Shhhhhhhhh...

Do you have any stock in P.H. you would like to toss my way?

It can be "live" stock, like say a few passion fruit macs...but I'm not fussy :)

BONJOUR PARIS MACARONS!!!

J'aime les jeans

It's Tuesday, so it must be what-do-I-wear-in-Paris day again at PB...

Hey LES JEANS are la plat de jour!!!

Even though we think we own em what with The Gap, Levis and les cowboys etc., I'm here to tell you WE DO NOT!

THEY DO!!!
They know how to make a pair of les jeans look incredibly chic/classe or whatever you wanna call it - here with the "Hot" white wool scarf.
L'echarpe - check
Les fringes - check
Little dog - check
Pricy extreme high heels - check
LES JEANS - check
On y va!
The new jeans shorts - who can wear em?
They can, that's who! $%#@!
OK so maybe we could wear these..?
Regarde! Twin jeans with ballerines and Converse!
How come they take our stuff and make it look soooo much better :(
See: les Converse + Pierre Herme sac + eating a macaron in the street! What's up with that?
Le poncho + les jeans...

Les bottes with les jeans tucked inside + the BIG bag...

WAIT! She's got TWO BIG bags!!!
Aieeeeee!(Help!)

I LOVE this look and I would kill to have it/wear it/fit into it-

I found it somewhere on http://www.cafemode.com/

Like that isn't bad enough, Parisien kids are every bit as chic as their mums! Wha'?

Matching outfits! and Mum has perfect "bed head" while kid has the au courant top knot!

Too chic !!!

Where are the chicest bébés in the world?

Just guess!

art by Soledad Bravi

A PB reader asked, How come all the photos you take are of thin Parisiennes?
I don't really have an answer for that - just know this.

They do suffer for those skin-tight jeans =^%$#@! Le Regime!!!

BONJOUR LES JEANS!!!

Parisien Squirrels ride bikes...

So my niece called this morning at 5:30 am and woke me up. Normally I'm up at 4:30 but sometimes... Yes it was the same niece that said "my blog was just a bunch of cakes" and that "I shoot everything in rows".
She mentioned there was a SEPTA transportation strike on in Philadelphia and why isn't everyone riding bicycles to work?
Which of course reminded me of when I was in Paris for the greve (strike) and everyone was on they velos (bikes).
Parisiens get their training early. They learn how to tie a scarf Parisien style at about 2 years old...

They learn their numbers by counting bikes.
They even learn about romance early and on a bike!

Foreign exotic places? They get it early plus bikes...

They learn too that someday, when they are a grand mere they will still be riding those bikes.

Look! A Parisien dog gets into the act...

OUAF! OUAF!

They get the bike training early with good reason - Paris circulation (traffic) is the pits! Well it used to be until the Velibs took over.

There are Velib stations everywhere...

Including right in front of Pierre Herme rue Cambon!

Do you think that's why Pierre Herme designed these macaron boxes to look like bicycle wheels? I do...
Does anything look nicer than a Pierre Herme sac in a Velib basket?
OUI!

A pack of luscious Pierre Herme macarons that's what!
You have to be grateful to a niece who gives you good blog post ideas early in the morning when you haven't a clue what to post?

BONJOUR ANABEL!!!

(that's my niece...Anabel not the squirrel)