Dimanche à Paris

A glorious sunny Sunday in Paris...croissant et café at Le Preau to begin.  Yesterday we saw our usual waitress from Le Preau while we were wandering in the Marais...she was off work, out with a friend.  We heard her call out to us across crowded rue Ferdinand Duval and we waved back a smiling bonjour...now I really feel like I'm local!

After coffee, on to the Bastille marché...nowhere could be more lively on a Sunday morning.  We love this marché and each visit we wander the full length of the stalls along Boulevard Richard Lenoir, up one allée, down the next, working our way across the marché as part of the leisurely crowd...un vrai plaisir!

We then headed down rue du Pont Louis Philippe and walked in the sun along the edge of the river to Quai de la Rapée and Port de l'Arsenal.  There was a demonstration and march at Bastille to highlight the plight of the unemployed, including bands on moving floats along rue Saint Antoine, rallying the young in support of the cause.  We bumped into André and Marie (from our old apartment block) and said our farewells jusqu'à l'année prochaine.

Steering clear of the crowds on rue Saint Antoine we wound our way back to Village Saint Paul for lunch at La Petite Maison dans la Cour (4.30pm!  no wonder we were hungry!).

It's always a difficult choice, deciding what to do on our last leisurely day in Paris (tomorrow we pack)...but we always agree on just being part of the local quartier...and it's always a good decision, particularly on such a beautiful day!  Walking till you tire, coffee at street-side tables at the base of the ancient buildings in the Marais, the music of the language surrounding us...this is our Paris.