A Sunny Friday

Woke this morning in Paris to sunshine! A real treat---sunny days are few and far in the winter. One year I could've saved luggage space by not packing my sunglasses. OK, maybe I wouldn't have saved much space but you get the idea. Today, we wasted no time caffeinating ourselves, showering and heading out the door.

Even though this apartment in the 5th arrondisement has been our home in Paris for the last 15 years, we still make discoveries. Our friend Roth (www.rothray.com) told us yesterday about a Viennese pastry shop just off the boulevard St. Michel. Today we found it: we must have walked past it a hundred times and never noticed. The original owner immigrated to Paris in the 1870's, opened this shop, and her family still owns and operates the business. The dining room is no more than 3 metres wide and perhaps 7 metres long, with seating for 25 or so. The atmosphere is straight out of 1870----some of the tables might be that old!

Such a total surprise, we were unprepared to order. But when in a Viennese pastry shop, order the classics. Non? A Linzer torte and a Sacher torte seemed right out of the story books. And they were delicious. Highly recommended---we'll probably go again this trip. (Patisserie Viennoise 8, rue de l'Ecole Medecine)

Then we hopped on a bus to save our little feet some wear and tear. (If you spend too much energy walking to your destination, you won't have the energy left to walk around.) In reality, the bus only took us about six blocks when we decided to jump off and stroll across the Pont des Arts in deference to the beautiful day.

From there, we walked through the courtyard of the Louvre---I think of all the people that have trod this ground, and all the intrigue that has taken place in this area. Across to the Bourse and through Les Halles (Mokuba ribbon www.mokubany.com (Paris store looks just like the NY store.) is closed until the 5th of January, so I might not visit this trip. Full of the world's most beautiful ribbons, the choices overwhelm me. Without a particular project in mind, I'm too indecisive.)

I took several pictures in the Marais today, and they are safely stored in my PDA until we return. In particular, one sweater in a very simple knitted lace pattern, with a four button sleeve trim caught my eye. In the same store window, a re-interpreted granny square pattern looked fresh and interesting: small squares (2" x 2"), black background and brightly multi-colored squares, and just a few gold sequins scattered over the entire surface. Overall, the clothes seem more colorful and more feminine than in recent memory.

I stopped in the Annie Blatt store and came out empty handed. I may return as there was a multicolored mohair mix that caught my eye---and that I keep thinking might be an acceptable addition to the stash.

Jeff's napping, the sun has disappeared, and the current temperature is 43.2° I'm going to read more Orhan Pamuk Snow www.orhanpamuk.net/ for a while before we head to the 14th for dinner. Oh, yes. We also bought bread and a EuroMillions lottery ticket. I can't begin to imagine the red tape involved in claiming a major prize, but Jeff assures me he'll gladly deal with it.