La Palais du Fruit

We usually picked up our produce from a small grocer closer to our street, but I was intrigued by the larger produce market called La Palais du Fruit.  Picked up some clementines and bananas to hold us over til our departure.  The produce here is amazing and I'm inclined to think that it's because they don't allow Genetically Modified Organisms.  While the blackberries are sweeter, the blueberries and strawberries are more tart.  That was surprising to me since they were smaller than what is usually available to us in the States and thus I thought they would be sweeter.  But it may also have been because it's early for blueberries and strawberries.  Had to take a pic of those tomatoes though - just gorgeous!

 

Boat Ride on the Seine

Manege II

Had to go back to the Carrousel near the Eiffel Tower.  There was a carrousel in the Jardin du Luxembourg, but it wasn't open yet.

 

The Not-From-Texas Shiner

Last night the boys were playing in the sofa bed in the living room.  Suddenly, we heard crying.  We think that Jack bumped Sean in the eye with his head.  Sean's eye started to swell up and we were able to apply a frozen bag of frites.  This morning, the swelling has gone down but it's bruised.  Hope it goes away quickly.  

 

Street Art and Fashion Show

Saw interesting Street Art and Fashion Show on Rue Montorgueil this morning.

Cooking Our Petit Dejuner

Our sunny, warm weather has ended.  Today was cloudy and cold.  Found a moving truck in front of our apartment building and now I know how people move furniture into buildings with tiny stairwells.

Found some unusual items on my usual grocery store trip this morning.  Like beef tripe.  3.6 euros is too much money to spend on that!

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Then there was a brand of sugar with a disco theme called "Daddy."

Matt wanted to make an omelette this morning, so I looked for some bacon.  Found some pancetta, but this particular one was pricey - had to take a pic.

Matt started cooking once I got everything back home.  Sean really likes the croissants here.

Suddenly we heard a parade outside!  A great way to start a Saturday.

A Washing Machine That Also Dries. What a Concept!

Our apartment was advertised with a washing and drying machine, and I was curious to see how well it worked.  It's a small machine with a max capacity of 5kg worth of clothes.  It was a bit overwhelming because of all the options.  In fact, I accidentally started the washing mode when I wanted it to dry, but I think it would have been more confusing if I didn't have any experience with a German front-loading machine already.  Works well though, once you get the hang of it.

We got a late start for dinner and there was a 15-30 minute wait at Presto Fresco.  So we took our meal to go and had a nice quiet dinner at home.  This apartment has really been just perfect for our needs.

Fine Dining with a 2yo and 4yo

Dalloyau is a very old French restaurant and I wanted to try it out.  It is located across the street from the entrance to the Jardin du Luxembourg.  Since we needed a bathroom break and a snack, I thought it would be the perfect and only opportunity to dine there with two children under 5.  We had dessert in the tea room upstairs.  The boys had ice cream sundaes with chocolate ice cream, chocolate fudge, chantilly cream, and an almond cookie.  I ordered the Opera cake (very moist and delicious!) and Matt had an assortment of macaroons.  I think these macaroons were my favorite ones in Paris.  (But I really should try more to make a honest estimation.)  Our waiter was nice considering that that the boys got dirt from the garden all over the settee.  But our bill came to almost 60 euro, so we paid well for that opportunity!  But it was nice to enjoy some fine dining in Paris.

Here are some shots that Jack and Sean took too.  My baby Sean is getting so big!

Lovely Stroll Through the Garden

Watching Petanque

There is a section of the garden for playing petanque.  And we watched a group of older adults who appeared to practice cross-country skiing.

 

Le Jardin du Luxembourg

Third trip to Paris and we finally saw the Luxembourg Gardens!  Definitely recommend if you have kids because they have a special kids-only section.  We picked up Thai food before we left and ate it on one of the benches near the entrance of the garden.  Saw lots of young adults eating MickeyDs.  As you can see, it wasn't too crowded.  I can't imagine what it must be like in the summer.  The kids-only section was pretty large.  I wanted to try the zip-line ride.  Why don't we have anything cool like that at parks in the US?

Curious

Why would people demand BPA-free credit card machine paper?

But here's a cute pic of Jack while we are waiting for our take-away Thai food.

 

Breakfast of Champions

The Chocolate Goatee

There is yet another wonderful bakery on Rue Montorgueil, Patisserie Stohrer.  They have a ice cream freezer sitting outside on the sidewalk to lure kids and people with a sweet tooth.  Picked up some on our way home with a bag of chocolate truffles and a bag of mini-madeleines.  The sun doesn't set until around 9pm because they don't do Daylight Savings Time.  It's great because we get a little more daylight, but it seems like summer because of the late sunset.  A very nice cool summer evening which I've never had before.