The Marais, and the Musee D'orsay

Les Philosophes Cafe, my first French meal experience.

Bon jour, mon amis! We arrived in Paris 2 days ago, and set up in our 'ome away from 'ome in the lovely Marais neighborhood of Central Paris. We have a great view, are right across from a Metro stop, and a hop/skip to the local Monoprix (a combo drugstore/grocery store). Note: Damn the French love their yogurt! A full aisle of all manner of fromage frais and yaourt. Huh? I've never seen that much yogurt in one place. Oh, and the milk here is to die for. There's no such thing as skim or 2%. I mean, why would you do that? ;)

The Marais is a large neighborhood on the Right Bank of the Seine, known to be the center of the Jewish, Chinese, and gay community of Paris. Our apartment is at 170 Rue de Temple. Pictures of this charming top floor studio will be posted later. Looks like they took it off the website, Parisaddress.com (great place to look for rentals here!)

We took most of the day and toured the Marais area, in and out of shops, winding streets, cafes. I had a wonderful early dinner at Les Philosophes where I channeled my inner Julia Child and went for the beouf bourgoignon. Um, give me a beef stew and I'm on board!!! Lani had the tarte tatin tomate and the soupe a l'oignon gratinee, good ol' french onion soup, which will cure whatever might ail you. I was able to use my little bit of french to order, ask where the bathroom was, and ask for the check!

Speaking of French, Lani's is tres bien. It's all coming back to her. For those who don't know, she spent a year of grad school in Paris. We're going to visit her old apartment while we're here.

That day we also hit the Musee D'orsay, where you can find many an Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painting. Loved it!!! Give me a good Monet and I'm on board. (Ok, I'll stop saying that). I was surprised at how much I loved all the T'oulouse Lautrec's. His minimal sketches are soooo good. Fun times! The D'orsay's Impressionist collection is touring around the world soon, and San Francisco will be it's first stop. I may have to see it again!

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Woman in a Corset (Conquête de Passage)