Street of roses

 

Old Rue des Rosiers once lined with roses dates from the days before street signs when streets were named for a landmark or function.

 

Treeful Tuesday

 

Evening and the spire of Notre-Dame Cathedral is a beacon across the Seine.

 

Mocha Monday

Good Morning.

 

Sisters Sunday

 

 

A group of nuns outside the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris.

 

Croissant brrrr

 

A warm croissant, a cold day.

 

Fish Friday

Just a 5-minute walk from the Louvre a restaurant that feels like a Tokyo fish market.

Above: an eel keeps company next to a customer's table

 Kodawari Ramen

12 rue de Richelieu 75002

Throwback Thursday

   
 Tranquil beauty just south of the French border.

 

Above: view from a balcony

(click to enlarge)

 

Window Wednesday

"The kitchen is the heart of a restaurant, the client its soul."

 

Tasting Tuesday

 

 

No need to leave Paris to take a trip through France.

 

Above: cheeses from every region at a Montmartre fromagerie

Mona Monday

 She's everywhere.

 

Sunset Sunday

 

The blush of sunset from the Renoir Gardens of the Musée de Montmartre.

 

Sipping Saturday

Just in time for a tasting at a wine bar on the Left Bank.

 

Fashion Friday

 A dress and its suggested shoes in a Marais district shop window.

 

Thirsty Thursday

 

A barman prepares cocktails for an evening apéro.

Window Wednesday

 A small Latin Quarter bistrot with wines in the window and checked tablecloths.

 

Treeful Tuesday

 

A turquoise winter sky through branches.

Mocha Monday

 

 

Café crème and morning papers get the day off to a good start.

 

Rappelle-toi

Rappelle-toi Barbara Il pleuvait sans cesse sur Brest ce jour-là. Et tu marchais souriante. Épanouie ravie ruisselante. Sous la pluie. Rappelle-toi Barbara - Jacques Prévert

 ***

 Today ends an in-depth exhibition highlighting the life and work of Jacques Prévert at the Montmartre Museum with its stunning Renoir Gardens and small tea room.

From my college days I've fond memories of how my father would recite "Rapelle-toi Barbara" to me because it had my name in it, not realizing that Prévert was much more than a prolific poet. A talented writer, screenwriter and, in his own right, artist whose best friends were notable painters of the day such as Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró, he spent his time in Montmartre welcoming a beau monde from a small studio that overlooked Le Moulin Rouge and was filled with books and scraps of cuttings to create his astonishing surrealist collages.

 Prévert's Wikipedia biography states, "He died of lung cancer in Omonville-la-Petite on 11 April 1977. He had been working on the last scene of the animated movie Le Roi et l'Oiseau ("The King and the Mockingbird") with his friend and collaborator Paul Grimault. When the film was released in 1980, it was dedicated to Prévert's memory, and on opening night, Grimault kept the seat next to him empty. His dog Auto was given to a family friend after his death." - BPJ

 

Musée de Montmartre

12 rue Cortot 75018

  

 

Below: in a spontaneous moment at the exhibition a couple embraces in front of one of Prévert's collages that happened to be just around the corner from a poster of the film, "Les Enfants du Paradis" (1945), screenplay by Jacques Prévert

 

Savory Saturday

 A sharing planche mixte with a side of hummus on a winter afternoon.

 

Le Love

 - A very Happy Saint Valentine's Day 2025 -

 

💘

 

Floral Friday

 Bouquets of roses fill the streets of Paris.

It's the Feast of Saint-Valentin.

💘

 

 

Riverside

 

 The lights of a café-restaurant brighten up a wintry evening.

 

 

Window Wednesday

Hand-crafted birds sit on a gift shop windowsill.

 

Toasty Tuesday

 

Avocado Toast French style at Au Sauvignon, Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

 

Below: Mignon Café, Montmartre 

 

 

 ***

 

 When Avocado Toast, a favorite in the US, pirouetted into Paris, it soon took off and began to show up on menus all over the city. Avocados from Spain, Holland, Israel, Morocco and Kenya had been a plentiful staple at markets for years. And with already popular open-faced sandwiches called tartines plus a wide choice of boulangeries translating to a wide variety of excellent breads, it was just a matter of time. 

Cafés and restaurants rolled up their sleeves to give it their own spin - fresh herbs, seeds and mixed spices here, smoked salmon, a poached egg, crispy bacon, burrata, a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds there.

 Today the very presence of avocado toast on a menu is a plus, suggesting an awareness of healthy eating. And while the Anglo crowd seems to regard it as mostly a breakfast or part of a brunch, many French still see it as a light lunch, a trendy tartine. - BPJ

Below: tried-and-true

AU SAUVIGNON

80 rue des Saints-Pères

16.50 euros 

MAISON SAUVAGE SAINT-GERMAIN-DES-PRÉS

5 rue de Buci 75006

14 euros 

 

CUPPA CAFÉ

86 rue de l’université 75006

12.50 euros

 

L’ESCARPOLETTE

40 rue Guy-Lussac 75005

14 euros

 

CAFÉ DE LA POSTE

"Tartine de La Poste"

124 rue de Turenne 75003

13 euros 

 

   RÉPUBLIQUE OF COFFEE

2 boulevard Saint-Martin 75010

9.50 euros 

 

NOGLU (gluten free)

16 passage des Panoramas 75002

15 euros 

 

CAFÉ FOUFOU

10 rue d’Oberkampf 75011

11.50 euros 

 

CAFÉ BERRY

10 rue Chappon 75003

9 euros 

 

MARCELLO

8 rue Mabillon 75006

6 euros

 

LE FUMOIR

6 rue de l'Amiral de Coligny 75001

16 euros

 

MIGNON CAFÉ

67 rue Caulaincourt 75018

14 euros

 

PAIN QUOTIDIEN (Montmartre)

31 rue Lépic 75018

10.95 euros

 Other locations: 

Les Halles

Marais

Victoires

Charonne

Victor Hugo

Saint-Lazare

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mona Monday

Mona on a book cover about the history of art.

Red hot

A Left Bank café ready with blankets and heat lamps.

 

Fruity Friday

 

Lemons and oranges from inside an organic foods shop in le Haut Marais.

 

 

Crochet crazy

 

A giant serpent coils around The Tree of Life in an immense art installation representing the beginning of humankind.

LE LA SERPENT

 

Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto

 

Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche

24 rue de Sèvres 75007

 

On view til February 23

 

 

 

 

***

This evening:

 

Nocturne des Beaux-Arts Saint Germain-des-Prés 

 

gallery hopping - vernissages - meet the artists - live music - apéros....

 

From 6 PM

Begin at corner of rue de Seine / rue des Beaux-Arts

 

Window Wednesday

 

 

A stained glass marvel inside Notre-Dame Cathedral.

 

The day after

 

Yesterday all over France the ancient festival of La Chandeleur also called la fête des crêpes, le jour des crêpes, Candlemas in English, was celebrated by indulging in what else, crêpes, for a year of good luck and prosperity.

Below: w/traditional accompaniment dry apple cider

Sunny Sunday

 

Ready for Sunday lunch on a winter day.

 

Sit-down Saturday

Patience is its own reward.

Floral Friday

 

 

Vibrant colors inside a Left Bank florist shop.

 

Wake up Wednesday

Some good reasons to get out of bed.

 

Below: more good reasons

 

 

The French Bastards 

Boulangerie-Pâtisserie artisan

60 rue de Sèvres 75007

 

- 5 more locations - 

 

***

 

Ten years ago today - could it be? - I posted my very first photo on FocusOnParis.com, a photo blog created and launched with professional photographer, former colleague and dear friend Wilf James. The blog’s kickoff photo had been the day before, January 28, a fantastic black and white photograph that Wilf had taken of tourists leaning over to gawk at the Eiffel Tower. From then on it was just me and my smart phone camera, and today, with over 3,000 posted photos and visitors from all over the world dropping in every day, what started as a photography experiment has turned into a part-time art project that has led to many wonderful experiences.Yet as many photos as I've posted - whether of food, fashion, travel, street scenes, cafés, architecture or Parisian lifestyle as favorite subjects - I know I've only scratched the surface. Paris is a city full of surprises, and I can be sure there will always be something new, perhaps around the next corner. It’s been great fun and I’ve met some incredible people - I could not possibly list them all here - and everything I’ve covered was always with an eye for what strikes me, details from wherever I happen to be, of places and corners that make Paris well, Paris. This seems to have kept the interest of the blog’s many visitors as well, and I hope will continue to do so. - BPJ

 

🎉

 

Twinkling Tuesday

 

Last days to sparkle with holiday splendor.

Above: Le Moulin de la Galette

Below: Place du Tertre