Place de la Concorde

The interesting thing about my day in Paris, is that I didn't really have anything particularly in mind for it. Consequently after breakfast, when I stepped out of the hotel, I was faced with a fairly simple choice; "left or right?". I took a meandering route down towards the seine by foot.
This is in keeping with the idea that you miss things by traveling around in cars, buses and the like.

My first find of the day was one of my favorites; a covered market "Les Enfants Rouges". I wandered in and found a couple of curio vendors, but most of the stalls were restaurants and food stalls. I noted Italian, Mexican, Cajun, Japanese, French, Fast-food and a Fromagerie amongst the stalls. The olfactory impact of this was quite something, and definitely would have been missed had I taken the Metro or Bus. I settled on getting lunch from the little Japanese restaurant. It was a long kiosk, with a few wooden tables with benches in a light, bamboo-like wood. The Chef was a slightly wizened gentleman, who stood before his steaming pots in a manner which seemed to proclaim, "I am the kitchen sense". The scene could just as well have been in Tokeo, except that the menu was chalked up on the board in French, as well as in Japanese characters.

The food was beautifully presented on crockery segmented bento-box-style. I was sharing a table with some Japaneese restaurant go-ers, so was pleased that my chop-stick skills did not betray me.

I was actually quite surprised at the ammount of Japanese eateries I found in Paris, as dishes like susi struck me as some how "un-French". (Later in the evening I saw a restaurant named "Sushi-planet", which had a fleet of delivery bikes lined up outside (so not only can you get sushi, you can get it speedily delivered).

After a lunch I continued my stroll in a generally southerly direction and met the sene around Charenton-Le-Pont. From there I headed down stream in the direction of Muse' de louvre. On my way I crossed the river to Notre Dame cathedral, the very first way-point on my 2010 France tour.

The goal for today stated on my plan was to by crepes; so I got started with a crepe (avec sucre et citron) in the "Jardin des Tuileries", which lie between the Louve and l'obilisque. The cafe was a gorgeous open air affair, surrounded by antique statues and flower beds.

I headed up the Champs eleese, where preparations for the conclusion of Le Tour on Sunday were already underway. Tiered seating had been set up along the street for the final sprint, and crowd barriers were being put up.

Further along, towards the Arch de Triomph, I walked by many of the fashion houses of Paris. The air carried a distinct and pleasant waft of designer of perfumes.Read more