on what’s to eat, and a respite

This was a respite within a respite, so to speak: A 10-hour layover in Paris between two long-ish flights, the bookend of a holiday. I was fortunate to have a French-fried friend to ease the airport doldrums, and even more fortunate that she is a great hostess (from as early as 6am!).

One day, I’ll do Paris (maybe even the rest of France) slowly. I’ve only ever done it fast, which is entirely inadequate. But for now I only know the city in increments of 18 hours, 10 hours, cramming whatever I can taste/see/smell/hear/enjoy in the smallest window of time.

Arriving in the city by 7:30am, we set out to eat. First a pain au chocolat at the Marché des Enfants Rouges, only just awakening on this Saturday, then a walk about, and a leisurely breakfast in the sun at La Chambre des Oiseaux. What’s to eat? “Breakfast à la campagne” – an assortment of breads, cheeses, charcuterie, and jams, along with a warm and gingery drink.

Evidently Paris sleeps in on Saturdays, so we strolled to pass the time: through the courtyards of the national archives building,

and across the Place de l’indépendence.

On a whim, we sped over to the Marché aux puces – lanes upon alleys upon shops upon shops of flea market finds, from the gold-plated to the hand-carved to the taxidermied, and everything in between (and all for a pretty ~~penny~~ euro).

Before heading back to the airport, a grand finale: the finest éclairs around because, don’t you know, éclairs are the new macarons. We took a selection, including fig, chocolate, and raspberry, but the best by far was the caramel-coffee, with gold-dusted, candied pralines.

I’ll admit to finishing mine off on the plane ride to Bamako. It was another lovely, whirlwind tour, and I hope to be back again soon.