Walking and eating in Paris

We are walking and walking and walking. Logging in up to 10 miles a day. No wonder we know Paris so well. Nothing beats walking. We are seeing people on the electric scooters everywhere but we prefer our feet.

So come along on our day. Most mornings we eat at home but we wanted to start the day out right and walked over to Cafe Flore. It might seem touristy but there are plenty locals there and it is the best breakfast. Those eggs, the baguettes, freshly squeezed OJ and really good coffee.

A stop in a gallery we go to again and again. Galerie Geraldine Banier. She was featuring two artists, Sylvie Mangaud and Rene Romeo Schuler. Love this meditation sculpture.

The 6th is filled with antique, vintage and art galleries. A new one just opened up called L’Atelier 55. Could become a standard stop.

Alex Katz has two pieces in the L’Orangerie right now. He has water lilies at his home in Maine. He never painted them because of Monet. But he finally did. He is 92 years old so the time might have been just right.

The Monet water lilies never get old. I always get emotional when I walk into these rooms.

In the Tuilleries there are a variety of statues in plots of grass that you can only admire from afar. Standing Woman by Gaston Lachaise 1932.

We walked up to the Champs D’Elysee. An area we never go into but Galleries Lafayette just opened up a new store there at the end of March. Was curious what they did with it. Grabbed a pic of Charles de Gaulle standing outside the Grand Palais.

It is a bold move to open up a new department store. Not sure I love the location but the store is really well done. A food hall in the basement that is simple, well curated with lots of chocolates. You can sit and have food from just a few sections of salads, cheeses and pates.

The other two floors are merchandised by designer and mixed together with items like a vase or a hat. What is worth noting is the designers that they chose to put in this store. All cutting edge nothing old. Many do small amounts like Noah. It is the new new. It speaks volumes about where fashion is going.

We went back to the 6th (this time we did not walk) for lunch at St. Germain Bistro. Had a salad. They do a nice job and sitting outside of a cafe is a treat.

Decided to walk up and down the streets in the 6th to see all of our favorite galleries. Librairie des Alpes is always a stop. Picked up this piece.

Also Galerie Bettina Von Armin where we picked up a few pieces.

Back for a bit of a rest before heading out to dinner in the 5th. We went to Baieta. Quite good vs the night before at Tomy and Co which is not even worth posting about. A young chef, Julia Sedefdjian, cooking Mediterranean food.

This pork was top. Caramelized pork belly with mashed celeriac root, peanuts and an herb sauce. Divine.

I admit I could not stop eating the fennel butter. Wow.

We walked home. It is about 10pm. Seeing Notre Dame is so sad but truly amazing that this is all that was lost. It is at night where you really realize how big the loss is. The building lit up the sky and the street and the Seine. There is now a dark spot every evening.

We continued to walk over to Hotel Lutecia in the 7th. Just opened and renovated after a long long time. They have a really nice bar and is open late. Had an evening nightcap before walking home and falling into bed. Quite the day and the weather could not have been more perfect.

Comments (Archived):

  1. William Mougayar

    We almost went to Baieta last Feb. It was 2 blocks from our apt, near Notre Dame. I had eliminated Tomy for some reason I can’t remember why. I think I didn’t like how they interacted with me for reservations.Lutecia was well re-done. How was the jazz trio?

    1. Gotham Gal

      Jazz was a nice touch

  2. Kirsten Lambertsen

    Love this post 🙂 The department store reminds me of this scene (1:26 in) from Au Bonheur des Dames (a silent film that I got to see with a live jazz quartet on the Castro’s screen at the 2006 SF Silent Film Festival). The entire movie is filmed in Paris in 1928-1929.https://youtu.be/F86vSn43tz

    1. Gotham Gal

      Ooh. I need to see that

      1. Kirsten Lambertsen

        If you ever get the chance, San Francisco’s silent film festival is a great experience. The Castro, with its organ that rises up out of the orchestra pit and its movie palace ambiance, the audience memebrs in costume, the guest speakers who talk before the films, and experiencing silent film with room-filling live music is comparable to nothing else 🙂 One of the things I miss most about SF.http://silentfilm.org/archi

        1. Gotham Gal

          Alas. Not a town I like.

        2. awaldstein

          Been.One of my favorite spots when I lived there though get back very infrequently nowadays.

  3. Lorian Smith

    Very interesting and informative blog and about the restaurants and I must appreciate your work well done keep more posting.Restaurants

  4. awaldstein

    Thanks for sharing your day.Paris with a table on the street hanging out is like nothing else.Love the Alex Katz piece though the meditation sculpture keeps drawing me in.

  5. Tom Labus

    Twilight this time of year is so long. Walking is the only way to take in any city but especially Paris. Enjoy your stay!!!