Easter Monday in Saint Germain des Pres

For our first full day in Paris, our destination was Saint Germain-des-Pres. It was cold and we weren't sure what stores would be open on Easter Monday, but we were ready to explore! I love the projections on the Metro platform ceiling.

We had our first Parisien breakfast at the iconic Les Deux Magots. Too cold to sit outside this time!

With our list of destinations in hand, we headed out to explore! Our first stop was the Henri Le Roux shop, famous for the salted caramel butter caramels that I'd read about in David Lebowitz's book, My Sweet Life in Paris.

Heavenly! One of the things that worked out really well on this trip is that although I had specific destinations mapped out for each day, there were also plenty of opportunities to explore and discover new favorites like Amorino gelato! These shops have sprung up all over Paris and we visited several of them. Their gelato is as good and fresh as any I've had in Italy... just fabulous... TOO good!! (I've heard that you can judge gelato by the color of the pistacio... if it is bright green, then it was made from a mix, but if the color is a yucky shade of greenish-brown then it is homemade. In the picture below, the pistachio is in the top right row. The unappetizing color is the opposite of the heavenly flavor that it has!)

Since many stores were closed for Easter Monday, we did a lot of window shopping. I did buy a vintage style receiver for my iPhone. It's great for propping up to your ear to talk! Another one of our stops was a David Lebovitz recommendation, the boulangerie Poilane. Their baked goods weren't just delicious, they were beautiful works of art!

We visited Saint-Sulpice Church and stopped in and out of the shops that were open.

We were disappointed the the department stores, Le Bon Marche and Le Grand Epicerie, were closed that day, but we made it back another day and discovered all kinds of treasures: great travel notebooks, fabrics, and notions on the 3rd floor.

We found a cozy spot to stop for a cafe and to rest... we actually went there twice, despite the waiters that acted offended that they had to take our orders!

From there we headed over to the shops at the Louvre (the underground shopping area there is a perfect place to escape the rain) and enjoyed the Tuilerie gardens on our way there.

Now I can't even remember what we did for dinner that night! (Good thing Nancy was journaling everyday!) I do know we fell into bed that night, exhausted but happy!

Comments

[Deb J]

Oh my! Gelato, salted carmels, breads. All of those wonderful places to go and all of that wonderful food. You would have to go knowing that you would gain weight. How could you go to Paris and not eat?! You just make me want to go to all of those places with you. I really liked the pictures and thought the one with the shoes spelling out 60 was great.

[Grace]

Oh my goodness I look at your pictures and remember and miss Paris so much! Did you go to the department store Printemps? Oh the little cafe was so yummy in there and such a gorgeous store. I was especially facinated by their state of the art bathrooms. lol A hostess with a gown greeted us one day and they had colored toilet paper! lol Did you ever make it back to Laduree? That is my favorite one. Also Angelina across from the Louvre is fabulous. Ok I think I need to go back soon. lol Glad you ladies had a fabulous time. Everyone looks so happy. Grace xoox

[Janice Elder]

I managed to find the Amorino gelato in Nice and Avignon and of course had to make sure it was just as good as in Paris :) It didn't disappoint! I had a flower cone with pistachio in the center and all the flavors of chocolate for the petals. Heaven!!!
Janice