a sunset at notre dame

rediscovered this stash of photos on my laptop just this morning - they were from a few weeks ago, when neesh, frida and i caught up after work for a crêpe (just for a change). we lazed about, wolfing our crêpes down....then regretted not savouring every last delicious bite (every time! after 5 months in paris, i still can't eat a crêpe slowly...). these photos sum up how we spend our mid-week evenings: tasty food, eachother's company & a ridiculously beautiful backdrop. while strolling from saint michel to notre dame, we crossed the river and looked down on the riverbanks - where we saw (& heard) several people strumming away on their guitars, while others were pulling baguettes, cheese & red wine from picnic baskets. i love this pocket of paris, where the everyday hustle & bustle seems to stand still - i know that for me, in any case, those early evening hours is when i can stand apart from it all and really admire & appreciate paris' beauty.

it had been one of those hot 30º days, so the setting sun had a glorious warmth in it as we watched it ever so slowly, but surely sink towards the horizon. it's weird to think that i'll be leaving paris soon, and with the weather dropping lower every day - it feels like this little chapter of my time in paris was an age ago! 

will definitely miss these stunning sunsets, reflected in the rippled waters of the seine...

bises,

S.

hunchback frida

seine booksellers

lining the riverbank from pont neuf to pont des arts are the green, wooden boxes of the seine river booksellers. at night the little boxes lie dormant, but during the day they open up into a snaking line of miniature stalls overflowing with old books, new books, big books, miniature books, foreign-language  books, etc... 

although that part of the booksellers is self-explanatory, the little shops/stalls also sell prints of famous artworks, copies of famous magazine covers & iconic images dating back to the 20s, both new & pre-loved postcards (i bought an old print of the arc de triomphe with a barely legible love letter from the 70s written on the back. cute), old keychains made up of random recycled advertisements from previous decades, amongst a sea of other oddities.

the booksellers run right up to pont des arts - the "love-lock" bridge, so the stalls leading up to the pedestrian bridge sell locks of all shapes, colours & sizes that passers by can then attach to the bridge's railings. i somehow always seem to lose track of time while strolling along the banks of the seine...i get caught up rummaging through old prints of paris (of which there are literally thousands), flicking through the  impressionist prints dangling from the roofs of the little boxes & snapping the same photos time and time again - everywhere i look just seems to capture a new moment of the quaint little existence of the seine river booksellers...

à bientôt,

S.

looking across the seine to the musée du louvre

a street busker playing a piano-ish type of instrument i've never seen before

falafels in the marais

arguably the best falafels in paris, it's a muuuust to get them when here. rue des rosiers, located in the jewish quarter of paris, is famous for its falafels. there are about 4 or 5 different places, but the best is by far are found at l'as du falafel. no, it doesn't mean "falafel ass" or "donkey falafel"...but rather "the king of falafels" - and rightly so.

stuffed inside a warm pita is sun-dried tomato, grilled aubergine, courgette, mayo, super spicy spices & those delicious falafel balls. omnomnom. we sat down on the cobble-stone, pedestrianised street and gobbled up our wraps...and it's safe to say that we enjoyed it down to the very last falafel-filled bite...

with comfortably full bellies, we wandered through the lanes & alleyways of le marais, the quarter of paris renowned for its shopping. stopping every 2 minutes at friperies (second-hand/vintage clothes shops) and entering hidey-hole shops jam-packed with clothes in every colour, shape, pattern & style possible. i managed to nab a pair of leather boots, a couple of leather belts & a silver "owl" brooch. mmm i love paris shopping. there's really nothing quite like it.

xo,

S.

cal got a bit bored of shopping by the end...