0 Le Luco

 'Le Luco' is the nickname for the Luxembourg Jardins.

When I saw ex-pat Lindsey Tramuta of Lost in Cheeseland's recent Luco post, I thought, me too, me too!

 What to wear in Luco on Sunday?

The obligatory striped shirt

A short ruffled piquet skirt

And RED SHOES!

 "Take off the red shoes", Moira Shearer said at the end of the film.

 Le Luco strollers are not snoozing...

 Orientation maps of Luco are everywhere.

 And most helpful.

 Smiling is allowed in Paris (on Sundays only).

 Tai Chi is always allowed.

 As is jogging in Paris.

crunch...crunch...crunch

 Lounging is more prevalent.

 Why ever is a bench called a 'un banc'?

What do you call a bank?

 Depart le Luco out the (west or east?) gate - Dalloyau awaits you with au bon gouter at 2, Pl Edmond Rostand 75006

I hope you all had a JOYEUSES PAQUES!

I'm off to get my red Repettos resoled for my trip.

0 Petit Four Euphoria

When I devoured this little passion fruit tartelette from Financier Pastries at FlowerSchool NY a few weeks ago, who knew...

Petit Fours, art at Etsy, 9" x 11"
I spent this week grappling with a Tuna fish sandwich and even more Parisien petit fours? C'est la vie...Most people waltz into Champs-Elysees and head straight for the macaron counter. They completely miss the tray of mini petit fours by the cash register, but not me/mais pas moi.
What better way to taste a little bite of everything inhouse for less calories (like who's counting) and less dough? These are not those horrid little sugary squares of iced yellow cake we know too well and hate, but mini tastes of framboise and religieuse bite-sized...
I made this astonishing discovery my last morning in Paris. I raced to buy these and then raced home to shoot setups of these sweet minis....
Naturelement I had to eat them up before racing off to catch the plane, but they were mostly fruity anyway. *Try not to race around too much when you're bringing these babies home or they'll show serious wear and tear. They ARE delicate.
Most patisseries have these mini delights like Dalloyau. And they don't cost too much - 10 petit fours(13 euros)

Fauchon and Gerard Mulot have them.

Yellow Bird is very fond of the mini Baba au rhume petit four...

BEAR is not so picky and will happily settle for the whole plate

BONJOUR PETIT FOUR EUPHORIA!

0 BEAR'S Last Day in Paris

BEAR is safely home in New York YAY!

Our last day in Paris was drizzly, overcast. Sunday, so no one was out which is always nice :) BEAR decided we must do a last quick run to Champs-Elysees. L'Arc de Triomphe. Crazy Parisian runners in the rain.
Last Parisien dog and a big one!

 Easter bears in a window.

Inside a not so dreamy 30-minute wait

For gooey pastries.

We waited 30 min only so BEAR could take a last Metro ride in a pastry bag.

BEAR suggested we take AirFrance Bus to Charles de Gaulle Airport since it's faster then the RoisseyBus especially if you go on Sunday morning.

We got there in 20 minutes with loads of time to browse duty-free.

BEAR badly wants a 'I was in Moulin Rouge' T-shirt.

I wanted a 'I was in Hermes' something or other.

We both wanted Hediards macarons.

In red boxes.

And Dalloyau's macarons.

Oh well you can't always get what you want  

BONJOUR HOME!

0 Petit Parisien Dogs

More dogs today because both Amy, the harpist and I would like to own one and don't. And because Jilly on the Riviera takes the most gorgeous photos of dogs ever. So I went looking to see what dogs I discovered last trip in Paris...
Toy dogs are definitely king in Paris.
You can take them almost anywhere...
You can jam them into a purse if need be...
Or hold them on the bus...
Or just drag them down the rue - dommage...
Larger dogs are the rarity in Paris - here a Parisien is being walked by two standard poodles.

Small dogs do make perfect shopping companions...

This discerning little dog insists his owner patronize tres rafinee Dalloyau in Galeries Lafayette...

Angelina draws some of the most discerning of dogs in fact...

The Dachshund is evidently the dog of choice these days...

Even as an objet decoratif...

Handsome and spunky, what's not to love?An OFG (older French Girl) prefers her miniature poodle, whose red leash smartly co-ordinates with her owners jacket and the red awning beyond...

It is true the small dog is easier to dress up, say in a scarf...

Or a fancy collar...

But we can not preclude that larger dogs do not long to go to Paris. They do, very much indeed. They are eagerly lining up and yearn to be seen in all the best places, shopping, browsing or reading Le Figero.

Has your large dog (or cat) dropped a hint?

BONJOUR PETIT PARISIEN DOGS!