Paris: Scenes from the City of Light

Our rented apartment is next to the Jardin du Luxembourg.

There are beautiful fountains, sculpture, flower gardens, bee hives, marionette puppet theatres, heirloom pear trees and rental boats for children daily here.



It is my favorite spot in all of Paris.



Beautiful metro stations with gorgeous Art Nouveau ironworks abound.



Typical teenagers, sitting around laughing, and smiling in large groups.
We have NEVER seen a young person texting on a cell phone and NO ONE carries a water bottle or cup of coffee to go. How refreshing!



A visit to Rue Mouffetard, a fantastic marketplace in Paris is a must.



A beautiful cobblestone street is lined with fantastic fromageries (cheese shops), boucheries (specialty butchers), boulangeries (bakeries), cafes and outdoor produce markets.



There was a place just for quiches called Mouffe Tarte! I tried the fig and chevre and the Provencal with eggplant and tomatoes.......DIVINE!



Julien Davin is one of the few remaining horse butchers in the city. Yes, the French eat horsemeat (and any other kind of meat, for that matter), though it is slowly declining. The city has 32 chevalines left, 20 years ago there were over 100.
Horse meat is banned in restaurants, but I guess the old school French people still desire it.



Though I could peek into the shop and see the butcher at work, there were iron gates down, to discourage animal rights protestors.

Read this interesting article on horse meat in Paris, it explains a lot.
This is one thing I will be not be eating anytime soon (or ever!).

and lastly, what would a trip be without me finding fresh figs?



They were all over the markets and the size of small apples. Each one heavy with sweetness, ripe and the perfect pairing to wine and cheese each evening.