"quand l'appétit va, tout va!"

There is a a famous saying in France that goes "quand l'appétit va, tout va!" ("when your appetite is fine, everything else is") and, well considering the huge "Gauffre" aux marrons (chestnuts waffle) one can get in Paris, How true that is!

Do you have a favorite metro in Paris? This Is one of mine..

It's on the Left Bank - Metro Saint-Michel
I love this busy Saint-Michel station with the art-nouveau entrance
lots of action on the streets around and usually you'll be greeted by
sounds of music wafting up from one of the many
groups of buskers that frequent this station.

Easter In France

                 ~ Special Easter Traditions in France ~
Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are national holidays in France. Government businesses and most shops are closed (though tourist attractions such as museums and monuments remain open for visiting).
• Best place for Easter Mass on April 24: Notre Dame Cathedral
Services at: 8.15 a.m., 10 a.m., 11.30 a.m., 12.45 p.m., 5.45 p.m., and 6.30 p.m.
NOTE: The Gregorian mass at 10 a.m. on Easter Sunday is very beautiful.
•TIP: Visitors should be sure to visit the charcuteries to sample the traditional Paté de Pacques (Easter paté), made only at this time of year.

( Sorry for putting Porc next to a Jewish suggestion for Passover )

•Best place for traditional Passover, or “Pesach” specialties in Paris are found in many restaurants in the beautiful Marais neighborhood.

Secret Corners Of Paris That I Adore

                                           Place Dauphine
At the very tip of Ile de la Cite, near the Pont Neuf in the 1st.
Place Dauphine is one of the prettiest squares in Paris, situated right in the center of the city. At the foot of Ile de la Cite (not nearest Ile St. Louis, but the other end) lies a lovely, quiet old square that is actually V-shaped. I like the Taverne Henri IV wine bar here.

Tango In Paris Under The Stars

Quai St.-Bernard
Square Tino Rossi, in the 5th.
Every evening from May through September, from sunset to midnight, Parisians take advantage of the warming weather and free tango classes on the quai St.-Bernard. The quai is essentially a walkway that stretches between the Pont Sully and the Pont d’Austerlitz. It is flanked by the Seine on the north side and the scenic Jardin des Plantes on the south. Take advantage of these free classes to soak in the spring and summer sunsets.
The dancing begins at 7 p.m. each evening during the week and at 5 p.m. on week-ends. What’s really nice is that you get young and old alike dancing together. Everyone is welcome, and who knows, you just might meet your dance partner for life!

Who was the square named after?

Tino Rossi was a singer and film actor, he was a tenor of French cabaret and one of the great romantic idols of his time. Gifted with an operatic voice, a "Latin Lover" persona made him a movie star as well. Over his career, Rossi made hundreds of records and appeared in more than 25 films. His romantic ballads had women swooning.

Oysters - Everything You Wanted to Know, but Were Afraid To Ask or...... Eat!

I am sure; many of you have eaten oysters in your travels. If you have been to France, it’s a must, in order to taste the 'real' France . But eating is one thing, another is seeing how they are harvested and eating them right off the boat. Now,just outside Bordeaux, in the bay of Arcachon - home to famous oysters and scores of oyster growers and harvesters, you now have the chance to spend some time with an oyster grower; ah better than that, a beautiful oyster grower - Sylvie LATRILLE.
Sylvie has opened her business and profession to visits to see at first hand - the Oyster and how it is raised and harvested.
She offers many workshops (in between her growing and harvesting oysters)
~ The Shucking Workshop - Learn the skill (and it is a skill) of opening an oyster with the tasting of 6 different sizes and shapes

~ First Time Oyster Eaters Workshop - an introduction and conversation and tasting to people who don’t realize what they have been missing.- a glass of wine, bread and butter and a step by step class.

~ Going Out With The Tide - Experience a ride on an oyster barge to 'get the drift' of the oyster profession

........ Of course, just sitting outside her oyster shack, over looking the harbor and eating oysters, drinking local wine( from near by Bordeaux) and maybe enjoying some Pate? If you wish, you can even top that off with whelks, shrimps and clams.