We were nearby for state championship in swimming, and the day got really long in between the races. It is sometimes easier to try to get a table on short notice than planning ahead. We were lucky and were taken care of with charm and finesse by Mrs Reitbauer herself in a dirndl and her team. This is a legendary "Wirtshaus" known for its quality meat and excellent kitchen open only from Thursday to Sunday.
Some snapshots from my recent trip to Brussels to visit my darling friend Emma. (Credits for the last 2 shots go to her gorgeous house).
I'm just going to go ahead and say it: Paris has more museums than one could ever cover in a life time. That being said, it's hard to choose favorites and before this trip to Paris I always named Musee d'Orsay as my absolute favorite, because of it's vast collection of impressionist art, which happen to be my favorite. Now I can say that I have two new, less known favorites: Musee Rodin and Musee Nissim de Camondo
I was so happy to have little pockets of my New York life with familiar faces towards the end of my course in Paris and when Vanessa came to visit me in Paris for the day, we went to the Royal Monceau Raffles Hotel to have tea in their charming courtyard. They have a selection of Pierre Herme pastries (Pierre Herme actually runs the restaurant as I found out later) and warm scones with clotted cream and passion fruit raspberry jam (seriously, who could say no to that?) and fruit salads with rose petals, not to mention gorgeous tea cups. Perhaps summer finally arrived in Paris too?
HolyBelly is a simple cafe near Canal St Martin with a homey atmosphere and run by Australians. Interestingly enough, everyone near me eating at the cafe was also Australian, so it must be a good place...
One of my favorite parks in Paris is the Jardin du Palais Royal, a small garden located within a Palace in the heart of Paris. It usually has less people and a really quiet and relaxing atmosphere to sit and read, or shop in some of the stores along the arcades.
Maison Kitsune is somewhat of an institution in Paris, the have a popular clothing brand, make their own CDs and now have Cafe Kitsune in the arcades of Palais Royal. They make great coffee, not to mention ice cream and matcha lattes, and they also sell Bob's juice, which is a great find for juice lovers in Paris. I had watermelon and ginger juice and a cappuccino.