Highest mountain of France is also the tasiest

Despite growing up with frequent trips to the mountains with their ever snowy peaks, lately, I've grown more fond of sugary heights. The only thing they have in common is the white powder covered tops!



The Mont Blanc is supposed to have originated from northern Italy centuries ago, adopted and then adapted later by french chefs in the same region across the border. Today, it's well established as a distinctively french dessert. Less known in the west than other specialities like crêpes and cheese, whose close relatives exist in local variations throughout europe, this dessert is essentially found in France. But lately, it has grown very popular in certain parts of Asia, particularly Japan, where many french chocolatiers and pâtissièrs have opened their own tea salons.

A Mont Blanc come in many shapes, but in Paris it's usually like the one pictured above. It consists of a meringue base with a layer of confit de marron topped with a generous portion of crème patissière, finally topped off with crème de marron, a puré of candied and glazed chestnuts. Absolutely delicious!


Pictures and dessert from JP Hevin tea salon in Paris.

Island treasures at l'île st Louis

Paris is the capital of fashion and has been such for more than hundred years. Many, if not most of the world's celebrated fashion houses have had their main seats here for many years. With major shows and events like Paris fashion week, there's a lot going on related to fashion, from production, distribution and most importantly, consumption. This results in whole lot of raw materials for vintage stores and a high chance for visitors to discover real gems of bygone decades.

Allthough old clothes and funny hats can be interesting, there's nothing like finding a classic piece that looks just as stylish today as it did when it was new. With the number of vintage stores in Paris, there are some that specializes in these kind of items that never go out of style and is of a quality that lasts.

One of the ones with the most professional and knowledgable staff is located on ile st Louis. Here you'll not only find fine jewelry and watches from Chopard, Rolex and Cartier, but also luggage, bags and small leather goods from the most prominent names in the industry; Chanel flaps, a wide selection of Hermès bags, even some of the most coveted ones, and Louis Vuitton and Goyard, including a lot of limited editions.

Compared to some of the other stores, the selection at "antiquites de l'ile saint-louis" is limited, however all of their items are of exceptional quality and there's no need to worry about authenticity as experts like gemologists are employed when selecting goods to put up for sale.

Even if you're nowhere near Paris at the moment, you can always take a look at their current selection at www.isl-antiquites.com.

Their address:

Antiquités de l'Ile Saint-Louis
20, rue des Deux Ponts
75004 PARIS

Freezing Delices part II

Apparantly you can never get enough ice cream! So let's make three more refreshing and cold acquaintances in Paris:

POZZETTO

Pozzetto is an italian brand running two cafés that makes italian ice cream, coffe and pastry. They always use the freshest ingredients and the flavours change depending on what's offered on the local market.

For breakfast an early morning, I had white peach sorbet with fiori di latte, the latter which is a light milky ice cream. Allthough the flavours blended well together, none of them were strong enough to make up for the lack of intensity. Refreshing as it may be to have something cold on a hot day, I'd personally prefer to have some taste going with the "cold", If not I might as well suck on an ice cube. While still more tasty than an ice cube and despite the promise of fresh ingredients, the intensity of the pozzetto flavours I tried were not as good as the brands I had before and certainly not as good as what follows below.

DALLOYOU

Dalloyou, one of the most famous traiteurs in paris also includes sorbet and ice cream as a part of their reportoire. To change a little from the outside walks with dripping cones, I invited a friend to their tea salon at at Luxembourg, though there are also vendors outside. She had chocolate intense with trois fruits rouges (three red fruits), I had vanille with framboise (raspberry).

Like the flavours at Berthillon, Dalloyou presents traditional flavours. Just as in the case of the glacier of Ile st Louis, the execution and raw materials are crucial for bringing out the best tastes. In that, Dalloyou has succeeded. Both my friend and I were very content with our choices, they were all equally delicious and refreshing. Especially the vanilla, a flavour that sometimes ends up being a bland compliment to others, was surprisingly intense.

PIERRE HERMÉ

Well known for other sweet treats, Pierre Hermé launched his own flavours back in 2003 based of some of his most popular types of patented macarons.

At Pierre Hermé there's no free selection of flavours. Every ice cream and sorbet combination comes elegantly pre packaged and ready to be enjoyed. In general, I would think that consumers prefer to make their own selection of flavours. However, at Pierre Hermé, some of the combinations are rather unusual, and, as with his macaron, atistry and innovation is more important than anything else, including the personal preferences of potential customers. It's the result of courage and audacity any progressive artist must possess, that may leave some taken aback, but whose results are more enjoyable and interesting for those who keep up with it.

Celeste is a mix of Passion fruit ice cream with strawberry sorbet and rhubard coulis. The taste of passion fruit is very light and rather sweet. It makes an enjoyable contrast to the fruity and intense strawberry sorbet and the acid bitterness of the rhubard. This carefully composed combination, despite consisting of already well known flavours, is a delightful discovery for the taste buds, one that surprises as much as it pleases.

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This time around both Dalloyou and Pierre Hermé really stand out for different reasons entirely, one being a safe, but great choice, the other for daring and equally delicious flavours.

Church Eiffel style

Église-notre-dame-du-travail may not be the most impressive church in Paris on the outside, but it most certainly has some of the most particular interiors, which also tells alot about its origins and purpose.


The church was buildt between 1899 and 1901 replacing the earlier Notre Dame de Plaisance by architect Jules Astruc.



One cannot view the uncovered ironwork construction without giving a thought to the architectural movement associated withGustave Eiffel. Allthough the church is of a much later date, it was indeed intended to use for the workers at the univeral exhitbitons, hence its name.
The church's bell is a souvenir from the siege of Sebastopol that was given to the residents of Plaisance, then situated on the edge of Paris, by Napolen III.



Allthough the decorations are simple and somber suitable for the spirit of the workers, they evoke a feeling of serenity and piety, some might say even more so than some of the more grandiose pieces of the past that the city houses.




The church holds a number of works of art both of modern and classical kind. The above is one of the most touching pieces made by Michel Serraz and introduced in 1990. It displays a couple of lovers being brought forth by the divine in the shape of a hand. While the sculpture is made to suggest movement, the gesture also protects the two humans. It's a work whose simplicity, but profound message goes very well with the entire church and its history.

The best croissant in Paris

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Metropoolis' like Paris present a vast number of choices in every way. From shopping jewelry to picking the best yoghurt in the the local grocery store, there're enough alternatives to make the most experienced shopper stop contemplating.

Getting used to all of this may take a while, and the process necessarily makes a picky person as neither cost nor pomp or location guarantees for a productof quality. This is probably also the reason why many people living in cities may come off as being blase. And it's also why I decided to write about as my favourite croissants in Paris.

A croissant is a pastry you'll find on every street corner. They are usually very good, there's nothing to complain about in general. But, as it's a tasty treat more than a necessity, it's very disappointing when they're dry or tasteless . Like mentioned, this doesen't happen very often, but just as rare is the surprise of a croissant so delicious that it actually stands out among the other buttery delights.


I had my epiphany of Pastry in the Avenue Daumesnil, close to the metro station named after the same general. I was on my way back from visiting a friend when the unusually coloured shop caught my eye. It being a bakery and chocolat store of course did nothing to keep me out of there. As it was time for breakfast, I got a pain au chocolat (or was it two I cannot remember -_-).

Taking a first bite of it left a melting sentation, a semi sweet fondant in combination of the crispy exterior and dark chocolate. I've never tasted pastry similarly melting and pleasant to the palate. It left me wanting for more, however as the shop was a bit out of the way, I got myself together and decided to wait untill the next time I was in the approximity by chance.




Some weeks later, I found myself on that part of the avenue Damumesnil, again returning from a latenight dinner. I had almost forgotten the bakery when the vivid colours reminded me of the taste of delicious, melting pains au chocolat. Not feeling in the mood for chocolate, I decided to try something a little lighter; a croissant and a pastry with vanille cream and chocolate droplets. I was reassured that they were made from the same dought and later, upon taking the first bite, I could confirm that I had not been fooled.

Many times thereafter I have returned to this hidden treasure in Avenue Daumesnil, never have I been disappointed. I do however still try to limit my visits to when I have something else to do in the neighbourhood as I fear my belly would take on the shape of the puffy croisssant itself having the chance of passing by on a daily basis.

* For this boulangerie, take the metro to the stations Daumesnil or Michelt Bizot and walk to 203, avenue daumesnil*

Fleas, but no itch at Porte de Vanves

Ah, the flea markets... Either you hate them or love them. One thing's sure, there's always something interesting to see, whether that be the actual items or the people.

In Paris, there are several flea markets and the one at Vanves is one of the more famous and visited ones after les puces de paris at Clignancourt.





I should probably've known better than getting there around 11 o'clock in the morning. Vanves opens at 7am in the morning and closes at 3pm, but many of the merchants were already closing up when I got there. This means that to get the best deals and the nicest items you have to get up a little too early for my taste. I'm not sure my judgement would be half as good as usual at that hour either, and good sense and a well developped notion of what to avoid and what to get is essential at any flea market.













There weren't many nice items left when I got there, alllthough traces of what might've been good buys at the booths closing up. My favourite item was the above chandelier made in Venice. It was at a really good price and in perfect condition, but too cumbersome to take home. It goes to show that you can make a great purchase even at a rather ordinary market, despite being big, oustide puces the paris at st ouen, which rests the most interesting of all.

Fête de la Musique in Paris

Sunday was the fête de la musique, or the day celebrating music, in Paris. It's a tradition dating back to 1982 that since has spread across the globe.

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All over the city there are free concerts and people play in the streets. You're bound to see, or rather hear, something if you're in Paris that day. As for me, I went to hear some Bach.

The music overall was ok, however most of the venues, as was this, were filled up and people had to stand. Allthough there are local versions of the celebration, it seemed like Paris was a popular destination for suburban residents making a daytrip. There were people everywhere! Luckily the city had taken measure with police being visible in the streets.

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What's the biggest success of fête de la musique is also its biggest default. As anyone can participate, but most of us aren't brilliant musicians, the quality of the music will not always be within the range of easily digestible. Sometimes, noise is a more suitable word than music for what ressonates through the streets. Especially those living in the central areas this must be one of the most dreaded days and nights of the year.

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But I guess that's what makes it the success it has become and without it, there would surely not be that special ambience only a big party for everyone to enjoy has.

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