A couple of months ago I received an email from a lady who had read a posting on my blog and asking about what an object was called she had seen in one of my photos and where could she buy one. I wasn’t in Paris when I received her email and didn’t have access to any information that she needed. Alas, I can’t find her email and was hoping to send her the information so hopefully she will see this posting and have her questions answered. I remembered all of this today while strolling along some streets in the Left Bank, specifically rue Bonaparte. There are several stores here selling books and what she was looking for, book marks. The are just called Page Marks in French although I was told they also just call them Book Marks and also signet. At least this was what they told me in the shop.

A couple, ahem, marking a page.

They aren’t cheap but aren’t they cute? I might buy one if I wasn’t sure I’d immediately lose it.

Some more traditional looking bookmarks.

I saw the best selection in a shop called Librairie Pinault at 36 rue Bonaparte. They have an email address: [email protected]. Phone: 01 46 33 04 24.

I was going to title this Marais Meanderings but I feel like I’m repeating myself which I tend to do a lot of anyway. The Marais is a part of Paris that if full of history, even more than usual for Paris, with lots of interesting corners and streets.

It’s not often that you find a castle in a residential area.

The back alley into a church.

They sell great Falafal on rue des Rosiers.

Some fashionable grafitti. The Marais is loaded with shops-I see new ones all of the time-so maybe that’s the reason for this grafitti.

This morning I was rushing around, getting dressed, making the bed when I opened the curtains in our bedroom I noticed a pink light coming in the window. It has warmed up a bit here, thank goodness, and some rain has entered France which gives some clouds in the sky to catch the color of the sun as it comes up. It was such a pleasant surprise to lean out my window and see:

Some brilliantly lit clouds if I looked left and,

a rainbow if I looked right.

Excuse the blur, but I like this picture because it shows the reflection of pink light on the pavement.

The last time I was up on the hill of Montmartre the sun was shining and the sky was blue. It’s too chilly today, and has been for over a week, to venture there. There was actually a dusting of snow on the ground on the morning I wrote this-not a good thing when trying to make your way up and down streets and steps.

Some of the steps on Montmartre for that aerobic workout.

Sacre Coeur looks so great against a blue sky.

There aren’t many artists in Montmartre when it gets cold but always a few.

A street curving up the hill.

Ornate is just one word of many that you can use to describe the bridge in Paris crossing the Seine at Invalides. You could also say flamboyant and over the top.

A section in the middle.

A river goddess with a view of the Eiffel Tower.

A happy little guy on the bridge.

There’s even a crab or two along with some fish.

A sweet little foot.

Once a friend who was visiting me said, “If I lived in Paris, I would be taking cooking classes all of the time”. I thought at the time, she’s right, I should be taking advantage of cooking classes. France is known for its food and I should be learning as much as I can. Still, it took a while for me to finally sign up for a class. I waited until the end of December 2008 and most classes were full. I thought it would be fun to take one teaching a Christmas menu but finally had to settle for one on risotto which, since I recently, if not after the rest of the world, discovered risotto, wasn’t a bad thing. The class was in the 11th arrondissement at a place called Atelier des Sens. There were 8 people taking the class and it was taught by an Italian chef with his own restaurant in the 11th. We cooked four recipes of risotto and I can’t wait to try them at home. The best one was of a risotto that was cooled and then cut into rounds and fried. Since then I’ve read of the same recipe in the New York Times.

The chef showing us how it’s done.

Our table at the end of the class where we got to eat what we had prepared. Wine was even provided.

Rice pudding, but made with risotto. He also added creme anglais to it at the end which is a rich sweet cream, not to mention topping it with yummy chocolate.
It was really filling to eat four kinds of risotto but I managed. The class itself was all in French by the way. I’m not sure if they offer classes in English. I’m going to take more classes either here or elsewhere. It is a great way to stimulate trying new dishes and ways of cooking.