I went to Paris and I…

…stayed in a hotel on rue Saint-Benoît…

…paid a visit to Café des Flore (where I had a cup of Mariage Frères black tea) and Le Deux Magots just down the street…

…woke up to music and looked out on the streets of Saint-Germain-des-Prés…

…went on the Métro lines 3, 4 and 8…

…had a pain au chocolat pistache from Ladurée for my first breakfast…

…met Sarah for a fleeting moment…

…ate my first galette filled with ham, egg and cheese…

…looked in the windows of L’Heure Bleu and La Maison Rustique and wished they were open…

…took an expedited shopping trip on Rue Saint-Honoré…

…marvelled at pink Goyard in the window and the work-in-progress store that will be opening opposite…

…bought that pair of Tao Comme des Garcons sandals, in the right size this time…

…saw many cute old and old-looking things in Dot…

…but my favourite was Au Petit Bonheur La Chance…

…wanted to bring the shop home…

…resisted the many café au lait bowls…

…studied antique Chinese furniture, Indian doors and fabrics on rue Paul Bert…

…spotted David Lynch and Johnny Depp…

…visited the workshop-shop of Yves Andrieux and bought one of the hats…

…had a lucky find in the form of a Brooks Brothers boys’ button-down shirt in size 16…

…got my shopping wrapped in brown paper…

…in the wonderful E. Dehillerin cookware shop…

…jostled with the crowds at Pierre Hermé, Pozetto and Repetto for macarons, gelato and ballet shoes respectively…

…resisted a basket bag from Il Bisonte (I’m still thinking about it though)…

…ate pleasantly tangy tarte au citron from Pain du Sucre…

…enjoyed the pretty, shiny jasmine Pierre Hermé macaron…

…decided that my favourite flavours are salted caramel and vanilla…

…had more macarons, from Sadaharu Aoki this time…

…laid in bed and ate…

…more pastries and cakes…

…probably had a sweet overload…

…met Frenchies, very mini Yorkies, Westies, Chihuahuas, Retrievers and many other dogs…

…almost got bitten by an eccentric St Germain news-stand character…

…got lost in the offerings at La grande épicerie…

…and Lafayette Gourmet…

…bought two jars of Christine Ferber jam…

…enjoyed the cuteness found in many Paris streets…

…and in the Métro…

…was snubbed twice - in a cheap food shop near Porte de Clignancourt and in the Rennes branch of Saint James…

….finally visited Rose Bakery…

…was very satisfied by their bread and butter…

…banana and ricotta pancakes…

…and sweet potato quiche with salad…

…was very tempted by the pistachio and pink cakes…

…was captured by the rustic spirit of Poilâne…

…saw fashion magazines from the thirties…

…smiled at the sight of cute uniforms…

…wondered about the secret sauce at Les Relais de L’entrecôte…

…was stuffed by the gigantic falafel sandwich on Rue de Rosiers…

…was surprised by inline-skating Parisian policemen…

…sat on the grass in the Jardin des Tuileries before being collectively chased off by the security together with hundred others…

…brought home sea creatures and stripe t-shirts from the Saint James shop with more polite staff…

…probably walked too much but I only had three days and two nights!

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