Déli-cieux

On the 9th floor of the Printemps department store, you can find a lovely huge terrace with a bar and café where, for less than 10 euros, one can enjoy a drink and the views over Paris. In the summer and autumn, the sunsets are gorgeous.

Parisian streets

Colorova Patisserie

Saturday is the perfect day for brunch, where you have the long day ahead to savor a delicious meal and the rest of the weekend beckons.

We took the brunch menu which was filled with goodies like whipped cheese infused with bacon (shown below) and I had an extra order of scrambled eggs hehe. The menu comprised basics like yogurt, fresh orange juice, hot coffee/tea and bread with homemade jams and spreads. It was excellent.

And the highlight of Colorova Patisserie is the amazing variety of delectable tarts & cakes... Each is more elaborate than the next.

Definitely an address to keep in mind for afternoon tea with friends xx

Vincent Olinet

Art installation on the castle grounds of Saint Germain en Laye... this was so pretty!

Just look up

Galeries Lafayette is really one of the most crowded places to shop in Paris but whenever I walk past, I step in just to look at the ceiling. Isn't it beautiful? It makes you forget the sweaty impatient hordes of tourists all lining up or pushing their way to get their hands on the latest branded bag. 

summer days ii

Typical sunday breakfast in our fave cafe. 

Got a big bunch of peonies for my mother-in-law as they are the last of the season.

Dinner at 10pm near our place... The heat is almost unbearable. 

For a girl from a tropical country, this might seem unbelievable but the summer heat is worse than in Singapore because air-conditioning is not a widespread comfort here. Perhaps in offices, but definitely not in the majority of French homes. I need some relief!

Covered passages

If there is one place in Paris where I could escape the crowds in the centre of the city, it would be the little covered passages built in the 19th century which are still around today. 

Built for pretty much the same reason, they allowed Parisians to shop, eat & spend time in elegant and bright surroundings, away from the odors and noise of Paris. In cold weather, they provided warmth too.

Galerie Vivienne.. where one of my fave tea-rooms, A Priori Thé is located.

Galerie Véro-Dodat has the most beautiful shops... Il Bisonté is lovely and the best place to shop for a gift. Made with Italian leather, the accessories here are simple and stand the test of time.

matcha sur la terrasse

Roy Lichtenstein

We were invited to Roy Lichtenstein's retrospective at Centre G. Pompidou today.

 Had breakfast with my love & watched Paris slowly come to life.. we escaped before the arrival of the summer crowds.

Normandy

Once every few weeks, my husband deems the city too noisy, too crowded, too city-ish and we escape to his family's place in Normandy for a country break. Over the years, what was once just a holiday house to the family has slowly become a retirement dream for my husband. And it is easy to see why.

At 2 hours from Paris, little roads like this are aplenty in the Normandy region, where cars have to stop if another comes in the opposite direction. And one of these roads lead to our little piece of heaven. Nestled among several hectares of land, we are isolated from the city & yet Deauville is only 10 minutes away.

We stock up on groceries beforehand & breathe in the clean pure air of the country.

We say hello to the neighbour's horses and admire the hay rolls.

We pick raspberries & red currants from the garden, except that not many make it to the dining table as I am eating & picking at the same time.....

My husband has a field day (pun intended) cutting the grass, setting mole traps etc... Even though they have a gardener, nothing gives him more satisfaction than to ride the tractor up & down the fields & take care of the land himself. 

Every summer, they clear the pond of weeds & this time round, we had a lovely surprise. Besides the usual frogs, we saw many fishes! How they arrived there remains a mystery as the pond is totally enclosed. An educated guess (according to a local) is that a heron passing by swallowed too many fish and dropped one from his mouth into the pond. 

We make daily trips to nearby towns like Pont L'Evéque to buy food and I fell in love with the local drugstore and even the butcher! It's so inspiring to see butchers wearing ties to sell meat... the French really do take pride in their professions.

And of course, no trip to Normandy is complete without a Martine Lambert ice cream stop in Deauville... We were served by Madame Lambert herself and she had no airs.

On the drive back to Paris, we were both quiet, lost in our thoughts... Him no doubt wondering if the mole traps had been successful & when we would return again. 

summer days

Summer is truly here when I need iced coffee for breakfast!

Too hot to eat anything else!

My favorite skort for 2013. 

I know, my legs badly need a tan.

Merci merci

It's been a while since I made my way to Merci but it's always a lovely place to pop by if you have a few hours in the afternoon.

Merci's used book café is probably my favorite café in Paris, if not for the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, then probably for the friendly & warm service which has stayed the same all these years. 

Our crew hotel is just opposite the café so it's a great place to meet my Singaporean friends when they fly here on duty.

With dearest Geri who's leaving the airline soon :( No matter how many years have passed, your batch girls always have a special place in your heart. Memories of training, our first flights, passenger horror stories... I do miss flying sometimes!

Always have to order this when I go there... toast soldiers, runny eggs and Echiré butter.. what's there not to love really?