Paris in the Springtime

Last weekend, we grabbed a chance to go to Paris. Hubby had a wee bit of business to do, and then it was all play the rest of our stay. I must have brought the good weather back with me from Marrakech, because it was one of the most delightful spring days Paris had seen in some time. 

The colors of the new season were remarkable: the chairs at the sidewalk café,

the blossoms on the trees,

the flowers growing in the Luxembourg Gardens,

as well as the bountiful tulips this time of the year at the flower vendors. So cheap, and so plentiful right now.

We walked by one of my favorite shops, Au  Nom de la Rose,

past this row of apartments which we admired,

and paused to appreciate the clean, fresh facade of the St. Sulpice church which had been covered in scaffolding the last time we were there.

Hermės has opened a fascinating shop on the Left Bank,

and Ladurée is collaborating with Hello Kitty this season.

What's a trip to Paris without pastries? We bought a lemon tart (my favorite) and a chocolate eclair from 

Stohrer's, the oldest patisserie in Paris. Its heritage is interesting: in 1725, Louis XV married Marie Leszczynska,

the daughter of King Stanislas of Poland, and 

his pastry chef Stohrer followed her to Versailles and later opened his own pastry shop on Rue Montorgueil.

This little fashionista caught my eye while we were having dinner at an outdoor café. See her little scarf around her neck? This is why French women are so chic--they start out their lives in style and it becomes second nature for them.

I loved the rococo style of the boiserie (sculpted panelling) of the 18th century rooms

in the Hôtel Carnavalet, where we spent an enjoyable few hours.

And the view of the Seine was especially lovely this time of year

from the Pont des Arts bridge, where couples in love attach "love locks" carved with their initials as an expression of their love.

And what would April 1 be without  a huge selection throughout the city of the "Poissons d'Avril" or April Fish which so symbolize the day? A very common prank played by young and old is to attach a fish on to the back of an unsuspecting person who is fooled or tricked by the silliness of April Fool's Day.

I'll play along with the fun, if it means a chocolate fish is the reward!

Happy April Fool's Day everyone!