April in Paris

April has finally arrived. Across the world, springtime in Paris is known for being particularly beautiful, with pink flowering trees lining the parks, and tall, trimmed green giants lining the roads. On Saturday the temperature hit 23 degrees Celsius (or 75 degrees Farenheit). Just like back in the USA, nice weather brings everyone outdoors, and we knew it was time for our first pique-nique of the year.

Peter's school group is divided into three sections, each having slightly different schedules. The last weekend in March, many of our friends were stuck inside, attending 8 hours of class while we attended the Salon des Vignerons Independents wine sale (of course with free tastings), followed by a rugby match.

Peter with our heavy rolling-bag of wine purchases, and his tasting glass secured around his neck, to assure prime wine-tasting ability. We really felt like experts with these special devices, since this was not our first wine tasting event!

Our view from the very last row at Stade de France watching our team win!
(Which team was that again?)

The first weekend in April was unfortunately the weekend that Peter's group was assigned to have an 8-hour class, so he had to miss out on this beautiful day. I headed to Paris with a few friends get some sunshine. Our first stop was to pick up some important staples for our picnic: Cold rose wine, a fresh baguette, cheese, olives and a snack-sized package of chorizo, ready for any child's lunchbox or to throw in your purse if you need a snack in the afternoon after a long day of shopping!Rue Cler, a popular market street full of wine, cheese, bread and
fruit & vegetable vendors, not far from the Eiffel Tower!

Dan stopping for a free sample of a lovely St. Emillion red wine outside the Nicolas wine shop on Rue Cler as we shopped for our picnic.

Shopping for cheese is even more fun at a true fromagerie, where the fromagere can recommend special cheeses and answer any questions you have. We chose a small circle of Rocamadour goat cheese, which is a specialty down in the Lot valley where Peter's family has their farmhouse, as well as a Brie de Melun (the OTHER brie on our AOC Cheese of the Week List which we haven't written about yet. Since Peter wasn't here to sample it with me, I'll save the write-up for another time), and a good-old Comte, one of our friends' favorite go-to's for cheese.


We chose a sunny spot at the Champs de Mars, the beautiful grassy park beneath the Eiffel Tower. We people watched and ate and relaxed. Really, it couldn't have been any better (except if Peter had been there to enjoy it, too!)

It was soon time to head to our next destination. One friend had to head back to the 'burbs to study, but we met up with a few more people at the Jardin des Tuileries, the famous park nestled between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde.

Clearly, we weren't the only ones with this bright idea!

Our next mission was to meet up with another friend on the Pont des Arts, a pedestrian bridge linking the right bank (rive droite) with the left bank (rive gauche) of the Seine. The views were beautiful, and as day turned to night, the bridge filled with young and old, musicians and lovers, all out to enjoy the beautiful city of lights.

Our mission to find the perfect spot on the bridge.

You may notice the strange locks behind our heads: The bridge is covered with locks signed with couples' names and initials, a tradition from who knows when, for lovers to profess their undying, everlasting love for one another!

The Eiffel Tower sparkling on the hour, to signal it was time to head to dinner.

After a nice walk to Hotel de Ville (City Hall), we settled on a delicious Thai restaurant before heading back to Jouy for a night of peaceful dreams of all of the days like this to come, as we prepare for the rest of the spring and summer lying ahead of us!