Paris and food - the one is synonymous with the other. Nearly everywhere you go in the city you see a seemingly endless parade of businesses connected to the world of food. It's not just the many open air markets scattered around Paris but a long, very long list of Michelin-starred restaurants down to the small mom-and-pop bistros that still cling to so many corners of this city.
Take our neighborhood for example.
from our apartment you can see rue de Cotte (left) and rue d'Aligre (right)
Running alongside our apartment building is rue de Cotte, which covers barely three blocks from rue Charenton to rue Faubourg de Saint-Antoine. It might not look impressive, but just along one of those blocks you can find Lebanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Argentinian, Italian and a Michel-starred restaurant all cheek-by-jowl with one another.
looking up rue de Cotte from Place d'Aligre
okay not food joints but still
Thai
Cape Verdean and Portuguese
Vietnamese
casual French
Argentinian
traditional something or other
one Michelin star nouvelle French
Dô and Coco, Vietnamese
Vietnamese
But wait there's more!
Running parallel with rue de Cotte is rue d'Aligre, home to the eponymous market in the mornings and a plethora of food businesses:
butcher shop
fishmonger
spices etc.
wines
French casual
another fishmonger
Algerian food
bakery and pastry
Algerian pastry shop
health food and then some
another cheese shop
and another wine shop
and of course a shop that sells chocolates and ice cream
traditional French food
the name says it all
Abd lastly is the indoor Marche Beauvau, which sits between rue de Cotte and rue d'Aligre. Open six days a week like the outdoor market, unlike the outdoor market it is open all day long until 8:00pm.
Thursday October 2, 2025. A long, very long day for us. We are becoming quite aware that getting older and traveling can often be at odds with one another, and this trip home proved the rule, I suppose.
We awoke at 6 am, refreshed ourselves, got dressed and checked out. From the hotel it was a short walk to the Terminal 3 tram station which took us to Terminal 2E and eventually to concourse M. We were reminded from our experience this past spring how incredibly absurd the French have become with their security, at least at this airport. The number of times they checked passports and boarding passes, leading right up to and including when boarding is, well, quite absurd. But we had plenty of time and after numerous long corridors (just the beginning) and many escalators (both up and down) we found our way to the M concourse and eventually gate M49.
We stopped at Starbucks where Susie grabbed a blueberry muffin and a latte.
Our Delta flight boarded on time, although the process seemed a bit chaotic. But we eventually got to our seats and settled in for the next 8 hours or so. The staff (all Americans presumably although two of them spoke French) seemed a bit disorganized to me, especially in the announcement portion during the pre-departure. They were very friendly nonetheless and attentive to people's needs. The food was hands down the worst food we've ever had the displeasure of being given. The meal at lunchtime tasted of chemicals and seemed synthetic to us. Fortunately we had brought a bit of fruit on board and had a plentiful supply of our own snack mix.
Time dragged on, as they do on such long-haul flights, and this time I opted to watch my own videos downloaded previously to my phone. Susie crossword puzzled for much of the trip.
We arrived in Detroit pretty much on time, zipped right through Global Entry and then through security which seemed to have become infected with the French tendency to slow the process to a crawl. But we had plenty of time and we were soon on our way to Terminal B and our connecting flight.
There was some uncertainty as we started to board whether we would in fact board at all due to a possible maintenance concern. Fortunately after just a few minutes delay the Delta agent opened the door and in we went. I find it fascinating that Delta has a Priority line for boarding zones 1-4 and then when they board the remaining zones, everyone has to move to another lane. You have to wonder who comes up with these ideas. Plus, it seemed to both of us -- as I'm sure it does to you -- that the most efficient way of loading a plane is to the rear first and then forward. But we're not in charge.
Once on board we soon pulled away from the jetway and went through a series of stops-and-starts on the tarmac before finally getting to the runoff and off.
It was a short flight to Grand Rapids, maybe 20-25 minutes and we touched down a bit early. We had to gate check our carry-on so we had to wait a few minutes for our bags. We soon had our bags and walked out to meet our neighbor Don who had kindly offered to pick us up.
The day was lovely, warm in the high 70s, and we were pleased to get home to a cool house.
I scrambled some eggs for an early dinner and Susie pulled a couple of her homemade English muffins out of the freezer.
It was good to home but not good to be back. Go figure.
As usual we were leisurely for the first half of the morning. While Susie sipped coffee I popped over to the corner boulangerie and picked up a couple of croissants and a pain au chocolate, relieving us of all our loose Euro change in the bargain.
While both pastries were tasty and the laminations just right we thought the pain au chocolate was a bit skimpy on the chocolate.
Since I'm not allowed anywhere near the luggage during packing, Susie packed our things. She is a whiz using the packing cubes and before long our bags were sealed up and ready for traveling.
I had reserved an Uber for pickup at 12 noon and our driver was a bit early. We had just left the building and had to wait outside in the warm sun for only a few minutes before our car arrived. It was a pretty quick ride to the airport; although, as usual getting out of the city was stop-and-start, we were impressed at how fluide the traffic was on the peripherique (ring road). It slowed only briefly until we got past a traffic accident and were soon speeding right to Charles de Gaulle and our hotel located next to Terminal 3. (In fact this was an identical replay of our past spring trip.)
When we went to check in we learned our room wasn't quite ready so they gave us access to the "executive" lounge where we settled in for an hour or so. After a cup of coffee and cooling our heels in the lounge we decided it was time for lunch so that's where we headed next.
We both had the French onion soup and it was even better than the one we had on the Mouff so long ago (or so it seems now). The bowls (Staub knock offs) were full of caramelized onions, the broth sweet and rich and instead of sliced bread they used lovely little bread rounds topped with Cantal cheese. The same cheese we had at our wine tasting lunch! We each had a glass of Alsatian pinot gris to cool the heat of the soup. Delicious!
We spent the afternoon relaxing in preparation for tomorrow which will be a very long day of not relaxing. That evening we returned to the lobby and enjoyed a glass of wine during Happy Hour in the executive lounge (people with lots of folks who, like us, didn't look like executives).
Around 7 pm we moved to the hotel dining room, in the open atrium lobby, which is very light and airy and quite nice. We split a pizza and a each had a glass of Brouilly.
tap your own beer for Happy Hour
lots of folks partying in the bar-lobby
After dinner it was back to our room and a bit of reading/puzzling before bedtime. Tomorrow will be here soon!
Tuesday September 30, 2025. The last day of the month, our penultimate day in Paris, a day of small disappointments, but a day we were happy to be here enjoying life.
The morning began sunny but chilly although word on the street is warmer temps are on their way. We had a leisurely breakfast (fairly typical by now) before setting out. We had timed tickets for the Georges De La Tour exhibition at the Musée Jacquemart-André but wanted to scoot back to the former Pascal Pinaud's pastry shop in the 5th so Susie could ask what happened to Pascal.
So we took the 8 Metro to Bastille, switched to no. 5 and got off in our old 2006/2007 neighborhood at the Saint Marcel stop. We strolled passed our apartment building on rue Poliveau and across the small square that was a daily sight for us for so many months; and very little had changed in the intervening years. The café in the ground floor of our building was still there, the fresh produce stand across the street was still there and even the hair salon on one of the corners was still there, although the name had changed.
our apartment building with six flights of steps
our apartment top floor where the railing is
Square Poliveau
our building from 2006-2007
fresh food stand from our past
From there we walked up rue Fer du Moulin to rue Monge, past Maison Landemaine, a very well-known pastry shop which we were pleased to see is also still in business. But then again so was the Starbucks across the street. We walked up rue Monge passing Place Monge to arrive at Pascal's pastry shop where we learned that Pascal had indeed retired (Susan thought as much) and now lives in the Vendée. We did walk out with an oranais aux abricots, which we savored on our way to the Metro.
Place Monge
We took the line 7 from Place Monge to the Chaussée d'Antin La Fayette stop where, after turning ourselves around briefly, we transferred to the no. 9 and got off at Miromesnil. From there it was a short walk to Boulevard Haussmann (yes, THAT Haussmann) and on to the museum. Fortunately we had timed tickets and as a result had a short wait to get in; those without tickets, a separate line as is typical in Paris it seems, had a wait of as much as an hour or two.
queueing up
carriageway
the old carriageway to the courtyard and main entrance
courtyard and entrance on the backside of the home
looking down into the Music Room
Once we passed through what passes for security these days we made our way to the main house. The museum is worth a visit for the house and its contents which include some wonderful pieces of art and decorative pieces from the 15th-18th centuries. This time we got to see a wonderful Greuze and a lovely portrait by Vigée Lebrun.
We had been here once before to see a superb Mary Cassatt exhibition back in 2018 and the interpretive signage for the exhibition was only in French then; exhibitions here are still only in French apparently. The exhibition spaces were crowded and people were cheek-by-jowl in pretty small rooms. Overall we were disappointed in the artwork, although several pieces were striking, particularly the "Woman catching a flea" (1638).
Finished with the exhibition, we made our way to the museum's Café Nelie, named presumably after Nelie Jacquemart madame André who once walked these very halls. The café was packed and we had to wait probably 15 or 20 minutes before being seated outside on the terrace. The food was disappointing: Susan had a bland Caesar Salad and I had something that was reportedly a veggie risotto which was devoid of any flavor and lacking in the usual richness of a risotto. But the service was friendly, and the wine, a wonderful Chablis, very good.
From the museum we made our way back to the Metro line 9 and switched to the no. 6 at the Trocadero. We went two stops to Bir-Hakeim where we got off and sauntered over to the Seine.
Bir-Hakeim
Our plan was to stroll around the Eiffel Tower and make our way back to the 8 at École Militaire. Which we did.
the no. 6 Metro line
a walk along the Seine
relaxing along the Seine
boarding the boats for a tour of the Seine
across the Seine to the Trocadero in the distance (the Palais Chaillot)
From under one tower to another; Montparnasse in the distance
Along the way we passed hordes of like-minded folks, locals and tourists alike, out enjoying the Champ du Mars. We were rather surprised to discover that one needed to go through a entrance just to get into the space beneath the tower. But it didn't concern us so we moved on, putting the crowds behind us. In fact the farther we walked away from the tower the fewer people we encountered.
Along the way we did come across a fascinating sculpture group by Ivan Theimer. Titled the "Monument to the Rights of Man and Citizen" it was installed in 1989 and is a lovely collection of larger-than-life statues with bits and pieces of ceramic pieces scattered around and embedded in the walls of a small stone building. Lots of things to see here so I urge you to take a look a bit deeper.
Leaving the Champ de Mars we found ourselves at a major series of intersections and were at first a bit flummoxed as to where exactly the Metro was. But Susan spied it hiding behind a group of trees. We took the 8 all the way to Ledru-Rollin. Once above ground we stopped at Blé Sucré for a hot beverage (coffee) and pastry. I had a chocolate eclair this time and Susie had a lemon tart. We both concluded that these people know their stuff.
After sitting and chatting and enjoying the moment we said au revoir to the staff and walked the two or three blocks to our apartment. Once inside we discovered that the hot water was indeed hot and assumed this time it would stay that way.
Out for dinner. We decided to return to the place where we had our first meal in the neighborhood, Parisii. Located just on the other side of the indoor market from our apartment, it's a favorite haunt for the locals.
The service was smooth, attentive and vey friendly. We split a 500 ml carafe of Brouilly over a meal that started with a French classic eggs and mayonnaise followed by Cod on a bed of mashed potatoes for Susie and, tipping the hat to Paul Christopher, I had a double smash burger with the requisite fries. The food was very good, and we felt it was a good way to say adieu to Place d'Aligre.
I leave you with this short 30-second clip showing how the folks in this part of Paris "eat out." They don't. They go out to be together, to drink together, to share food together, to BE. Just like us; we love just being in Paris.
Tomorrow we (meaning Susan) will pack our things and get us ready for our Uber pick up at 12 noon. We spend our last night at a hotel at the airport, repeating what we did this past spring in fact. It makes for a much less stressful day of flying when you have an early morning flight (which we do) on Thursday.
