Monday, September 29, 2008

St-Germain des Pres

If you haven't ahem, noticed ... the ENTIRE city of Paris has captured my heart and is now planted firmly in the #1 spot on SSG's List of Favorite Cities.  I am figuring out a way to get back there QUICKLY and have actually given up my daily lattes to help facilitate that right along.  And giving up the morning coffee run?  Haaaaaaaaaaard peeps.  But I do it because I know this place is waiting for me.

This is the St-Germain neighborhood.  And I fell.  Hard.  And it's not just because of the guy down there in the business suit standing at the cute little newsstand (but he definitely kicked things off in the right direction) but because in this neighborhood I felt the most at ease.  I already felt very comfortable in Paris, but felt even more so in St Germain.


Like I could very easily walk through these gates and into my apartment.



Of course I'd be carrying pastries from this little place tucked under my arm with a baguette for a small dinner party I'd be hosting.  Would you like to come?  Please do!


On the table will be flowers from this sweet shop.


And afterward we could stroll along the Seine, popping into a cafe for a lingering glass of wine ... or two ...  

I think the reason I loved St. Germain was because as we wandered its streets, this neighborhood seemed like the most "real" place we had been.  There weren't a ton of tourists.  We weren't around any major monuments.  It felt very simple--life being lived, in all of the beautiful little moments that exist throughout each day.

But since we WERE tourists and wanted to see everything we possibly could.  We headed a few blocks down to the Rodin Museum gardens to check out this guy.



This is Rodin's famous work, The Thinker.  You'd probably recognize his profile.  Where most people look at this man, caught in deep contemplation ... at his flexed toes and the way his hand is held tensely at his mouth and ponder what he may have been thinking ... 

SSG decided this view was WAY more appropriate for what she wanted to ponder.

Once a butt girl, always a butt girl ...


Snapshot of Coco:

Big Girls Don't Cry (Fergie)
Come Back to Bed (John Mayer)
Enough of Me (Melissa Ethridge)
Piece of My Heart (Janis Joplin)
My Hometown (Bruce Springsteen)
I'm Not Waiting (Chris Isaak)

4 comments:

Bella Della said...

Thanks for the escape this morning. I love travels that allow you to see the REAL parts of the city. Oh, it reminds me of my German neighborhood...my favorite bakery, meat shop, flower store....I could go on and on.

Big Hair Envy said...

What time should I arrive for your dinner party? I'll pick up the flowers on my way over :)

I will never be able to look at the "Thinker" the same way. Nice butt.

HalfAsstic.com said...

I can totally relate to wanting to go "the other route" and see parts of the city that are where "the real people are".

Anonymous said...

Uhm, all I need is a date for that diner party. I am picking up my sequins from the cleaners tomorrow, and will be ready any time after that!