Walking to the Raspail Market, Paris

It is a sunny Sunday morning and I am walking down a quiet rue de Seine.  Most shops are closed for the day, but some cafes and restaurants are open.  I am in my element, a tourist, an observer.  I desperately want to slow down the days, remember each moment, notice every detail, every smell and sound.  I love Paris, there is just something about this city, something that puts me at ease the second I get here, but also fills me with excitement, with a promise of an adventure.  I never get tired of Paris, miss it when I leave, and plan out my next visit, whenever that might be.  I am sad that lately there has been so much sadness associated with this magnificent city.

I am heading to a wonderful organic market on Boulevard Raspail, I know the way well.
 
North of rue de Buci, rue de Seine is lined with art galleries, a few restaurants, and some small shops.   
 
I pass Fish - La Boissonnerie, a beautifully tiled facade of a restaurant/wine bar. 

Moving ahead, the intersection of rude de Seine and rue de Buci is loud, packed with cafes, restaurants, streets vendors and shops.

I pass Bar du Marche on rue de Buci, this is another really beautiful mosaic that makes me think of old Paris.  There is an older couple seated at a small wicker table of the outdoor cafe, she is sipping espresso while he is immersed in a newspaper.  I make a mental note to do more of that, sit at a cafe and watch the world go by.  I do too little of that while in Paris, I tend to over schedule, over plan and run around too much.
   

Across the street from the cafe, the bakers at Paul are getting ready to put baguettes in the oven.

 As I continue down rue de Seine, I pass Cours des Halles, a great produce store.  When I wake up really early most mornings, I like to watch them arrange the colorful and fresh fruits and vegetables on the stand.  They pay such close attention to every detail, like composing a painting or a high end magazine photo shoot.

 The cheese monger is always lovely and lets me taste to my heart's content. 

Next to the cheese stand is Carrefour, a large supermarket with a small side door that most people would miss.  You have to know to look for it as from the street it does not look like a supermarket at all.   

 Le Mondrian on the corner of rue de Seine and Blvd. Saint Germain is ready for the day.

 I cross the busy Boulevard Saint Germain, a street that has many different faces.  At one end, in the 7th Arrondissement, the boulevard is quiet, there are just a few stores here and there and no restaurants.  Once it becomes part of the 6th Arrondissement, there are more shops and restaurants.  The area near the Saint Germain - des -Pres church is packed with wonderful restaurants like: Cafe de Flore, Les Deux Magot, Brasserie Lipp to name a few.  From there on, the boulevard is very busy, dotted with shops, restaurants, cafes, and movie theaters.  The noise level reaches its peak at the intersection with Boulevard Saint Michel, in the 5th Arrondissement, and after that it quiets down a bit again.

 After I cross the Boulevard, I smile.  The Polish bookstore always brings a smile to my face; it is so out of place in the heart of Saint Germain in Paris.  This is a wonderful bookstore filled with books in English, French and of course Polish.  The women running the shop are sweet and helpful, they helped me locate a Polish book which was impossible to find in Poland. 

 The other side of rue de Seine has a very different vibe.


I pass near Arnaud Larher, a wonderful patisserie shop that not only sells fantastic pastry but also great macaron, chocolate and sweet spreads. 

 Steps away is my favorite specialty store/bakery, Gerard Mulot.  This is always my first stop once I arrive, and his baguette is my favorite one in all of Paris.  They also have wonderful desserts, salads, sandwiches and homemade marshmallows. 

I take a quick peak at the cakes in the window, yup, still awesome.  The smell of freshly baked bread is difficult to resist.

After Gerard Mulot I make a right turn onto rue Saint Sulpice.  I pass Patric Roger, my chocolate king

and pause to admire the beautiful Saint Sulpice church.  I marvel that I have never been inside this grand church and make a promise to myself to correct that. 

I gaze longingly to the right, Pierre Herme, the MASTER of pastry and macaron is just a few steps away on rue Bonaparte.  It's not that my willpower is so strong; I simply cannot shop at the market and protect the delicate pastry at the same time.  I will stop by on the way back home, hopefully all my favorite pastries will still be there, waiting.

I walk down rue Bonaparte to rue Vaugirard and pass La Parisienne, a great bakery which last year was awarded the very prestigious "Best Baguette" title. 

Moving on down rue Vaugirard towards the Raspail Market, I walk by Sadaharu Aoki, another wonderful patisserie.  I have been a fan of his for a few years now.  He likes to give a nod to his Japanese roots and incorporate green tea into some of his pastries.

Finally, the booths of the Raspail Market are in front of me.  I take a deep breath and enter.

Joanna