One of Lana's main goals is to get to Porte de Cligancourt and the famous Les Puces de Saint-Ouen outdoor flea market. Adrian has a fantastic travel app for his iPhone whereby he simply inputs the address and then provides directions via walking, transit, car etc. It even tells you where to change trains and how far you are away. It is simply incredible. You need a European data plan though.
Lana and Tina are on a quest to find a champagne magnum and an antique bicycle horn. Adrian indicated this flea market was 10 hectares. Most of it is covered. Some are in large buildings. Lots of people milling around and it goes on and on and on. Some very old stuff and some newer antique stuff. For certain this is a flea market that is open daily and well organized. You could spend days in here. Lana and Tina are unsuccessful in their search and in fact don't even come close.
Matchbox covers.
See next pic of this space age living space.
Made in 1964 it is a self-contained living unit inside. Looks like a UFO.
Outside the flea market area and ordered one savoury buckwheat crepe and one sweet crepe. The crepes were OK, but not up to standard. We definitely need to leave this place and find lunch. Metro train to the Marais district.
Walked by a bagel shop near the Jewish quarter of Marais and had to stop. We ordered a bagel sandwich and had them cut it into four equal pieces. It was yummy and the bagel pretty similar to any NY bagel.
We stopped in the Jewish quarter of the Marais for lunch. We are outside and order some rosé and one glass of white wine. It was a good meal overall. Service was decent except for forgetting my dessert until I prompted the server. Another Parisienne experience fully enjoyed.
I order off this menu board.
Lana purchased a silver Christofle sugar cube tong. It cost us 55Euros! I think that is pretty outrageous, but apparently a Christofle piece is very expensive new. Lana checks eBay and they are selling for $95USD. Lana believes this can be used for ice cubes, olives, cornichons etc. This is my terrine and it was yummy.
This is my filet de Sardines. It was as good as it looks. The sardines were perfectly cooked and not too salty.
My apricot dessert that was shared with all.
Lana's lunch of frites, salad and steak.
Tina had a beef tartare.
We stopped at L'Èclair de Génie located in the Marais district. This place is totally dedicated to èclairs with a number of choices. Super busy with a constant line of customers. You make your choice of èclairs and then get in a separate lineup to pay for your selections.
We do some more walking and end up at the giant department store BHV located in the Marais. The two couples shop of the 3rd and 2nd floors. The men and women split up and I follow Adrian while he makes his tool purchases on the lower level floor. Tools are much more costly in Europe, but cheaper than in England.
We have noticed since being in the Marais that riot cops are all around. Wearing riot gear, including shin pads, shoulder pads, lots of weapons. We return to our apartment by walking up Rue du Temple and Lana naps. Tina and Adrian join us around 7 pm for pre-dinner champagne and gougeres (cheese balls). Jim and is gang meet us downstairs for the 20 minute walk to Aux Deux Amis. It is eight of us walking and as we walk around Place de la République we notice more riot cops and these trucks. There is a protest group supporting the Palestinians in Gaza.
Riot cops are inside these trucks. Looks like one truck is a command post. Serious looking police.
Dinner tonight is in the République area with reservations for 8 pm for eight. This place was recommended by Anthony Bourdain. Described as a wine bar, 70's decor and nouveau bistro cuisine. Our table is ready and it is definitely a very casual and hip place like Bourdain has described. Our waitress is pretty and perky. Her english is good as well so that is helpful. It was disappointing overall. While it is described as a wine bar, there weren't a lot of choices and the whites were at room temperature. The one red we ordered had a skunky aroma. The second white didn't taste like a Sauvignon Blanc and the chilling didn't help.
The menu came on a small pad of paper delivered by our waitress. We ordered two of each of the first four. Some of the tapas style food was delicious and others were just OK. Each couple paid 50Euros and that covered all the food and three bottles of wine.
Spanish torta. To be eaten cold. Very traditional tapa. Potatoes are normally cooked in oil. Egg is added like a Spanish quiche.
My favourite tapas dish. Jambon with almonds. It was delicious and the almonds taste and texture balanced the jambon. Yummy!
Yes, snails and they were cold (on purpose). You stabbed them and tried to pull them out. The aioli dressing was fantastic. Not a hit with everyone though.
A tuna rillette tapas dish. Very yummy especially when eaten with the piece of baguette.
Tomatoes and pesto dish. Not a huge hit for many of us. Didn't find a distinctive taste.
Foie gras like (chicken liver paté?) buried under the thinly sliced beets. It was tasty, but definitely not duck.
After we left the restaurant, we decided to find a 'wine bar' or a restaurant open for enjoying the night and drinking some wine. We wandered southwards and eventually came across La Royale and found empty tables on the street so we could enjoy the warm blue night sky. More good conversation and two bottles of rosé wine. A fun way to conclude our evening. Jim and his parents/girlfriend hailed a taxi to head home. Adrian and Tina were heading to see the Eiffel Tower lit up and we walked up Rue du Temple to our apartment.
Further to our report on the riot police, this was a news item the following day. Note that when we walked by the Place de la Republique on our way to dinner there were flags and demonstrators just surging into the large open space. I guess we missed the action fortunately. Myself, I am on the side of the pro-Israelis.
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Clashes at Paris pro-Palestinian demonstration
26 July 2014 Last updated at 21:56 BST
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