Happy 4th of April Dad!

My Dad, I wish he was here right now with me! I would take him to all the places I've visited today, he would enjoy the weather today, Sunny, a light breeze bringing smiles to our faces.

We would start by walking from Boulevard Saint-Germain passing Cafe Les Deux Magots and the funny stern looking garcons in their black and white attire. Straight to Blvd Raspail and passing Le Bon Marche just around Rue de Sevres. We would stop for a quick visit to La Grande Epicerie foodhall and stare at the endless arrays of jams and spices. But better yet, our first actual stop is Marche Saxe-Breteuil opposite La Tour Eiffel on the seventh, for the real deal. Two lined food market facing directly to Eiffel Tower, this market has everything you want.

Oh Ah! dried fruits! we both love our mix dried almonds, I would prefer the trail mix though. We would be picking our little bag of sweets while enjoying the many different fresh produce...

Ah..pain d'Artisanal, how can you resist that...By the way, French baguettes will only last 6 hours after its out from the oven, after that, you would be advised to wait for the 6pm batch!

Look Pa! the Eiffel tower is staring at us!

Marche Saxe-Breteuil is located in a premier district, with a huge percentage of American expats living in this area; the American embassy, American Library and Parson are all within the seventh arrondissement. Some of the American women have taken up dressing like the French too, congrats to them, I hardly see any wearing white sneakers and tracksuits anymore! Now I see more twinsets, tiny cardigans and snakeskin ballerinas in funky colours!

Half covered, this market not only sell fresh produce, but accessories, clothes, hats, plenty of scarfs and shoes. There are charcoal chickens with side dishes, three bakeries on my count, and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. About two to three cheese stalls. What it's missing, I would like to see a sandwich stall...

Jus de Pommes in all flavours and colours. Pretty looking apples anyone?

Lets go and grab our lunch, that stall has people lining up, lets check it out...ah Arabian Food, they're called Manouche and we could order different kinds of fillings. I ordered the Souffle Epinards, basically stuffed with spinach, onions, olives and a bit of cheese. It took me 15minutes to get my order and 10 seconds to get my flat stuffed bread. For 3euro it is quite cheap and the size is pretty big. Can't wait to have my first bite!

So good, I actually closed my eyes for a few seconds after my first bite. It wasn't just the bread that's so GOOD, not at all oily, the vegies with the cooked onions, a bit of cheese and the spices. The bread is very soft. Very mild taste and healthy too with all those spinach! My dad would probably order the one with the chicken in it..

After such satisfying lunch, time to burn those calories Dad, we would walk all the way to Jardin du Luxembourg, passing back this time to Rue de Sevres, passing the small boulangeries with those macarons and lovely pint sized chocolates...desserts perhaps?

Melts in your mouth...chocolat, rose, cafe ou framboise? which ones should we get for our coffee break at the Luxembourg?
They're so tiny!You would not want to bite those...too cute to eat! best for gifts

Two cafe au lait apres-dejeuner, a few macarons, well that should keep us awake through the afternoon! let's have a rest first though. Ah Palace de Luxembourg, built for Marie de Medicis in the 17th century.

Alright, I think it's time we get up and enjoy the Sun before it gets dark! I stopped by the flowers market around Il de la Cite and wow, the sweet aroma of those flowers are addictive. I just want to stay here.
Little packets of dried lavender wrapped in mini-sized cloth bag. I bought one for my mum, she would love that!

Birdcages in all sizes and colours hung in the ceilings of the covered market, that's lovely. The flowers are very very cheap compare to the florist shops, starting from 2.50euro, you could get a small pot of daisy or lily. Tres jolie!

sadly this image is from google.com but I am still very much the little girl and I'm sure my dad is still very much the adventurist...full of vigueur as the French would say.

We had a good day right! Yep we did! Lets walk back home and drop by Monoprix to do some groceries! Bonne Idee!

p.s: My search will continue to find the best food market in Paris!