Monday, April 27, 2009

Wo ai ni Paris

At Avenue de Choisy, tall flowy treest lined each paved streets, awning each restaurant day and night. With so many trees, the neighborhood feels very safe and seems like everyone knows each other.

Chinatown in Paris is on the 13eme arr., covering Avenue de Choisy et Av. d'Ivry; is a mix between a rosy neighborhood filled with a cluster of Chinese restaurants and its counterparts and Spring trees that lined the streets as if preparing themselves for a scene in a Meg Ryan movie, amidst all the chinese faces. It's funny, I have never felt as much of a stranger in this particular Chinatown, perhaps I grew up in places with chinatowns so crowded with lots of people that you could hardly walk in their little lanes or perhaps my notion of a chinatown, is one where the Chinese grannies don't speak french to their friends, or that the restaurants are not all closed at 5 o'clock in the afternoon (yes I don't understand why there hardly any restaurants open at this time? have living in France, Paris in particular have changed their habits, I presume they are playing mahjong or strolling the streets, stopping once so often as everyone seem to know each other from the little nods between the old ladies)


A corner french boulangerie follows tradition of closing its shop on Monday! c'est lundi, c'est normal!

My grand mission, is of course to see Tang Frere Supermarché. The huge chinese grocery opened by the Tang brothers from Laos. It has become the establishment in the 13eme arr., many people come there just to have a look at the exotic and well, chinese stuff that's available. There were definitely cheap exotic fruits like dragon fruits, custard apple (it is a fruit) rambutans and lychees. Though in the end, I only bought a few chinese snacks and sweets that I miss from back home, ginger chewy candy and black sesame crackers! and an aloe vera drink which I thought would at least heal me from the awful flue I am having at the moment.


She has blue hair. Elles se sont parlés en français, quel surprise!

But being a bloggist, you must always savour each adventures, whether far and wild, rain or thunder, hail or snow. So in all, I cursed myself happy for coming and seeing le chinatown à Paris, for a charming end, I have never seen a Chinatown so alluringly hidden and having such beautiful trees!

Spotted this oh so cool, you just know you are! brown tinted orange mini cooper at Rue de Rennes, Saint-Germain, 6eme arr. at lunch time!

4 comments:

lady jicky said...

I feel bad saying this but ... I have never been to chinatown in Paris - I missed out on something so strange and different! Darn.
I would be just like you - where is everyone??? LOL

I smile everytime I see you post a mini for I had one when I was 18 (long time ago - I am in my 50's) I loved my mini but .... Oooo it was always at the mechanic and it was so expensive to fix for the motor is side mounted and has to be pulled out to fix anything that was wrong there!
Honestly, even if I won the lottery I would not buy a mini. I do love to look at them though! LOL

Lady Macaron said...

Oh I would love to have a mini cooper someday, Believe in the future, who knows you might be able to come to Paris again...

lady jicky said...

Emmelyn, due to health issues my long flights have ended but... I have been so lucky to travel there a couple of times.
Now I travel there via You! LOL
I wonder where you are off to next in Paris?

Lady Macaron said...

Hi LJ.
I'm sorry to hear about your health. I will be going back to Melbourne end of June. I'm not entirely excited to go back there...blah-

But dad is there and mom is there at the moment.