Place des Vosges

One of the places that's a few blocks from our house is Place des Vosges, the oldest square in Paris. These are some pics from it. The covered walkways extend around the inside of the square on all 4 sides, with many funky art shops (including the one with poofie fish). In the middle are nice grassy areas, which are having their winter rest (repos hivernal). The French don't put up a sign saying "Stay off the grass", they put up a sign saying "The grass is resting". With that, the reader infers that she should leave the poor tired grass alone, and sit elsewhere. Generally at any one time in the summer, about half the grass is "resting" in Place des Vosges, the other half can be used for picnics. The pic in the lower left is of one side of Place des Vosges. All 4 sides are done in the same style.

I took these this morning on our Pain Chocolat run. We've decided that the best Pain Chocolat close by is the bakery on rue St. Paul with blue trim outside. The regular Pain Choco is the best there, the supersized one just isn't as good. I started swimming again, so this morning's Pain Chocolat was guilt free (tasted even better!).