I remember holidays pre world wide web; European cities were mysterious and hard to navigate places – don’t even get me started on buses – and restaurants a gamble unless you possessed a hefty tome of a Michelin guide. Now, with so much information at our fingertips, there is no excuse to spend days with your head in a map, frustrated come 9pm when you don’t have a dinner reservation. We are a generation of informed travellers.
Thus it was that I returned to The City of Light this weekend, armed with a list of cafes, buildings, restaurants and flea markets, mostly thanks to instagram and the global blogging community. I have been to Paris numerous times; each trip a less touristy version of the former with an increasing emphasis on patisserie, aperos and cosy dinners.
On this occasion I was lucky enough to be visiting one of my best friends who has been in Paris for a few months. After an apero at home – read bottle of champagne – on Friday night, we jumped in a cab and made our way across town for dinner and drinks with friends.
Nursing slightly sore heads the following morning but eager to make the most of the day, we enthusiastically sprung out of bed, into the patisserie beneath the flat and on to the Metro with our still warm from the oven croissants.
After a morning searching out antiques and bargains at the Marche aux Puces Saint Ouen, we made our way towards the Marais.
After a quick refuel in the sunshine on Place des Voges at Cafe Carette we wandered the streets in search of L’eclair de Genie and Merci; the ultimate destination for the best in household goods, furniture and fashion all under one roof. If we hadn’t already made plans for lunch I could easily have whiled away the afternoon in the Used Book Cafe.
But we did have a plan and so headed down Boulevard Beaumarchais to Maison Bastille, a beautiful salon de thé specialising in all things petit-dej, brunch and cake. We arrived at lunch time but opted for the brunch menu; €22 for a three course feast and endless tea and coffee.
It’s a set menu and being a small cafe, service takes time but we weren’t in a hurry. A boiled egg arrived, complete with egg cosy and a basket of baguette.
After smoked salmon with salmon pate, spinach and potato galette, it was time for matcha and raspberry cake, by which point my sweet tooth protested in alarm after a morning of croissants and macaron.
For a Saturday breakfast with friends in a quieter corner of the Marais, add Maison Bastille to your Paris to-do list.
More adventures from La Ville-Lumière coming soon.
the london pantry 