One of the key rules when shopping is never shop on an empty stomach as you tend to buy more than you need or even want.
Keeping this in mind, we made sure to have a good lunch before we took the Paris Walks' Tasting Tour of the old Les Halles district.
I knew that we would be visiting a lot of food shops and I was afraid of giving in to the temptation of impulse buying.
Just as we exited the Sentier metro station, we saw La Petit Carreaux -- a typical looking french bistro. It was drizzling and very cold and it looked like a good place to get in, get warm and get well fed.
The restaurant was cozy and comfortable and full of locals when we arrived.
This photo was snapped long after our meal, when the lunch time crowd had thinned and it was only the tourists (like us) who were dawdling over coffee and cookies.
Even if it was a cold and rainy day -- it was our last day in Paris and I had my last glass of my favorite beer -- 1664!
This is what I ordered -- in the menu, it was filed under "salades" and was described as a duo of tartare of salmon and Coquilles Saint-Jacques or scallops. It came with a mound of fresh greens with a very refreshing dressing and handmade potato "chips" which were so perfectly sliced and cooked that I ate each and every one!
After that delicious lunch, it was still drizzling outside so we ordered coffee - the better to stay inside and keep warm.
Right across La Petit Carreaux though, more temptations beckoned.
A branch of Eric Kayser's boulangerie was too tempting to resist.
Eric Kayser is a world famous french baker and he had a store right at the corner of Rue Montorgueil. It was serendipity to find it on our last day in Paris!
While there was a tempting array of macarons de Paris, I opted to buy the simple and typically french madeleines, six small pieces which we couldn't stop ourselves from eating right as we left the store.
Standing outside nibbling on Eric Kayser's marvelous madeleines, we savored these last buttery bites of Paris.
Merci beaucoup Paris -- and yes, we had a very joyeuses fetes!
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