Sensory Overload

Walk # 12  Time Travel, Tricks and Treats Around Saint Suplice

This walk was by far my favorite one so far!  It might have something to do with the pain au chocolat, the bread, the treats from whats considered the most innovative chocolate and pastry store in Paris, the chicken and thyme flavored potato chips,  or it might have been the very cool bookstore, the music on the street, or seeing Dan Brown's favorite Parisian church, Saint Suplice.  It's really hard to say, but what is easy to know is that my brain was on overdrive for a good part of the day.  

We actually started the walk by checking out this famous hotel.  Picasso, Matisse and even Charles De Gaulle have stayed here.  De Gaulle chose it for his honeymoon.  But with rooms going at 2,500 Euros a night, have no idea how you can enjoy yourself.  That's over $140 an hour!!  I couldn't sleep at that price!

 But now things start getting good.  This boulangerie has been making bread for nearly 80 years, which really is no time in France, but for the rest of us it's nearly a century.  This is called Poilâne's and is famous all over the world-and we were not disappointed.  I love this group I've been walking with because they are totally willing to buy one of each thing in the store and then share, so we get to taste so much more!  It would be hard to say what was the best thing we tried, but if pressed I think I would have to go with the pain au chocolat.  I've had pain au chocolat before, even here in France, but this was honestly a trip to heaven.  The butter, the dark chocolate center, the flakiness, it all added up to stunning taste treat.  But the Walnut bread was pretty good too.

What would you choose???

And there is something so charming about the street; I'm pretty sure it makes it all taste better!

And the bread.  This is just your not so average dinner roll...

....but this was heaven.  I barely remembered to take a picture of it before it was gone.  I will be back....

And apparently they call this art!

But then, 15 minutes later, the pastry/chocolate boutique.  It looks like it could be a jewelry store, doesn't it?  And inside, the treats are presented in glass cases like a jewelry store.  I had my camera ready to take a picture and nearly got assaulted by the help, so sorry,  there is no picture of the inside, but below is our collection of amazing treats.  

There are flavors on this bench I couldn't even begin to describe, simply because I don't know what they were.  That strawberry pastry in the middle is not filled with vanilla cream, it was two kinds of cream (one hidden inside) and they each tasted different and as if they were suffused with some kind of sweet herb or something.  The red raspberry macaroon in the front that has a rose petal on it, it actually tasted like roses, but it was so good-I never would have guessed that was possible.  The chocolate wedge in the middle was wrapped in a specially designed cellophane sleeve, and the chocolate sat on a delicate wafer that was "glued"with sugar to the gold colored cardboard.  Each small macaroon had an incredibly distinct flavor and the "muffin" was...we aren't really sure what...but it was delicious and left sugar on your nose when you ate it.  The chocolate bar in front cost 8 euros, but was worth every penny.

When we stopped taking pictures and started to eat, all our efforts to speak french went right out the window because none of us knew enough french superlatives to describe the experience.  We were straight up tourists who were oohing and aching like crazy.

Kelli's pretty happy

And I'm feeling pretty good myself

In fact, we were so enthralled with our taste bud experiences that it took us 20 minutes to look around and realize we really were at the feet of some fantastic architecture.

Saint Suplice.  The cathedral made famous by The Da Vinci Code.  This is the 2nd largest cathedral in Paris and was not at all famous until the book came out.  There is a sign that says "Go ahead and take pictures like all the other tourists, but please, don't go knocking around for hollow tiles hiding clues to the Holy Grail.  (It's hidden under the Louvre pyramid anyway, remember?)"  Apparently the docents have learned to be very famous and to enjoy the notoriety, even though the catholic church is still sort of annoyed with Mr. Brown.

I always love a pretty organ.

And doesn't everyone love the guy playing the piano on the corner?

I forgot to mention that we also stopped by Eugene-Delacroix's home that is now a museum with his works in them.

And then we were off to the Abbaye Saint Germain which was founded in 495.  The Vikings built the original one, and so this tower only dates back to the eleventh century!  

I loved these painted pillars.  So different from ones built earlier

And the ceiling.  That's way up there, and you have to thing their scaffolding wasn't as good as ours. Notice all the gold stars painted on it.

So, there you have it...sort of....I left out the world famous (if you're into this sort of thing) Vintage Clothing Shops, Figurine Shops, Cafes and Bookstores. Aren't you glad! And I also forgot to take a picture of the Chicken and Thyme Potato chips which honestly tasted like a rotisserie chicken, and were addicting!  

The problem with a day like this is that it really is so much.  (If you are still reading this, you deserve a medal!)  My brain really is racing just reliving it, and it's a bit exhausting to realize that it all starts over tomorrow.  But I'm not complaining!

And I did manage to notice this pretty little window on a long wall of windows....

....and if you're wondering, this is your run of the mill garage door!  It of course has an automatic garage door opener, and very expensive looking cars that drives into it.