Oct 16 (Day 3), Part 1 - Place Maubert, Paris

Yesterday we grabbed breakfast on the run. Today we sat enjoyed the view. It was a bit drizzly, and once again, we were trying to decide which of the many options we wanted to take advantage of on such a day. I think I would have to be in Paris for a long time to relax about what to do that day. It's always a feeling of "so much to see, do experience, and so little time." It was nice to start the day just watching the square, and of course, I was getting addicted to the cafe's quiche.

Umbrellas and a fountain in Place Maubert.

Activity. The ubiquitous cell phone.

Here is the market I'd enjoyed seeing so much on our first day. It was right across the street from the cafe we'd chosen as our favorite. The cafe where we sat on the first morning is behind the market stalls. Apparently at one time this market was on Thursdays (?) only, but now it seems to be every day, or at least it is at this time of year.

Here's Lee outdoors under the awning of "our cafe." What will it be? Coffee? Omelette?

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Oct 15 (Day 2), Part 1 - Place Maubert and breakfast (again)

I slept in. I hadn't wanted to do that on this too-short trip to Paris. I wanted to see things. I've never had a particular problem with jet lag, but I was having something like that now. I went to sleep early and exhausted from the long walk yesterday, then woke up around midnight or not much after, and couldn't go back to sleep. This trip, it was hard to shake off business, and it was probably harder because I was having fun with my new BlackBerry (Global Edition, with flat rate unlimited e-mail and Internet). I spent hours in the night glued to the small, bright screen, and only fell asleep toward morning. When I'd put it down, my mind was either filled with ideas (good in a way, but bad for sleeping), or it was completely blank and calm, but, unfortunately, wide awake. When I finally got up, the Rue Maitre-Albert outside our hotel door was a welcome sight. The narrow street (above) is the one we had arrived on from the direction of the river. Below is the direction of Place Maubert and breakfast.

One of the streets leading into Place Maubert is the Rue de la Montagne Sainte Genevieve (above). We didn't take that street, but instead headed into the square where we'd bought food before.

There was a lot to eat, and most of it looked pretty inviting.

OK, some of it looked pretty inviting. We were not into greasy chicken, but the quiche was a no-brainer, and so started my addiction.

More food in Place Maubert. It's worth clicking on the picture to read the notice . . . in English.

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Oct 14, Part 6 - Place Maubert and breakfast

As we came down the Rue Maitre Albert from our hotel, we entered Place Maubert with this group of Asian markets and restaurants on our left. Sunken below the main street level, they formed an inviting enclave of fresh fruits and vegetables you could buy on the spot or order up cooked in one of the restaurants. The one outside the photo on the left is a market only. The others seemed to serve food. In the morning, they were bringing in the produce, and in the evening there were people sitting at the small tables that filled the terrace. It seemed like a nice quiet place to eat, but we were always doing something else at meal time.

Place Maubert has several faces. It's almost like two squares in one, with this smaller, quiet side, and then the traffic, markets, and cafes you'll see in a minute on the Boulevard Saint-Germain. The stripes on the street come from Rue Maitre Albert, which you can see below as the tiny street almost shaped like an "L." In the distance (above) you can see Notre Dame by looking straight down the Rue Frederick Sauton. If you click on the Map or Hybrid views below, the street names become visible (like magic, I love it!). And you can look at photos taken by various people. If you scroll outside this area, there won't be any additional photos. It's how these mini-Panoramios work, but you can also go to Panoramio.com and find more pictures. Some of mine may appear before long.

After our long flight and the trip into Paris, we had one thing on our minds - coffee and breakfast! We'd come to the right place, because Tuesday was market day in Place Maubert, and in addition, there were several nice cafes around the perimeter. The trees you see in the picture above are the largest group in the Panoramio map view.

In addition to the markets under the tenting, there were several stores selling fresh food - seafood, cheese, salads, preserved meats, and more. Yeah, it really did smell like fish, alright.

We opted for the cafe at the back of the market, where we could eat in comfort and watch the goings-on in the square. That's Lee's arm, above. I had a cheese omelette and a decaf cappuccino. Lee thought maybe they didn't serve decaf, but since I didn't want to bonk on our first morning in Paris, I tried out the word "decaffine," and the waiter knew what I meant. He was also completely civil about it. I'd wondered if I'd be booted out for not having real coffee. Lee had a real cappuccino and a croisant.

This was our view out the cafe window, the clothing and purse/bag section.

After breakfast, I was looking at the fruit. Having recently had mainly airplane food and the Dunkin' Donut, it seemed like just the thing to have on hand. They had some big, luscious-looking figs, and I tried to buy two or three, but they sold them only by the half kilo, and you had to take about 8, 9 or nothing, so I didn't get any. I could imagine my backpack a couple of hours down the line. But we actually did go back to our room for a bit and . . . it's not the most exciting thing to do on your first morning in Paris, but we fell asleep.

Go to Part 7