On Sunday, it was still cold but not as viciously cold as it has been for the past few weeks, so Georges and I decided to head down to the 13ème for a walk through the Butte-aux-Cailles quartier and a restorative cup of hot tea at my friend Aimee's place, L'Oisive Thé. (Okay, I'll admit I was lured there in part by Aimee's morning Twitter post that she had just baked a raspberry coffee cake. Her baking totally rocks!)
We got there ("there" being the metro stop at Place d'Italie) too late in the day to enjoy the local Sunday marché so instead we just wandered around some of the side streets adjacent to Rue Bobillot on our way to the tea shop.
This row of buildings with their pink and blue window shutters and matching streetlamps caught my eye.
At the salon de thé, Georges and I decided to try the raspberry coffee cake and two different kinds of tea. I'm terrible at remembering which teas I've ordered, and each time I go there I get something different, but I've always enjoyed whatever I've had. And the coffee cake did NOT disappoint us, either.
Aimee is also a wonderful knitter, and once a week she has a knitting group which meets at the shop. Here are a few of her creations for very tiny people.
After our tea-break, Georges said he wanted to show me something having to do with fleurs. I didn't quite catch what he was talking about but of course if he wants to take me somewhere new in the city, I'm eager to go there. I thought it was going to be a flower market or something like that, but instead it was this totally adorable little labyrinth of small streets, all with the names of flowers.
Doesn't look like your typical Parisian street with your typical Parisian homes. It's like a small world apart. The buildings only have 3 floors and all seem to have the iron fences in front. With the brick and stucco, they are the opposite of the more grand Haussmanian stone buildings you see in much of the city.
One home had these birdcages hanging outside (no birds in them at the moment, not in this cold weather!) The one on the right looked purely functional but I loved the antique one on the left. Many of the homes still had their original Art Nouveau glass "roof" over the doorways.
We turned one corner and THIS charming little place greeted us. I totally want to live here now. It's so quiet even with a few tourists like us wandering around with cameras. You don't even feel like you're in a city, let alone Paris!
One of many charming doorways. No matter how long I live here, there is something about these blue and white street signs and house number signs that I just love.
Close-up on the iron door decoration -- also in a beautiful floral theme.
HOW TO GET THERE:
To L'Oisive Thé:
- Metro stop Place d'Italie (many bus lines also go there), take sortie #1. Then walk down Rue Bobillot until you see a small park. Make a right onto Rue de la Butte aux Cailles and go one block to the tea shop on the corner.
- Metro stop Corvisart. Walk down Rue Eugene Atget (or Rue des Cinq Diamants) to Rue Jonas. Turn right from Rue Jonas onto Rue Samson, then a quick left to Rue Jean Marie Jégo. The tea shop is at the end of the street on the right.
To the cute "flower street" quartier, called the Cité Florale:
- Take RER B to Cité Universitaire which is at the edge of Parc Montsouris (we walked there also, photos of that tomorrow). Walk along Boulevard Jourdan with the parc on your left, then make a left onto Rue de la Cité Universitaire along the parc. Make a right onto Rue Liard. At an intersection, follow Rue Auguste Lançon. Then go right at Rue Brillat-Savarin, and all the little "fleur" streets will be on your left. Just wander around and enjoy!
- Alternately, take Metro 7 to Maison Blanche, then take Rue de Tage until it becomes Rue Brillat-Savarin and follow directions (above) from there.
- If you are checking Maps.Google.fr or RATP.fr to map your way there, use Rue des Orchidées in postal code 75013 as your reference point.
