Spotted at an outdoor cafe in Paris...

a local and his friend enjoying the morning at a cafe in Paris, France.

Gluten Free in Paris

This post is dedicated Nikki, one of my followers, of Perpetually Engaged blog!

Just look for the bright yellow packaging!

While we were in Paris I sent out an SOS email to my family back in the US to help me find a store in Paris that sold gluten free items. cha-ching! My son quickly emailed me back this list:

Rendez-Vous de la Nature (96 rue Mouffetard in the 5th)
Bio St Germain (30 Blvd St Germain in the 5th)
Espace Bio St Charles (20 rue de l'Eglise in the 15th)

We took a city bus to Bio at 30 Blvd St. Germain. It was easy to find and had a huge selection of breads, including a nice soft baguette, chocolate croissants (which I didn't try), cookies, crackers, even a heat and eat ravioli dish (which was OK, not great). It was a whole back wall filled of gluten free goodness. I stocked up and I was able to enjoy picnic lunches all over Paris! I had no need to check out the other stores but was happy to know about them!

La Porcelaine Blanche, Paris

While in Paris we happened upon the wonderful little shop, La Porcelaine Blanche,  filled with lots and lots of glassware, white porcelain dishware and loads of other reasonably priced treasures. It was a 5 minute walk from our apartment. We stopped in on the first day that we were in Pairs and thought surely we would go back to buy a little something to take home. We never did get back there when it was open, but it will be one of my first stops if when I am lucky enough to go back to Paris. It happens to be very close to the Place Monge Morning Market that happens on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings. So if you plan your time right you can go to both.

La Porcelaine Blanche
119 Rue Monge, Paris 5e

The lovely proprietor graciously allowed me to take pictures.

European Vacation

I hope you have enjoyed my scheduled blog posts over the last month. I wanted to tell you that I was leaving on a trip to Europe, but I'm just not comfortable sharing that kind of information with the world. So now I will tell you now... I have just returned from a month in Europe! My husband, my sister and my 87 year old parents started with a guided tour thru Southern Ireland. Followed that up with a week in Paris where we rented a fantastic apartment near the Les Goblins metro stop. From Paris, my husband and I flew to Spain and visited Barcelona, Sevilla, Madrid and Toledo. The whole trip was like a dream!

Near Limerick, Ireland

Ireland....the countryside is just as spectacular as the people who live there....could there be any nicer people in the world?

In the gardens at Versailles, France

Paris...a little bit of torture for someone like me who can't eat gluten...but a city filled with so much light and soul...and all that amazing art work. It was heaven. And there is something so dreamy about the sky in France.

Pitchers of Sangria at a cafe in Sevilla, Spain

Spain...happy people filled with lots of fun. Loved the Sangria and loved how every Spanish woman carried and used such beautiful fans.

I'll share more little bits and pieces with you over the next while. Just wanted to let you know where I've been. I'm hoping that your summer is off to a great start!