Joyeuses Pâques

Today is easter Sunday, so in the french manner I wish everyone a "Joyeuses Pâques".

It was another lovely day in Paris, not yet warm but not too cold, sort of short sleeve shirt with jacket on / jacket off weather, as we took our walk along the Seine as we do every Sunday. It is particularly nice because Voie Georges Pompidou, which runs parrallel to the river, is closed to traffic on Sundays and is open for pedestrians, joggers, cyclists and skaters. It is a lovely walk right beside the Seine and today, while families across Paris were celebrating at home together, it seemed as if we had the road to ourselves.



In Paris for the last couple of weeks there have been amazing displays in the chocolatier's shop front windows celebrating easter. Along with the tradition, shared across the globe, of chocolate eggs, chickens and rabbits, there are also chocolate fish, bells, ducks ... all in numerous shapes, sizes and varieties of chocolate (dark, milk, white, orange and with such a variety of fillings and centres in the chocolate) ... it's all so good.



When we went for our walk it was surprising to see that the large amount of chocolates available for sale yesterday were already gone. There was still enough for our requirements though. There are also a large variety of cakes available for easter.



Easter is also the traditional time for celebrating the start of spring, so we spent some time wandering along Rue Du Rivoli buying chocolate and lovely, fresh spring vegetables for our evening meal. Asparagus are becoming more plentiful and are fat and rich in flavour, we bought some plump broad beans and peas and the tomatoes come in so many varieties and colours it's always hard to choose.

The chocolate we bought from several shops, wanting to taste the variety, but we bought all of the vegies from Primeur du Marais, our favourite verger in Paris. Not only do they have a large selection of always fresh and ripe fruit and vegetables, some which we've never seen before, but they include the little things in their service, like paying attention when they're packing and ensuring the tender vegetables aren't squashed. Sometimes it's the little things that count.



We also bought a bottle of Bourgogne, so have our own little feast this evening.

Is it time for dessert yet?