Still in Love with Polaroid

On my last day in Paris, my sister and I went to the Sacre Coeur , the Sacred Heart Basilica in Montmartre, to get another scenic view of downtown Paris and to do some more shopping. This is the cathedral, from about halfway up the hill: This is about a third of the way from the top, and we had some beautiful sky for a backdrop! I was quite warm after hiking up all those stairs so I shucked my jacket for a tourist pose: So did Stephanie: We came for the city view so we turned and faced the city! We could see over the rooftops for miles! This bird wanted a better view of us: The weather was cool in mid-July, but you can't tell from the happiness of these blooming flowers! This little fountain and pool sat at the foot of the basilica, about halfway down the hill. As we walked down and away from the hill, we found some adorable boutiques along the Rue Tardieu and a few others in the urban maze. The Christophe Roussel shop sold macarons and ch...

At the Galeries Lafayette, I bought a few little desserts to bring home and photograph, and then eat. I couldn't remember the name of this gem, but it was a layered slice of sponge cake, cream, jam, and gel, topped with a meringue and fresh berries. The cake part had a strawberry flavor and was very light and airy. Ah, the eclairs. This one was a chocolate eclair, filled with pastry cream. topped with chocolate ganache, squares of chocolate, and gold dust. This one was a salted milk-jam (or dulce de leche) caramel eclair, filled with pastry cream and topped with salted caramel, something chocolate-y for crunch, and gold flakes. Macarons... The light and airy, marshmellow-y small bites of heaven that can only be perfected in France. I got two chocolate, one vanilla, and one raspberry macaron. We had also stopped by a local bakery to round out our French dessert tasting menu with a chocolate tart (a stiff shell filled with thick chocolate), an Opera...

Good morning! Bonjour! Today we went to a small cafe in Bastille called  Cafe Truc , which literally means Cafe "Stuff." It was so cutely decorated and we enjoyed a traditional French breakfast here: croissant, pain du chocolat, tea, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. On our way to the Jewish quarter, we passed a museum with the sculpture below. The exhibit was showing all kinds of street sculpture and I recognized this from an article that was shared with me years ago. It reminded me of the other Bruno Catalano sculptures that were debuted in 2013. Pigeon taking a bath. Under the arches on the Place De Vosges: We made it to the Temple Des Vosges, which is an Orthodox shul in the middle of Paris. We were informed that the seats are full every Shabbat, and they have weddings and other special events there regularly. There was also a reception hall that had hand-painted walls with scenes from the Bible: Afterwards, we continued on to the Rue De...