Day 9 in Paris: Marche Richard-Lenoir, Glacier Berthillon, and Searching for the Steps from the Movie "Midnight in Paris"

Parisians love their open air markets. Marche Richard-Lenoir is the city's largest street market, open on Thursday and Sunday mornings. The market offers items like socks, scarves and jewelry, but the real attraction is the fresh produce, meats and cheeses.










My friend Cathie and I wanted to have a picnic so we shopped at different vendors for bread, pate, prosciutto, olives and cheese. We wanted to try all the olives but limited ourselves to four different samples until we found one we liked (it was an Italian olive).


Looking for a shaded, quiet area to have our lunch, we walked to Promenade Plantee, an elevated park that used to be a railroad track for freight trains. The promenade was built in the early 90s so it seems that the High Line is not the OG of elevated parks, although the High Line has a better design.


After we went to the Ile St.-Louis, the island next to the Notre Dame, for ice cream at Berthillon. Little did we know that there were about five or so other Berthillons on the same street and street around the corner. Instead of going to the original shop with the long line of people, we went to a small take-out counter. Nevertheless, the ice cream was delicious and creamy!


My pistachio ice cream. No wonder the French are thin despite eating foods rich in dairy. The serving size is as tiny as a golf ball.


We savored our ice cream next to the Seine.


Not too far from us was the location of the "Midnight in Paris" movie* scene where Owen Wilson's character waits on the steps for the car to pick him up. It was quite anti-climatic.

Cathie and I concluded our hangout session at a corner cafe, people watching and inhaling smoke from the nearby tables. Throughout the day we talked about our experiences of the city, (especially the annoying gypsies), the similarities and differences between NYC and Paris, and relationships. Leisurely strolling around the city and hanging out at cafes are much more enjoyable in the company of good people. I can only do so much Agnes time.

*Noah, don't hate ;)