Paris-Île St-Louis: Part Two - My private island

This delightful little resto/cafe is named after what Paris was called when it was still a "pioneer settlement" in the middle of la Seine. The remains of the Roman arena Lutetia from the 3rd century are found right across the bridge in the Latin Quarter near the Musée de Moyen Age.


Le Lutetia Restaurant,Cafe and Wine Bar

I stopped at L’Lutétia Cafe for a caffeine jolt in the late afternoon, but I also wanted to check the handicapped access capabilities. I have an aunt that is coming to Paris in the spring that needs to use her wheelchair most of the time. I had been making a list for her of some of the place that would be easy for her manage with limited help. It proved to be very wheelchair accessible as while I drank my café crème, I saw a man and presumably his wife, both in wheelchairs easily negotiate the door to wheel in the door for a meal.


love in the afternoon

As I sat on the terrasse with a view to the river and the Hôtel de Ville, I perused the menu for future reference. It contained the standard but yummy sounding Bistro offerings with the "plat principles" starting at €19. I observed what the other diners around me were having for early dinners and I have to say it all smelled quite wonderful, especially the beef bourguignon. My waiter, Patrick, was very friendly man and relayed to me that and this is also a very chic wine bar on the Top Ten List of the Best Wine Bars in Paris, right after the well known Willi’s and Juveniles. He said that L’Lutétia has a large selection of wines in their cellar, notably from the Bordeaux and the Loire regions.

L’Lutétia Cafe and Restaurant (and Wine Bar) has continual food service until midnight. The bar is open until 2am or later. L’Lutétia is closed Sunday evenings and all day Monday.
Reservations are possible, but usually not necessary.

Wow! There is a lot you can discover while having a café crème.

Flower shops in Paris are always wonderful places and Patrick Allain Fleuriste is no exception. Most Parisians don’t have gardens so they bring fresh flowers into their homes as often as they can. The interior inventory of dozens of blooms in hundreds of hues spilled out on to the rue. I shouldn’t say spilled, which would be contrary to the French love of orderliness. Rather the stems and minature trees and plants marched out in a controlled riot ending up as a precise appealing arrangement at the door and around the vitrine and on to the sidewalk in buckets and carts.


excess within control

What I found at this fleuriste was not so very different from what I purchase every few days from my area fleuriste across the rue from my appartement near Palais Royal. The vitrine décor was exquisitely executed, a little more traditional than my local artist, who decorates with a contemporary-funk style. The beauty varieties, freshness and perfusion of plants and stems up for selection was very comparable to what one may find anywhere in Paris. I noticed that the prices here were only a tiny bit higher than my neighborhood store. But one would expect that on Île St-Louis, which is known for high-priced real estate and well-heeled clientele to match. Something felt different here, there was a subtle déjà-vu I felt when I first set my eyes upon this shop some years ago that I had been unable to shake.


façade Patrick Allain Fleuriste

What sets this particular flower shop apart from all the rest of the beautiful stores in Paris is that the façade of Patrick Allain Fleuriste has the distinction of being the most photographed, drawn, painted (in watercolor and in oils) of any in the entire city. After my first acquaintance with l’Île I spied postcards, hand done images and prints of the shop all around the city of Paris and dozens of times in galleries here in the sates. Perhaps it is the gorgeous saturated colors that pint the façade, the medieval stained glass window, the 17th-century architectural details or the quirky resto sign right next-door. What ever the case, it adds up to pure charm If you visit, you may want to snap your own image and purchase a few delightful blooms for a fragrant memory of l’Île Fleuriste.


luscious apricot roses from Patrick Allain
brighten my tiny Paris loft

The gorgeous, painted bright-blue façade first drew me in, and then I saw the bright jumble of kitsch arrayed in the window. The contents of that wonderful store nearly tumble out onto the sidewalk, its exuberance and buoyant enthusiasm contained only by the window-glass. It shouted,"Come on in and play !"

The staff at Pylônes was no different; animated and helpful, dressed in offbeat and colorful threads, one of the young shopkeepers showed me around and answered my questions regarding the some of the cool and colorful products and their designers. I soon learned that almost all these items in the shop were proudly designed in France.

hip turquoise façade will seduce you

Tired of your boring desk at work, spice it up with a frog computer mouse and a lily-pond mouse-pad, throw in a lady bug stapler and dragon pen and you’re all set to impress your boss and stun your co-workers. If you loved "Revenge of the Were-rabbit", well then Wallace and Grommet are crackin-well represented in the store with corkscrews and wine-stoppers and other items relating to their recent cinematic success.

I fell in love with a bright-red PVC watering can shaped purse called "Garden Party sac à main," it was shouting my name, and I couldn’t help myself. But for €21, this will be a welcomed gifts for my kitsch-loving niece’s next birthday. I also succumbed to temptation to buy a few other designer items. One that tops my list as very clever is a combination chop-stick/fork utensil (pictured here), strangely named "Baguettes".



watering can sacs

I did THINK of getting a bright-green ring that lights up and flashes on and off to annoy my husband and friends, but didn’t dare. I did however surrendered to adding three more delightfully painted "pin-birds" to my collection. These ingenious little darlings are magnetized to keep care of stray pins and needles at your sewing space. The last thing I couldn’t resist was a cute little brunette with a blur dress that would be helpful around the kitchen enabling me to grate tons of fragrant Gruyere over my next bowl of soupe de l’oignon.



three things I bought

This cool little design shop is really worth a look if only to browse through all the random, colorful, mostly useful and sometimes crazy stuff. Before you know it, you will be under the Pylônes’ spell and I defy you not to take home at least one item; if not for that very unusual souvenir, then to indulge yourself with a unique and rather hip conversation piece.

There are four other Pylones boutiques in Paris, six in Japan, and two in the US in NYC that all employ French as well as local designers for their products.

I wanted to add a bit of history and culture as a break from all the shopping on this rue. As you walk down rue St-Louis-en-l'Île most likely the first thing that you will notice is the beautiful steeple clock. The delicate foundry-framed timepiece actually hangs perpendicular to the steeple and at right angles to the rue, so it is clearly visible up and down the merchant street of St-Louis-en-l'Île.


Horloge de l’Eglise St-Louis en L’Île

The church was started in 1644 by architect Francois Le Vau, when development began on Saint Louis-en-l’Île. It was finally dedicated to St-Louis in 1726 though it was still missing its steeple. The competition for this project came up with entries that were modern alternatives as the Gothic design of Le Vau was considered out passé at the time. Architect Le Vau died before the project was completed, and Libéral Bruant completed the church in a more contemporary fashion (for the time). The bell tower steeple project was finally completed in 1765 br architect Gabriel Le Duc.


From the street under the steeple-clock of Eglise St-Louis en L’Île

Eglise St-Louis-en-l'Île hides many treasures behind its rather dirty façade that is truly inconspicuous from the street. There are many works of art hanging on those consecrated walls including The Pilgrims of Emmaus by Coypel, Sts. John and Peter healing a Blind Man by Van Loo and most notably, The Annunciation by Fra Angelico. The elegant interior of the church features a harmonic triple aisle structure with pillars and a egg-shaped dome.
IF you can get inside the church, don't miss the statue of St-Louis in chainmail and a crusader's sword.


Detail of door of Eglise St-Louis en L’Île on rue Poultier

I was very anxious to get another look at the interior and use my new telephoto lens to capture images of the elegant white and gilt details and works of art that are inside. But alas, that was not to be that day or for several days in a row that I tried to gain entrance. It was locked-up tight as their famous choir was practicing inside.

A veritable feast of church music takes place in the churches of St-Louis-en-L'Ile each summer. Begun in 1987, the Festival Musique en l'Ile features guest ensembles and choirs from around the world, playing both early and baroque sacred masterpieces and music from different traditions, be it Russian Orthodox or spirituals and gospel songs. Throughout the year there are choral and organ concerts on Thursday at 3pm and at 7pm. Look for a flyer posted in the vestibule or call for details if you wish to attend: 01 46 34 11 60.

Even if touring ecclesiastical interiors is just not your thing, the art treasures contained inside Eglise St-Louis-en-l'Île are worth a look.

In the heart of Île St-Louis is a shop that is populated with marionettes, sculptures, musical automatons, hand-puppets, and dolls. Puppets, especially those with wires, marionettes are a French specialty dating back to the 17th century. In this magical store, you can find a doll for your daughter, a complete Punch and Judy puppet show, stage included or outfit an entire shopping mall with animated polar bears for Christmas.


Clair de Rêve packed full with delight and whimsy

I was particularly fond of the "lingerie dolls". These were very tasteful clay sculpture collection of woman named for their hair color. My favorite was of course, "la blonde". I was amazed at all the workmanship and fine and delicate detail that was put into each of these sexy clay sculptures, right down to the clasp of the dolls’ black-lace garter belts. I would have to say this would be my husband’s idea of the ultimate doll collection!

The name of the shop, Clair de Rêve, literally means "clearly of dreams"; and these whimsical dolls, puppet-people, mini-seductresses, animatronics and animals are truly all that and more.

Down the rue a few paces from Clair de Rêveare lie more pleasures, this time perhaps for more mature tastes. Beyond L'Epicerie’s seductive blue facade with curvy windows is an elegant interior literally jam-packed with fine French delicacies and well yes, jam. And although the shop is filled from ceiling to floor, everything is in impeccable order. All the bottles and jars and cans that hold the scrumptious delicacies that line the orderly shelves are in place.


French ducks romp in fall foliage

I found a lovely earthy green mustard "Au poivre vert" (green peppercorns) that would be lovely on meats and a deep golden honey flavored with lavender. On your way out loaded with bags, stop to take a look at their interesting window displays that change every few weeks I was told. We were treated to a campy display of ducks and geese romping in autumnal splendor. Here is another shop that will seduce you especially if you are a foodie.



L’Epicerie: lovely blue exterior with interior scrumptious gourmet delights

One evening, as I was about to walk back to my appartement from Ile St-Louis, I was seduced and stopped right in my tracks by a sweet, sweet smell. A few steps ahead of me I saw a group of people gathering outside Cacao et Chocolat. It is an Aztec-themed store that sells excellent chocolates, ganaches, pastries, and truffles, but I had never tried their hot chocolate. It looked as though they were having a chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) tasting, and I got in line for a sample.

step right up for a taste of chocolate heaven

The day before I had literally raided this store, buying several boxes of the Maya and Jade collections and shipping them home to use as gifts. I bought a selection of macaroons for my concierge at my apartment building (he has helped me whenever I had WiFi difficulties), and of course I bought a few choice things for myself. Cacao et Chocolat sell many types of confections from the ones called Zope that are filled with chocolate ganache infused with cayenne pepper (which was spectacular, may I add), Pralinés covered in milk chocolate, several choices of dried fruits enrobed in a heavenly Mayan chocolate to the extra sinful Quetzal, a dark chocolate temptation filled with tequila and a touch of lime.


A coffret of the Maya collection
Their pastries are every bit as delicious as they look in the display (you know how something can look so wonderful and be disappointing to eat). The macaroons are ever bit as good as the higher-priced versions I often get at the famous Ladurée, perhaps better. They have that same satisfying crunch on the outside with the heavenly, soft creamy middle, not too sweet, just right for a very bad sweet tooth jones. They sell them in a standard size (about 2 ½" in diameter) and bags of 12 assorted miniature-sized macaroons (silver dollar sized), so you can sample several flavors.

Back to the hot chocolate tasting…
I sampled two varieties, the "traditionelle" and the "Yucatan," which had a touch of chipotle pepper. Both were sumptuous and truly delicious. They had the mouth feel of rich decadent melted ice cream as they ran down your throat. There was not grainy or funky aftertaste. I loved the one with the pepper the best. I reminded of how the hot chocolate was made in the movie Chocolat. I’d say that it was much better that the famous Angelina’s on rue de Rivoli. It was Aztec chocolate decadence with out the silver tray and the high prices.
Sigh…encore, s’il vous plait!

Cacao et Chocolat is open 7 days per week from 10:30am to 7:30pm. There are two other locations, one in the Marias on rue Vielle du Temple and also in the Latin Quartier on rue de Buci.

I had vowed to myself not to buy anything on Île St-Louis until the end of the day. It is always a little weird to juggle my camera and bulky purchases and not be really conspicuous. The blue of the façade looked like a lovely sky on the Côte d’Azur, which made the tiny shop hard to resist. Yesterday on l’Île I had seen several people toting cute little blue sacs with the word Yamina emblazoned across the top in sultry sunset orange. The sign and the color said this was the place.


Côte d’Azur blue

Fairly new on to l’Île, Yamina Boutique was filled to capacity with those beautiful woman’s accessories that make French women look to put together and, well, so French. Gloves, vests, one-off handbags, hats, handmade jewelry, and, naturally the most important French accessory, scarves lined the shelves, display racks, walls, and floor in the interior. The boutique was also filled to capacity with people looking and trying and buying, and none of the people in the shop looked like tourists.


swath of color

I spied what I my heart desired even before my foot hit the blue-and-orange tiles inside the boutique. In the tiny vitrine were the latest à la mode accessories in luscious chocolate brown and gemstone brilliant turquoise. That paring of the two hues were the "très branché" (hippest) Jean-Paul Gaultier-invented color combo of the fall season. Lying on top of a bright vest was the scarf of my Technicolor dreams, woven and striped in those hip branché tones, coiled like a snake, poised, and ready to strike. I was bitten.
After exchanging some Euros (€65), I had a tiny piece of feminine "Frenchness" in my own pretty blue bag proclaiming me as the hippest kid on l'Île. I set off to take more photos, without any trace of bulk.