I Love Paris in the Summer Time

When I stayed in Paris, my apartment was quite close to Ile St Louis, so Berthillon was often on the way back from our outings. Getting ice-cream from the counter is something anyone in Paris for the summer should do. The ice-cream is a frozen custard style ice-cream, made with egg yolks as well as cream and sugar. It is truly the best ice-cream I have ever had. All the flavors I tried had a depth and richness of fresh flavor unlike any store bought ice-cream. The wild strawberry (Fraise du Bois) is intense and bright, paired perfectly with the super creamy vanilla. Ice-cream in France, or at least in Paris, is served in funny cones. If you want two scoops, you get a cone that holds the scoops separately, side by size which makes it seem even more special. If you are watching your weight, Berthillon's sorbets are delicious and refreshing. I suggest the melon flavors and the lime flavor. Enjoy!

I first heard about Petit Bateau (which means Little Boat, for you non-Francophiles) in a guide book. I knew I had to go from the moment I read the short snippet about the retailer. I wasn't interested in the affordable baby or children's clothes, but I love T-shirts, Petit Bateau's best offering for women. Lured by the promise of cheap, high quality T-shirts, I visited one of the many Paris locations the next day. I was in heaven! Shirts for between €7 and €14! Tons of great colors were on sale (I guess they have a summer sale in early July) so I bought several. They are sized in a way that takes some getting used to: all the clothes are sold by the age the store thinks you ought to be to fit in them. So clothes for a 6-year-old will say “6a”. Adult sizes run from around 12a to 18a (the biggest size). Woven of high quality cotton, the shirts will last at least a year in your regular wardrobe rotation. I know because I’m wearing one of mine right now! I went back to other locations and bought about seven shirts total, and not a single has one worn out or lost its color or softness. Petit Bateau is sold in America in luxury stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue for ridiculous prices ($30 or $40 for a shirt, compared with $8 to $16 or so in France), so stock up while you are in Paris! The shirts come folded in small boxes for easy packing!

When I was little, I always wanted to pry open a man hole cover and go down into the sewer or water drainage systems. In Paris, you can visit the sewer in a far more sanitary fashion. From above ground, the only sign that there is a museum below is a ticket booth with a staircase that spirals downward. Once you wind your way to the bottom, you are greeted by an oh-so-pleasant sewer smell. It is smelly, but it's not terrible. The friend I was travelling with had a little trouble with it at first (see the picture). The "sewer" you see is treated already, so you aren't going to catch any strange diseases or anything. The exhibits themselves are educational. From reading them, it is clear that Paris must have been a very smelly city at one point in time! All the sewer was simply dumped into the river! The Sewers of Paris are an ideal place to visit if you have children. I'm sure many have dreams of going into the sewer, just as I once had.

No, it isn't actually a beach (plage=beach), but it is about as close as you are going to get in Paris. Every year, tons of sand are brought in along the Seine. Cafes and ice cream stands pop up, sun bathers lounge about, people stroll with their children. It is kind of like a boardwalk, except the sand is in a huge long sandbox rather than on a real beach next to the ocean. All of this is paid for by the city; their is no entrance fee or fee to use the lounge chairs. If you are walking back to your hotel and the Plage is along your route, walk down the steps or ramp and enjoy.

If you are a fan of modern architecture, you must visit Villa Savoye. Villa Savoye is one of Le Corbusier's architectural masterpieces; a single family, extremely modern (even by today's standards) 1920s house now open for you to mosey around.

The day I went, the house was almost empty. There were only three or four other people there, quite different than Versailles. Villa Savoye, at least when it is empty, is immensely relaxing. In some rooms there is antique furniture by Le Corbuisier that you can actually sit in! How often do you get to sit in the furniture at a museum house? My friend fell asleep in one especially comfortable lounge chair. The house felt so welcoming, and might even change some people's minds about modern architecture being cold and uninviting. Villa Savoye is only a train and bus ride away from Paris, and it is worth every minute.