Boxed In...

 It's no secret I have a love affair going on with French boxes...

 My collection keeps growing...

 At this year's Salon du Chocolat there was a special 'Professional' section to view suppliers of boxes, ribbons, ingredients etc. 

River Pack makes Pierre Herme's innovative boxes as well as Cafe Pouchkine and other 'couture' patissieres...

 Embaline Cartonnage de Luxe is another fancy box-maker. Drool...drool

 Upstairs at the Salon I loved Arnaud Larher's lunchbox style candy box..

 And my favorite and it's contents (flavored-chocolate faux macarons) was tiny - just under 3" square but inside soooo delicieux

 Sadaharu Aoki puts great thought and wit into his boxes...

 He was at the Salon as always to chat with consumers...

 Boissier does the prettiest boxes. I'd love to visit their salon de the in the 16th...

 More faux macarons - these are really almond candies/calissons d'Aix -

 Real chocolate-dipped macarons in a plain see-thru box - miam

 Box-shaped chocolate snacks were provided for 'professional' viewers at the Salon by Lenotre - how we suffered...

Do you want to see more Paris candy boxes?

I have more to show :)

Book, Nook, Kindle?

More often than not when I visit the musee Louvre I avoid the lines...

And go instead to the Louvre bookstore under the pyramid.

It's never too crowded...

You can check out other exhibition catalogs on in Paris...

I'm a book-aholic. I love bookstores. I'll never give them up.

But I decided finally to give in and get a Kindle.

There will be books I won't be able to read on it...

Or maybe not?

At least I'll finally be able to read in bed not just on the subway...

Pestering Kindle readers on the subway and reading La Table de Nana's kindle post made up my mind.It is lighter than carrying a book around...

It might be nice to have some travel books in my bag in Paris,

Like Thirza Vallois' guide to the 1-6 arrondissements...

One thing you can't do with a Nook, iPad or Kindle is rest your hot teacup and macarons on it...

Do you LOVE your E-Readers PBers?

Do tell all!

Tarte Fine

 Tarte Fine au Pomme, watercolor, 9" x 11"

 To find a tarte fine aux pomme in Paris look for glass paintings near the doorway of cows, chefs, wheat sowers etc....

 Your everyday, no-name, corner, neighborhood patisserie like this one (on rue martyr 75009) will have les tartes fines...

 Basically a tarte fine is a flattened round crust (usually pate sucre or feuilletee) layered with multiply thin slices of fruit in a spiral pattern. It can be savory as well with tomate/aubergine/basilica etc.

 The top is liberally painted with a brush full of abricotage (apricot jam glaze).

 The tarte fine comes in 'individual' sizes or family size. Not so pretty an example here but it tasted divine I assure you...chomp chomp

 Usually your tarte will be wrapped in pretty fruit- decorated paper that acts as dual napkin/holder...

 You will not find many tarte fine in high-end 'couture' patisseries like Fauchon, Herme, Lenotre, though their pastry chefs learned their tarte skills at their grand-mere's knee bien sur. Is it a snob thing?

 If you see chef figurines inside a Paris pastry shop, you'll see tarte fine too...

 Hand-written ardoise/blackboards announce the fruit flavors of-the-day...

 A tarte fine aux fruits makes a great 4 o'clock snack in my opinion - the next best thing to eating an apple...

Sometimes it comes in an adorable illustrated pastry bag worth collecting if you're into Paris trash...

What's not to love about la tarte fine?

Collecting Paris Ducks

 Collecting ducks in Paris...

 Doesn't cost a euro...

 Unless you're into foie gras...ahem

 No ducks in fromagerie Barthelemy's vitrine, just cheese and chickens...

 Easter time brings out a gaggle of geese in Paris bien sur...

 You can find canard a foie gras anytime but especially at New Years...

 I wonder who makes all these darling ducks..?

 A duckling nightlight would be fun...

 Real farm ducks (and goats) come to Montmartre Sundays for the kids. Not in New York...

eCollegeFinder has made me a contender for a Top Writing Blog award! Who knew? You can vote for me here as many times as you like until Feb 3 :)

Merci en avance

Combien?

 Prices are always clearly posted in Paris/France merci dieu.

 I think it's the law. Particularly when it comes to bread/pain the government sets the prices/prix and they MUST be posted in the window/vitrine no less. Ha! Try and find this in the US anywhere. So many places don't post prices. It's a snob thing here...

 Even the fanciest places like patisserie Christian Constant post their prices loud and clear. It does make the decision process easier don't you think?

 Lunch blackboards/ardoises in the street are a great aide...

 If you see the word 'formule' in a lunchtime menu - that's the best thing to order. The best deal for what was bought fresh from the market that day. Everyone around you (if they're French) will be eating it. It makes sense and cents.

 At the creperie there are so many prices you could go nuts. As a rule when I'm abroad I think of 10 euros or pounds like $10. It's the standard everywhere and easier than checking dollars on your calculator. Forgetaboutit.

 I adore French signs...

 Some of them are quite artful and personal like at the market/marche...

 Here the flowers are nicer than the signs or porte-etiquettes...

 High-end Pain du Sucre tells you how much that verrine is going to hurt yr purse...

 The variety of price signs fascinates me endlessly..I could look and look

 Here the price sign is popped right in the middle of the tarte! Does it come with the tarte too?

I wouldn't mind being this woman in Montmartre for a day putting up price signs. Maybe then I'd get this obsession out of my system...

BONJOUR LE PRIX!