Pauvre Bear. I tried to include Bear in the new Paris Bonbon Letter but he didn't make the cut
A lot of intense back-to-school research went on the past 2 weeks in ParisBreakfast studio.
And a lot of candy was eaten. Some of it before I got to paint it, so replacements were bought🙄
When you travel round France you MUST try local specialties. Even if you hate/déteste boiled sweets (les sucres cuits) it's a great way to get flavors & culture of each region. Classic French candies (70 varieties) are bound up with French childhood. It's not enough to tie your scarf 🧣 correctly.
Paris has small candy shops specializing in regional candies if you can't travel into France profond. Les Bonbons at 6, rue Brea 75014 is closet-sized, packed with treasures.
Adorable tins in their window.
A child’s wagon of les roudoudous in their window.
Along with researching candy shops all over Paris
Graphics in old schoolbooks are entrancing.
Ask any French person for their "madeleine de Proust". They will dream of favorite sweets of their childhood.
Et voila! Right under big jars of regional candy, the answer to my Paris letter prayers🙏
A cahier (school notebook) of owner Georges Marques, when he was 10. The perfect design format for my letter. Georges lent me this precious notebook. the Bergamot bonbon on the left side. yes I misspelled Bergamot...
There is an NEW SHIPPING DEPARTMENT at ParisBreakfast Studio, faster, more orderly, better spelling (hahahaha)🤞🙏 Bon Dimanche!
There is an NEW SHIPPING DEPARTMENT at ParisBreakfast Studio, faster, more orderly, better spelling (hahahaha)🤞🙏
Bon Dimanche!
Sugar shock!! Darling drawings of Bear---so sorry he didn't make the letter. And French handwriting? I love it, even though interpreting it can be a challenge.
ReplyDeleteYou can't eat too many at one sitting of these...
Deletehow wonderful that he loaned you the (60-year-old??) notebook of his school friend!!! What a serendipitous bit of inspiration.
ReplyDeleteBery lucky indeed after wracking my brains trying to solve the composition. I just blew up a page at the copy shop and finally knucled down to it. It went so fast after a lot of daudling...
DeleteSuch a cute post..smitten with the books..I bought some cahiers ..and printed up examples..would love to teach the boys to write the way I was taught..
ReplyDeleteSeems like such a lost art in schools now.
Bear was pretty cute in your art..he didn't make it..
Is he sulking?:)
They do still teach handwriting here. Al the pots of ink and pens and blotters and notebooks. No wonder the entire family turns out to decide what color notebook to buy. I'm sure the discipline effects many other elements in French life...the orderlyness for example.
DeleteYou are right.. to me it is a lovely discipline..the art of writing well.
DeleteOh my ... Those Bon bons! Love the vintage calligraphy books..not to mention the pretty assemblage. Over the years it's sad to notice how the US has lost so many candy shops. One more thing that makes Paris so wonderful - Paris lives and breathes embracing its past!
ReplyDeleteSo true Geri...Paris/France embraces its past with open arms.
DeleteYay on the bigger envelope -- I hang them all -- sometimes several at a time because I can't bear to take them down! Poor, sweet Bear. His time will come! And I loved all your research sites and those fabulous books! Can't wait!
ReplyDeleteI would love a box of candies with a taste of every region. Doesn't that sound delicious?
ReplyDeleteSadly they are no longer teaching children cursive in SoCal. I just think that is the saddest story I ever heard. When I asked why they said they did not have time in the curriculum.
Madonna
MakeMineLemon
Le Bonbon au Palais does have little bags with maybe one each of many regional candies.
DeleteI forgot to mention that Ronelle van Wyk is also a watercolor artist. Her blogs are, "My French Kitchen," "African Tapestry," and "Coin Perdu." Perhaps you already read her blogs. She lives in an
ReplyDeleteold French barn that they have been remodeling for several years.
Wonderful candy stop in Paris, Carol. I'd certainly 'begalot' for them too! What a honey George is and what a cahier he had. Imagine keeping that from school. Never thought of going to Vichy for the candy containers - you know me, I much prefer the er, water ;-)
ReplyDeleteLove that old schoolbook! You bear sole responsibility for the 4 jars of French candies in my pantry. After reading about them, I could not resist when I found them on Amazon. And they come with a bonus: I am not tempted to eat them en masse...one or two at a time is just fine with hard candies! And I got a decent oil painting out of them! Merci!
ReplyDeletegreat news about the envelope - I want to frame mine!
ReplyDelete'Marshmallow immersion' could be a sticky affair but it's worth trying once for sure. Straight fromRoald Dale's tales of Charley and the chocolate factory no?
ReplyDeleteLove the precious original cahier, the wagon, the abécédaires....and Bear: I LOVE the drawings of sweet friend, Bear & hope to see more, OK? Since I can't eat bonbons, I glance quickly at your photos of them. The colors sure are pretty. But alphabet letters in French écriture, THEY are, to my eyes, DELICIOUS!! Your bonbon letter is adorable.
ReplyDeleteMemories of Montellimar - nougat capital of the world circa 1978....
ReplyDeleteloved this wonderful sweetie/childhood wander down memory lane.
Such wonderful pictures of 'temps perdu'.
Much love e and Buster
Photos to die for and beautifully composed post.
ReplyDeleteI love the vintage poster art; nice one, Carol!
LOVE Your post :)
ReplyDeleteWow ! you really have done your research , love every bit of info. My son in law has passed on his childhood memories of bon-bons to our grandchildren after living in Paris during his early years. It's lovely to see the tradition carried on.
ReplyDeleteCarol, where oh where to begin in commenting on this sweets post.
ReplyDeleteFirst, be patient Bear. You are not only photogenic, but also have great graphic potential. Ask Carol if somewhere in Paris might be a place that will createa stamp made of rubber with your portrait, that might be applied to a stamp pad...in whatever color you might prefer, dear Bear. I see your image possibly appearing on every single Paris in your mailbox envelope.
I am in awe of that French map of regional sweets. Now there is a tour to take. It might be advisible to check with your dentist in advance, but come on, wouldn't this be an amazing trek?
The early introduction to beautiful French cursive handwriting is something that I would hope will never be taken over by any computer. Carol, as you might remember, your posts have encouraged me to renew my attempts to have a fine handwriting.
Today was primary election day in NYC and so over to the neighborhood school I went, to sign the page where my almost 30-years-ago recorded signature loomed above the blank line for today's pen.
I cannot tell you how much I liked seeing that today's penmanship didn't look so shabby.
Carol, I am sure that there was more I meant to write, but will leave this comment box with what's already typed. xo
Hello
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say that yellow "Chanel" jacket is in fact from Zara ss 2014 collection... my wife has one ...just thought you would like to know that lady tried to fool you...
I love your blog...