Duke of York Square Market, Chelsea

Saturday morning Bear has a full English (breakfast) for starters.

Then a walk through classy, classic Chelsea over to Kings road, always busy on Saturdays.

Bear gazes into a trés British vet window with Staffordshire cats and fancy bronze bulldogs. Only in London.

I gaze into a fashion window to see what they are wearing. Not shown here but Hello, over-the-knee boots are in PBers!

At last we reach the weekly Saturday yummy Duke of York Square Market at 31 Kings Road. This is a don't-miss if you're visiting London in my opinion.

Loaded with artisan ready-to-eat on the spot exotic foods.

Of course there will always be fish n' chips

What are hobnuts? Maybe fresh hazelnuts? I taste a sample. Lots of available samples. Unlike French markets, you are not obliged to buy if you take a sample.

Get kissed by a chevre/goat.

Which gorgeous cake to buy? Hmm...

British cakes are definitely gorgeous and Huge. I'm waiting till I see everything before I decide.

Real doughnuts! You don't see these yet in Paris. They have em but they aren't the REAL thing.

Real cookies too. Don't know why exactly but the French have not figured out the cookie yet in my opinion. They all look underbaked. Hope no one French is reading this...ahem

What is this? Looks delish anyway.

This is a buy and eat right now market. Very unFrench but very fun. Almost no one is without a plastic fork in hand.

I finally decide on Maldon oysters. 6 for 6£

OMG These may be the best oysters I've eaten all year. Fresh and bright. Big too. An absolute Must-have!

Always stunning flower stalls in London. I just make my Eurostar by 5 minutes. They decided to close So.Kensington station and we all must shlep over to Gloucester Road station a so-called 7 minutes away. I'm deeply regretting my 2 kilo bag of Braeburn apples. Why can't I find a tart, crunchy apple in Paris? SOS if you know of one. Back in Paris, in a thrice on the all-new Eurostar train with wifi no less, I find Pont Marie lit up Kelly green and a jazz band playing by the Seine. Is it St. Pattie's Day? Give the French a reason to celebrate and they will run with it. C'est la vie. Thanks for reading Parisbreakfast!

National Gallery, London

Bear who always has the travel bug, insisted we go off to London for a 3-dayer respite.

Naturally we took in a few of the classic sights like Piccadilly Circus etc.

London theatres are so tempting are they not?

At last an overdue visit to the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square

The hot show in town is the Caravaggio and his copycats

Awfully dark for my tastes. To quote the educational video,"blanketed in black". You be the judge.

But the Nat Gallery's own collection is dazzling, and you can take all the pictures you want. No selfie sticks Please.

One masterpiece after another. Here a great Rubens.

Dutch still lifes

And tons of Velasquez. Who knew?

I was surprised by this Velasquez genre scene. I'm used to seeing the portraits mainly.

A closer look reveals wonderfully lively figures

The best way to understand what you're seeing is to try to sketch it in any medium. And it doesn't matter how crude or simple your attempt. You will learn Tons. See how the black hats are almost a syncopated pattern that leads your eye around the picture. And he's placed the main primaries;yellow-red-blue right next to each other. A terrific eye-catcher. The man knew his color wheel. I missed all this as I waltzed by in normal gallery Fashion. But you will see so much more with a quick doodle at home or on the spot. Try it. You'll like it I promise.

The National Gallery's gift shop is already for Christmas with trees based on paintings in their collection.

The Wilton diptych Madonna makes for a lovely tree and pillows.

Hmm...Bear liked this doubledecker better.

Want to look seriously Baroque?

Grab yourself a stunning bejeweled necklace in their shop. I was tempted. I did look long and hard at all the wonderful pup portraits in the various masterpieces. Hmmm...Iwould love my pup portraits to come close to this one. Dream on Carol :))

Bear is off to the Birmingham Art fair today. Thanks for reading Parisbreakfast! If you like this post and want to support it, buy Paris letters and watercolors or forward to someone who might enjoy it. 

Cheers!

Jill Butler, La Palette, Meert, Gout de Brioche

Last week designer-artist Jill Butler came to town. Do you know her adorable books and artwork?

My first visit to La Palette at 43, rue de Seine, 75006 but a favorite hangout of Jill's from her Paris days.

I would give their hot chocolate a 4

But for ambience and decor they get a 10. Trés branché evidently...

Jill included the above wall ceramic in her terrific book, Wandering Paris. You'll find her perfectly-sized-for-travel books on amazon or her site.

Jill gabs away in French.

I insist on taking Jill into Meert around the corner at 3, rue Jacques Callot.

Jill bites into her first Meert gaufre.

We get a private view inside Meert's chocolate Halloween pumpkin. Heaven.

We part ways and as I'm walking up rue Mazarine (#54) this amazing brioche thing in the window calls out my name.

I've been meaning to visit guy savoy's Gout de Brioche. The pastry is a secret combination of brioche and feuilletee (classic puff pastry). Its madly puffy and so tempting.

Instead I go for the 'briche' (a combo of quiche and brioche) with roasted duck on top. You could get salmon or spinach with parmigiano. Trés delish..the perfect lunch.

A trés chic shop.

I'm desperately seeking to get orderly thanks to Jill's Butler organizing station. Fingers crossed. Thanks for reading Parisbreakfast! If you like this post and want to support it, buy Paris letters and watercolors or forward to someone who might enjoy it. Cheers!