Les Bouquinistes Paris map, Notre Dame letter

PBer Bonnie was surprised I had never done a map of les Bouquinistes /booksellers along the Seine(sent out last week btw).

But I only started sketching them this summer. Plus chatting with bouqiniste B.near Pont Sully (who appears on the map 5x - find her).

Call me a copycat but I bought her men's denim jacket at the monthly 1st-Sunday Vide Grenier at Jussieu last weekend (a mere 5 bucks). Most of the open air booksellers have a command of many languages. 

Marquis de Ravel AKA MATHIAS even speaks Chinese. His terrific figurative sketches are on offer as well as his specialty, French history books. 

He mentioned that my book readers reminded him of Le Petit Prince with their flying scarves. 

Paris' bouquinistes used to line the Pont Neuf back in the 1600s. 

During the French revolution when the great mansions were vandalized their libraries often ended up  on the outdoor shelves of the bouquinistes. Looking at the old photos and today, not so much as changed.

This is an element of the old Paris anyone can enjoy by simply by strolling along the quais of the Seine between 10 and 6 pm. And its free to browse. In 1992 UNESCO designated the booksellers a world heritage site. Say, "Bonjour" as you would inside any French shop before browsing or taking pictures. And buy a book bag (5€). They lead rather eclectic lives being outdoors most of the time yet are quite friendly. 

Lots of fun stories to tell too. B. told me she and her friends used to walk right inside any of the big houses on the Ile Saint-Louis other side of the bridge. There were no digi-code plaques back then to deter them. 

The September Paris letter went out in la poste today. Hooray (Please Mr/Ms US Post person) may they 💌 arrive during September without a hitch 🤞🏼🙏🏻🤞🏼 Thanks for reading and sharing Parisbreakfast. Paris letter and maps subscriptions + watercolors are in my Etsy shop. With love💋from Paris🐻📚

Sennelier, Paris

On Friday I ran to art shop Sennelier for a fresh pen. A 'heritage monument' to art supplies you shouldn't miss on 3, quai de Voltaire. Bus 87 stops nearby.

It hasn't changed much since 1887.

By the way they still take a break for lunch like French country stores, so take note.

They're situated conveniently a 10-minute walk across Pont de Carrousel from the Louvre as reflected in their front windows.

Art students, busy making copies of the old masters onsite,  could race over and grab a tube of paint or stick of charcoal at the break. I used to grab M&Ms chocolate-covered peanuts at the class break but that's another story.

These numbered drawers have 'old days' written all over them. I'd love to  peek inside.

Sennelier has a terrific selection of Frenchie-looking journals for non-artists as well.

Someone asked what pen I use. Pens are a personal thing. Every time I've bought someone else's favorite pen it didn't work for me. One prefers not to think of the $$$ wasted on other people's choices...ahem. One flight up you'll find almost every pen on the planet. Test them out. 

The array of colors everywhere.

Always brighten my day.

Around the corner on rue de Saint-Péres you'll find the perfect art student outfit. The 95 bus will to take you back to realité.

Thanks for reading and sharing Parisbreakfast. 

Subscription Paris letters 💌, maps & watercolors are in my Etsy shop. With love💋from Paris🐻🎨

Le Chariot à Glaces

Yes it is HOT in Paris (90 degrees). But not as hot as July (104 degrees). The buses were free yesterday (so Parisians won't faint in the street)? What better antidote to the heat then ice cream/glace? 

On Saturday post-pool I went to the new Pierre Hermé cafe at Odeon, 125 bd Saint Germain. They have an chariot à glaces outside. All flavors are based on Hermé's macarons. I got the 'Montebello'; pistachio + strawberry (3€) 'Ispahan'; rose, raspberry, litchi is their most popular. Inquiring minds etc.

The smallest size goes down fast. Go bigger. Paris is 'Ice Cream City' second only to any town in Italy.

Paris is first when it comes to chariots, ice cream or other-wise. Tell me this isn't so. Daily I have been hunting ice cream. 

Sunday I bought small pots to paint from Picard,(no chariot) the frozen food specialist (2€ each). Their cerise/griotte studded with black cherries is divine. Blueberry/mure - a good runner-up. 

I saved my Hermé orange cup for painting still lives. 

Yesterday I made chariot de glaces rounds in the 6th arron.

Lots of chariot de glaces in sight.

I ended up with an all-pistache from Grom (who has no chariot de glaces). You're entitled to 2 flavors. I have not tried any other flavor in 12 years. Call me unadventurous. If Pozzetto was next door like they are on rue de roi de Sicile, their pistachio wins the day.  Suggestions for today's ice cream are welcome. Thanks for reading and sharing Parisbreakfast. Subscription Paris letters 💌, maps and ice cream chariot Paris Map are in my Etsy shop. With love💋from Paris🐻🍦

August Impressionistes map, Bouillon Chartier Montparnasse

After deep immersion in Van Gogh and tomatoes next up -Impressionists - Thanks to Li Chen for suggesting this month's map 💡 idea. Let me know it you have any burning map ideas 💡 

August Paris letter, Tarte à la Moutarde aux Tomates

There's no ignoring the August tomato 🍅 

*HOT TIP JUST IN* from Kate Hill Camont "After rolling out the pastry, brush it with a beaten egg mixed with mustard and set aside to dry. This is a little secret to avoid a soggy bottom". If only I'd known...next time. Put your irons away.

Immersion in Paris. 

They come at you in every color of the rainbow . Red, yellow, green, violet. No blue yet but I bet they're working on it. Its no surprise I've done many tomato Paris letters. 

I love painting them almost more than eating them. 

When David Lebovitz put up a tomato tarte recipe 

Action was be taken. 

I went with his older, simpler tarte with slices of chevre on top.

Warning: get your chèvre from a fromagerie.

Not the supermarché. The taste will be superior. Following recipes is not my forté.

I should have 'ironed' the slices. Or at least drained them in a colander as David suggests. Then place on paper towels. My tarte had a soggy bottom 😳 The crust was easy, peasy store-bought Herta pâté brisée. The cooked edges tasted as good as a cookie. Now go make a tarte à la moutarde aux tomato PBers! 

I’m Carol Gillott, an artist living in Paris. Every month I send out beautifully illustrated letters that capture the true Parisian experience. Sign up to receive these whimsical treasures in the mail.

Thanks for reading PB 🍅

☕️ If you’d like to support my work, you can buy me a KO-FI here  ☕️  🍅 

Imagine Van Gogh, Le Havre

Earlier in the week Lois Bender and I ran up to Le Havre for the day (a 2 hr train ride) to see the Imagine Van Gogh Immersive on till September 1 at Carée de Docks and just a short walk from the train station. We went to see the Dufy Retrospective at the Musee d'art moderne André Malraux later but that's another story. Le Havre is always a shock. Completely flattened in WWII. Industrial but with a wonderful harbor full of boats of all sizes. Of course I saw the l'Atelier  des Lumieres Van Gogh show in Paris, but something drew me to see the Le Havre version.

And I was right. It was a much more immersive experience showing 200 paintings large scale.

And I preferred the all-classical, mostly French background music .

Simply perfection.

It would have been nice to have seats like the Paris animation but then maybe people would stay all day instead of 30-40 minutes.

I sat on the floor like others and let the experience float over me. Deeply emotional.

It was good to see related images (like groupings of his sunflowers) instead of just one image repeated in varying sizes. More immersive that way.

Naturally I felt compelled to get out 'Vincent's bedroom' and paint it again and again.

Food-wise we hit it lucky. I had been dreaming of a seafood shack like Surf City, NJ etc. While traipsing over to the Dufy exhibit (everyone told us, "Oh its only a 5-10-15 minute walk"). It seemed more like 35. We stumbled on a small place sitting right next to the fish markelt, Bistrot du P'tit Port. Very unassuming to look at but when I saw the lunch formule (18,50€) included a starter of fruits de mer + moules (or fish)I was happy as a clam. Trip Advisor gives it a 47 out of 148 Le Havre restos. Top that! (Proper cherrystone clams are so damn hard to find in France. Its deeply frustrating, though they do have them in Amsterdam so all is not lost). Thanks for reading and sharing Parisbreakfast. Subscription Paris letters 💌, maps and watercolors are in my Etsy shop. With love💋from Paris🐻