MAX Homage

Photo of MAX by Merisi of http://merisi.blogspot.com

Did you ever fall madly in love and the object of your desire has no idea you exist?

Naturally you begin to see your loved one everywhere. And how endearing is it that your adored one is literate and likes sugar!
Every window beckons with images of the superb Maxie...
Multi-Maxes drive you even crazier with mad love!!!
And after a bit, any dog makes you think of MAX!

Find the MAX lurking here!

Not Max...

But certainly just as adored... Wait. Is that possible?

Another dear hound seen at the Jacques-Mart Andres musee but it's not dear Maxie...

You leave town, hoping to leave your obsession behind. No such luck. You see double Maxes at the puce in Provence :(
You think you see Max at the best antique show in Marseilles...wrong again!

Back in Paris you're haunted by the spector of Max, Max, Max in black and white...

Not Max, but you follow any hound in sight like a love sick fool.

Dear Maxie,

To think I had the chance to meet you in Vienna and passed it up. But then I didn't know of your existence. Next time I will be there like a shot loaded with the best dogbones.

Je pense a toi, Maxie...

Paris Greys

Staying with Paris fashion for another moment,

I felt I have to tell you that GREY is the color for Fall.

Audrey Hepburn is always all over Paris in many forms, but this is an innovative version in these grey handbags..non?

You wouldn't think grey rubber rain boots would be a fashion statement but you'd be wrong in Paris...

Grey flannel flats will do very nicely too... The windows at HELLO KITTY were full of grey... HELLO KITTY! Are you kidding me? Hey! do not turn up your nose. This shop is on Place Vandome down from THE RITZ. I admit I was a bit surprised too...ahem The layered look toute en grisIt's all over this town up the whazoo. The KEY accessory is a metalic leather bag/sac...Note this gold number with the grey stripped scarf flung over it...
Just stitch on a few odd buttons (grey of course) and you've got a fashion statement par excellance. Or you could mix your metalics...plenty of flats are still out there. Should I buy this one? Pas cher either - maybe 45 or 65 Euros. I forget which. I also forget where I took this picture :(This was the piece de resistance of my GREY research and a "stolen shot" on the Metro too! A bag made entirely of pop can openers!
Tres chic non?
I had Sunday tea with another blogger at Dalloyau.
She's lived in Paris a few years, put forth an interesting point:
Americans come to Paris and desperately want to dress like the French. And Americans desperately want to pass as French. I was of course, wearing my correctly knotted French scarf + a ton of grey/gris, while she was wearing a white cable knit V-neck "tennis" sweater = very AMERICAN! Naturally the whole world wants to dress "FRENCH" but what do you think of this phenomenon?

Comme Des Sardines Chocolat

On the first day of the Paris transit strike as M. and I crossed the Pont Neuf, we saw workers pour into the Metro. M. said they will be packing into the few trains available "comme des sardines". I said we have the same expression - "packed in like sardines"! M. was surprised, but it's a universal concept afterall.

At the Salon du Chocolat I saw lots of chocolate sardines stacked high. Herrings too.
 

They're all filled with rich chocolate ganache. These sardines will traditionally end up in many French Christmas stockings.All the chocolate fish were being sold at the Il de la Re Chocolats' stand, made on a popular resort island off the west coast of France near La Rochelle. Getting to the Salon du chocolat entailed stacking into the Metro... Very much like those chocolate sardines - The tin closes. Inside the sardines are mashed but for a good reason.

Their modus operendi is to avail themselves of the stacks...

And stacks of delicious chocolate waiting them at the Salon du Chocolat.

I've never seen so much chocolate!
Ah the smell of it.

The buyers are stacked up too.

Patiently waiting to buy their own stack of chocolate.

These two little sardines were.

Happily attending.
Chocolate class.

The BEST school ever.

(no pun intended)

Salon du Chocolat 2007

YAY! I made it to the Salon du Chocolat yesterday!

And I'm going back for MORE goodies today!

It lasts through Monday so hop on a plane and get over here, Toute a suite. and take the #4 line to the Porte d'Orleans terminus and then the free tramway 3 to Porte de Versaille. ET VOILA! easy as chocolate pie

It's so worth the trip.

Now ALL Paris Breakfast readers..What is this?
A cocoa bean or cabosse made of chocolate of course...sigh & YUM! Everyone is here. Chocolate makers from all over France. Including La Maison du Chocolat

AND you get to meet and chat with your favorite chocolate makers, like Sadaharu Aoki here feeding me a macaron! Does it get any better than this? Here Jean-Charles Rochoux shares all his chocolate secrets with a visitor

And Christophe Michalak of Le Plaza Athenee demonstrates making macarons.In fact they're making chocolate all over the Salon...And you say you're not that wild about chocolate? OK there's plenty of French fashion to take in...And chocolate jewelry, here by Lupin Lapin. I bought the ring with the cherry on top! :) And you can always read about chocolate... Or get some home-made jam from Le Jardin des Gourmandises... Foie gras sandwiches seem to be the thing to eat with your chocolate.

Pralus has a new paste of noisettes...much yummier than tooth paste.

And bar after bar of nougat

You could build a nice cabin with all the logs of guimauve lying around.

I saw the most fabulous fruity cakes at Le Grenier a Pain.

And of course you must have tea with your fruity cake.
And bien sur there are a gazillion macarons waiting for you. So it ain't just chocolate! What it's really about is, enterprising people following their dream to make something they're passionate about, whether it be chocolate, macarons or tea etc. They all have wonderful stories to tell and delicious things for you to taste. Some of the big global guys are here too, but this show is really about the small artisanal producer of food, who love they're craft and want to share it. So y'all come on down.

And if you can't make it this year, start planning to show up at next year's Salon du Chocolat. Meanwhile I'll have lots more to tell this week so stay tuned.