An artist and a baker

He is first an artist, then a baker. This is what Bruno, the man who plies students and passers-by alike with his pastries and tarts from his boulangerie on rue St.Jacques in the sixth arrondissement tells me. For the first month while making my way to my French class, I would quickly slip in and buy a little something from his abundant and delightful pastries. He experiments well with his fillings, a simple croissant becomes a nut and fruit, or pear-filled, or cheese and nut. His muffins are on one day olive and bacon, on another spinach and cheese; not to mention his tarts - which were also my staple until I decided it may be best to admire Bruno's work from afar.

Ice-skating at the Grand Palais

The last time I was at the Grand Palais, under its expansive nave, was for the Monumenta 2012 exhibition. Yesterday we went for the ice-skating. We went early, armed with our pre-purchased tickets, and prepped for a morning of fun. I had my children and two of their friends, with varying degrees of skating experience. We lasted two hours. It was enjoyable enough, the older children had more fun, whilst the younger ones seemed a bit intimidated by the larger rink and the number of people there - they stayed close to me on the 'young children / amateur side'.

CirkAfrica transports us home

So off to the circus we went again. This time around, it was pure acrobat-infused fun, sans les animaux. I didn't realise how obtuse I had been about the use of animals in circuses until my daughter pointed out the cruelty of it all after another circus trip (shame on me!). More recently, when I mentioned to a friend that I was taking my children to the circus the very first thing out of his mouth was: Sans les animaux bien sûr (Without animals of course).  Oui, bien sûr! I think I can safely say the past month has made me a lot more aware of animal cruelty issues.

Books: BLACK ORCHIDS by Gillian Slovo

Title: Black Orchids        
Author: Gillian Slovo
Genre: Fiction
Published: 2008

I enjoyed Black Orchids, a story dealing with race and set in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and England from the 1940s through to the 1960s. It is a story of the white Evelyn, raised in the then Ceylon as a child of a diplomat father. Her family's life changes when Ceylon is granted independence - leaving the family with having to return to England.

Quick dining at the Relais de l'Entrecôte

I had not really wanted to linger after our meal, but we found that the Relais de l'Entrecôte does not lend itself to that type of slow dining anyway. If you're looking for the kind of place where a midday lunch turns into a late afternoon, and a bottle of wine disappears long before the conversation ends - try some place else. The service is efficient - think conveyor belt efficiency. You wait -inside if you're early but most likely outside - in a winding long queue, to be seated so you can have a salad, their famous entrecôte and pomme allumettes - string fries. That's the sum of the menu.