I love Sundays in Paris. In my quartier it is the big market day and my butcher, boulangerie, organic green grocer and small supermarket are all open so I go shopping for Sunday lunch.
I grew up with Sunday lunch. After church we would share lunch with family and friends a tradition all but lost in the Anglo-Saxon world that still thrives in France. By 1pm the market and stores are closed and everybody returns home for lunch. Not a sandwich but a proper meal - first an aperitif perhaps with olives and sausage, then an entree, main course, cheese and dessert, while wine and conversation flow. After lunch a postprandial stroll in the park, like the Luxembourg gardens pictured here, is a popular choice. Luxembourg offers a range activities; tennis for the energetic, boules for the less so and often a local band for those seeking musical entertainment. For the children there are horse rides, playgrounds and a lake where they can sail the wooden sailboats with nothing more than a wooden stick to set them en route.
All this contrasts with the craziness of North American life where Sundays are no longer distinguishable from the rest of the week.
Let's all make a resolution to stop for lunch, a real home cooked lunch, on Sunday and slow down our lives down.
This will probably be my last Sunday post.
2 comments:
What a lovely post. I have been reading your blog for a while, but this is my first comment. It is my dream to go to Paris one day. Thank you for sharing!
Juliana
Just back from Paris as well. It's a great city that I appreciated more this time around by venturing about on foot and by avoiding the major sights (Eiffel Tower, Louvre) and associated long queues! I found it to be very pricey but the supermarkets were my saviour, enabling me to have a lunch of bread and cheese for a couple of euro's. And so much for the typical French rudeness that I had expected ... every one I spoke to was very happy and polite!
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