Walking In The Colorful 16th Arrondissement
Every day, I love to explore another area of Paris
and there are some wonderful neighborhoods that not many
tourists are aware of. The 16th arrondissement is on the right
bank next to the Trocadero and opposite the Eiffel Tower.
The 16th is primarily a lovely residential neighborhood without
the tourist's attractions of the other parts of Paris.
To get to the 16th from our apartment, we walk three blocks
to the Bir-Hakeim bridge to cross the Seine River.
The subway trains also cross on the top part of the bridge as you
might have seen in the movie, "Last Tango In Paris." In the
middle, is a little parkette where you can sit and watch the
boats motor up the Seine.
There are lots of wonderful little shops on the rue Passy
and more patisseries than you wish there were. The
Parisians display their tarts and pastries like they were
in a painting. There was lots of red in the windows today
because many of the pastries were covered with
fresh fraises (strawberries).
And I have also noted that many of the patisseries are
painted a warm yellow and orange. The colors are so
welcoming and just pull you into the shops.
Don't go to Paris unless you love food.
The vegetable shops display all the freshest food
in season and right now, the white asparagus is
plentiful. It is such a sweet delicious treat.
What makes each bistro or brasserie so unique
are their colorful café chairs. Most Parisians love to sit
outside no matter how chilly it might be. There are large
heaters keeping the Parisian café society warm.
You can sit for as long as you like and I do.
The residents of the 16th are generally well-to-do Parisians.
There are quite a number of high end shops and smaller
versions of the famous gourmet shops
of the more central arrondissements. Hediard is a beautiful
store of high end foods. One knows it is Spring because of their
packaging of the teas, champagne, and
chocolates in beautiful flowery attire.
Even the old buildings along the street are dressed
in lovely woods, beautiful tile work and the lovely
fonts of the French signage.
One of my favorite shops that you can find throughout Paris
is "La nom de la rose." Beautiful roses become
a part of the lovely scene outside each shop as the store is
best known for the rose petals that are sprinkled
on the ground like a carpet.
Our routine is walking for 2-3 hours in the morning,
stop for lunch and then back to exploring all the little
nooks and crannies of each arrondissement. Mid afternoon,
we take a little break at a patisserie to have a café americano and
a delicious sweet treat. This little chocolate tart with
a dab of gold doesn't look as special as Tony's neopolitan noisette
but I have never tasted such beautiful rich chocolate.
When in Paris, get off the beaten tourist path and
discover how the Parisians live. It's much more
fun to see what it is like to live in Paris.
