Montmartre Paris

After Lausanne, we took the TGV high-speed train to Paris - about 3.2 hours.
Perhaps the complexity of this trip contributed to its hiccups: forgot my wallet (realized as I stepped out of the car at LAX) and I misplaced the TGV train tickets (not an eticket). Happy outcomes for both, as evidenced by Jack doing his beloved Kumon on the train to the Gare de Lyon.

Paris has seen the rise of quality restaurant chains and celebrity chefs, a la Wolfgang Puck. Eric Kayser is an upcoming baker/patisserie chef whose cafes dot the city, driving out of business mom & pop establishments. But the goods are consistently amazing, so it's a tough call for Parisians and tourists!

Our apartment was in the St Germaine district, pretty handy for museums and busy shopping streets, which we explored the first morning.

I did like the high premium placed on style, generally.

This chocolatier featured its molds as wall art. Chocolate watches! There was also a map indicating the origins of various cacao. People seem very interested in tracking the history of goods; a consumerism focused on lineage, authenticity.

I loved the neighborhood fish market...

and the shop's lovely fish scale tile facade.

After tanking up at EK's we set off for the Montmartre district, historically an artists quarter since the 1800s; now a charming tourist spot,

where people have portraits done:Monmartre is the highest point in Paris; we took an elevator up from the subway and had a nice view of the Eiffel

Sacred Heart Basilica at the top of Montmartre.

Montmartre was also a source for gypsum, used in making plaster ("Plaster of Paris").

My little handheld GPS was going to be the ticket for getting around, but NEVER got a satellite signal in the city. Worked in Switzerland fine, so was it too many buildings? Taxi's GPS worked fine though.
"Beat" Takeshi Kitano, a renowned Japanese film director, has been honored the highest cultural recognition by France - Commander of Arts and Letters - in keeping with a 130 year relationship between Japan and France, in terms of the arts.