Paris Accommodation – Special Apartments

Finding the perfect Paris holiday apartment is a problem most of us wished we had more often.
Luckily work takes me to Paris every year or so.

I want to share with you my secret Parisien pied a terre.

This apartment in the 2nd Arrondisement is wonderfully decorated and so comfortable – for one, a couple –  or with a pull-out sofa in the lounge a family of four can be easily accommodated.

Special Apartments choose all their apartments very carefully. They are all extremely well-presented, immaculately clean and filled with little homely treasures. And very reasonably priced especially with the current exchange rates.

I love the dramatic theatrics of this space.

The four room apartment is accessed by a lift making lugging your suitcases a little easier on the back.

Exceptionally comfortable bed and heavenly pillows..

And again stylishly selected fabrics, occasional chairs and accessories.

The fireplaces are purely aesthetic. There is a very effective ducted heater and airconditioner in the lounge.

The bathroom is small but functional.

The shower has a strong rose of hot water

The vanity has a cupboard underneath with plenty of room for your toiletries.

aaahhhhh…. the kitchen. The essential ingredient in any Parisien apartment just near the main fresh food markets on Rue Montorgueil.

Lovely roomy kitchen table

all the mod cons including a fabulous gas stove and electric oven

I actually threw a dinner party here for my Paris friends. Fresh organic barbecued chicken, a large tossed salad and apple tart for dessert.

Whether you’re looking for digs for the night or for an extended holiday this Special Apartment ticks all my boxes.

Check out Saucy’s post in 2010 about the Rue de Montorgueil food markets nearby and I can almost guarantee you’ll be booking that holiday to Paris like a flash.

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Saucy Onion stayed as a guest of Special Apartments.

Paris – Eurostar Bomb Scare

Well my last day in Europe and as it turns out my most eventful day……

My Eurostar train from Paris’s Gare du Nord to London (so I can catch my Qantas flight back to Sydney) has been delayed!

French police arrive….

And after a lot of hushed conversations in French…. we’re told that there has been a bomb scare and the train will be delayed while they investigate!!! Yikes!!!!!

So we wait… and wait …. and wait….

It’s going to be touch and go to make my London flight.

And finally after an hour’s delay the train is given the all clear. Apparently a WW2 digger left an old unexploded armament on the train after attending a commemoration ceremony. It’s harmless.

But will I make my flight in time?

Paris – Vincennes Markets

Ahhh….. Barcelona is but a dream now. We’re back in Paris in the suburb of Vincennes where Laure lives with her partner Leo.

Hi Leo!

We’re shopping for lunch. I know – sorry to subject you to yet ANOTHER market. Can you tell I’m obssessed?

Beautiful blooms…..

… delicious salamis and wines from the rugged mountains of Corsica (Laure’s home island). We bought some wild boar saucisson

 under the menacing eye of this Corsican stallholder.

But it was the melons we were looking for. June is peak season for France’s famous Cavaillon melons grown in the rich soils of Provenance.

They have the most bewitching perfume simliar to Turkish delight…

And a juicy flesh like no melon you’ve tasted before…

And for lunch we feasted like kings……. on Cavaillon melon, Spanish jamon from Barcelona, fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese with tomato and basil and French champagne.

Au revoir Paris!

Paris – L’Epigramme Restaurant

Lunch today is at a

tiny bistro in the 6th Arrondissement called L’Epigramme. It seats just 30 people.

I’m dining with my dear friend Duncan who always finds a little gem for lunch when I visit.

For starters I select the foie gras with fig jam. Surprisingly light.

Duncan has a goats curd cheese with an eggplant and red pepper ragout.

Then onto some roast  veal with vegetables and a sticky jus…

And Duncan dives into the offal – grilled kidneys with a mustard mash.

Not much room for dessert but we squeeze in some fruit jellied in red wine with a piece of fruit cake.

All meals delicious, understated but executed with panache.

Paris, Rue Montorgueil Markets

Paris has a food market on nearly every street corner.

But my favourite market street is Rue Montorgueil in Les Halles which is a frission of people and fresh food.

 I am staying in an apartment a few streets away.

There are many food shops but the market shops are only opened from Tuesday to Saturday.

Everything is beautifully displayed on a street with oodles of atmospherre and character.

Parisiens are obssessed with good quality ingredients and will only buy

the freshest and tastiest poduce.

Of course cheese must be eaten every day.

And the range is truly spectacular from the smellies through to the hard cheeses.

Vegetable displays are works of art.

It’s ceps (mushroom) season at the moment.

These globe artichokes smelt so fresh.

Chickens are sold with heads and feet still attached so customers can see how fresh they are.

Like Berliners the bicycle is the transport of choice for many Parisiens

The mosaic tiles of the walkway

And of course when the shopping is done it’s time for some people-watching and a kir royale.