Les chouchous

Given my recent post, I feel that I’ve come off as unfairly negative towards France. It’s not true! There are definitely some things I like! Despite the awful UHT milk and 8€ pints!

Take today, for example.

Crossing this bridge, and looking at all the locks stuck on here as a monument to the True Love of many many couples (except those that used combination locks. Come on!), I was struck by how damn Parisian it all looked. In a good way, of course.

Great Thing #2 was this store, which was positively stuffed with kitchen things. Copper pots and pans, itty-bitty little ramekins, whisks of all shapes and sizes, a Dutch oven large enough to cook a labrador-sized pot roast…it was awesome and confusing all at once. Especially when the salesguy, realizing we were Americans, just started throwing random celebrity names at us, starting inexplicably with Justin Bieber.

The point is, I’m going back there next week to buy myself a 50€ knife, and damned if I’m not excited to do it.

And finally, I have an incurable fondness for the Monoprix store-brand canned goods. The design is super snappy and very typographical, and I enjoy the little quip at the bottom that says “When we’re bored, we peel tomatoes.” I’m glad you do that for me, Monoprix guys. Merci beaucoup.