Day 9 - Shopping

At the last minute last night I decided not to go to the concert at La Madeleine.  I was really cold and just didn't want to go out into the cold night. Then, I discovered that the housekeeper had left one of the windows open under the drapery, so it didn't take long to get the room warmed up once I closed the window. I have a hard time going out at night once I have settled in for the evening anyway.

Today was a shopping day as I really haven't done any until now.  As mentioned in one of the earlier posts, the hotel is very close to a couple of "covered passages," so I walked that direction.  I discovered a third covered passage that connects to the others and is a short-cut of sorts.  The first shop I saw was a needle work shop, embroidery and counted cross stitch mostly, but they had fat-quarters!  I picked out 8 pretty fabrics at 3 euros each.  European fat-quarters are based on the meter, so are larger than ours, which are about 18 x 22 inches. For the uninitiated, a fat-quarter is a half-yard of fabric cut in half at the fold and provides more options for cutting than a 9-inch wide quarter-yard cut the width of fabric.

These covered passages were the forerunner to modern shopping malls.  They date back as early as the 1830s, back when streets were muddy and women wore long skirts.  The covered passages allowed them to shop under cover out of the weather.  There are only about 12 or so remaining and the shops in them are mostly one-of-a-kind, some specializing in just a few items.

I walked back to the hotel to leave my purchases, which included foie gras from the shop a couple of doors from the hotel. Then took the bus - three in fact - to go over to the Left Bank to a small Christmas Market near Notre Dame.  When transferring from one bus to another, I realized I was close to one of my favorite restaurants, so stopped for lunch at Ambassade d'Auvergne.  This was at least the fourth time I have eaten there.  I ordered the plat du jour, which was another duck confit, but this time served with aligot and a green lentil salad as a starter.  Aligot is a specialty of the Auvergne region and is potatoes, garlic, and cheese that is beaten until it is elastic.  The waiter often brings it to the table to demonstrate how elastic it really is by beating it with a wooden spoon, then lifting it high in a long ribbon.  I really like it and tried to make it once, but not very successfully.  I think duck confit must be on every one's winter menu because this is the third time I've had it, but it is good and I like it.

The Christmas Market was small but with mostly hand-crafted made-in-France products and food.  I bought some earrings for myself.  It was cold and I was tired, so I rode the bus, just two this time, back to the hotel.  A big lunch, so just a snack for dinner tonight.

I think there may be some demonstrations tomorrow, but haven't heard to what extent.  The shooting in Strasbourg has taken some of the wind out of the yellow vest's sails.  The police and military are ready for whatever occurs, but haven't heard about any planned closures.  In any event, I plan to stay well away from the gathering places, which are mainly the large squares, such as at the Arc du Triomph, La Concorde, La Opera, Bastille, etc.

We have had three or four days of nice sunny but cold weather, but there is a chance of rain tomorrow, and Sunday will be a little warmer, maybe.