Much of my family history is rooted in the adventures my parents had before they met.  For various reasons, my father, Bob, kept returning to Norway. 

One such trip was in the summer of 1975.  Dad had a little British car that was made for driving on the other side of the road. I can attest to just how unnerving it would be as it took me days to adjust to driving on the other side of the road, when I was in the right sort of car.

With car, dad took off to a small lake and proceeded to help rebuild a dilapidated hyutt (hut, a Norwegian summer house). The hyutt was made in 1923 and ready for some care.  It was a little out of town, a fair day trip to get to by foot or bike.

The Sun shone a lot that summer.  There were lakeside parties, picnics and feasts.  With a set of wheels, it also meant that if there was a party anywhere in the vicinity, Dad and his friends were there.
As my sister and I traveled through Norway with Dad we were able to meet many of these friends.  We heard that tales of the summer my Dad spent by the lake.  A summer that the sun shone brighter and the parties were bigger.  It has gone down in history as "The Bob Summer".

Given a chance my sister would sell her soul to be a professional foodie.  There was no way we were going to Paris without eating ourselves silly. We were duly sent of food adventure with a few tips from our amazing hosts, Grannie Annie and Stuart.

If you are planning on similar adventure there are three things to remember

1 - One block back.  Try not to eat at the restaurants right next to the tourist attractions.  Walk around a little, start looking for somewhere at least one block back from the attractions and look for where the locals are eating.  This is how we found Mad' Cafe, one block back from La Madelaine.  To call this place a hole in the wall might be exaggerating its size.  To be seated, the waiters have to lift the table to let you past, to the wall mounted bench seat.  But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in style and taste.  The duck confit was to die for.  The place was packed and buzzing with people making the most of their leisurely lunch breaks. I would have gladly returned there day after day.

2- Un pichet s'il vous plais - a pichet is a small carafe of house wine just the right size to go with lunch for two. The classy way to know when to say when.  If the pichet is empty, it must be time for coffee.
3 - Coffee Gourmand - A selection of minature desserts served with coffee, or the (tea) gourmand if you prefer.  It is not like each dessert is scooped onto your plate with a little spoon,  instead it is made in a small size.  Think of miniature creme brulee and tiny chocolate mousse.  We are still trying to identify the divine white fluffy dessert that came on our plate at Mad' Cafe.  The closest I can find is something called snow pudding.

I had read up, I knew where to go and then threw the book away.  I had a simple mission in mind - I wanted a pair of embroidery scissors for my mother.  If you plan to go accidentally craft shopping, stumbling upon these places might just make your day.  I know they certainly made mine.

Le Rouvray 
Le Rouvray is a little quilt store is tucked away on the left bank, a mere stone's throw from the Notre Dame.

I tried so hard to speak french, but beyond the pleasantries, I couldn't talk fabric and blurted out "Je'ne parle pas francais, but I quilt." Little did I know that this is the catch phrase of this darling store.

We were away, looking for something quintessentially french to buy and discussing how incredibly bright Australasian quilts in comparison with traditions from elsewhere.

The stock is an interesting mix of french provincial prints, american civil war prints, a selection of kona cottons and patterns for all.  As I was travelling light, I limited myself to a small cicada kitset.  In hindsight I'm sure I could have snuck the Mona Lisa in my suitcase too - the pixeallated one in the window that is.

Entree Des Fournisseurs


So many of the treasures are hidden away in little courtyards.  If a gate of door was opened, we carefully peered inside, never for one moment expecting to see a craft shop. This one is in the centre of The Marais.

Entree Des Fournisseurs is a veritable candy shop of handcraft.  When you enter the door, you will be in the heart of the knitting, with sublime wools and gorgeous patterns.  Then making your way through the ribbons to the fabric and patterns at the end.  I spent a good while flicking through Citronille patterns and drooling over reels of liberty trims.  Behind the counter there was a selection of fine embroidery scissors and sweet french labels.  If ever the term small but perfectly formed was to applied to a craft shop, this would be it.

I came away with metres of trim for me, the coveted scissors for my mother and little labels simply stating "Je suis une PRINCESSE' simply because every girl needs reminding once in a while.

Tapisseries de la Bucherie

We first saw this store with a very french sign taped to the door "Closed for lunch, open again at 2". Given it's proximity to Notre Dame, this is the perfect opportunity to pick up your own lunch from the nearest bakery and head to the park at the back of Notre Dame to eat.  The re-opening at 2 was taken a little liberally and finally the door opened sometime later in the afternoon.  Talking to the ladies in another store, it appears the woman who runs this store opens when she want to and doesn't when she doesn't.

Tapestries are more my mother's style than mine, but I know enough, to recognise that these ones are divine.  You can get a kitset for a whole chair or just a little miniature.  I was totally smitten with the miniatures celebrating 850 years of Notre Dame Cathedral.  The prices made my eyes water and secretly give thanks for the Wellington institution that is Nancys.

Finding these three gems made my trip just a little sweeter.  I would love to have made it La Drougerie or some of the great Ateliers, but for me, these were enough.  My luggage was supplemented with delicate embroidery scissors, ribbons, tiny kitsets and memories.