Swimming Along the Seine

The Seine is literally the aqua artery of Paris and the scenery changes depending on where you are along the river. The Bibliotheque Francois Mitterand (National Library) is only two blocks from the Seine and if you are lucky enough to have a blue sky day, the waterfront is a much nicer place to read.

The sights include barges and tugboats which have been converted to cafes, clubs, and special event spaces.

Parisians live with beauty as a part of life. So having a snack on a barge

with a view like this is normal:)

It is still August, so the roads are eerily empty, even around the Gare de Lyon and

the view from the bike lanes underneath the roadway looks like a futuristic movie.

Yes you can swim in a pool ON the Seine! Piscine Josephine Baker is a converted barge which is completely handicap accessible and costs only 3 Euros ($5 US) to enter. They have classes and activities for all ages and levels, so if you want to come back on a regular basis you can buy a carnet  of ten passes (like metro tickets) for a discount.

I prefer walking to swimming, and with the clouds looming, it looks like it's time to walk to the nearest metro station:)

Superb Sur Le Fil

Summer in Paris means closed stores, restaurants, and lots of building and transport maintenance, but it also means my friends come here for their vacation :) Yes, it is possible to find a non touristy restaurant open, and sometimes venturing out of my normal neighborhood yields delicious results like Sur Le Fil.

All my friends love to eat, so of course they passed their genes on to their children. The 11 year old ordered this fresh burrata with tomato mousse, garnished with fresh basil and declared it delicious.

The adults all ordered the sardines layered with roasted red pepper on a tomato wafer and it was as beautiful on our palates as it was on our plates.

I chose the grilled octopus on a bed of citron pasta decorated with zucchini. The octopus was perfectly grilled, tender in the center, and the delicate pasta, made with a lemony sauce was a bright light accompaniment. 

Everyone else ordered the lamb, and they all agreed it was the best lamb they had ever eaten:) I taste traded and it was a succulent, meltingly tender, and very generous portion. In fact both main plates were quite large portions, so keep that in mind if you wish to order appetizers or desserts.

After waiting a bit and sipping our Pinot Noir (28€ for the bottle or $35 US), everyone except me found room for dessert. One of the girls got a trio of home made ice cream/sorbet, with classic vanilla, chocolate, and a lemon basil that she said was very refreshing.

The dessert hit of the night were the two choux pastries filled with chocolate mousse which was literally fought over (I suggested that they order another one so that everyone who wanted a dessert could have their own, but they decided to share).

With two kirs, four sodas, a bottle of wine, three appetizers, five main courses and three desserts, our total was still less than 35€ ($48 US) per person for excellent food, friendly service, and a charmingly small place that opens out to the street. I think I may have found my new favorite restaurant:)