This morning Esther and set out to explore Marches aux Puces - the very large, expansive markets of Montmartre. We managed to trawl through about 100 counterfeit shoe/hoody/t-shirt stalls to find the good stuff - the flea markets! There we happily browsed for treasures through others' trash while I munched on a crepe with lemon & sugar from a nearby stall. It was yet another beautiful, warm, sunshiney day in Paris, & we stopped to soak up the sun at one of the bistros bordering the markets.

While Esther browsed vintage clothing stores (where I spotted a pair of GORGEOUS Christian Louboutin shoes, exactly my size…) I browsed dogs. There are a LOT of dogs in Paris! Everywhere! And because everyone takes their dogs everywhere, markets are a great place to meet dogs of all shapes & sizes! :) Petit chien & grand chien, fluffy chien & floppy chien, playful chien & sleepy chien - all waiting happily for a scratch & a tummy rub hehe

After we were all marketed out we took the metro over to the Notre Dame & joined the droves of tourists taking photos in front of the beautiful building. We considered going inside but the line was enough to convince us just to wander the gardens instead. So we walked along the River Seine, listening to buskers play & watching the petals of the cherry blossom trees begin to fall from their branches. As you walk over one of the bridges there are literally thousands of locks chained to the bridge, with couples' names on them. People write their names on the locks & then attach them to the bridge to make their love last forever :)

I then had a truly incredible gastronomic experience at a little restaurant situated on a canal boat moored near by. I ordered a Tart du Jour (tart of the day) knowing that whatever it was it was bound to be good…and oh. It was GOOD!! Fresh framboise (raspberry) tart with Chantilly cream, & it tasted like the raspberries had been freshly picked that very morning…& they quite possible were! The French sure do know how to do patisserie right! ;) Oh, AND one of the waiters owned the cutest dog, that actually looked like a bear, and was GIANT, & would just sit outside the barge all day, patiently waiting. At one point he tried to walk on board & all the waiter had to do was shoot him a look & he skulked off again, looking sorry for himself.

Later that night we met up with Esther's brother Simon, & his wife Sally, for dinner at Italian restaurant. Simon in running the Paris marathon tomorrow so needed a good meal of pasta in him before the race! It's apparently one of the best Italian restaurants in Paris, & I can certainly believe that, given how tasty my grilled vegetables with artichoke cream were! Oh, and I had zabaglione for desert, & I'm still not 100% sure what that is exactly…it's kinda like icecream, only much more amazing! :D Om nom nom!