Crema di caffe. A non-alcoholic, unsweetened, confection of shaken coffee and cream. Heaven in a cocktail glass!
Food
A quick cappuccino at Scudieri, where the photography is also fine
I’m in love with this vintage Alinari photo of la cupola. How did I never see this photo in the bar before today? Crazy.
Re-opened Florence
Little by little, she is coming back to life.
The Uffizi is still closed to the public, but I was reassured that Cosimo I, il Pater Patriae, is still waiting for me, as is Lorenzo il Magnifico. Very nice to know!
Together these Medici gentlemen guard the Uffizi, even during a pandemic.
The nearby Palazzo Vecchio, is partially open. The museum and tours are not yet ready for visitors, but the elegant and lovely cortile is ready to be admired again. And, I am a very willing supplicant.
And a quick stop for a real cappuccino served in a real cup at the bar at Scudieri. Life is good!
Lunch at the Musee d’Orsay, a spectacular treat
Here and there in Paris, January 2020
It’s a fine thing to view Paris in the winter. I love the views of the architecture through the bare tree branches.
Suddenly, the Flatiron building in New York doesn’t seem to be so unique!
I believe that this church is the first time I have seen a Biblical story played out in a sculptural neoclassical architectural pediment. It strikes me as funny.
Streets still decorated for Christmas. That’s a bonus!
Chinese New Year is also on view:
Oh, hello, you!
Above:
Mon intention du jour me féliciter, bravo, bravo, bravo, bravo.
My intention of the day congratulate myself. Bravo, bravo, bravo, bravo.
Below:
Mon intention du jour faire un truc plus grand que moi.
My intention of the day to do something bigger than me.
The Pierre below is not the one I grew up with!
The light on my first morning in Paris was stunning. So happy to be here!
Many churches still had their creche scenes on display.
The font below is very different from the marble fonts I see in all the churches in Italy.
The famous Dehillerin store:
And every neighborhood has a great floral shop:
And this landmark:
Every neighborhood also has its own boulangerie. Some have incredible architectural design:
La galette des rois est une galette traditionnellement élaborée et consommée dans une majeure partie de la France, au Québec, en Acadie, en Suisse, au Luxembourg, en Belgique et au Liban à l’occasion de l’Épiphanie, fête chrétienne qui célèbre la visite des rois mages à l’enfant Jésus, célébrée le 6 janvier de chaque année.
This and that in Paris, January 2020; the Folies Bergère
The French start training early for the enjoyment of the outdoor cafe life:
Many of the city’s grocery stores currently have these enticing cases of Little Moons Japanese mochi at the front. I never did try any. It is January, after all. Plus, my hands are almost always full. But, I am intrigued, see below the pix:
From the Little Moon website: https://www.littlemoons.co.uk
Brother and sister, Howard & Vivien Wong, launched Little Moons in 2010 on a mission to bring Japanese mochi with a delicious, modern twist to the masses.
Having grown up eating traditional mochi in their parent’s bakery they knew the potential these little balls had to deliver a moment of total happiness to whoever ate them.
It took them two years to master the mochi making process and perfect the ice cream recipes, working with top chefs and using quality ingredients to create the perfect flavour combinations.
With a Little Moons now eaten every second we felt the time was right to introduce our next bite sized adventure and so in 2019 we launched our Cookie Dough Ice Cream Bites.
Big Flavours, Little Moons.
What is mochi?
Mochi is a rice flour dough that has been steamed and pounded to give it its distinctive soft and chewy texture. We wrap a thin layer of mochi around our ice cream balls to make our Little Moons mochis.
It is so unique that in Asia the distinctive glutinous texture of mochi has its own name and is known as the Q texture.
Ok, back to Paris!
I swoon over the architecture:
The famous Folies Bergère. Art Deco all the way home.
Even the animals were dressed for winter:
You cannot help loving these Metro entrance markers by Hector Guimard, even if most of the (darn) stations were closed during my visit (for the longest strike in French history):
A shop dedicated to cat designs?
The classic French Galette Des Rois is for sale in almost every pâtisserie.
I love the aged patina on this gorgeous door below.
I never made it into the Louvre on this trip (a long story, told here), even though I had tickets for a special exhibition, but I did get to see the Louvre’s ultra modern subway station on the automated Metro Line #1:
Much more to come, probably for another month!
Le déjeuner: les Deux Magots
What do you do on your birthday? I was lucky enough to be in Paris for my birthday this year and we had tickets to see the Leonardo exhibition at the Louvre, marking the 500th anniversary of his death. But, when I arrived at the Louvre, the museum workers are on strike and the museum is closed. What would you do then?
Well, we decided to go to lunch at Les Deux Magots. It was a fun choice, with great food. It’s Paris!
I didn’t feel a bit sorry for myself!
Whipped cream and sweet bread, what could be better?
Yay! I have always been a big fan of this concoction!
The (most elaborate?) wine window in Florence
I’ve posted before about the uniquely Florentine custom of wine windows found in some of the city’s palazzi. They are found, here and there, all around the city. This is the most elaborate one I’ve ever noticed.
The marble plaque above informs customers that the window “It is open from November 1st to April from 10 am to 3 pm pm and in the evening from 5 to 9, from May 1st to the end of October From 10 am to 3 pm E La Sera From 7 to 10.”
The wine windows have their own association in Florence. Here is the website: http://buchettedelvino.org
You can read more about the windows here: https://www.theflorentine.net/news/2016/04/florence-wine-windows/
Or watch videos here:
get back, lauretta! 
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