Pizza Rustica, St. Eustache, cooking shops, Luxembourg, Dalloyau, chinatown

Mom and Dad met us at the apartment just before lunch. We headed to Pizza Rustica across the street for a quick bite. We had a view of Pizza Rustica from our apartment window, and it was on my "to do" list to try the place out before we left Paris. In our first weeks in Paris, Quinn had wanted to grab a bite there but I couldn't fathom paying $7 for one slice of pizza. Now, I consider a $7 lunch cheap after being exposed to the high cost of Paris living!

We toured St. Eustache after lunch, and although this historic monument is just around the corner from our apartment, we hadn't taken the time to learn the history of the church until now. The church was once the church of the royal family, and Louis XIV received his first communion there. I thought the most interesting part was seeing the sketches of what the neighborhood looked like when the old Les Halles market was still in this part of the city. The church dates back to the 16th century and was rebuilt after times of turmoil and the French revolution.

The neighborhood of Les Halles used to be the culinary center of Paris with the fresh markets. Nowadays, there are few markets but there is still an abundance of cooking stores. We went to Mora, La Bovida, A. Simon on Rue Montmartre to do a little shopping. It's kind of like going to Sur la Table back in the states, but it's the real thing!

It was a typical rainy day in Paris, but nonetheless, we headed to Luxembourg gardens to see the flowers and the greenery on the grounds. From March through July, it rains, on average, 13 days out of each month.

One of our fav rainy day escapes is Dalloyau next to the Luxembourg gardens. We had opera cake (it was originated at Dalloyau) and hot chocolate (yum!).

The 13th arrondissement of Paris is the "chinatown" of the city. We went to Thai Vien, a Chinese/Laotian/Thai restaurant, in the 13th for dinner. King of Thai used to be my all-time fav Thai restaurant but I think this one takes the cake.