Eiffel Tower Bread at Poilâne

Today as I was on my way to the grocery store, I passed by a bakery on Blvd de Grenelle called Poilâne. This bakery is not like the usual Parisian bakeries that you will find on almost every street corner. This chain of shops first opened in 1932 when a young baker from Normandy came to Paris to open his first shop. The first one was in the Saint- Germain des Prés district. Today, there are 2 shops in Paris and 1 in London.

What makes this bakery special from the others? They are famous for their large round off-white crumb sourdough loaves that are baked in wood fired ovens. Most Parisians are known to eat baguettes, but before these were available, the sourdough loaves were the bread of France. The breads are even customizable, allowing up to 26 characters to be crafted out of bread and placed on top of your loaf.

If you happen to pass by this bakery on a regular basis, you will notice that they often have sculptures in the windows of the bakery. The reason for this leads back to 1969 when Salvador Dali met the owner of the bakery, Lionel Poilâne. He soon began to order objects and sculptures made out of bread. In 1971, he even ordered a whole bedroom made out of bread. He apparently wanted to find out if he had mice in his house!

This week, there is a bread Eiffel Tower scene in the windows of the famous bakery. You can get more information about the shops and history from their website here http://www.poilane.fr/index.php?passer=1

Eiffel Tower!

Well, my boyfriend and I have finally moved into our new apartment beside the Eiffel Tower! For any of you that have moved in Paris, you will know that it is not an easy task. With such narrow little streets and no where to park a moving van it becomes difficult quite quickly. After two trips back and forth to the new apartment, and our truck almost breaking down, we finally made it!
I am very excited to live in another part of city since it means that I can now spend my days exploring a different part that I don't know very much about. Our new place is literally right around the corner from the Eiffel Tower. Standing on our street out front of our apartment provides a great view of the tower.
Every Sunday on our street, there is a traditional french market selling everything from Cheese to Flowers. I decided to wake up early this morning and check it out. It stretches along Avenue de Grenelle starting at Rue de Commerce. I was overwhelmed by the assortment of flowers, breads, cheeses and vegetables. If you are ever in Paris, you must experience a french market. The atmosphere is incredible. Walking through the market, you will hear the sellers yelling out their daily specials, and see the french people lining up to buy them.





I bought some fresh raspberries, and a Begonia flower for our balcony.


At the end of the market, you can find stalls set up selling everything from 10 Euro shoes to 5 Euro dresses. I think this will become my regular routine every Sunday. How nice to have a fresh fruit and vegetable market right on your doorstep!