Paris | Paristep

„La rue du chat qui pêche“ (The Street of the Fishing Cat) is situated in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, in the Sorbonne area. Quite often mentioned as the narrowest street of the city, it is 1,80 meter large and 29 metres long. It was created in 1540. The street was named successively „rue des Étuves“, „du Renard“, „des Bouticles“ and „rue Neuve des Lavandières“...

"I would like to tell myself a nice short unbelievable story" (Je voudrais me raconter à moi-même une jolie petite histoire invraisemblable.) is written on the wall in the cozy restaurant – tea room named "La Fourmi Ailée" (Winged Ant) with a figurine of a big winged ant in the window. With the approaching holiday of red hearts and loving looks, we search for a place...

You turn a calendar page from January to February and suddenly all over France pancakes become a hot topic. In the morning you go to the bakery to buy a bread and on the front desk you notice a pile of fresh golden pancakes. On the teacher’s request, children go to the kindergarten with eggs, marmelade or sugar; in the agendas of the school children you find a recipe for pancakes. 

Everyday life of the French, their traditions and seasons are reflected in the windows of the bakeries and pastry shops "boulangerie-patisserie". As soon as the Christmas time is finished, the pastries in the shape of a tree log "bûches" are replaced by golden round cakes from the flaky dough and almonds filling, "les galettes des rois" (the Epiphany cake). Let’s try to count them.

A planned Sunday walk in the Saint-Germain, with a professional guide Axelle, a young passionate in Paris and its history, begins of course in front of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés church. The first question that everybody wants to ask is "where does the name of Saint-Germain come from?" The Saint-Germain-des-Prés Abbey was established...