Local shopping...

Different areas of Paris are like small villages with their own local life. Christmas decorations are not quite as glamorous as around the large boulevards or the big department stores. This is the main street of Batignolles, the part of the 17th arrondissement, where I live, with the parish church, Sainte-Marie-des-Batignolles at the end of the street.

One of the advantages I have is that I can find all kind of shops, cafés, restaurants, banks, pharmacies…, not to mention the indoor market, just round the corner. What here follows is an illustration of what I find by walking some 150 meters (I let the non-metric bloggers convert to yards) south, west, north or east from my flat. I believe there is something like 70 pictures in the below collages. The dentist and the orthopedist are just two stairs down, my doctor is 75 meters away… You may understand why I don’t need a car any more.

Best "baguette" in Paris

Who sells the best "baguette"? In the same street, rue des Batignolles, there are two bakeries, one announcing to have won the competition of the best "baguette" in Paris in 2003. More ore less in front of the first one is another bakery, whith the best "baguette" in 2004.

Every year, there is an official copetition about who makes the best "baguette". Of course, with such a label, sales increase considerably. The winner becomes also the official "baguette" provider to the French President, for a year.

I don't know who won in 2005 and 2006. In 2007, the winner is not in "our" arondissement.