Oh Paris, what will I do without you?

More to the point: what will I do without my frequent visits to see my friends and the wondrous city? My Adorable Friend's birthday party was a big hit both in quality and quantity of everything. The menu was fantastic from the beginning to the end. I made two amazing discoveries: a Polenta with Porcini mushrooms and tomato sauce that I loved (I had never had any I liked) and a mind blowing Pear Mousse Tart that had a marzipan topping that was as crunchy as crème brûlée.
The polenta dish she made and I'm going to have to borrow the recipe because it was too good not to duplicate. As for the Pear Mousse Tart -that was a special order. I wish I had photos to share with you but of all things my camera's battery died out the second day we were there (sorry).

However, I do have a few good photos to share here and over on Jet Set Baby. The first is the plaza next to the Center Pompidou. Notice how creative this space is in mixing old, functional and whimsical. I love it when art comes alive like this:

On a different note, I don't know how Parisians keep any money in their pockets. Every time I turn around there is another cute store begging to be explored. I found one too many of these stores and it is almost impossible to leave without a little something (even if you have an impending move -ahemm). This being the holiday season the stores had displays of grand chandeliers and lots of cool gifts (did you know that almost every store will wrap a present for you for free or practically free?!).

We of course had to pay our respects to an old friend too -check out his digs. Anyone know who's apartment this is (he's kind of famous)?