Chocolat Chaud at the End of the Rainbow

One day Tenzig told me he needed new guitar strings so we had to go to Pigalle, a neighborhood up the hill from the Marais, known for its music stores and even more for its strip clubs and seedy characters. The area is featured in the film Paris Je T'aime, in the segment called "Pigalle" with Bob Hoskins and Fanny Forestier. That movie highlights the low-down night-time characteristics but what I encountered during the day was very different. I have to admit I wasn't thrilled about the idea of going on an errand, after all I was on vacation and in Paris, at most I should have been shopping or deciding between two types of meringues for desert. After some cajoling I gritted my teeth and agreed to the trip to Pigalle, and then, once I was there ... I found my favorite favorite favorite street in all of Paris! Before I left for Paris I polled various friends on their favorite Parisian spots and one friend and kindred traveler sent me an article about the Rue des Martyrs. Once I realized I had a chance to hijack the outing (once the guitar strings had been gotten out of the way), my attitude changed completely. Tenzig was skeptical but I was vindicated when the Rue des Martyrs turned out to be a street of wonders, lined with tasty treats from top to bottom.


We passed pastry shops with windows laden with mini-quiches, the kind you dream about here in New York and then settle for Balthazar or something else knowing that it is second best. You tell yourself it's good enough but when you are reminded of the real thing you can't go back. Cheese shops put forth delectable hockey pucks in 50 varieties, their pungent smells wafting down the block to the fishmonger in his apron filleting fish while shrimp and scallops lounged on beds of ice. A few more steps brought us to sellers of fruits and vegetables where the boundaries between varieties have no meanings. The chanterelles mushrooms burst with buttery color, holding their own against ripe, succulent grapes.


When we started our walk we were at the top of the hill, having exited the Metro at the Pigalle station, and so our progress along Rue des Martyrs was downhill. When we reached the bottom, at Rue Lamartine, we needed a rest and refreshment so we parked ourselves at a table on the sun drenched sidewalk and indulged in some warm and delicious Cafe au Lait and Chocolat Chaud.