I learned a good tip today. If you see something you like, don't pass it by, because with the crazy winding streets, you'll have a devil of a time finding it again. I decided to take a day off from sketching and took my Kindle to the park (what a great place to read, don't you think?).
But on the way there, in my usual wandering way, I passed this fromagerie (cheese shop). I just couldn't get it out of my mind - the cheeses all looked so good. So I decided to stop there on the way back and pick up some lunch. Of course, I could NOT find the shop to save my soul. I finally ended up starting over again (yes, from my apartment), retracing my steps until I found the shop.
It was worth it. The little cheese in the center is so cute. It's a goat cheese - pretty strong flavor, but tremendous when spread on a baguette (which happened to be warm when I picked it up at the bakery next door). The rectangular cheese is milder - sort of like a brie.
Since they were predicting rain (which never materialized), I decided to tour the Victor Hugo house. Victor Hugo was a writer best known for his novels "Les Miserables" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." He also seemed a little eccentric to me, especially when looking at his collections. He was a lover of Chinese artifacts, mostly plates. His writing desk is in the foreground.
After cloudy skies all day, the sun came out in the evening (it tends to do that a lot here). I walked down to the river and stumbled on this Gay Pride celebration. There was music and speakers and lots of flag waving. Evidently it's OK to have open bottles on the street, because a lot of people around me were popping champagne corks. I kept noticing people stopping to take my picture until I finally realized I was sitting right at the feet of a whole squad of gendermes (police) outfitted from head-to-toe in riot gear. Guess they weren't taking any chances, but it sure made me feel safe.
