Crafting and Eating Around Paris - Part 1

I am just back from a 3 day trip to Paris with my friends Andrea and Laurence. We originally had the idea a few months back when I received my copy of Marie Claire Idees and saw that they had a salon (craft fair) in Paris in November. Andrea and Laurence decided they would like to come along too and a plan was hatched. Laurence (having a French friend when you are going to France is very helpful) booked a hotel for us, the cheap and cheerful Hotel Crimee, on Rue Crimee in the 19th arrondisement, 50m from the metro and 10 minutes walk for the Grande Halle de la Villette de Paris where the Salon was to take place. It turned out to be a great location for many a reason - great boulangerie between the hotel and the metro, lots of restaurants around (and no tourists). Prices are cheaper than in the centre of Paris, but 20 minutes on the metro and you are right in the heart of it! 

We arrived on Thursday evening and before heading to the hotel we took the RER into the centre of Paris. We went to the Grands Magasins to see their Christmas window displays - both Printemps and Galeries Lafayette are known for their Christmas windows - animated displays that attract a lot of visitors. They were beautiful! 

After seeing the windows we went to eat dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant in the Passage des Panoramas on the Grand Boulevards, called Chez Duc - we ate Vietnamese pancakes, pork dumplings and frogs legs, Vietnamese style. 

More to follow!