summer = bière pèche

bière pèche is a blond beer with a shot of peach schnapps... it's fruity, fizzy deliciousness and a summer staple in paris. the french don't really do beer, we've discovered, and when they do, it's often preferred with a shot of peach or cherry. they actually love their flavored syrups here - want to look like a local next time you're in paris? order a perrier menthe - a perrier over ice with a shot of mint syrup.

but back to the beer...

(poor kp - he really doesn't like having his picture taken all the time)

there are plenty of lovely spots to enjoy a bière pèche around town, but our favorite is the place flora tristan in the neighborhood. knox discovered this place pretty early after we moved in, and we made it our regular hang out. the servers all know us (in fact, everybody knows knox around here - the guys at félicie - another café we frequent - the baker, the folks who run our favorite vegetable stand, the italian traiteur... the guys at the wine shop on rue daguerre even gave us a going-away present to thank us for all our business over the last two years! i wouldn't be surprised if knox exchanged emails with them!)

you won't find many tourists here - we're the only anglophones around - and it's so quiet and pretty. i especially dig this old boulangerie. you can barely make out the deco lettering over the red door. isn't it fabulous?

the left bank - and the 14 arrondissement in particular - is a decidedly unhip part of paris: not much nightlife, a lot of families, kind of staid... "bougie" as knox would say. but we love it here. and that's not just the beer talking.