Paris—a wolf in the city

So here we were, walking down the street in the Marais; we got close to two guys and a dog. Chess told me it was a wolf. Yeah right, no way Josey. She insisted it was a wolf so i decided to ask its owner. Chess said he was on the phone and i told her i'd wait until he gets off it or go ask the guy walking by his side. So i asked and it turned out my girl was right. Again. The guy told me it was a Czech wolf and the wolf owner pulled his cell phone away from his ear to tell me it was 65% wolf. Chess informed me that wolves were illegal in the states. I asked if it was legal, he answered that he had all the papers to prove it. Tonight i saw a white wolfdog walking down the streets of Paris, it looked really quiet and mellow, and was held by a broad metal chain.
Wait, so this whole time i've been slaloming between dog shit i might have also been dodging wolf excrement!

Paris—vietnamese food

Paris Hanoi and Little Hanoi, same house, two different restaurants, same arrondissement, different metro sations.
good, cheap and simple vietnamese food in a nice atmosphere with a rather young crowd.
Paris Hanoi: 74 rue de Charonne 11eme. open 7/7 12h-14h30/19h-22h30
Little Hanoi: 9 rue Mont-Louis 11eme. open m-sa 12h-14h30/19h-22h30

Paris—Le Pain de Sucre pastry shop

Paris is such a tease!
I happened to stroll by a very pretty pastry shop — Le Pain de Sucre, with its perfect looking pastries and jewelry-like glittering marshmallow cubes on sticks. It felt like a very sophisticated and tiny factory where macarons are made for visual delight as much as for gustative bliss. Imagine a sour cherry/pistachio macaron: two deep lip-smacking red round meringue-like domes tenderly squeezing a mouthwatering dark green layer of pistachio. If you want to be lured into a world of ambrosial pastries and luscious color combinations, all you have to do is walk down rue Rambuteau. you don't need the address, as you pass by the shop something will instinctively attract you, pull you in, whisper to you until you push open the front door and step in.

Closed on Tuesday & Wednesday.

Paris—smoke-free

There's nothing like going out in Paris and coming home without smelling like an ashtray. It's sort of strange to see people smoke outside no matter how cold it gets (feels like i haven't left California yet!)
Some choose to sit outside just so that they can smoke while sipping their coffee or eating their meal. I find it hard to believe considering that the temperatures oscillate between 32 and 40 degrees F. Unless these people are made of something else, i call this masochism.
A sign in a cafe said "no smoking" in five different languages (bar owners can be fined €750 for leaving ashtrays on the tables...) This is definitely a new era.
The non-smoking law was supposed to be implemented on the 1st of January but the government was nice enough to put the law into effect the next day. You can't ask people partying on new year's eve to suddenly, because it's the first of the month, step outside to smoke their cancer stick.
The other advantage to this new law is that i can see much better when i'm hanging out at bars or cafes. No more cloud between me and the rest of the room, no more stinging watery eyes and no more contact lens issues.