Rutabega

It's time to face facts - I have more of a potty mouth than I should, and as Baby Oil gets older, I recognize that this needs to change.  It's a problem for Mr. Oil too. I blame summer camp (my friend Elysa and I used to incorporate as many swear words as possible in any given sentence throughout every camp session), and also The Wire.  And we've been watching The Sopranos, which isn't helping.  So we came up with plan Rutabega, in which we insert the word "rutabega" anytime we have the desire to use profanity. 

For example, "What the rutabega is your problem?"  Or, "Holy rutabega! This patisserie looks awesome."  So when I asked Mr. Oil if he was looking forward to our exploration of the 9th arrondissement today, his reply was, "Abso-rutabega-lutely!"

But for the first part of our day, we were underwhelmed.  The neighborhoods we walked through simply didn't seem to have as much personality as other parts of Paris.  We even went to a kosher restaurant for lunch that we had heard was good, and were disappointed.  In what might be the biggest rip-off in Paris, we attempted to buy bagels at a decent looking bagel shop - and then they wanted to charge us 3.40 euros (about $5) for two plain bagels. To go. With nothing on them.  We said, "Rutabega that!"

I did appreciate this sign on Rue Cadet

To make up for our disappointment, we stopped into A La Mere de Famille, a renowned chocolate and candy store.  While this store is now a chain with many locations around Paris, we visited the original shop on Rue Faubourg Montmartre.  I went with a selection of caramels - they have the funkiest flavors, and I'm looking forward to sampling blueberry (myrtille), cherry (cerise), chocolate mint, and others later.  Here are my choices:

Mr. Oil went for the chocolates which, and this is a tough burden to bear, I will also have to sample.  We felt our day improving simply with these purchases.  On Rue des Martyrs we found our favorite place in the 9th - La Chambre Aux Confitures.  Having just opened 5 weeks ago, this is hot-off-the-press info.  They have a fantastic selection of jams, organized by season of fruit.  The jams are made in France, though different flavors come from different locations.  Mr. Oil tried marron (chestnut) which he said was good (but I've already established that I don't like this flavor) and ultimately we went with pear.  Yum. Can't wait to eat it on baguette toast. 

They also have a whole shelf of "confits a fromage" and they provide you with recommendations as to which confit goes best with which cheese.  Plus caramels, chutneys, cocoa, and more.  Now on a roll, we stopped at a boulangerie and picked up a baguette, a mini chocolate cake and a piece of fruit crumble. 

Just to be clear, in our somewhat disappointing day, we managed to purchase the following: 2 bottles of wine, caramels, chocolates, pear jam, and pastries.  I know, it's rough when neighborhoods in Paris are just not up to par.