We planned on having dinner in tonight and invited our friends over who are here from New York.

We went to Le Grand Epicerie de Paris which is attached to Le Bon Marche department store.  It is not a typical Parisian grocery store, but a high-end gourmet delight.  The displays are just beautiful and the array of foods amazing.

The store has sections offering assorted breads and pastries in the bakery area, they have a take away, of course they offer truffles, pricey foie gras and caviars.  You cannot believe the amazing cheeses they have for sale, the variety is endless and they offer you a taste of anything you might like to try.  I selected several chocolate bars which is difficult because the aisles of sweets is endless.  Lately, I convinced myself that my sweet tooth now has a twin, as my taste for sweets is increasing!  The fresh pasta selections are wonderful, which is what we decided would be one of the items we would serve for dinner. I am always puzzled in the produce section, they the most beautiful displays, but I’m not familiar with so many items, as naturally they are regional.  I will try to take some pictures of these another day. With all the items brought home we could go out for the day knowing we were all ready for tonight’s small dinner party.

We decided to go to the Centre Pompidou which offers contemporary and modern art, a cinema, restaurants, a wonderful gift shop, and various temporary and permanent collections.

Afterward we decided to walk all the way to the Paris Hard Rock once again for lunch.  We must admit, as Americans, once in a while we crave a good burger and fries.

We decided to go to the Hard Rock Paris for lunch once again and would walk all the way.  When we arrived, there were huge crowds including a large crowd of photographers and red ropes blocking off the entrance.  We were allowed in and asked what was happening.

We were told that the stars from a very famous French reality show would be coming soon to sign autographs.

This is a picture I took of the crowds outside.  When we were eating we realized that we were the only people inside.  The celebrities were arriving and we could hear the crowd screaming outside.

Here they come!  Gosh it was loud and we could see and hear all the camera flashes going off.  Inside on the many television screens on the walls inside, they started to play the very popular French tv series, “Les Anges de la Tele-Realite.”  After a little while the stars would exit the limousines outside and enter the building to the crowds roar.  They would come in and go upstairs to an area where they would be available to sign autographs for their fans.  In the meantime, we were enjoying our lunch and taking it all in from a behind the scenes perspective.

We had the best seats to enjoy ever from our vantage point and to see all the stars.  It is a reality show filming a cast of about eight French young people who live in Los Angeles and vicinity.  I think it’s like a 90210 meets reality show.

Okay, secretly I was hoping it was going to be Brad Pitt and Angelina, but unfortunately, that was not to be the case.

Before we knew it, as time flies no matter where you are in the world, it was time to go home to start to prepare tonight’s dinner with friends a la Parisian style.  Paris is such a wonderful city, which makes me wonder if I have told you lately that I love it here.