Well, it's August and life in Paris has slowed to a crawl. Right after Bastille Day, the exodus begun, and now we're coasting. I took a walk over to the Île Saint-Louis and it was lovely to have the sidewalks almost to myself. (The streets on the island, however, were quite bustling with visitors.)

I have a vacation planned for just after the summer, but took a breather to visit friends who have a farm near Angoulême. A road trip is always an excuse for some flea market and thrift store shopping, and we built some time into the trip to do just that. (I listed some great addresses where we went in this post.) I have so much stuff, that I keep joking that I'm going to open an online shop to sell all the vintage cookware, bakeware, cake molds, and linens that I find. (And vintage knives, cutting boards, wine glasses, etc...) But for now, everything is still in my apartment, which is starting to look like a flea market, too!

During the last few months, I've been playing around with different types of social media. I've been sharing recipes and snippets of life in Paris (or wherever I go) over on Snapchat. And I've done some Facebook Live videos, doing a "real time" question & answer session, and a visit to a Paris cheese shop with Chef Eric Montéleon from La Cuisine, which is here. Watch for my next this Thursday where I'll visit a Paris café with the owner.

All of these techie things have their quirks and glitches, like the goofy sideways view of us in the cheese shop for the first minute, but that's part of the charm of using these new technologies. The upside if that I can share recipes and addresses, and interviews, easily and quickly, without having to jump though all sorts of technological hoops to put them online. I'm glad that so many of you have been enjoying them. Thanks for all your nice feedback and comments.

If you are planning to come to Paris in August, you might find these links interesting:

-What's Open in August? (Paris by Mouth)

-Paris Coffee: What's Open in August? (Lost in Cheeseland)

-Picasso Sculpture Exhibit (Musée Picasso)

-10 Paris Parks Open in the Evening, in August (TimeOut)

-List of Paris Summer Expositions and Festivals (Paris Visitors Bureau)

-Tiny Boat Apéro: Floating Apéritif Trip on the Canal St. Martin (The Chamber)

-And while it may not be the right weather for hearty cassoulet, you can take a trip down south for the annual Fête du Cassoulet and get your fill of beans and duck confit.

Meanwhile, the outdoor markets will be sparse, but there are plenty of things to do if you're happy just to wander around the city. Grab some cheese, jambon, and a bottle of rosé and take a picnic to the Seine, stroll Paris Plages, or spend a leisurely afternoon at an everyday café, chowing down on a Croque monsieur and a carafe of vin maison. Paris is blissful in August, when everyone clears out, and it's nice to have the city almost all to yourself. Enjoy!

Some recent recipes and posts on my blog...

-Juicy, tart plums under a blanket of crisp almond streusel and a drizzle of toffee in this fabulous Spiced Plum Tart with Toffee Glaze.

-I updated the White Chocolate-Fresh Ginger Ice cream recipe (above), using the best of summer in the bowl.

-Behind-the-scenes at Panifica, a bakery in Paris that specializes in ancient grains and wheats.

-Use your favorite summer fruits to make this Summer Fruit Tart with Almond cream. Great with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream!

-Got (more) fruit? Stew it up into a lovely, jewel-like Plum-Strawberry Jam.

-A visit to one of my favorites markets (and flea markets) in Paris - the Marché d'Aligre!