A grubby, ugly and grey crossroads, yet strangely beautiful by the evening sun. It always makes me happy when I pass through because ten minutes walk in any direction leads to some of my favourite places: the best fromager, thrift stores, the best boulangerie for tartes, the canal, bars, my apartment, B.D. (comix) shops, the best butcher, the huge deco Rex cinema, the best veg markets, my band's underground rehearsal room, my part time job, art galleries, etc etc!

The most fantastic selection of old toys and kid's memorabilia, better than a museum. Is there every version of every action figure ever made? I've received gifts of a 1950s Peter Pan penknife and an original ET ring from here, so now some lucky friends get presents from the huge range.

Chateau de Rentilly is located in the east suburb of Paris, 30 minutes away. In a nice park, you can discover a masterpiece of the artist Xavier Veilhan, he covered the castle with mirrors ! The architecture becomes spectacular.

After a long day exploring Paris, a huge plate of noodles is basically the dream. Le Chef Thai is small and cosy, although I think they have a downstairs too which we didn’t see. It’s really relaxed inside and filled with plants so there was a nice calming energy. The guy that served us was super-friendly and we all had an excellent feed for a reasonable price. Happy days.

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