Liv Tyler

Franny's second day here we decided to go and see the Basilique at Saint Denis because it has some beautiful stained glass windows which F is looking at for her dissertation. Kirsten was shocked when I said I was taking F there, subtly trying to suggest something else; 'Uhh, there's much nicer places to go, it's not worth going there, how about...' She thought I was taking her there for the evening which is a big NO NO. It's in the banlieues, not technically in Paris and therefore chaud, i.e. dangerous. But as it was during the day it was ok. Although when we arrived you can see the difference instantly. It doesn't feel like Paris. It was predominantly black for a start, the buildings weren't all beautiful and immaculate and there was a cheap market outside the metro. But it was cool. It was cool to be in a vibrant, not bourgeoisie quartier of Paris, and we enjoyed going round the market and picked up some cheap make up. The Basilique itself is beautiful. It's covered in stained glass windows from all different periods. Dazzling on a sunny day.

We then hopped on the metro and went to the flea markets at St Ouen which I've been wanting to go to for a long time. And now to get on to the title of this post (did it grab your attention?) Franny had been saying only the day before how she hoped she would see somebody famous whilst in Paris. And lo and behold who should walk past us in the markets but Liv Tyler with her child. Well. We're going to say that it was. Because actually I'm not convinced it was. I looked at her and thought, 'That looks like Liv  Tyler but it's not', and Fran looked at her and thought 'Oh My God that's the lady from um um Lord of the Rings'. She was beautiful whoever she was so she deserves a mention whether it was her or not. If anybody has any information on Liv's whereabouts on the 17th April please let me know.

The markets are brilliant to wander around, there have lots of different markets, the outskirts which sell the knock-offs and stolen goods, the classy ones which sell antique furniture, the top end one (where Liz was going) which sold crystal and chandeliers, and then your run of the mill interesting vintagey type places. We found some wonderful things in particular this old bike which is unusable but looks great all the same. We also really fancied a crepe so we tried to find a nice creperie. We didn't have much luck. The only place we found was overpriced, didn't know what a cappuccino was, thought Earl Grey tea was the same as normal tea even though they advertised them as different, and the crepes, well, not a patch on a Now 'n' Zen one to be perfectly honest. This was our waiter, who although very nice, was utterly confused and didn't know what he was doing.