Excited About Salad - Hello?!

I’m sitting in one of the many brasseries that overlook the Place de Voges. I hadn’t planned on coming back here today - my last in Paris - but the pull of the calm, serene setting proved irresistible, particularly as I spent a hectic morning in the heart of the city. For my last night, I’d booked a swanky 4 star hotel in the Opera district - Hotel Mathurins. The hotel is tres magnifique (bathroom to die for) but it’s located in a really busy place and my every thought was drowned by noise and stroppy people.

Anyway, my lunch takes the form of the most perfect salad nicoise ever (otherwise known as salad knickersee, by my friend who only learned the correct pronunciation very recently, when she ordered it on a first date and the guy killed himself laughing). I can’t put my finger on why the salad is so perfect but I was moved to take a picture:

Maybe it’s the freshness of everything, or the mustard dressing, or the fresh anchovies… maybe it’s just that everything tastes better on holiday. Whatever it is, even the pompous waiter can’t dampen my spirits as I watch sparrows hop beneath chairs, finding lunch of their own: