Today I discovered an unusual and charming neighborhood known as Mouzaïa, just north of the Buttes Chaumont park in the 20^th arrondissement (Metro Botzaris or Danube).

What makes it special is street after narrow street of individual row houses – very unusual for Paris. Houses with tiny front yards and sometimes back gardens as well.  I was in the neighborhood to take a course in preparing Suschi (www.wasabi.com) on Rue Mouzaïa, but it would be great to stroll these alleyways in springtime, when the flowers and wisteria are in full bloom.

One note on the Sushi class: The course was good and afterwards we got to partake of our creations, but several people didn’t touch their fish.  They had already eaten lunch, and it is a particularly French thing to not eat between meals (certainly not a bowl of rice and raw fish) or at odd ours like 4:00 in the afternoon.  They took it to go but asked for soy sauce as well - which I think was a bit much. It’s a cooking school….and a great cultural divide.