…for a simple reason. The city seems to be “closed all day”, the grocers take their day off after having worked on Sunday. It’s as if butchers, bakers, greengrocers, cheese masters and wine merchants were all on strike. In fact, they just take it easy. They celebrate their well-deserved grasse matinée, having a good sleep until late before they report for duty again. That’s military talk, I know, but for good reason: the grocers of Paris are tough soldiers fighting their noble war on keeping the supply chain going, aren’t they?

The Parisians see these silent Mondays coming week after week. They use the weekend to stock up on food. On Sunday morning, you’ll find bourgeoises moms everywhere buying roasts much bigger than needed to have some cold cuts left for the next day. You’ll see people heavily loaded with bags stuffed with food of all kinds, as if they prepared themselves for the worst. You can take a stroll through grand, buzzling street markets where delicacies are sold just like bulk goods. Sunday is a very good day in Paris for food lovers. Monday isn’t.

Paris shuts down while the rest of the world is heading for the adventures of a new week, so you better stay home. You could make plans for new dinner invitations. You could think about what to cook next. Or you just have a good read like “The Complete Book of Modern Asian Cooking”, a fabulous work, beautifully illustrated and edited by Women’s Weekly. Check it out.