So it’s a beautiful Saturday morning, and I had just finished a workout with a friend. Our gym is a bit new-age in that all of the classes are given by on-screen instructors. Where do they come from?

How it works is that you select your classes based on category (cardio, glutes, abs, etc), difficulty level or instructor  from a touch screen outside the room. Then, voila!  Projection of your trainer appears on the wall in front of you. We prefer the feisty and positively energetic girl Ewa, who yells booty-blasting instruction at us in French, with her Eastern European accent. Surprisingly effective/ encouraging.

I still prefer things, in general, when they’re done or taught IRL. Whether that’s training, teaching, trying on clothes… the effect isn’t the same for certain things if you have to receive input or evaluate via a screen.Also, there’s nothing like someone in your face yelling at you to “get lower” or “push harder”. Regardless of the method, our booties had been blasted.

With buns ablaze, We decided to head to one of our favorite little shops in the area for a post-workout brunch: “Lemon”. It’s on this adorable little street in the 2^nd arrondissement.
Sat down for a juice and healthy noms at this juice joint “Lemon”. Already, plus points on the name. Anyone who knows me knows I have a thing for lemon. Like in a creepy stalker type of way.

Everything about this place is adorable.

Décor is lovely, that homey hipster vibe goin’ on. Like it could be a co-working space with it’s quiet vibe, and a few large picnic tables, tons of space for laptops or a work or study group meet-up. PS I went to an actual co-working space recently as well, I’ll write a review on that soon – for now, check this place out: Unicorners, super cool vibe.

Anyway, first thing I love about this place – the people. The juice-making cashier peeps who either own or simply run shop at Lemon in Paris are this category of French humans that speak in an incredible Britishy-Americany mixed accent. So exotic. That and their sunny Cali attitudes are exactly what you need for a pre- or post- workout smoothie or juice.

This one particular Saturday we dropped in, there was also a knitting club in the back area. I’m not joking. And these were the most attractive group of knitters I’ve seen in a while. Again, homey hipster is the only way I can describe it. Is that a design style? It should be.

To be fair, I don’t think the knitting club is a permanent fixture of this particular health food stop. But still, cute ladies (of all ages, by the way) knitting increases the value for sure, I’m guessing by like 3000fluffy kitten points at least.

And if you sit by the little bar facing outside, you have a view of this incredible building across from you:
People, jungle walls and knitting aside.. there is also this avocado-crate stack that makes my poor, American-raised heart happy. Ripe beautiful avocados that are so ready to be guaced-up it’s not even funny. It’s like every one of my Mexican dinner dreams came true, within five minutes of this little shop I say this, because anyone who lives in Paris will understand that finding ripe avocados (at a reasonable cost) is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

But no Mexican food here at Lemon, I digress. Mexican-inspired flavors? Maybe!

How’s the food, you’re probably wondering? Below is a snapshot of our meal. Spinach- and carrot –based juices were super healthy and spicy (hello fresh ginger!), great for a cleanse or an oncoming cold. Simply delicious. Really good veggie and fruit combinations/ options to select from for the juices.

And this panini.. like, WOW. Really simple, but good ingredients and good for you but hearty. On a nommy whole grain bread with chunks of fresh avocado, some type of spicy healthy pesto sauce sauce and chicken. Of course they have vegan/ veggie options too.

The only negative thing I can say that happened on this stop was around a bit of poop drama in front of the shop (as in, some guy let his dog poop in the street and walked away, only to be chased by a very angry resident).

C’est la vie! as the French say (only, not, because no one says that here, le sigh). Still one of my favorite spots.

Also, I just googled this place, and turns out it’s Icelandic!! Of course, no wonder I love it so much.

Reykjavik’s Lemon restaurant opens in Paris in March

Filakia,
Steph

P.S. Read more on my obsession with lemon, and I why think it should be the next superfruit.