EXCELLENT SUGGESTION.
Beautiful park.
One of my favorite house museums in Paris.

Some of us consider Parc Monceau to be much too bourgeois and stuffy, with all of the Filipina and African nannies pushing the strollers of white babies. I do understand why many visitors find the park charming because they are not thinking about the geopolitical aspects of this situation. I like parks where it is the parents who push the strollers of their own children, and that is something that you see in the parks of working class Paris.

"Some of us consider Parc Monceau to be much too bourgeois and stuffy ..."

Wow, it's bad to be middle-class now? All we saw were families and friends picnicking in a beautiful park the two times we visited. And re-reading my post, I (gasp) sipped coffee on a bench on one occasion. I would have sat on the grass, but you never know when I'm not able to get back up. Of course, i could always get my butler to help me.

tomboy, now you're talking! I'm thinking the ubiquitous sandwich or rotisserie chicken much like we'd grab around here for lunch but I haven't had a real croque monsieur in years and years. And my daughter often goes in for quiche. Great options.

Fleur, funny you should mention that particular creperie. Was watching a video by a local and he was pretty dismissive of some (most?) of what's on Rue Mouffetard but recommended Au P'tit Grec wholeheartedly and the savoury crepe he came out looked delicious. Thanks for the ideas on spots. My daughter is 15, probably too cool to play with the sailboats - but I'm not.

Kerouac, that's for the various advice, including the feel of that park and the price of roast chickens. Just curious - is there anything particularly unique about these roti chickens? Something in the prep or seasoning that the French do well? Just ask as I figure a trip, especially one that takes 30+ hours to reach, is probably a good time to try stuff you don't see every day at home. I thought roti chicken was kind of a cool option when I first moved from the States to Australia years ago but with literally every neighborhood grocery store having a rotisserie going (about 5.40 euro per chook at the current exchange rate but everything is pricey here), I figured I'd leave it if they were pretty much the same thing there.

zebec, I got that cafe down. I hope it's not a recommendation because they'll have a constant loop of Skyhooks playing on the speakers. Owner one of the retired band members? lol I actually had been studying a little on the Pantheon, which looks interesting and the view at the top looks nice (if my &$*&#@ ankle cooperates with the stairs). We're staying on that same side of town... sort of .

AJ and Starrs, appreciate the thoughts on the picnic gear. I'm running around so much now getting ready to leave tomorrow and finish up the business today that I may have more time in Paris! Plus, it seems strange but some of the more interesting time I've had when travelling has just been doing mundane things. Like trying to mime 'throat lozenge" to a pharmacist in Moscow. Made having a sore throat just a little more fun.

bilbo, never heard of 'em but Melbourne Ska Orchestra has a name that suggests I might be into it.

k_marie, we're in Montparnasse, but not far at all from Vavin metro stop. Not sure about the fridge yet. I *think* so but would have to check. They are very handy

Maitai, I kind of get what he means.... sort of .... I tend not to judge places and cultures we're visit and look at it more like a sociological moment. It's not an endorsement necessarily and maybe it's ok to just enjoy the lake and the bridge and the trees. I've been in places (including growing up) that were decidedly working class and it doesn't always ensure the inclusion or best treatment of people who are from elsewhere. Only place I get stuck is when, as a visitor, *I'm* the one that feels over priviledged (of course I am, just by being there on a holiday, so there's that). We were in the FCC bar, a big French colonial place overlooking the Mekong in Phnom Penh and feeling entirely too colonial ordering drinks on the upper terrace brought by Cambodians while we could see street life down below us. Even though jobs are good and all, we both just personally felt an aversion to the classism of that moment. We ended up down on the quay sitting around and chatting down there (no reflection on the Parc in question though - I wouldn't know where that fits into it all, I just guess Kerouac had that kind of feeling there)

An unmentioned benefit of the street rotisserie chickens of Paris are the potatoes cooked below them in the chicken drippings. I am often tempted to take the potatoes and skip the chicken, but of course I would then not get the chicken skin.

Rick Steves has been touting the Rue Cler area for years, both for cafes and hotels. Although the delis there are ridiculously expensive, the nearby regular food shops offer excellent baguettes at realistic price points.
Whether they'd ever give discounts to spice masters and/or pretty teen girls, je ne sais pas.
You're in for a treat and spoiled for choice, CC.
One of Travel's peak experience, Paris.

I am done. The distraction scam

We once stayed in an apartment in that neighborhood, CC. In fact, it may have been on Rue Vavin. Within a block or so were several choices for my husband to get the morning’s croissants, a shop for the ham, and another for milk and ground coffee. We weren’t far from le marché Edgar Quinet—

https://www.visitparisregion.com/en/marche-edgar-quinet

Here’s listing of other marchés alimentaires—

https://www.paris.fr/lieux/marches-a...s-les-horaires

LOL! Great response!

CC, I want you to picnic in the park so you can visit the house museum. DO find out what happened to the family first, before you go. I had no idea and the "news" hit me hard.
I tried to find some photos that may tempt you...

My recollection of Parc Monceau is relaxing on a bench (sadly without a picnic! 😀 ) in a beautiful park and watching all the joggers. Also enjoyed Nissim de Camondo.

If you are staying in Montparnasse, Parc Montsouris would be the place for you without haivng to cross town.

That's one of the places where I have bought food for many years as I don't like to be dependent on restaurant reservations and certain dining times. I either walk from the 6th or take the metro one stop and get out at Sèvres Babylone. As soon as I get to the top of the stairs, there's a small park to the right and Le Bon Marche department store is right there. Le Grand Epicerie is next door. I get my food, sit on a bench in the small park and eat, and sometimes also read a book. It's very peaceful. I think I've been going to Le Grand Epicerie since back in the 1990s, long before the renovation. I might have last been there in 2019. Plus, since Le Bon Marche is my favorite department store, it's very convenient to go there and also to the other boutiques in the area.

Happy Travels!

https://www.melbourneskaorchestra.com/

very much in a busta-blood-vessel mode

The Buttes Chaumont is a perfect picnic place, and on a Friday you could pick up food stuff at the marché Place des Fêtes and its surrounding stores.


Any boulangerie will offer sandwiches.

I'm sorry, but I did not realize that an area where apartments cost one million euros or more is now "middle class." I must be completely out of date

Why the continued hate?
We "got it" that you don't like the parc, nor the area.
Any chance your slams will end anytime soon?

Since my favorite thing to do in Paris is just to wander from park to park and chat with (non-stuffy) locals when I get the chance, I'd love to hear from Kerouac re: which are your favorite parks with more of a working class/normal people vibe for me to search out next time I'm there?

May I ask where you saw "hate" in my comment? You, however, seem to be in attack mode for some reason. And no, your disagreeable interventions will not shut me up.

How many times are you going to tell us how much you hate the parc?
It's a lovely park.
https://www.paris.fr/lieux/parc-monceau-1804
If you don't like it, fine. But we don't need more posts to let us know (again) you despise it.