After the Comte Association Summer Press Tour, Karol and I spent a week in Paris. I fell in love with Paris; the food, the wine and especially the people. As I mentioned in my posting about The Jura, I found the people to be friendly, accommodating and helpful on more than one occasion. I had heard “Paris wasn’t Paris anymore”. I don’t know, I thought I was in a Parisian heaven and at least once a day, I would stop in wonder and think “OMG, I’m in Paris.” (I’m already planning my return, renting an Air BnB in the Marais, concentrating on the cheeses, food and wines.)
I had feared my lack of verbal French, after three years in high school I can read and translate much, might slow us down. It did not.
Twice Parisians went out of their way to assist Karol and me when we were “lost”. Generally I can find my way around places quickly but I had trouble getting my North/South/East/West bearings even using the “walking” feature of my GPS app.
The first encounter was in the Pere LeChaise Cemetery while searching for Edith Piaf’s grave. We found Jim Morrison’s grave by following other tourists.. After paying our respects, we couldn’t find our way to Section 95, the location of Ms. Piaf’s family plot. A young Parisian man stopped and asked if he could assist. When I told him we were looking for Section 95, he replied, “Aw, Edith Piaf” and offered to take us there. As we wandered through the expansive cemetery, he gave us a short history, explaining Pere LeChaise was the largest in Paris at 110 acres. Only residents of Paris can be buried in there which was opened in 1804. He said the cemetery was full and when a new resident died, an old, unattended grave would be removed to make room for the new “resident”. We asked how Jim Morrison had qualified for burial in the cemetery and he shared that at the time of his death, Morrison was subletting a friend’s Paris apartment, technically making him a resident. When we arrived at Ms. Piaf’s grave, I asked if we could tip him and he replied, “I don’t know this word tip.” I then asked if we could give him money for helping us; he smiled and replied that he would accept money. We each gave him 5 euros, thanked him for his graciousness and off he went on his way.
The second time was an evening when we were near the Bastille monument looking for a restaurant that served Aligot. Lots of construction was going on in the area along with large crowds heading for the opera. We became completely turned around. A young woman approached and offered to help. She walked us to within a block of our destination where we had a fun dinner enjoying the French cheesy potato dish from the Auvergne region of France. I first discovered Aligot while reviewing Tia Keenan’s Cheese Cookbook, Melt, Stretch and Sizzle.
There was only one occasion when a Parisian claimed to speak no English (in a grocery store). When we returned to the same store, this same woman was working the cash register and spoke fluent English…
We hit all the major monuments and walked some days as much as twelve miles in the smoldering summer heat wave. Our saving grace and the best deal in Paris was the Batobus pass. Batobus is the only Seine River cruise service that offers “Hop On and Hop Off” option with nine stops near most major attractions from the Eiffel Tower to the Jardin des Plants. We bought a forty-eight hour pass and used it frequently during those two days. Our first ride, we chose to ride round trip to see all nine stops along the route. On the second “lap”, we picked our first stop and began our Paris adventure. Because of the heat, when we became tired and/or over-heated, we hopped on the boat; and rode it until we cooled off and then hopped off to begin another exploration. It may have saved my life plus every lap, we discovered something new and fun along the river. I spent thirty years close to the Pacific Ocean and know how important it is to have access to water for relaxation. The City of Paris and the Parisians have taken the Seine and created oases along its bank for enjoyment. Umbrellas and chaise lounge chairs dotted areas, some with wait staff to serve refreshments. In August the city brings in tons of sand and turns sections of the river banks into beaches.
My biggest disappointment was The Louvre. The crowds were so overwhelming that we could barely see the Mona Lisa once we fought our way to the room where she hangs. A kind young man, much taller than either of us, took photos for us. Before going to Paris, I read a stat that 90% of the visitors to the Louvre leave after only viewing the Mona Lisa. Well… sadly I am in that stat; it was impossible to enjoy the museum because the crowd was shoulder-to-shoulder everywhere. Karol and I gave up, hit the gift shop where I purchased a Monet Water Lily scarf and walked across the Seine to the Orsay where the crowds were almost non-existent. We spent several hours wandering the floors. The fifth floor is dedicated to the World’s largest Impressionist collection… I seriously had to keep myself from weeping as I walked from painting to painting; paintings I knew well and never dreamed I would see them close-up and personal. On this trip, Orsay was my favorite museum; we didn’t make it to the Monet, Orangerie or Dali… next trip. I recently read that The Louvre has addressed the crowd issue hoping to reduce the over-crowding inside the museum… I certainly hope so.
The Museum pass is a good investment if you plan to concentrate on museum hopping while in Paris. Karol and I agreed that we might not have gotten “our money’s worth” from the pass as our time for museum visits was limited… next trip I plan to set aside time to visit more of the fifty plus museums and monuments – the Arc de Triomph is included with this pass; however The Eiffel Tower is NOT included..
A word of caution, the Pompidou Center comprises several floors, but only the fifth floor is open to those with the museum pass. The “special” collections require additional purchases.
Karol and I spent most days walking, exploring and eating in off-the-beaten-path bistros. The day we visited the cemetery, we decided to use Uber the entire day to cover more real estate and give ourselves a rest from the heat. A couple of the rides were reminiscent of an LA police chase on I-10 through downtown during rush hour. However, the drivers all spoke excellent English, were friendly and helpful with questions.
Street musicians and artists dotted the sidewalks with a piano player performing in the middle of one of the bridges over the Seine. Yes, the bridge was only open to foot traffic, but you gotta wonder if the musician rolled the piano there everyday.
Because of the fire earlier in the year, Notre Dame was closed, but repairs were well underway. Every time we rode the Batobus by it, we were struck by its majesty.
Since it was our first trip to Paris, we had a lot of ground to cover and I had to choose my cheese shop visits carefully. Every time we passed a fromagerie, we would stop in and check it out. My last day I visited the fromagerie where I purchased ten raw milk cheeses (never available in the US) to bring home. Bringing cheese home is easy, even those prohibited for sale in the US. Check out this document from our customs which covers food you can bring home for personal use. Make sure you declare when you go through customs.
Our last day, Karol and I split up to explore places the other had little interest in visiting. I headed for Laurent DuBois’ Cheese Shop near Saint Germain, stopping for lunch at a bistro on a side street. We discovered early that the restaurants on the main tourists’ street were expensive (and often not superb) but walking just a block or two into the neighborhoods, we could find entire meals, including a glass of French wine, for under ten Euros. I created this video to showcase many of the cheeses I saw. I didn’t get photos inside DuBois, I was too busy buying raw milk cheeses.
Our last night, we went to see the Feerie extravaganza at the iconic Moulin Rouge. We had met a mother and daughter earlier in the week on one of our Batobus’ rides who had seen the show and raved about it. We went to the last show of the evening and loved every minute. Photography was prohibited once the show started and the show is in French; but not understanding the lyrics and dialogue is nothing – the show and the costumes are all you need to understand. My only regret about the Moulin Rouge was that The Man was not there, he would have loved “the costumes”… more specifically… the lack of the costumes.
When planning your trip, use the official Paris tourism website for purchasing passes; online there are many services, but you want to buy from this site. We ordered our passes online and picked up at the Official Tourist Office in the Marais, inside the Hotel de Ville. (which was under renovated) Built in the 1500s, the Hotel de Ville now houses many city government agencies.
Click here for my “Marcella the Cheesemonger Tips for First-Time Visitors to Paris”.
Paris may be for lovers, but it’s also for cheese lovers, art lovers and everyone in between. If Paris isn’t on your bucket list, it should be. And it it is on the list, move it to the top. You’ll thank me and find that it stays there, trip after trip.
In addition to being an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Instructor and Proctor. I am available for cheese events, cheese program development, cheese training, food safety training and 3rd party food safety auditing. See my About Me and Resume pages for more details or call me at 360 921 9908 to discuss availability.
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