Uncategorized
What to Buy
We purchase items in Paris for various reasons:
At the Airport:
Post Office: (if open): Post Card Stamps
Train Tickets:
RER Tickets into City
10 Metro Ticket Carnet
Paris Office of Tourism (if open)
Paris Museum Pass
Grocery Supplies:
Knife
Corkscrew
Dijon Mustard
First Day Grocery:
Le Grenier à Pain:
Pain aux Cereales
Financiers aux Framboises
Madeleines pistache
Naturalia
Petite Pan Abricot
8 À Huit, Carrefour or Monoprix
French Table Cheese
Things we always buy:
Le Louvre Monthly Calendar
Louvre Page a Day Calendar
French Things (that we can’t buy at home)
Gifts
Glasses
Things that we bring from home
Instant Coffee
We look for things that taste incredible (“incroyable”)
Morbier
semi-soft cows’ milk cheese of France
central line of edible white ash much like
Morbier:
Milk source: Dairy cattle
Country of origin: France
Region of origin: Franche-Comté
Aging: 1-3 months
Cheese type: Stinky
Pasteurized: Depends on variety
Morbier: Cheese with a Dash of Ash
(The Gourmet Cheese of the Month Club)
Traditionally, a half wheel of Morbier would be propped up by the fire. As it started to melt, the cheese would be scraped on to crusty bread or hot potatoes
Our favorite piece of Morbier was purchased at a discount at a Paris grocery. It was near to being over-ripe, expired and it was sooo good.
Humboldt Fog
soft-ripened goat cheese ($28.98 per pound)
Humboldt Fog (Cypress Grove) GOAT
Producer: Cypress Grove Chevre
Milk source: Goat
Country of origin: United States of America
State of origin: California
Rind: Bloomy
Texture: Soft
mold-ripened cheese
central line of edible white ash much like Morbier
The cheese ripens starting with the bloomy mold exterior, resulting in a core of fresh goat cheese surrounded by a runny shell.
As the cheese matures, more of the originally crumbly core is converted to a soft-ripened texture.
The bloomy mold and ash rind are edible but fairly tasteless.
The cheese is creamy, light, and mildly acidic with a stronger flavor near the rind.
12 Days of Cheese (2017)
12 Days of Cheese Whole Foods
starts friday, december 8th, 2017
Humboldt Fog (Cypress Grove) GOAT
Epoisse (Herve Mons)
https://www.google.com/search?ei=eZ4pWsHXKOSPjwSilab4Bg&q=Epoisse
Bonne Bouche (Vermont Creamery)
https://www.google.com/search?ei=054pWqWFJOLMjwTpoob4Cw&q=+Bonne+Bouche+Vermont+Creamery
Montgomery’s Cheddar(Neal’s Yard Dairy)
https://www.google.com/search?ei=e58pWq-0I-PVjwTqzLiACA&q=Montgomery’s+Cheddar+Neals+Yard+Dairy
Organic Enraptured Blue (Rogue Creamery)
https://www.google.com/search?ei=GaMpWtCmOujejwSQ7YGADw&q=blue+cheese
Herve Mons Gabietou,
Mons Gabietou
https://www.google.com/search?ei=S6MpWr-QC6qCjwT0iYO4DA&q=Gabietou
Emmi Roth Organic Grand Cru Reserve
https://www.google.com/search?ei=U6MpWtTKB6i0jwTi8oSICw&q=Emmi+Roth+Organic+Grand+Cru+Reserve
Rapin Le Marechal, Cellars at Jasper Hill Hartwell,
https://www.google.com/search?ei=iaMpWtX8FoTjjwTQxLmwCw&q=Rapin+Le+Maréchal&oq=Rapin+Le+Maréchal
Cellars at Jasper Hill Hartwell
https://www.google.com/search?ei=uqMpWpnsAanGjwSdvL2IDQ&q=Cellars+at+Jasper+Hill+Hartwell
Ubriaco del Piave
https://www.google.com/search?ei=GKQpWrjDCoKPjwTu2rLQBw&q=Ubriaco+del+Piave&oq=Ubriaco+del+Piave
Uplands Cheese Pleasant Ridge Reserve
https://www.google.com/search?ei=P6QpWvv1L4eDjwSssZzACQ&q=Uplands+Cheese+Pleasant+Ridge+Reserve
Dutch Cheese Makers Truffle Gouda Klare Melk.
https://www.google.com/search?ei=nqQpWoGXK8mZjwSljoOQAg&q=gouda&oq=gouda
Le Comte Ory (Rossini)
Le comte Ory
Opéra by Gioachino Rossini
Théâtre national de l’Opéra-Comique
Synopsis The Metropolitan Opera
Rossini: Le Comte Ory – Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Warner Classics TV
2:20:49
Standing in Line
often we discover that the person who was behind us in line, is now in front of us
There is much to be gained by exposure to a different (often multiple) cultures
and as a tourist, you will be exposed to lines of people in many situations.
There is no shortage of lines:
there are good line and there are bad lines
Bad Lines:
Lines for concerts and the opera
Lines boarding the plane
Lines at Le Louvre
Lines buying tickets
More civil lines:
Lines at customs
Sometimes a line at check-in
Lines at the Boulangerie
Lines at Notre Dame
Frequently we find that the concept of an orderly line does not exist in many situations in Paris. And, often discover that the person who was behind us in line, is now in front of us. You have to be vigilent, or better yet, you have to let go (and not care if that couple find a way to get in front of you)
Nous aimons
What we like “ce que nous aimons”
Why Paris?
https://parisfortheholidays.com/
Which Paris?
https://wp.me/p3hvvc-1VW
What we like may be colored by ignorance and inexperience
We are often wrong
But occasionally, we get it right
(and have visited Paris each year, since 2011)
We like to go to Paris, maybe the most popular tourist city in the world and avoid the tourists (which is a conundrum)
There is a reason that Paris is popular – it is Spectacular!
(i.e. just because the Grand Canyon might be so popular, doesn’t mean it is not worth seeing or should be avoided)
We especially like the History of Paris
the Museums, the Cemeteries and Churches
the layout of the city and the architecture
We like moving around the city like a Parisian
riding the Metro and Vélib’ (bike sharing)
We like Eating like a Parisian
shopping at grocery stores, boulangeries and health food stores
(our favorites: Naturalia and Le Grenier à Pain)
We seldom find a full scale grocery
and go to the Chain-Convenience Grocery Stores (Franprix and 8 A HUIT)
(avoid the “Mom-and-Pop” tiny expensive stores)
We usually stay Outside of Central Paris
(and choose Montmartre, Bercy, Versaille and La Defense)
We stay at premium chain hotels (Sofitel, Pullman, Mercury, Novotel)
They may all owned by a conglomerate, but they are predictably clean, comfortable, luxurious and feel safe
(when we have explored other affordable options the rooms were cramped, the showers claustophobic and there were sanitation issues)
We like to shop for souvenirs at Museums and Churches
Office Supply shops often have interesting blank books
Groceries often have “different” toiletries (avoid expensive pharmacies)
When my sunglasses broke last spring
they were able to fit me with new frames
(and it was very reasonable surprise!)
We like to Run in Paris
There are Meet Up Groups which you can run with
We recommend running the Gardens of Versailles when the gates open at 7:00am
Some hotels (Soffitel La Defense) provide a small pocket card with various running routes
When you are buying Things to Eat, you should NOT avoid the crowds
Do not shop at the Fromagerie, Wine Shop or Drug Store which is empty and expensive
For Coffee, we go to the nearest McDonalds for a cafe allonge (espresso diluted with hot water)
We don’t understand the politics of cafes, the waiting, the bar vs tables, etc
In our opinion, the worst cafe in Paris is at le Louvre
(no concept of service, efficiency or expediency)
and it is terribly expensive (I saw a couple with kids spend their mortgage)
We seldom “eat-out”
Were unimpressed with street crepes
Almost didn’t have enough money for a lunch, when they required cash
But we can recommend: Bouillon Chartier, L’As du Fallafel, Taverne Henry IV and La Tour Montlhéry – Chez Denise (as does every tourist guide – no surprise)
But it is important to remember . . .
We are often wrong
Basilique cathédrale de Saint-Denis
The Basilica Saint Dennis is a Paris touchstone
There is the lore of Saint Dennis the martyr behind Montmartre
The legend tells us of Denis, the bishop of Paris, who offends the wrong people and is beheaded
Which does not deter Denis. He washes-him-self-up in a nearby fountain and sets off on a walk
Where he stops will be the Basillica Saint-Denis, quite a complex
Preferred Burial spot of the French Monarchy
Peter Abelard (of the Abelard and Heloise duo) comes here to join the monestary
During the French Revolution, the tombs of the Kings and Queens of France was an understandable target.
Graves were robbed, the remains thrown into a hole, sprinkled with quick lye (an ossuary)
This is not Notre Dame, a popular tourist spot downtown. Saint-Denis is at the end of a Metro Line. Cold and Old, not popular. There were beggars out front, a sad flea market blocks down, but home of the best baguette I’ve ever had
A Dauphin’s Heart & French Royal Remains at the Basilica of St Denis Notes from the Field (Atlas Obscura)
Our one visit to Saint-Denis took us on a long Metro ride, to the end of the line. Saint Denis is not a prosperous town and we could not find our way. There was a seedy Flea Market, and we eventually found the Basillica St. Denis. At first it appeared decrepit and in disrepair. Everything has a patina. There were no lines of tourists, only a beggar or two.
We finally found the entrance, where they accepted my Museum Pass. There is too much history to absorb. Even the gift shop seemed decrepit, it was a depressing afternoon.
On the positive side. We stopped at a sandwich shop, outside the Basilica, across from the Flea Market. They served us the best ham and cheese baguette, with lots of french mustard.
https://uk.tourisme93.com/basilica/virtual-tour-of-st-denis-basilica.html
https://uk.tourisme93.com/basilica/map-of-the-tombs-saint-denis-basilica.html
So much to see in St. Denis
Worth a return visit
Church Concerts
Music Performances in the Evenings permit you to visit a venue in a special light
We’ve attended two church concerts:
One in Sainte-Chapelle, which is a little counter-productive because you won’t see the world-class stained glass windows at night, but it’s a relatively small, cold, dark and even the bad seats were good.
The second was at Saint-Sulpice, Mozarts Requiem on New Years Eve. Times Square had nothing on the open seating SNAFU where the concept of waiting-in-line is very free-form. Arrive early and don’t even try to count the number of people who try to cut-in-front of you. The Performance: EXCELLENT
We found that for the price of “Primo” seating, we could buy seats at Opera Comique on a Sunday afternoon, a strong dose of Paris, with a local audience. Worth a Look
Paris Churches
Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris
Eglise des Billettes
Eglise de la Madeleine (Madeleine)
Eglise Saint-Ephrem
Eglise Saint-Eustache (Les Halles)
Eglise Saint-Germain-des-Prés (Saint Germain des Prés)
Eglise Saint-Louis-en-l’Île
Eglise Saint-Séverin (Cluny-la-Sorbonne)
Eglise Saint-Sulpice
La Sainte-Chapelle (Cité)
Paris Church Concerts (Tickets for Classical Music)
Subscribe to Paris Memos (our email list)
Waiting List
rue Lepic (Montmartre)
The rue Lepic (which climbs up through Montmartre) is our favorite street in Paris
Once we drop our bags at the Hotel, it is our first destination
We pass the Montmartre Cemetery and the Moulin Rouge, before turning left up rue Lepic
It is easy to see how this was an ancient road
n°15, brasserie Café des 2 Moulins where the film Amélie was set
n°54, studio of Van Gogh and his brother Théo, on the third floor, from 1886 to 1888
across the Street Naturalia, a good health food store
n°12 rue de la gare, a great Boulangerie, Le Grenier à Pain
At some point during our stay, we will ascend the hills of Montmartre on rue Lepic to Sacre Couer
Montmartre is the Artists District, where familiar painters walked these street
Montmartre, 1880–1900 The Met
Vincent van Gogh the van gogh route
Paris for the Holidays 