A Month in Paris
 

Hello,
My husband and I are living in Paris for a month. Some of you may have seen my trip report on Barcelona before (http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...t-and-blog.cfm)
Anyway I will be posting links to my blog here for those who want to follow along.
Here is the first one with pics, although I pasted the text below:
http://www.eatdreamtravel.com/2012/0...-of-paris.html

***
We have been in Paris 24 hours now, and my love affair has begun (again). We were here before, almost a year ago, for a week in St. Germain de Pres. It was lovely and perfect to be in the 6th arrondisement, with all the people, the bustling cafes, easy access to all the tourist sites. But now we are back to actually live here, and I imagine like most Parisiens, we can't afford to do that in St. Germain.

So here we are just outside of Paris actually, right between the town of Saint-Mande and Montreuil, near Vincennes. For those who don't know, we are basically just east of the 12th Arr. Now this is a real neighborhood. We dont hear any English here. We see families pushing strollers. But all the things we love about Paris are still here - the local boulangerie and fromagerie (bread store and cheese store), the Sunday market, the beautiful parks. Yes, on Saturday night if you want some action you have to get on the metro and head into the center. But we are five minutes from the #1 metro line, which takes you pretty much anywhere you want to go, and fast.

***

Last night we arrived to Orly airport, and after talking to someone at the tourist information desk, determined what I already knew, which was that we didn't have much choice other than to take a cab. We could have taken two trains, but with our luggage that didn't seem like a good idea. The cab from Orly to our place took quite awhile because of traffic, and cost 40E, exactly what we had been told it would cost.

I was delighted to find that our apartment is at the back of a group of buildings set off the street around a courtyard, so it is extremely quiet. Lugging our bags up rickety spiral stairs in the dark was not so fun, but we've come to expect that. When we entered the apartment and looked around, I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. The apartment is great, especially compared to the last one. It is so cozy, there are lots of books on the shelf and pictures on the wall, the kitchen has most of what we need, the couch is large and comfy, and overall you can just tell that a female once lived here, or at least set it up. Of course it is small, but the space is used very efficiently.


***
The next morning we slept too late as usual, then hurried to the market we'd heard about, hoping it would still be going on. And it sure was. It was much bigger than I had expected, and the stalls of fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, fish, prepared foods, etc. went on and on and on. I will have to return and take pictures but at first I was just overwhelmed. I had forgotten to bring the shopping cart/bag in our apartment that everyone else had with them so I wasn't sure how I would carry everything, or even what I wanted to buy, or how to say what I wanted in French.

Eventually we settled on wanting to make roast chicken (recipe and pics to come), among other things, and we plunged right in. All the merchants were very friendly, and those that could speak English actually did so with us. No rude Parisiens here! We chatted for awhile with an Italian who sells fresh pasta at the markets here and lived in the U.S. for several years. He liked us so much he even threw in some free mini cannolis!

[I should mention though that unfortunately the market is not cheap. For example, a small cauliflower and five tomatoes was over 7 euros! Some things are cheaper than others, like the onions and potatoes and garlic weren't bad at all. It was a bit of sticker shock after Spain, and I'm not sure the supermarkets will be much better; I'll find out tomorrow when they are open.]

After we feasted on bread and cheese, bread w/butter salt and radishes, and some soft boiled eggs, we got the chicken ready and into the oven, and then took a walk to the nearby park - Bois de Vincennes.

This park is huge, and reminded me a lot of Central Park (although it's not in the center of town here by any means). There is a path around the park for biking and running, and near where we entered the park there is a pretty little lake. We only saw a small piece of the park, but I can tell I'm going to be spending a lot of time there. We lay on the grass soaking up the sun, watching all the families, thinking that we have to come back with a picnic soon.

I look forward to following your adventure.

Im in - thank you!

How exciting! Looking forward to more!

How wonderful! Friends of friends live in St. Mande, and whenever my friends go to Paris, that's where they stay. I've never been, but they speak highly of it.

Looking forward to following along, and Happy Poisson d'Avril!

Have a great month. I'm along for the ride.

Oh goody! I'll take a virtual month in Paris if I can't have the real thing. Wonderful, inviting photos.

signing up for the experience too!

I will be happily following along!

So excited for you...would love to spend a month in Paris! Can't wait to hear all about it.

Looking forward to your reports. Thanks!

Oh boy, looking forward to this one!

Could you give us a link to the apartment?

This will be a fun report to read. Looking forward to more.

Great reading! Will be following your blog as always!!

I will follow your report with interest; will live in Paris for a month next september!!!!!

So glad you get to spend a month there,I am happy to have 2 weeks in June,Looking forward to hearing more.

This is an exciting report. I'm looking forward to reading more.

You have me hooked =D>

I'll be checking in daily for my Paris fix. The photo of those strawberries had me drooling. I can't remember ever having berries anywhere that were as sweet as they are in France. It's like eating candy. I'm also putting that park on my list for our next trip. It looks so inviting.

It is not that the market is expensive -- you bought products that are not at all in season! Obviously you had to pay more.

But I am very happy that you are discovering a new location and have already learned the very important lesson that there is a lot more to Paris than Saint Germain des Prés.

During your excursions in the Bois de Vincennes, you might want to go around to the back side and see the unusual park that I made a report about a couple of weeks ago: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...e-in-paris.cfm

Kerouac - You must be right about the produce. I didn't think about it because at home the only things sold at the outdoor markets are what is in season right then. But it certainly doesn't seem right for cauliflower, tomatoes, eggplant, strawberries, etc to all be in season. So at the markets here, things are sold that are grown from far away and brought into Paris??

And thank you for the link to your park report, that's great!

Yes, they are grown all over the world, but the country of provenance is always marked on the price sign -- that's a law. "Kenya" "Chile" "Morocco" "South Africa"

Don't think of the outdoor markets in Paris as being "farmer's markets." The market people are professionals who go and buy their produce at the central market in Rungis around 2 or 3 a.m. and bring it to the market location for opening time.

can't wait to get some of those strawberries in May and they should be in season....none like them in the US. can you post if you see cherries in season also? Oh and the asparagus...will eat it every day while we are there!!

Kerouac - thanks for the info, that makes sense. I have seen the provenance signs in the supermarket but didn't pay attention at the outdoor market.

Cornelius - When we were here in late May last year strawberries were in EVERYTHING at the restaurants, it was wonderful! .

I did notice that a lot of the strawberries now on sale do indeed come from France -- but they are of course hothouse strawberries. Field strawberries will be on sale in a few weeks.

Kerouac, you are such a great source of information, thank you!!! And I imagine field strawberries will be cheaper...

Field strawberries will cost less and taste infinitely better. I live in the South and as a kid we got all our strawberries from Arkansas and Louisiana in May when they were in season. I lived off strawberry everything for weeks and we made preserves (confiture) and froze some berries, as well. We didn't get them any other time of year.

I still despise hothouse strawberries from FL and CA... they just don't have the flavor!,

One of my favorite Paris things is a perfectly simple strawberry tart! Throw in macarons, ice cream, sorbet and all the other wonderful desserts the French can make with strawberries and you are gonna be very happy in a few weeks! :-)

Sharbear: so happy to find this report. Many thanks for taking the time. And another vicarious trip for all of the rest of us.

we'll be in Paris in two weeks, my mouth is already watering. Why does everything taste so much better in Europe? (rhetorical, folks)

Well our baby strawberries from the other day tasted so good, it's hard to imagine anything tasting better..maybe they were field ones already? I can't wait for all the strawberry treats!!

Eating the CA strawberries now and flavor just is not there but at least they are organic.

I'm another who will be reading your posts for the vicarious thrill of it all.

Thank you! I will keep checking your blog. My sister and I are going to Paris for the 1st time in May.

Great first day. I'm excited to read the next 29.

I'm hooked already and looking forward to getting my Paris fix! Keep it coming.

Thanks ExpatP! We love wine and that sounds like so much fun, will have to contact them and see how expensive it is...but we are trying to be very good with our budget right now so hopefully we will have some money leftover for fun treats like that!

I will be in Paris this Friday for a week with my 17 year old daughter and a good friend. I am wondering if many places will be closed on Sunday and Monday for Easter. My friend wants to go to the flea markets and wondering what their schedules will be. Anyway, how's the weather, by the way?

Hello - the weather has been really nice, in the upper 50s/low 60s with sun, although right now it looks like it might rain soon. This will be my first time here during Easter but from what I read most things are closed on Sunday and Monday, but I don't know details about the markets...if anyone does I would like to know. I'm kind of bummed that we will miss a weekend day because that is when my husband is not working and we can really see stuff!

Ok having just poked around a bit more...it seems shops will be closed, so I'm guessing no markets, but tourist attractions like museums, etc will be open if they are normally open on sunday/monday. Do check schedules for the museums, I stupidly went to the L'Orangerie museum yesterday forgetting it is closed on Tuesdays.

But would love for someone who actually has lived here longer than a week to let us know about Easter, thanks!

Here's my latest post, on Canal Saint-Martin: http://www.eatdreamtravel.com/2012/0...-and-more.html