From Paris with Love, Part I

There is a joke in Russian, that goes something like this:

"- I am dreaming of going to Paris again.

- Oh, you've already been?

- No, I've already dreamed of going..."

I have traveled all over the world, but it took me 40 years to finally visit Paris. My first visit was literally just long enough to see the Eiffel tower and have some crepes and Rose. I call it: "that one time I went to Paris for lunch." I'll save that story for another day, but today I'd like to tell you about a more recent trip where I finally had the opportunity to experience the beauty and charm of the city.

I still had very limited time for sightseeing, so I wanted to do something less conventional than standing in line to go to the top of the Eiffel tower. My sister, who studied tourism and worked in the industry, found a Russian speaking tour guide that offered themed walking tours of Paris. We chose to tour Le Marais district. I was instantly sold when the tour guide suggested hitting Marché des Enfants Rouges: Paris' oldest covered farmer's market (it turned 400 last year!), a cheese tasting and a hunt for the most delectable desserts. Duh, I am in!

Le Marais (French pronunciation: ​[maʁɛ]) is a historic aristocratic district of Paris. It's known for many outstanding buildings of architectural importance and spreads across parts of the 3rd and 4th arrondissements. Today Le Marais is one of Paris' main localities for art galleries and home to many trendy restaurants, boutiques, and hip galleries.

The four hour walking tour did not disappoint! The guide, Polina (tasteyourfrance.ru), instantly felt like an old friend. We walked the streets and parks of the district at a leisurely pace, stopping to admire the architecture and take pictures while she told us the history of Le Marais from it's inception in 1240 when the Order of the Temple built its fortified church just outside the walls of Paris. The Temple turned this district into an attractive area, which became known as the Temple Quarter. We stopped in many of the area boutiques to admire hand made soap, chocolate, cheese and more. The old doors on many of the buildings captured my heart and provided a great photo op backdrop. We took about an hour to savor some delectable desserts at Jacques Genin chocolate shop.

"Wildly creative chocolatier Jacques Genin is famed for his flavoured caramels, pâtes de fruits (fruit jellies) and exquisitely embossed bonbons de chocolat (chocolate sweets). But what completely steals the show at his elegant chocolate showroom is the salon de dégustation (aka tearoom), where you can order a pot of outrageously thick hot chocolate and legendary Genin millefeuille, assembled to order" ~ lonelyplanet.com

And then on to more walking, stopping to pick up some waffles and macaroons (have I mentioned I like to eat?) and admiring street art as well as popping into some art galleries.

In Part II of this blog, I will share the best views of the Eiffel Tower and a quick walk through des Champs-Élysées.

Headed to Paris soon and would like to follow in my footsteps? For an English narrated tasting tour of Le Marais, try: secretfoodtours.com/paris/paris-le-marais/

Thank you for reading and please drop me a line and let me know if you found this information helpful.

Cheers!

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