Paris Day 2 7/9
We were up & out of the hotel early today. Today was our Paris food tour! I had booked "Taste of the Marais" with Paris by Mouth. I thought we could walk to the meeting point from our hotel. It was a perfect morning & it took about 40 minutes to get to the meeting point. Our guide was Catherine, a young woman from the U.S. but now living in Paris. There were 3 other ladies on the tour - 2 from the U.S. & 1 from Australia. We would be learning about the history of the Marais, visiting various shops, trying some of the items & Catherine would be purchasing items that we would eat later. Our 1st stop was a boulangerie of course! Catherine talked about how to find a great boulangerie & the history of the one we stopped at. She purchased baguettes for later & croissants to eat now. Best croissants ever! My husband & I made the 40 min. walk again later in the week for more of these, so worth it! The next stop was cheese. We learned about various kinds of cheese & Catherine purchased seven different kinds to eat later. Next was learning about pates & 2 were purchased for later. We made our way to the Marche des Enfants Rouges. Catherine took us around showing us the various stands. Our destination was a wine shop in the market. Catherine had arranged that we would stop here, try several wines & eat the items purchased throughout the morning. 2 small tables were set up for us & we proceeded to eat (& drink!) Catherine set up the cheeses & pates on small trays and we passed them around trying everything, along with the baguettes. This was a lot of fun & we had very friendly tour mates! There was plenty to eat, with my son finishing up some of the cheeses once no one could eat any more. Proud of both kids as they tried different things today.
We were pretty full, but had one last stop - A chocolate shop! Catherine took us to the most delicious place! We sampled chocolates (some very interesting flavors), fruit jellies (best I've ever tasted!) & wonderful caramels! Good thing this was the last stop, as I think everyone on the tour purchased items here. We said goodbye to Catherine & waddled back to the hotel.
We had time for a brief rest before our late afternoon plans.