It started with an innocent aside by Michael when he was visiting me last summer
from San Francisco. He and I have been friends and cooking co-conspirators for
more than 30 years and in that time we’ve traded recipes, shared culinary
successes and together have cooked some pretty spectacular dinner parties.
At one point during the visit he said, “John and I have been talking about how you are able to spend time in Paris so inexpensively. He told me that if you and I can put together a reasonably-priced trip, he’d be willing to pay for me to go.”
Thus a plan was born.
As if anyone had to twist my arm to get me excited about another trip to Paris! It’s now what I consider to be a regular vacation destination. However, up until Michael’s suggestion I had never considered asking a friend to come with me. All my previous trips had been on my own but there were places I still hadn’t visited and things I still hadn’t done. There would be surprises and new experiences in the trip for me; Michael will have photo opportunities that will make the vacation memorable for him.
Our mutual interest in cooking would serve us very well on the trip; one thing we decided immediately was that we wanted to get an apartment instead of staying at a hotel. This would give us the opportunity to shop the markets, cook a few dishes and actually taste Paris rather than look at the goodies and wish we had a place to take them.
I had my own agenda for access to a kitchen—my cooking had become rote of late and I needed a shot of inspiration. It wasn’t enough to trod the concrete floors of the Soulard Market or zone out in front of Food Network anymore. A walk through Le Grande Epicerie and a stroll around the Madeleine markets would be so beneficial to my outlook and my cuisine.
It wasn’t going to be easy to coordinate a trip with one of us in Saint Louis and the other in San Francisco but I was willing to try. The goal for my Paris trips has always been to get the total cost of the basics (airfare, accommodations and food expenses) at or below $1500.00. With the two of us sharing some expenses I was convinced that I could hit that target.
I began by setting a budget for my airfare. Since I had been to Paris a few months before, I had an idea of how much I wanted to pay for my ticket. The fare I paid for the 2K5-2K6 holiday season was $567.30 so I knew that airfare was possible. My high end for round-trip airfare would be $650.00.
My approach for airfare searches is to check airline websites every day, using an arbitrary set of travel dates. From experience I knew that April First was the date for the opening of Tourist Season in Paris so if we were to save cash on the trip, we should go a couple of weeks earlier. Flying on the weekends looked more expensive than traveling during the week so I picked Thursday to Thursday as our departure and return days.
Since we were starting our research months ahead, I could be patient about the airfare search and knew that it could take some time before I saw a downtick in prices. We were set on using American Airlines for one specific reason—greed. We both were close to having enough mileage for free international travel and one more trip was going to put me over the mark for a free flight.
At first the results were discouraging—well over a thousand dollars round-trip. I pressed on; I knew that there would be no glory without persistence. As August turned into September there were reports about increases in airfares because of fuel surcharges.
One sleepy Sunday morning in September I tottered down to my basement and sat at the computer. What the heck, I thought. I got the website, put in the airport choices and entered the dates.
STL to JFK, then on to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris; returning via Chicago--$587.30!!
Uh…needless to say it was a no-brainer. I put the airfare on hold then shot a quick email message to Michael, followed by a phone alert. We knew that his airfare was going to be more expensive because of the flight from SFO to JFK, but when he searched for his flights the airfare was within the realm of reason for John’s support.
Once we had e-tickets in hand we started looking for accommodations and it didn’t take long for us to find a cute apartment that would do, located a block away from the Rue Cler shopping district. The Rue Cler stuck in my mind for some reason so I consulted my friend Kim, who I considered to be my expert on all things Paris.
Her reaction was exactly what I needed. Rue Cler was an ideal spot for a foodie! Food markets open daily; some of the best bread, cheeses and meats in Paris were sold right there. That section of the 7th Arrondissment was one of her favorite places in the city and she told us not to miss it.
I was sold. Visions of delicious foodstuffs danced in my head. Michael and I planned to shop the markets for fresh vegetables and fruit, perhaps pick up a prepared entrée, some good bread and a dessert and dine chez nous once or twice instead of going out.
The cost of our week in the apartment was amazingly reasonable: $450.00 per person for six nights. That’s much less than I’ve spent on hotel rooms and we’d have the kitchen. Staying in an apartment would bring the culinary experience of Paris to a completely new level. I would walk through the shops, see the gorgeous fresh foods and no longer feel sad that I had to pass them by. It’s amazing that even in a culinary capital like Paris one could be weary of eating out every night.
The apartment we found was described as having a very basic kitchen setup; no oven (I’ve found that isn’t unusual) but there would be a refrigerator, a 2-burner range top, microwave, toaster and coffeemaker. Very basic but at least we could put together a good breakfast and make coffee or tea every morning.
French hotel breakfasts are frequently cold “continental style” repasts that are expensive but since they’re convenient, I justified the expense. The thought of freshly scrambled eggs and toasted baguette spread with Normandy butter for breakfast put me into a state of bliss.
The fact is, I’ve been obsessed with the thought of European eggs ever since I started watching travel programs and then traveling myself. One of my favorite lunches in France is a croque madame; a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, sometimes with a cheese sauce, topped with a runny fried egg. The first cut into the egg is irresistible; the deep tangerine color of the yolk promises a flavor that always brings me back to when I was a girl and my grandparents would come from the country bringing eggs from their henhouse.
Speaking of tangerines, I can be inspired to write prose poetry about the tangerines I’ve had in France. They’re lush, juicy and the peel yields easily. A few years ago I was in Nice and saw these beautiful little oranges at a corner store. The sign indicated they were Corsican mandarines and they resembled the little Satsuma oranges that I’ve seen in California. I bought two and took them back to my hotel room.
Immediately after biting into one of the peeled sections I regretted not buying more. The orange was delightful—sweet, juicy bursts with every bite. It completely changed my mind about tangerines in general and I long for that wonderful experience every time I see citrus fruit at the grocery store. I get sad when I see the cartons of “Clementines” in the produce departments here in St. Louis. Those fruits are invariably hollow under their peels and when I try to eat a section it tastes so dry it’s like trying to eat wax.
On the last day of my last trip to Paris there were tangerines in the fruit basket at the breakfast buffet at the hotel. On a whim I grabbed one for my meal and it was as those I’ve had before, juicy and delicious.
Maybe it was wicked, maybe I was in citrus nirvana afterglow but I snatched another one of those oranges before returning to my room to pack for the trip home. It made such a nice snack on the flight back to America.
At one point during the visit he said, “John and I have been talking about how you are able to spend time in Paris so inexpensively. He told me that if you and I can put together a reasonably-priced trip, he’d be willing to pay for me to go.”
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Thus a plan was born.
As if anyone had to twist my arm to get me excited about another trip to Paris! It’s now what I consider to be a regular vacation destination. However, up until Michael’s suggestion I had never considered asking a friend to come with me. All my previous trips had been on my own but there were places I still hadn’t visited and things I still hadn’t done. There would be surprises and new experiences in the trip for me; Michael will have photo opportunities that will make the vacation memorable for him.
Our mutual interest in cooking would serve us very well on the trip; one thing we decided immediately was that we wanted to get an apartment instead of staying at a hotel. This would give us the opportunity to shop the markets, cook a few dishes and actually taste Paris rather than look at the goodies and wish we had a place to take them.
I had my own agenda for access to a kitchen—my cooking had become rote of late and I needed a shot of inspiration. It wasn’t enough to trod the concrete floors of the Soulard Market or zone out in front of Food Network anymore. A walk through Le Grande Epicerie and a stroll around the Madeleine markets would be so beneficial to my outlook and my cuisine.
It wasn’t going to be easy to coordinate a trip with one of us in Saint Louis and the other in San Francisco but I was willing to try. The goal for my Paris trips has always been to get the total cost of the basics (airfare, accommodations and food expenses) at or below $1500.00. With the two of us sharing some expenses I was convinced that I could hit that target.
I began by setting a budget for my airfare. Since I had been to Paris a few months before, I had an idea of how much I wanted to pay for my ticket. The fare I paid for the 2K5-2K6 holiday season was $567.30 so I knew that airfare was possible. My high end for round-trip airfare would be $650.00.
My approach for airfare searches is to check airline websites every day, using an arbitrary set of travel dates. From experience I knew that April First was the date for the opening of Tourist Season in Paris so if we were to save cash on the trip, we should go a couple of weeks earlier. Flying on the weekends looked more expensive than traveling during the week so I picked Thursday to Thursday as our departure and return days.
Since we were starting our research months ahead, I could be patient about the airfare search and knew that it could take some time before I saw a downtick in prices. We were set on using American Airlines for one specific reason—greed. We both were close to having enough mileage for free international travel and one more trip was going to put me over the mark for a free flight.
At first the results were discouraging—well over a thousand dollars round-trip. I pressed on; I knew that there would be no glory without persistence. As August turned into September there were reports about increases in airfares because of fuel surcharges.
One sleepy Sunday morning in September I tottered down to my basement and sat at the computer. What the heck, I thought. I got the website, put in the airport choices and entered the dates.
STL to JFK, then on to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris; returning via Chicago--$587.30!!
Uh…needless to say it was a no-brainer. I put the airfare on hold then shot a quick email message to Michael, followed by a phone alert. We knew that his airfare was going to be more expensive because of the flight from SFO to JFK, but when he searched for his flights the airfare was within the realm of reason for John’s support.
Once we had e-tickets in hand we started looking for accommodations and it didn’t take long for us to find a cute apartment that would do, located a block away from the Rue Cler shopping district. The Rue Cler stuck in my mind for some reason so I consulted my friend Kim, who I considered to be my expert on all things Paris.
Her reaction was exactly what I needed. Rue Cler was an ideal spot for a foodie! Food markets open daily; some of the best bread, cheeses and meats in Paris were sold right there. That section of the 7th Arrondissment was one of her favorite places in the city and she told us not to miss it.
I was sold. Visions of delicious foodstuffs danced in my head. Michael and I planned to shop the markets for fresh vegetables and fruit, perhaps pick up a prepared entrée, some good bread and a dessert and dine chez nous once or twice instead of going out.
The cost of our week in the apartment was amazingly reasonable: $450.00 per person for six nights. That’s much less than I’ve spent on hotel rooms and we’d have the kitchen. Staying in an apartment would bring the culinary experience of Paris to a completely new level. I would walk through the shops, see the gorgeous fresh foods and no longer feel sad that I had to pass them by. It’s amazing that even in a culinary capital like Paris one could be weary of eating out every night.
The apartment we found was described as having a very basic kitchen setup; no oven (I’ve found that isn’t unusual) but there would be a refrigerator, a 2-burner range top, microwave, toaster and coffeemaker. Very basic but at least we could put together a good breakfast and make coffee or tea every morning.
French hotel breakfasts are frequently cold “continental style” repasts that are expensive but since they’re convenient, I justified the expense. The thought of freshly scrambled eggs and toasted baguette spread with Normandy butter for breakfast put me into a state of bliss.
The fact is, I’ve been obsessed with the thought of European eggs ever since I started watching travel programs and then traveling myself. One of my favorite lunches in France is a croque madame; a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, sometimes with a cheese sauce, topped with a runny fried egg. The first cut into the egg is irresistible; the deep tangerine color of the yolk promises a flavor that always brings me back to when I was a girl and my grandparents would come from the country bringing eggs from their henhouse.
Speaking of tangerines, I can be inspired to write prose poetry about the tangerines I’ve had in France. They’re lush, juicy and the peel yields easily. A few years ago I was in Nice and saw these beautiful little oranges at a corner store. The sign indicated they were Corsican mandarines and they resembled the little Satsuma oranges that I’ve seen in California. I bought two and took them back to my hotel room.
Immediately after biting into one of the peeled sections I regretted not buying more. The orange was delightful—sweet, juicy bursts with every bite. It completely changed my mind about tangerines in general and I long for that wonderful experience every time I see citrus fruit at the grocery store. I get sad when I see the cartons of “Clementines” in the produce departments here in St. Louis. Those fruits are invariably hollow under their peels and when I try to eat a section it tastes so dry it’s like trying to eat wax.
On the last day of my last trip to Paris there were tangerines in the fruit basket at the breakfast buffet at the hotel. On a whim I grabbed one for my meal and it was as those I’ve had before, juicy and delicious.
Maybe it was wicked, maybe I was in citrus nirvana afterglow but I snatched another one of those oranges before returning to my room to pack for the trip home. It made such a nice snack on the flight back to America.