May 19 Paris
It was market morning, as we took a guided tour of the Place d'Aligre Market. Our guide was Claude, otherwise known as Miss Lunch, and she proved to be a charming knowledgeable host. She lives in the 12e, which is an up-and-coming neighborhood in the east. The actual market runs every day of the week, and is of course more crowded on weekends.

We met at Ble Sucre a trendy little patisserie/boulangerie. I had a croissant and Ira had a Breton breakfast pastry/bread called a Kouign-amann that consists of heavenly flakiness and butter with suger added just to remind you that a diet consisting only of these would kill you. But you'd die with a smile on your face.

After that rush we went to the market proper where we fueled up on coffee. Unlike most cafes, Aouba roasts its own beans on the spot. You can see the owner doing this. I was chatting with him just at the moment he released the beans from the roaster into the spinning dish below, and I received a huge hit of the aroma, just before he made me a divine espresso. Other in our little group had a noisette, which is basically just un cafe with enough steamed milk to turn it nut brown.

Next up, cheese at Libert, where Claude chose about six cheeses that we ate from a knife right on the street. There are many rules to be considered a serious cheese shop. One of them is that you should have a prominent display of old, stinky cheese that indicates you are a player. You also must have a storage place for cheese under your shop so that you can age it yourself. And also, you should be able to dress up the cheese with additions of your own in order to be first rate. The folks at Libert apparently do this in spades. The cheese tasted wonderful, which is all we needed to know. Our favorite was a cheese with a soft rind washed with walnuts, it had an incredibly walnuty aroma and then a strong flavor to finish. Every cheese we tried was a winner.

Next up was the butcher in the covered part of the market. They were charming and a bit shy at all the attention. They gave us some homemade ham, which was extraordinary. I ate like the pig I was eating.

Chocolate! How could we have a tour and not stop for chocolate. More on this later because I'm running out of time and I want to do them justice. I'll update later when we go back for the chocolate-dipped mint leaves we ordered.

And then, and then, and then, this really goes on, doesn't it? But we had more good stuff! Wine at Le Rouge Baron was particularly fun. I really want to take my friends Mike and Jen there. Someday... Wine from a barrell, charm and style a plenty, and tons of people gathered around just having a good time. Go. Drink. Enjoy. Have one for me.

Our final stop was an olive oil store. Again, I don't have time to do it justice, but we're returning for some oil, so I'll update later.