On today’s schedule, we had a food tour on which we would sample fine Parisian cuisine. I found out about Secret Food tours through TripAdvisor and I highly recommend it. First, we met with our guide, Nichol, who gave us a bit of a culinary history of Paris. Then we went to our first stop–an award-winning chocolatier in Montmarte. I tried a delicious précieux (kind of like a Ferrero Rocher, but way better–a praline-filled crunchy shell covered in hazelnuts) and a caramel-filled “bird’s egg” (I’ll take these over Cadbury eggs any day). Continuing our dessert-for-breakfast-fest, we went to a luxury macaroon shop and tried some great flavors of macaroon like strawberry-jasmine and passion fruit.
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Macaroons -
Macaroons
As if we hadn’t had enough carbs, we went to a boulangerie where we tried éclairs and delicious baguettes, fresh from the oven. We did some quick sightseeing and had more history lessons on the area before we continued our classic French shopping trip at a charcutier to pick up some pâtés and cured meats. Next, we went to a fromagerie (one of my favorite stops) to acquire cheese. There was quite the selection, and the aromas ranged from mild to intense.
With only one thing missing from our picnic bag, we went to a wine shop to pick out a white, red, and rosé.
Finally, we went back to the top of Montmarte to sample our selections. The flavors were incredible, and we learned a lot about how you should eat in Paris. We sampled a particularly good white wine (de Rey 29) and a delicious cheese (Brillat Savarin with truffles). Finally, we went to one of the best creperies in Montmarte and I got a delicious (and very hot) lemon and sugar crepe.
This was one of our favorite experiences in Paris, and if you get the chance to do this, you absolutely should. For a reasonable price, you eat a lot of delicious gourmet food with a great, friendly, and knowledgeable guide. Montmarte can be hilly and exhausting to explore, but the route we took with Nichol was relaxing, fun, and of course, delicious.
Next, we took a train to Versailles and explored the famous and opulent château of kings. It’s quite the house, and this is another place where you could easily spend a day.
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Statue of Louis XIV -
Chandelier in Versailles -
Versailles
Sadly, we only had about an hour and half to explore before the museum complex closed, so we took a short trip around and made our way back to Paris.
To end the day, we grabbed a quick dinner and rode the metro to Montparnasse tower to get a great view of Paris just before midnight. At 11:00pm the Eiffel tower’s light show began and it was wonderful to see it from above with the rest of the glowing city. To end the day we got some delicious gelato from a chain ice-cream shop, Amorino. It was a spectacular way to end our time in Paris.