I Left My Stinky Cheese in Paris

John and I arrived in Paris last Friday afternoon for a fun, relaxing and unstructured weekend. We walked a lot--returning to some favorite old haunts and exploring some new places--and enjoyed some of the city's gastronomic pleasures.

A highlight of the trip was the apartment we stayed in. I found it on the Internet and it was a great alternative to staying in a hotel. Located on the Rue de Poissy in the 5th arrondissement, the apartment was on the ground floor of a typical Parisian apartment building. It was modern, clean and comfortable. And pet-free! For my life, I couldn't find a hotel in Paris that didn't allow pets.

We strolled around Père Lachaise Cemetery in beautiful sunshine on Saturday. Neither of us had ever visited before. With its hilly terrain and cobblestone lanes, it's a huge city of the dead. There were too many graves of famous people for us to see all of them, but some of those we saw included Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Marcel Marceau, Gertrude Stein & Alice B. Toklas, and, of course, Jim Morrison. Wilde's tomb is covered with the lipstick traces of kisses, and Morrison's has a security guard standing by to prevent vandalism. Fans of The Doors have nevertheless scribbled notes on nearby graves and trees.

Saturday evening we had a fantastic meal at Brasserie Lipp, the renowned Alsatian "brewery" in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Generations of French writers, artists, actors and politicians have hung out "Chez Lipp." Part of the charm of the place is due in no small part to the maintenance of the original 1926 art deco interior with its bright tiles, decorated mirrors, painted ceiling and lights. It's the sort of restaurant where one can really feel the history.

I had one of the specialties of the house: choucroute garni (sauerkraut with sausages, pork and ham) and John had a delicious beef pot-au-feu. With our starters and these substantial main courses, we had no room for dessert. But we did linger over coffee and got to talking to two women to our left. They were both Australian nurses on a grand tour of Europe. We were enjoying ourselves so much that we treated the nurses to a bottle of champagne and made their night.

We had fun exploring some of Paris's produce and specialty markets. Near Notre-Dame cathedral there were merchants selling birds and other animals as pets. John worked his magic with the parakeets and soon had them talking to him. And near our apartment there was a great meat and produce market. I bought some beautiful soft-n-stinky French cheese and enjoyed eating part of it back at the apartment with a glass of Côte-du-Rhône. Then in the rush to vacate the apartment on Monday morning I left the cheese stinking up the fridge. Oh well...

Click here if you want to see our Paris photos.