3. First day in Paris

The time has finally come. I arrived at Charles-De Gaulle airport Wednesday morning and found my 6th floor AirB&B easily enough. Ubu, the resident cat, greeted me with appropriate concern. I was probably not what he expected to walk through the door. Wearing all of my clothes that wouldn’t fit in a carry-on, I quickly began to sweat under a long-sleeved wool shirt, a fleece-lined vest, a flee-lined denim jacket, jeans, and neoprene work boots. After a shower and a shave, I was ready to familiarize myself with the 20th arrondissement. Not long after leaving the flat, with no direction or agenda, I wandered through a street market, where older women push carts of produce. A vendor would address one clearly, “MADAM”, then offer her a head of lettuce free of charge, as the market appeared to be closing soon.

By pure luck I wandered into Pére Lachaise cemetery, a stunning necropolis with notable names like Frederic Chopin, Oscar Wilde, and Jim Morrison. At a Christmas party this winter, it was impressed upon my by our gracious host that I absolutely had to visit Jim Morrison’s grave. I considered it my duty to check it out. A little wandering and help from our guiding light, Google Maps, led me to the humble grave of the Doors’ lead man. I doubt that when Jim willed his body to this site that he knew there would be a barricade around it to keep out the constant crowd of travelers like me.

Alas, I still had plenty of walking to do to build up an appetite worthy of my first French meal. Despite having very little sleep on the plane and only the obligatory croissant to tide me over, I covered a lot of ground. 16 miles of walking that day led my back to the same block where I started, where I sat down to eat at La Vierge, a new restaurant sporting a menu of biologique food and wine (organic and natural). I was more than a little embarrassed to be sitting down to eat alone in a restaurant where I didn’t know how to read the menu, much less order anything on it. Thankfully, my server recognized my confusion and walked through la carte de jour. I asked him to use his discretion choosing 3 or 4 plates and wine to pair with them. My meal was as follows:

Wine #1 - Dufaitre, Brouilly

Croquettes de lieu noir - minced haddock mixed with potatoes and deep fried (think fishy cheesy poof, but better)

Champignon de Paris, ricotta, salsa verde (sautéed mushrooms)

Leeks in butter sauce

Wine #2 - Chardonnay Sauvignon (Tintoella)

Lieu jaune, bak choi (pollack and cabbage)

I cleaned my plates with a basket of bread and forgot about dessert, but one of the kind gentlemen serving me invited me out for a postprandial Marlboro Red. I was reminded of the humanity behind the counter as we chatted about his leaving his job in tech to pursue wine as a career. A noble venture. I bid the staff au revoir and thanked them for the meal and extra food and wine. A bientot, see you soon.

Climbing the stairs to get an overdue nights sleep, I couldn’t help but smile at my good fortune.

There will be more walking and eating to come.