London's East End Food Tour

Bacon Sandwich at St. John Bread & Wine

Having done a food tour recently in Paris, I’ve realized that a guided walking food tour is one of the best ways to experience a new city.  You’ll never be able to eat through all the places you want to try when visiting a new city, but a food tour can “microwave” some of the best food a city has to offer in less than four hours.  With my second food tour – this time in London -- now under my belt (literally), I’m officially a food tour fan.

In addition to getting small bites of lots of different foods, you don't have to commit to something like a full order of mushy peas if that's not your thing or since you're likely to only want to have English pudding once -- you want that one time to be worth it.  You also don't have to worry about making multiple reservations, paying at the end of the meal -- all things which slow you down when you are trying to see a lot in a new city.  Also if you consider the price of the food tour to be a full lunch + a guided tour, it's really not that expensive.

The food scene in London is off the hook and so there are a number of food tours to choose from.  I decided on the Eating London food tour in the East End as it was a neighborhood I was interested in getting to know better.  Home to Brick Lane and its more than 50 curry shops, previously the Jewish community and now the hipsters and artists, it’s a neighborhood in transition and one that reminded me a lot of Capitol Hill in Seattle.  Different than the Paris by Mouth food tour where we hunted and gathered food (bread, cheese, chocolate, macaroons) and then stopped once in a wine shop to have all our goodies paired with wines, this tour involved eight separate eating stops.  (Both approaches are fun, just different.)  The diversity of the stops illustrates the excitement that’s happening in food in London. 

• St. John Bread & Wine – bacon sandwich (award winning restaurant)
• The English restaurant – bread and butter pudding (historic restaurant)
• Androuet – three English cheeses (run by some French expats)
• Poppies – fish, chips, and mushy peas (Poppy recently won best fish& chips in London)
• Pride of Spitalfields – ale and cider (an old school pub home to the famous cat Lenny)
• Brick Lane’s Aladin – three curries (vegetable, chicken, and lamb curry in increasing degrees of heat)
• Beigel Bake – salted beef bagel (most famous bagel shop this side of Atlantic opened 24/7)
• Pizza East – salted caramel tart and English tea (a hipster hangout where you can’t take photos of the decor)

Upsides:  the food (all of it is good), the quantity of the food (you won’t be hungry for a big dinner), the organization (the company started food tours in Rome, added London’s East End seven months ago, and is soon adding tours in Prague and Amsterdam), the logistics (the restaurants were ready for us at every stop), and exuberance of the guides (there are only two of them doing the East End Food Tour every day but Sunday and they are knowledgeable about the area and food scene), the East End street art (which we got a good tour of as well.)

Downside:  with tour groups of up to 12 people, you will not “blend in” with the hipsters. Doing it solo (my tour was four couples, me and the guide. Bring a friend.)  The exuberance of the guides (occasionally an unnecessary, goofy scripted joke sneaks in.)  You’ll be craving a bacon sandwich the next morning.

Actually I did eat dinner that night… because it’s London and you can’t pass up a dinner.   Brett was working long days the four days I was there, but we were able to meet up for late dinners.  Recommending a restaurant in London is like being asked to pick your top three U2 songs.   There are too many good ones to choose from, but here are three that we really liked for the food and the experience:

1.  NOPI (Soho).  NOPI is Yotam Ottolenghi’s, the author of Jerusalem and Plenty cookbooks, restaurant in Soho.  If you know those cookbooks, you know how unique Ottolenghi’s Middle eastern/Asian cooking is and how beautifully he puts vegetables on center stage.  The food was outstanding; though service was a bit slow.  Pick a day when you have time to linger or aren’t trying to make it to the theater.

 2.  Chor Bizarre (Mayfair). Our favorite Indian in Mayfair.  Come hungry and get the Thali (the sampling of 6 different dishes along with cucumber riata and naan.)  There is a meat and vegetarian Thali.

3.  The Modern Pantry (Clerkenwell).  This modern European restaurant was right across the street from our hotel, but it’s also a destination restaurant.   Seasonal food done really well.

Artists and kettles

Henri Cartier-Bresson, The Pompidou Center PARIS

Often going to a museum is akin to eating my lima beans.  Some people visit museums because they are riveted by art or they experience the world through the lens of history.  I mostly go because I should.  There is of course value in this exposure, but I admit to having to work at it.  I’m the visitor who always opts for the audio guide and rarely knows in advance the famous work I will be seeing. 

More recently however, I’ve chucked the guidebooks and allowed my interests – photography and art from the last 100 years since the First World War - to direct my museum outings.   This is where I stand a better chance of appreciating the creativity of the artist and understanding their cultural context. 

David Bailey, National Portrait Gallery LONDON

This reset has led me to three outstanding exhibits in the past month, two in London and one in Paris.   All three exhibits – pop artist Richard Hamilton, photographer David Bailey, and photojournalist Henri Cartier-Bresson - encompassed an exceptional range of contemporary subjects over a period of many decades.  (All three exhibits run through June 2014.)   I’m not knowledgeable enough to write a proper review of any of them, but thankfully there are people that can and have already done that.  I can tell you however that each one of these left me inspired.   It was like walking through someone’s beautifully illustrated storybook of the modern age.

Richard Hamilton, Tate Modern LONDON

I think of creatives like kettles filled to the brim with water, where the temperature of life causes steam to need to be released.   When that boiling water is then poured out over ground up bits of life, something new blooms.  The finer the grind and the slower the pour, the richer the output.   The creative must filter – leaving words and frames on the cutting room floor – so only the best stuff remains. 

I for one am glad that these three men did not leave their kettle on the burner.  Un-poured-out kettles risk reaching a boiling point where vibrations become louder and eventually sound a whistle.   No one likes the piercing sound of a whistle.  But neither do we all want a sanitized world filled with only automated coffee machines.  We need to record facts, but we also need people who are painstakingly filtering those facts to highlight the unique character of the world we live in.

Henri Cartier-Bresson’s work brilliantly captures this idea of a “decisive moment.”   He once said:  “Composition relies on chance.  I never make calculations.  I perceive a structure and wait for something to happen.  There are no rules.  One should not try too hard to explain the mystery.  It is better just to be receptive, a Leica within each reach.”

If you find yourself in London or Paris before June, you may want to make this one of your decisive stops and be inspired.

Every color of the parachute

A couple of weekends ago we once again found ourselves piloting from village to village in search of a Centre Sportif (a central community gym.)  Stretched 50 miles long and 35 miles wide with Luxembourg City smack dab at the lip line, most villages in Luxembourg are within an oft quoted “20 minute” drive.  On the occasion of this weekend however, two games for two different boys demanded our presence at the exact same time– one at the forehead of the Grand Duchy, the other at its chin.  Earlier in the morning, we had already played a game somewhere on the East cheek.  Seizing the opportunity toward simplification living in a small city flush with reliable public transportation, it is the rare Saturday such as this one where having one family car has been problematic.  Problematic, to be precise, for those not disposed to waiting.

There are worse things than passing time in the quiet of a small village.  Only an early drop-off would have provided an empty gym for a Jimmy Chitwood moment.  Post-game, families gather around an out-of-place bar in the gym lobby waiting for their young athletes to toast both wins and losses.  This time a scarce loss, most likely the result of fatigued boys from an earlier triumphant game.  Soon the lobby empties leaving only the two of us, but not before the oversized Tupperware container of dirty jerseys passes on to us for our turn at community washing.  Ear buds in to recharge, my tired athlete reclines against the Tupperware while I busy myself for the hour wait counting all the shades of yellow paint used to bejewel this cavernous Centre Sportif.  

Unlike a dream where you are desperate but unable to zoom out from the mire of your situation, simply being awake allows me the choice to leave the yellow paints for something else.  Out the window, into my field of view came this row of houses.  This residential line up with their pea patch smoking balconies, perpendicular driveways, and heavily blinded windows.  Even in the small villages, post war reconstruction has put the premium on trading private space for public space where green space is meant to be shared not individually manicured.  Shoulder to shoulder, uniform in height and width but joyously irregular in color.  Every color of the parachute on one village block.   Being awake in the light also means we get to see the world in full color.  In black and white, we’d only see the sameness of this row of house.  In color, we appreciate the solidarity of being conjoined with our neighbor and the wonderful surprise that we are each graciously dyed in our own distinctive hue.  A reminder worth hanging around for.

Find a Corner of the World and Step it Up

I’m a monogamous runner with a commitment problem.   Running seems to ebb and flow with me which means I’m routinely faced with “starting over.”    Even when ebbing, I still profess to being a runner – if for nothing else, to be able to graciously decline an invitation to Zumba or Yoga.  

Signs of spring have this way of calling out “Just Do It”, so I’m flowing again with runs in the forest, my Thursday morning running group, and new to the program -- these STAIRS. 

You know that feeling you get when you’ve found a corner of the world that’s all yours?  Tucked away behind an unremarkable apartment complex about a half mile away from my house, these STAIRS have been that recent place.   Discarded water bottles and broken beer bottles signal that I’m not the first one to have made this discovery, but I have yet to see a soul here.   It’s a good thing too as ascending and descending 106 stairs is best done without an audience.   Working against gravity sounds a lot like a pulmonary crisis.

(Movie trivia fact worth noting: Sylvester Stallone climbed 72 steps. )

I don’t have a specific stair workout beyond getting to the top and not falling back down.  I try to do this as many times as I can.   By the fourth repeat, legs reminiscent of those after childbirth start trembling on the descent, spring back to life on the initial climb only to quickly rebel screaming “Hold up!” around the 80th stair.  And it’s not just my legs that are complaining – it’s my lungs, heart, and gluts too.  These stairs have grade.

At the top, I notice the heavy ivy growth on the hillside which seems to want to smother my own legs to the ground. A cigarette butt on the step below asserts I’ve done enough, while my iPhone shuffles to a sleepy Mumford & Sons song to affirm the point.  But then, that silly stuffed teddy bear smiles at me from a window urging me “Just One More Time, You Can Do It.  Look at Me, I can’t move.  I’m stuck in this window.”  The mind plays funny tricks on you when your heart rate is elevated.

It’s still going to be awhile before I’m skipping steps, backward climbing or hopping up – but each time, I go a little further and isn’t that what it’s all about?  Find your stairs.  Wave to your imaginary crowd or Teddy in the window, hurdle a bench (but only if you can do so safely), and pump your fists at the top.

I’d go step it up now, but first I have a cheese and wine lunch date with a friend.  And that too is totally worth just doing.

GPS Drive

Though I’ve been a few times before, enter destination to be safe.

This first part - this following the road for 15 kilometers – like autopilot.   Cars and trucks and all kinds of vehicles share this wide road with lanes breaking for a range of speed appetites.

An announced exit to a slower country road, a curious path for a destination so well visited.   Cruise control is worthless here; this is a road you must drive.

I remember this road.  The first time, I was sure it wasn’t the most direct way.  I checked it, and yes it is the fastest way from A to B.  Not every two lane road is a road less traveled, especially the ones that cross bridges and hug rivers and insist on allowing nature to show herself off.  

Surely it is slower here, but the views less a blur. There is lush landscape surrounded by steep vineyards, half-timbered townhouses in every color of the pastel rainbow.  There are signs you can read and smiles you can make out.  With so much to see, you can’t possibly catch it all the first time through.  

This is better.  Motorways get us most of the way there, but we want our last miles to have a story with a few twists and turns.  The story would be entirely different if I were on this road tomorrow, or behind a tractor.

Listening for directions becomes important here, lest you land yourself in a deserted narrow valley where your cellular lifelines become useless or you can’t make a U-turn. 

Taillight to taillight, the temptation to pass swelling but the steady stream of oncoming traffic forces you to sit back and wait for an opening.  Wait.  Those budding vineyards on the hillside.  That car in front with a license plate from a different country.

Finally an open road ahead, the chance to accelerate – if even for a moment – where everything outside blends together into a swirl of color and texture and wonder.  Turn up the music.

Then, another small town.  Each new town like a relationship, with their smiling radar speed sign, demands that you slow down and take notice.  A frown saved for those who insist on blowing through, racing to their destination without remembering their own village.

Roundabouts where forks used to be, so many more choices with a scarcely a yield before entering.  Some circling the inside, unsure where to let themselves out.

Unexpected heavy rain dumps like Russian soldiers stampeding in, attention focuses ahead where road delineations become less visible and peripheral vision squeezed.  The beautiful tapestry of only minutes ago veiled to the elements outside your control.

Drive defensively and reflect on the feast you’ve just had, knowing the skies will clear and your destination – if not in sight – promises to be only a few roundabouts ahead.

The 10 Best Budapest Surprises

We did the requisite sightseeing of Budapest’s main attractions and came away with a few surprises.

1.  A city still trending.  Walking around Budapest which was recently named “Most Welcoming European City”, it is hard to believe that it was occupied by Soviets when Brett and I were in college.  With the Danube River at the heart of this sprawling yet walkable city, though it has been modernized since destruction in the two world wars and Soviet occupation it is still a city very much in transition. It only takes seeing your first retro60s bus or tram to realize the renewal is not yet done.  (Given the central location of where we stayed, we were able to do everything on foot.)  Against the backdrop of some beautiful architecture and a vibrant music and nightlife scene, trendy shops and organic cafes are popping up next to abandoned buildings on streets like Király Street, also known as Budapest's Design Street.  (One section of Kiraly Street might also be known as the Sex Street and home to the unfortunate Starbucks/KFC combo franchise … so be warned that it’s a mixed use street.)  There is also massive construction going on to pedestrianize the area around the historic Parliament building, all signals that Budapest is rallying to keep their moniker of “Most Welcoming European City.” 

2.  English, ok.   Unlike other large European cities we’ve visited, only 4% of the population in Budapest is foreigners.  With that, we had heard that there wasn’t a lot of English but we found there was actually plenty to get by.  Most of the places we visited and restaurants we ate in were more than ready to cater, and generally quite friendly, to English speakers.   This was a plus since our Hungarian was not good, and the boys French not at all useful.  Brett never even needed to work in his German.

3.  Seriously, it really is cheap!  We expected that Budapest would be cheaper than other places we’ve visited in Europe, but it was even more of a bargain than we expected.  We noticed the rock-bottom prices most with food.  As a data point, a full breakfast for the five of us with freshly squeezed juices and cappuccinos was 35 euros.   Getting there was also ridiculously cheap. Flying Ryan Air, we got round trip airfare for 20 euros (or US$28!) per person.   To compare, that is 20 bucks less than the average price you’d pay for a single game NBA ticket.  (Always adding a basketball reference where I can to win some street cred in dah house.)   There are apparently some very nice hotels in Budapest, but if you are considering the apartment route we found an EXCELLENT modern, super affordable apartment with all the creature comforts you need right in the center of town in between Parliament and the Danube River.  The owner is a young, friendly Hungarian woman who used to work in a 5 star hotel in the US, so she knows service (ie she arranged our transport to and from the airport, had breakfast fixings in the frig for us, etc.)  Her reviews on Airbnb are perfect and for good reason.  Check it out.  

4.  Budaspaaaahhhhh.  This is how little I knew about Budapest before going:  I did not know about their thermal spas.  You should know about them.  Once you do, you’ll be booking a flight.  Geologically perched on some thermal springs, Budapest has over 30 spa-water pools and thermal baths.   We choose to go to Szechenyi Baths, which is the most impressive of the bunch given that it’s both the largest bathing complex in Europe and the one with the deepest and hottest baths.  With three outdoor and fifteen indoor pools all at varying temperatures plus more steam rooms and saunas than you can count, it takes a good couple of hours just to bath hop.  You can see the Turkish influence in the old world architecture which has been safeguarded against commercialism.  With a robust over 60 crowd, some of whom play chess in the corners of one of the outdoor pools, these baths are more about relaxation than water frolicking.  One of the outdoor pools was dubbed the “adventure pool” because it had a whirlpool and several jets.  Naturally, this is where our romping boys spent the majority of their time.

5.  Deep-roasted coffee culture.  Coffee was introduced by the Turks in the 16th century, cultivated during the Habsburg era and evangelized during the 1960s as many cafes converted into eszpresszo bars catering to Western-leaning teens.  At its high point, there were more than 600 cafes.   You’d think with those numbers our odds of finding them would be easy.  We did not.  That’s because rather than walking into one of the many we saw, Brett worked hard combing through local blogs to find the *perfect* coffee spots.  We hiked to several of these spots eagerly only to be disappointed.   By the third letdown, our oldest made this astute observation:  “Dad, there’s a difference between good coffee shops and interesting coffee shops.”  By the last day, we hit on two good ones (found through research of course) worth nothing.  

• Ecocafe (on Andrassy near the Museum of Terror) serves quality 100% bio/organic coffee and pastries.  With a dozen or so tables, it’s not only good coffee but also a comfortable spot to hang out. 
• Ozsem (right near our apartment) is an excellent pastry/coffee shop with more than twenty different homemade sweet and savory pastries in various caloric sizes.  More grab & go than sit & linger, but definitely worth a stop if you are near St. Stephen’s Basilica.

6.  Goulash is only the beginning.  Hungarian food is good!  Unlike German food which can be heavy and narrow, Hungarian food is lighter and has a wider range of options (meat, veal, pork, chicken, duck, trout, pike) and flavor profiles (some French and Turkish influences.)   We never had a bad meal, but the following three restaurants are worth going out of your way for.  The first was our favorite and one that Brett found through a food blog.   The second two were recommendations from people who had lived in Budapest. 

• Café Bouchon – off Andrassy, near Octagon in the 6th (1066 Bp. Zichy Jenő u. 33.)  Café Bouchon is a small neighborhood restaurant with exceptional food and excellent service.  Every dish was carefully explained, they were flexible on portion sizes and they seemed genuinely unfazed by a shrieking baby at the next table.  We ordered roasted pork tenderloin stuffed with green spices, grilled pike perch fillet, veal cutlet, roasted salmon, and grilled beef tenderloin goulash with four different kinds of potation preparations.  All of us ordered full size plates for which we were glad as we all ended our meals in the “clean plate club.”  Make reservations.
• Ket Szerecsen – also off Andrassy in the 6th (Nagymezo u. 14).   This restaurant has an old world feel with a modern take on food.  Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we had one dinner there and decided to come back for a breakfast.  A sit down eggs-wht-options breakfast is hard to find in Europe, and this one delivered.; The Hungarian Omelet was particularly outstanding.  Note:  They stop serving breakfast at 11am on weekdays and 11:30 on weekends.
• Menza – also off Andrassy in the 6th (2 Liszt Ferenc ter).  A popular, large very busy restaurants that has a late 80s/early 90s feel with “happening” atmosphere.  Good food and portions sizes though service was a bit slow.  The energetic atmosphere and good value however make up for slower service.

It’s generally recommended to eat on the Pest side rather than the Buda side as there are fewer and more expensive restaurants on the Buda side (Castle District.)  Our most expensive meal was a lunch at the above average Var: a Speiz in the Castle District, and we also heard good things about 21. 

7.  Hungary has hamburgers.  I don’t know if it’s a carryover from the first McDonalds behind the Iron Curtain being in Budapest, but Budapest has hamburgers!  Hamburgers, more than brats, were available on most dinner menus we saw.  They are even served with a delectable brioche bun.  Coming from the US, they won’t necessarily impress or disappoint, but coming from Luxembourg – it’s a hamburger that doesn’t taste weird!  We especially enjoyed a burger spot in the Gozsdu courtyard off Kiraly uta (a covered passageway hotspot) that’s called Spiler. Though Hungary is not known for their craft beers, Spiler also has a decent selection of bottled beers.  (Burger Confession: we went twice.) 

8.  Hipster Hungarians.  Because we were traveling with our kids, we didn’t get the chance to check out the Ruin Pubs that put Budapest on the map as a party city several years ago.  These late hour pubs are typically in the basements of ruined buildings where they serve drinks and snacks and play live music.  You can spot them all over town. Next time.  In terms of shopping, you’ll be happy to know that shopping isn’t limited to Hungarian peasant blouses. Note:  the guidebooks and everyone will tell you that Vaci Utca is the big pedestrian shopping street, but only go if you enjoy vultures trying to lure you into their overpriced restaurants or if you need something at Foot Locker.   Andrassy Utca, their “Champs Elysses”, is however worth a stroll especially at night when the embassies are lit up and Heroes Square is in the distance. Though we just skimmed the hem of shopping in Budapest, a couple of places we read about turned out to be fun stops.

• Tisza Cipo – Karoly Korut 1.  Unisex leather sports shoes made and only available in Hungary.  Really interesting, iconic looking shoes that have a passionate following.  Unfortunately they didn’t make shoe sizes big enough for Brett (size 13) and Quinn (size 14).     
• Printa Budapest - Rumbach Sebestyén u. 10. A graphic design concept gallery that is described liked this: “The gallery is dedicated to presenting contemporary serigraphs, drawings, graphics and urban art from upcoming Hungarian and international artists.”  We bought a couple of really cool posters there.
• Orange Optika – Kiraly Utca 38.  Glasses shop that makes glass frames from vinyl records.  Apparently Elton John ordered some.  They also have a Seattle connection that I wasn't totally able to figure out.  They graciously let the little boys have fun trying on frames for 40 minutes (I know because our teenager was outside clocking us).  Wanting to find something unique from Hungary to bring back, I opted for a vinyl record pair of sunglasses.

9.  Decent red wine.  The French and Italian get all the attention for their red wines, but Hungary makes a number of red wines.  We especially liked some of the dry Pinots as a nice change of pace to the full-bodied stuff we’ve been drinking from our Italy adventures.

10.  House of Terror.  One of the most highly recommended museum stops we got was to visit the Terror Museum – a tribute to WWII/Soviet Occupation.  Given the subject matter and a seven year old with a particularly sensitive soul, Lawton and I hung out at a coffee shop (the nearly Ecocafe mentioned above) while Brett took the older boys.  They all said it was incredibly powerful and moving, and a must do for anyone coming to Budapest.  Next time…

Ordinary Days

A blog on Budapest is in development, but then there was this headache...

This pile of papers reminds me that every mountain top moment is preceded by an arduous climb and followed by a descent into the mundane, where foundational character is built and dirty floors are swept. 

This excessive collection of travel books, along with the opportunity to use them, signals that I am gradually shifting focus to spending more on experiences and less on things while a peek in my closet gently tells me there is still more work to do.

This unrelenting headache, though I wish it away, my real-time cue to remember that I get to choose my thought patterns, every moment of every day.

This unhurried cup of coffee reminds me that I have moved beyond the busy zone to a place where relationships have room to breathe and ideas to percolate, where journals are friends and clocks not masters.

This padded belly, which no longer responds to my crash demands, jests at the number of rice cakes I’ve been spared and softly urges me to drop and do a few crunches because ten minutes of exercise is better than none.

This unpredictable flicker of self-doubt in the steady stream of other people’s  greater intelligence/beauty/achievement/fill in the blank, where a quick scan of my rank only caves me in, is not a call to action to compare but a cause to celebrate for a world where gifts and talents are widely scattered. 

The magnitude of disquieting news around the world now piped into all our homes, an urgent invitation to move from the couch to our knees and to call the “me train” into the station for a moment. 

This modest ring on my finger compels me to count the years that I have been well cherished, and think of those who are in between seasons of being someone’s most prized gift.

This wrinkle, no these wrinkles, which carry the stories of my many sunny days lived.  The contrasting smoothness of my child’s skin a summons to drink up the beauty of being able to pass on those stories.

This reach for my phone to connect a flag that I have flesh and blood in the other room if not waiting at least open to a story-time interruption, eager to lavish on more than just a “like” for well-placed humor and drama.  

The recall of only yesterday, in all its unremarkable and yet unforeseen twists and halts, which shouts at me once again to stop fantasizing that future-proofing is possible.  It is not. 

It is today, and it’s an ordinary day.  Most of them are.  However, I’ve temporarily sidelined worry and spent time on the floor with crumbs, crunches and petitions.  With that, I’ve gotten some clearance to see that today’s harrumphs deserve a round of applause – headache and all.

The grown up version of a kid in a candy store window

…is pretty much any window in Paris.

(Photo cred: Jannine Suplee)

My January day trip to Paris was with four dear friends all from Seattle and living in Luxembourg as expat wives: Holly C, Holly Z, Shannon and Jannine.  On the recommendation of some well seasoned travelers, we did a walking food tour of Taste of Saint-Germain with Paris by Mouth.  They have a number of different neighborhood food tours as well as ones focused on wine. The Taste of Saint-Germain tour completely exceeded all our expectations, which is noteworthy since all of us have been living abroad and devouring European food for six months or more.  Here was my online review:

We had a fantastic food tour of Saint Germain with Sara. It is not a "factory type" tour at all. No one is carrying a sign for you to follow. It's small, intimate and personalized to the tastes of the 7-8 people in the tour. Not only do you get to taste wonderful food and a lot of it (we ended up skipping our lunch reservation), but you get to hear wonderful stories about each stop. Sara is clearly a friend of all the shop owners we visited. The first part of the tour is hunting and gathering and the second part is sitting and savoring, and you'll be learning things all along the way. This was my seventh day trip to Paris, and one of the most fun experiences I've had yet. Great for people new and old to Paris. Yes you've come to Paris for the Louvre, but you've also come for the food -- so why not let someone take you round to discover some the best bread, pastries, cheese, wine and chocolate the city has to offer.

I HIGHLY recommend this tour to anyone coming for a trip to Paris.  It’s totally worth the 95 euros per person in terms of the experience, amount of food and back stories behind the success of many of Paris's finest pastry chefs, bakers, and cheese mongers.  The larger-than-life butcher we met in the Marché Couvert is Ina Garten's (the Barefoot Contessa) butcher and apparently Brad Pitt was just in visiting him the week prior.  It's the only covered market I've been in that doesn't smell like fish or aged cheese.  It smells like heaven.  Make sure to book well in advance, particularly in the summer, as tour groups are small and as their reputation is growing.   I’ve also since used the Paris by Mouth website as a resource for restaurant recommendations in Paris.  Their website is still a bit clunky, but content is good.  The wine tour they offer and which I’ve heard most praised is: Beyond Bordeaux: A Tour of Unconventional Wines & Wine Bars.   

Places visited during our Taste of Saint-Germain food tour, in case you want to venture out on your own:

• Poilâne bakery at 8 rue du Cherche Midi, 75006
• Marché Couvert (covered market) de Saint-Germain at 4/6 rue Lobineau, 75006
• La Dernière Goutte wine shop at 6 rue Bourbon le Château, 75006
• Pierre Hermé pastry shop at 72 rue Bonaparte, 75006
• Patrick Roger chocolate at 108 boulevard Saint-Germain

My February trip to Paris (just yesterday) was with a new transplant to Lux from Atlanta and a fast friend, Jeannie.  Piggybacking on the success of the Paris by Mouth tour, we decided to try another walking tour.  This time we did a scholar-led group walk of the Marais Mansions with Context Travel.   Given the time of year, our three hour walking small tour was even smaller – it was just the two of us!-- led by an art historian docent.  This outfit is larger than Paris by Mouth as they offer tours, or rather walking seminars, in architecture, art history and even food and wine in most all of Paris’s neighborhoods. (Though I'd stick to Paris by Mouth for food related tours.) They are in 23 other cities around the world. It's one thing to read about the places you visit, but it's something much richer when you are walking the streets with an expert who is willing to answer all your random questions.

The Marais Mansions tour was an incredibly informative walk through one of Paris’s most lively neighborhoods and one that bears all the scars of a city through many transitions.  The walk was a chronological story of the change taking place in Paris between 1550 and 1720 before the French Revolution and the modern era.  The docent was a lovely Parisian 30 year old with perfect English who brought history alive with just the right amount of facts, storytelling, and gossip.  We learned a ton, and by the time the three hours were over – we were ready to eat and shop.

Our eating and shopping options in the Marais were plentiful and were informed by two great websites that you should know about when traveling to a new city: Unlike City Guides and Spotted by Locals City Guides.  I use these sites a lot.  They have recommendations across the arts, bars, music, restaurants, shopping, snacks, etc in most of the big cities in Europe.   Both of the websites are curated by locals and pick up where many of the travel guides leave off.  I particularly find them useful for restaurants and shopping, and each recommendation has a full blog entry so you have more useful context to decide if it's something that will float your boat or not.  They both have mobile apps, which I don't pay extra for -- I typically just scan it in advance of a trip and jot down a few notes. 

THE EATING

Lunch: Chez Marianne, 2 rue des Hospitalières St-Gervais, a sit down cafe with Middle Eastern and Jewish specialties and a house wine called "Marianne."  You will need Google translate to guide you in picking four or five of the options for your mix and match lunch plate else you may be swimming in toomuchummus.

Late afternoon refreshment: Café des Musées, 49, rue de Turenne, a sit down cafe on a busy corner of the Marais.

Dinner snack: Candelaria, 52, rue de Saintonge, because I'm always on a salsa fix quest.

THE SHOPPING

You could spend all day in the quaint Marais between the museums, shopping, bars and restaurants.  Rue des Francs Bourgeois is the major shopping street, and you don't really need a list of places to hit.  Rue de Turenne is lined with men's clothing shops and  Rue des Rosiers (the Jewish area of the Marais) also has a lot of good shopping including a particularly fun and unique dress store I had read about: Heroines.  Jeannie got a gorgeous cape there.  She also got some red boats at another store on Rue des Rosiers in honor of Valentines Day (or actually because they were 60% off and from Paris.)