Soul Mates

If you know me at all, then you know that unless forced to do so, I never choose to rise before 11 AM. Even with the best intentions, I only manage to get out of bed by 9:30. I'd love to be that kind of person that enjoys the morning by walking through the open air markets and sampling the freshest foods...all before 11 AM. Well, that will probably never be me, so that is why I came to Paris. I remember on my previous journey to Paris that I bought clothes near the Bastille after a late dinner which ended around midnight. The city had me at "open at midnight." And the markets are no exception, those of us that prefer afternoon to morning for productive ventures can still enjoy them. There are two open air markets near my apartment both of which have days of the week when they open in the afternoon: Marche Saint Eustache Les Halles, Thursdays 12:30-8 pm (Rue Montmartre) and Marche Baudoyer, Wednesdays from 3-8:30 pm (Place Baudoyer btw Rue Rivoli and Rue Francois Miron).

And so goes my journey to the Place Baudoyer:

Still a bit ill at ease in this fair town, I kept the headphones on and the head down avoiding all vendor eye contact. I walked by lovely fruit, vegetables and flowers. Then there were olives, dried fruit, nuts, all things I loved. I must have been looking, because the charming gentleman behind the counter said something to me and pointed at my headphones. Startled, I walked over and did the whole, blah, blah, I don't understand French, do you speak English spiel that I have down. Enter Baptiste. Not only does this guy have olives, dried fruit and nuts to offer, but he is also adorable, charming and speaks perfect English, awesome. We talked for a long time, I tasted 5 kinds of olives and one was a Kalamata the size of a fig. I could probably do a whole blog on him and our conversation, how this is his family's business, how I told him that when he decides to go off to some other career, I will take his place (we shook on this, so it is gonna happen), where the food comes from, our new business model to be a traveling horse and cart market (think NY taco truck, but with horses), and our shared love of dancing. So, the story is short, but the thesis is that I found a friend. Oh, and did I mention that he is 23 and was shocked, that's right, shocked to hear that I was 30, even made me show him my license. I love France! To end this market segment, I purchased some olives with garlic, dried pineapple and dried apricots, on which I am currently munching! Thanks, Baptiste!

Ok, so I got a bit off topic, but I had a real mission for this venture and it was paella. Through my vigorous and relentless googling, I had located Francois, the paella man. Screw crepes and bullshit sandwiches, for 7 euros I can get a huge pile of paella, just say done and done. The only questions in my mind were how many I should order and how long they would last in the fridge?? So there I was, I spotted the van clearly marked Paella Plats. I decided to make my attack from the south, sneak around so I could get a look at the merchandise without having to make direct contact. Oh lord, this huge, steaming 3 ft pan filled to the brim with mussels, shrimp, squid, rice, peppers, peas and tomatoes comes into view. I could smell it from across the street. And not only do I see paella, but there are two other pans, one with boeuf provencale and another with some sort of delicious roasted chicken and pasta concoction. I probably had that deer in headlights look. I still had a couple of other missions for my restaurant research journal, and carrying steaming hot paella along did not seem like the best plan. So, I hurriedly finished my research and returned to Francois, dear Francois. He kindly scooped up a very generous portion of paella, then added a big piece of roasted chicken and extra shrimp till it was literally spilling out. I handed him 20 euros for my 7 euro plate, and he was going to get change. I decided that it was silly of me to get only the paella, so I added on a plate of the boeuf provencale. This could be the beginning of a beeeuutiful friendship!! See you next Wednesday!

Today, Paris gave me, wrapped in the Place Baudoyer, a market that brought together all things that I love, late afternoon, olives, dried fruit, nuts, paella, saucy beef dishes, and nice people. Dare I say it, I'm in love!