Parigi

My fave butters are: - beurre Bordier aux Algues, great for Tartine or melted ond Natto beans. Daniel Rose turned me on to it. - beurre Pascal Beillevaire. Beillevaire has opened shops in several locations in Paris. A good place in Paris to find good butters and cheeses is Ferme St Hubert on rue Rochechouart. And also at Papilles Gourmandes on rue des Martyrs, not far from a Pascal Beillevaire place.

Congratulations on finding the love of your life. The best feast of all. Near Fontainebleau I like a ferme-auberge with its farm-fresh beef: the ferme de la Recette. http://www.fermedelarecette.com/ The cuisine is simple but there's no freshness like a ferme-auberge. Must book ahead.

Me 3. I also usually get a pain de campagne and not a baguette. Much tastier. As for the boulangerie up in Abbesses, I live in the 9th and go up there often, a very nice short walk away. I prefer the ficelle there. Lastly it is a very good boulangerie but I don't consider it's baguette the best. Delmontel's "Renaissance" loaf is much superior.

I haven't eaten at La Bourse ou La Vie recently. That was a nice a mid-range place. And I don't mind that tourists go or do not there. After all, we, a group of English-speakers, are sharing dining info about Paris here. Whatever recommendations we make here, they are read and known, duh. Don't tell me one comes to this board to ask for info that he does not want others to have.

That's a great period to visit. Personally I would picnic in the nearby beautiful village of La Roche Guyon. -- Would you have a car? If you do, you can also picnic there or lunch at Les Bords de Seine, good cuisine bourgeoise in a nice setting. http://www.bords-de-seine.fr/

Do you mean Olonzac and not Olinzac? Neither viamichelin or Google map can find Olinzac. If it is Olonzac, it is nearer the coast. Conques, although beautiful, would be quite a long drive northward. At least 4 hours one way. By the time you get there, it is time to drive back. If you are staying near Conques for part of your stay, then I recommend the market in Villefranche de Rouergue, a great market in the bastide square. I also second the nearby beautiful village of Belcastel. But if you are just planning a day trip for this, you'd be visising these villages at night ! on the coast, Sète is not only a pretty coastal town, it also has a wonderful market with great oysters from L'Etang de Thau. In Sète, you must not miss a taste of the local specialty tielles. The best tielles can be found in a "no name" place on quai de la Résistance. Look for a long queue outside an unremarkable place that looks like a pizza takeout. Sète is very near Pezenas which I agree is a beautiful gem.

There are excellent threads on Lyon and Beaune, and quite à jour. I can't possibly add anything to those. One of my fave places - very peasanty-hearty - on the lake of Annecy is Ferme de la charbonnière in Menthon Saint Bernard. Reserve ahead so that the farm will have a fresh reblochon heating and dripping on farm-fresh ham and onion at your table before you arrive. The village is enchantment iself. Route de Thônes, Menthon Saint Bernard. Tel 04 5002 8259.

You should be able to find them in most poissonneries, or at least in the bigger ones. Try the one on the corner of Rue Lepic - Rue des Abbesses. If not, you can also order them ahead of time from your neighborhood poissonneries. Season... I see Etrille more often in the warmer months.

There is no train connection between Honfleur and Paris. Takes at least one train plus a bus. Very nice coastal bus from Trouville/Deauville.

Thank you so much for this inspiring thread. After living in Paris for decades, my husband and I made our first cassoulet this wkend, after reading your posts. Our recipe was sort of a fusion of quite a few of yours. Am right now banging my head on the wall for not having done this before when we have had all the good duck sources and interesting sausages from our weekly market (Friday afternoon) in Place d'Anvers as well our regular rue des Martyrs market. Thank you again. -- Long live duck/goose fat.

Bayeux? If you are interested in the WW2 beaches, Bayeux is a good base. Otherwise it is not the most charming spot. -- Wait. Before we go further, you are not going to tell us you have finally chosen Johannesberg, are you? Then when we share with you addresses in Johannesberge, you reply: "Coucou from Bougainville, wish you were here. Btw anyone knows good restos here?"

The immediate vicinity of Mont St Michel is not known for having nice hotels or b&b's. One nice base, not far, and with good eats, is pretty Cancale. What a thrill to eat standing on the beach oysters that have just come in from fishing boats,

Me thinks it is best to go to Mont St Michel later, say, after easter, when présalé lamb is available. Of course you can go now and then go again...

Chez l'Ami Jean bien sûr! Esp when you are 8. The chef does a special menu-dégustation for parties of 6 or more, for 35 euro. But better reserve now.

I second (or third?) the Beaune area. One château vineyard b&b near there that may fit your bill is Château de Mélin in Auxey-Duresses. The rooms start at 95 euro for a double with breakfast. (There are only about 4 rooms, if I remember correctly.) The grounds are enchanting, and so is the entire area, with vines as far as the eye can see... http://chateaumelin.free.fr/en/index.htm

I love Sète. 2 tips: - Don't go to the waterfront restaurants that have barkers outside pushing you in. Instead, go to the market and have the poissonnerie open a dozen oysters right there for you. There are tables nearby for you to sit down and eat, with a glass of white... Costs nothing, and oysters don't get any fresher than this. - Must try "tielles": Size of a quiche. Pizza-like crust outside and chowdery calamar chunks inside. For a magnum opus tielle, try Paradisio on 11 quai de la Résistance. Lastly, am curious: If I am the "wrong kind" of expat, I myself can't judge, no?

This die-hard Parisian may agree with you. In Paris I never get excited about an ice cream run the way I do in Italy.

Happy holiday to you. And next time stay inside Paris instead of out in some burb !

Off topic: You have to see Font de Gaumes (which is very near La Roque St Christophe) . Two among many reasons: 1. You will be sooo proud of humanity; 2. Rumor keeps saying it will be closed forever like Lascaux. O 3rd reason: 3. It is in the thick of Dordogne where people eat soooo well.

Very interesting experience. Am appalled that the commerçants tried to overcharge you. Once my husband was shortchanged by a caissière not because of any tactical calculation but because of the latter's lack of neurons. The tragic-comic thing was that when the store did remind us the next day that based on their day's turnover statistics, they had indeed shortchanged us, the caissière sort of goodnaturedly explained that it was more or less my husband's fault: "since you did not scream about it, I thought you were a rigolo (clown)." We have lived in Paris for a long time but being exotic non-screamers we are sometimes considered to be lacking in credibility. Hey you braved the Champs. The other day I was just thinking about how we, including me, had all advised against going to the Champs on NYE, but of course where was I the first NYE I spent in Pairs? On the Champs. (And a policement asked for - demanded - a kiss.)

Villefranche de Rouergue is my favorite market in France.

Arles,for the concentration of good restaurants, concentration of beauty, concentration of Roman ruins, and also easy public transport.

As usual, I come to threads about a century late. For all visitors who are in Paris with children now, here are 3 fun things to do: - the skating rink in front of the city hall (Hotel de Ville), - the "equestrian ballet" performance at the breathtaking Grandes Ecuries in Chantilly. Oops, the performance ends on Jan 3. Remember next year. - get a galette des rois from a good bakery. Eat it heated. Whoever bites into the "fève" gets to wear the colorful paper crown that comes with the galette. This is a January tradition which Parisians, young or less young, look forward to all year.

It is a very nice posh suburb. I did not mean to make it sound like the boondocks.

Rue Poncelet (Paris 17th) has a wonderful market and is not too far, just that side of Paris. 33 minute walk according to Google map. On Ave Charles de Gaulle in Neuilly there is a well-stocked Monoprix supermarket. 19 minute walk. On Place du Marché in Neuilly (near the Monoprix) there is a regular market Wedn and Friday morning. 18 minute walk from rue E Nortier.