| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| The Paris skyline as seen from the roof of Printemps |
One of the blogs I find most inspiring, is the very fantastic Not Quite Nigella. On her blog today, Lorraine had announced a competition to win one of four Fauchon Tea, Chocolate & Butter Caramel Packs. To win a pack, Lorraine wants to know what you love about France and why. The question posed by Lorraine really got me thinking about what it is that I love so much about France, being on the 6 week countdown to my fourth trip back to France in the space of about six years. What is it that lures me back each time I plan a trip?
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| View from the bedroom window in my lovely friend's very gorgeous apartment |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Glimpses of Pei Pyramids in the courtyard of the Louvre |
You've probably heard the old saying that Paris offers a remedy for broken hearts. While maybe not devastatingly broken hearted, I found myself in Paris about six years ago certainly foot loose and fancy free. I was a year or two on from a breakup and I was by no means looking for love. My career was blossoming, I had just bought my own apartment and I looking forward to a big catch up and spending time in France with one of my very best friends, la belle femme, who had moved to Paris from Canberra. Finding love in Paris was the last thing on my mind.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Classic Paris |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Boulangerie in the Marais |
I'm not sure if it was the aromas wafting from the Fromagerie in Charles de Galle airport or the warm early morning light hitting the wrought iron flourishes on the rows of Haussmann apartment balconies but within hours of landing, I was under Paris' spell. Yes it could have been the jet lag after a direct 24 hour flight, but I wasn't tired. I felt drugged, like everything was unfolding in a grainy old film. From the art to the architecture I was in sensory overload. It must have been to protect my sensory sanity, but whenever I think of those first few days in Paris, I see the streets, the views, the scenes of daily life in black and white. There is, however, one exception. I see the food, the markets and the wine in colour.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Street market in Convention, in full colour |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| The very helpful, generous and warm stall holders at the Convention market |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Figs absolutely bursting with ripeness after a long, hot summer |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| The most delicious, gnarled heirloom tomatoes |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| French bread... the same taste can never be found outside France |
While the beautiful, complex, polished meals of the brasseries, cafes and restaurants captured my imagination, it was the produce in the markets the captured my heart. Each and every stall looked as though it had been arranged by and was ready to be painted by Monet or Cezanne. The stall holders were wise, warm and bursting to share their knowledge. There were redcurrants, raspberries, cold water seafood varieties, rich oozing cheeses, heirloom tomatoes and the bread, oh the bread. I was smitten. I was in love. I had no time for the handsome business suited gentlemen chasing la belle femme and I around the Musée de l'Orangerie, stalking us in the supermarché or flirting and fawning with us over menus, train tickets, magazine purchases..... I was deeply involved in an unfolding love affair with Paris and her food.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| My love of French cheese goes beyond words |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| La belle femme, selecting a suitable match for all the cheese we bought |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| La belle femme's helpful reminders for negotiating the market. How to get a coffee, water and what you wanted. |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| The amazing falafel's from the Rue de Rosiers in the Marais |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Dinner at Melac |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Making our selection at Laduree |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| The illicit rose and half nibbled macarons |
From Paris, travelling through France, my love only deepened. On this trip I was to taste many firsts. One of them, which has stood most clearly in my mind since then, was the quince. I don't know how it had come to be that I'd never actually tasted quince before. It all started with the taste of a dusky pink coloured quince jelly at the market in Convention. Once I started - from deep rusty coloured quince paste with cheese to light sparkling jellies and the fruit itself, poached gently with spices or baked with cinnamon until it was a dark, caramel pink - I could not get enough.
Returning to Australia, I was a changed woman. France changes you. It doesn't matter if you are there for 10 days or 10 years. The sensory overload I experienced left me with a heart that aches when I think of France. But it also left me with a heart that was open to love. Was it the wines at Melac? The quinces from the market? Whatever it was, while my life in Sydney as it had been was still very important, I had a new set of priorities and my world was shaped with a new sense of meaning. And very lucky it was too because within a month or two of stepping off the tarmac in Sydney, I met Mr K and my world really did change forever. It was fitting that when we tied the knot five years later, la belle femme was the one to place the wedding rings on our fingers.
Now when I eat quinces, I eat them with Mr K. I think of France and how all of the wonderful discoveries, because there are always more to make in France, will be shared with my soul mate.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| La belle femme, planning our wedding rings on our fingers during our ceremony |
This little recipe really sums up my feelings and connection with France. Quince jelly because I first tasted it at that market in Paris and Rosemary for remembrance, both the memories of France and the changes that were to come in my life.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Clik here to view.
