Day 148
On our first day in Paris, we received a tour of the neighborhood from the owner of the apartment. Among the most significant survival information, how to turn off the water in case of a burst pipe emergency, the roof hatch in case of a fire, and of course, which neighborhood boulangerie makes the best baguette. He stated that there are a number of bakeries closer to the apartment, but once we try the Coquelicot baguette, we won’t mind the extra walk to the trendy Abbesses neighborhood. Turns out he was right.
The French baguette is designed to be eaten the same day. Its ingenious design insures your daily return to the bakery. If you try to eat it the next day it will be as hard as a rock, if you try to outsmart it and put it in a plastic bag, it will be wonderbread mushy come morning. Ergo, the baguette wins and you find yourself returning every 24 hours for its addictive warm crunchy outside and soft, chewy inside. Every morning, except Mondays, we walk the extra few blocks to Coquelicot to get a baguette and six chocolate madeleines for breakfast. I can never wait and end up eating my two on the walk home.
