I am certainly not the first to say that there is something about Paris. There have been celebrated authors who spent their lives there writing about many facets of the city that only its full time denizens would know. I have never really lived in Paris, but it is easily my favorite city.

It was not always so.

I used to hate Paris.

I spent my junior year in college in France, but in Strasbourg, not Paris. At the time, Strasbourg seemed less daunting, more approachable than Paris since I was a naive white guy from suburban Detroit that was more than a little frightened by big cities. It was not a fear of getting mugged or of any of the seedier elements of big city life, but rather I was afraid of all the distractions: the swarms of activity, the constant flow that never seems to subside. Sure, I visited Paris during that year, but I visited a lot of cities over those 10 months and Paris was just another box to check.

Years later while I was teaching high school, I started leading bike trips in Europe over the summer. The company was based in Paris and that was when I really felt that I hated the city. There could not be much more of a contrast: on the trips there would be 8-16 people and we would all have dinner together virtually every night usually followed by some late night carousing. There are certainly disadvantages to this type of job (I don’t know, but Ohmygod comes to mind), but I was riding my bike during the day, arriving in another captivating town in the afternoon, and engaged in endless conversation at night (not to mention the great food and wine).

Then the trip would end.

After being on the road for several weeks, I would come back to Paris, sit in an office doing accounting work, and then usually eat alone. I was not making a ton of money, so eating in Paris usually meant cooking something cheap and maybe have a little inexpensive wine.

Alone.

This is not a “oh woe is me” type of story, I realize completely that I was really fortunate to be doing what I was–the absolute best way to see Europe, in my opinion is by bike and I was (technically) getting paid to do it.

But I really loathed coming back to Paris.

Fast forward several years and Paris just might be my favorite place on earth. The food, the energy, the wine (duh), the history, the beauty, the language all interconnect and present itself as a glorious whole. There is a distinct smell of Paris that is difficult to describe and it is not entirely pleasant out of context, but as soon as I get a whiff of it, it is similar to the feel of coming back to your childhood home after being away for a while: it enlivens you with a sense of the familiar.

What caused such a drastic change? I am not entirely sure. A large part is sending our sons to a French immersion school. We try to go to France at least every other year and watching them interact in French with the locals without hesitation is heartwarming. I have also, no doubt, become much more familiar with the city, particularly the neighborhood where we always stay. I also get to practice my fading French and like to think  “I still got it.”

My ‘hood in Paris

Certainly all those play a part.

The biggest reason of all, though, is we get to see some dear friends that we see far too rarely these days. I have known him for years and he, more than any other, has shaped my exploration of wine and culture. She might be one of the nicest people on the planet (as long as you follow proper “cheese etiquette”) and there is no doubt that he considers himself the luckiest guy in the world because of her (at least he should). Their two girls get along famously (as much as children can) with our two boys, which is an unrivaled bonus as we pop another bottle of wine and laugh until it hurts. They are the type of friends that you consider family (at least the parts of your family that you like).

They used to have a pied-à-terre (look at me using French!) in Philly and we got to see them frequently, but they gave that up a few years ago for a variety of reasons. Thus, our get togethers are far too infrequent now. Luckily, as I arrived in Paris this past week we had a chance to get together once more, albeit without my wife and boys. I was jet-lagged and they were both preparing to head out the next day on a trip to Switzerland but they took the time to welcome me to their wonderful city with a great meal and four wonderful wines:

Mailly Grand Cru Extra Brut: Retail 20€. One of my favorite champagne producers, using a majority of Pinot Noir. Dry and quite crisp with considerable finesse. Excellent. 90-92 Points.

Mailly Grand Cru Echansons: Retail ~80€. The top of the line bottle from one of my favorite producers? You’re joking, right? These bubbles are incredible: powerful yet delicate, with a finish that lasted through the night. Outstanding. 93-95.

Collard-Chardelle Saveurs d’Antan: Retail 39€. This will figure prominently in a later post, but this was incredible. One of the few producers that age in oak, truly impressive. Outstanding 92-94 Points.

A. & D. Renou Premier Cru: Retail? This came at the end of the night since we were not quite ready to stop and it was the only bottle cold. Great bottle, but was over shadowed a bit by the heavyweights that preceded it.