La Première Fois: Cheese! A Paris Memory by Sally Peabody

The Bonjour Paris editorial team requested reader submissions with memories from first trips to Paris. We were overwhelmed with wonderful responses, which we are publishing in a special series. (Read other installments here.) Below, Sally Peabody recalls her first sight of a glorious cheese display at a fromagerie. Early morning arrival. Jet-lagged after my first-ever flight to France. Checked into hotel in the Marais: small, charming, timbered ceilings, lots of stairs. Out for a walk along the rue St. Antoine and I was stopped in my tracks (within one block of the hotel) by the most gloriously perfect cheese shop I had ever seen. This was in 1998 and while we could certainly buy good cheese in Boston, the utter beauty of the display and the range of cheese in that tiny shop was simply astonishing to my tired self. I stood and stared for at least five minutes. Finally, my friend with whom I was traveling said, “Come on Sally, there is lots more to see.”  I protested, “This is the most beautiful cheese display… We should wait until they open and go in.” My friend, who had been to Paris several times, gave me a wry glance and said “You know, there are cheese shops like this every few blocks in Paris.” And she proved to be right! Sally Peabody works with independent travelers to Paris and elsewhere in France to advise them on getting to their best experience of the richly layered French culture. She guides small groups on culinary and cultural tours in the Basque region, in Andalucia, in Paris and in Turkey. Her website: www.turkishjourneys.com