Making Mustard My Mistress at Mailles Mustard Boutique

Meandering through the Maille Mustard Boutique in Madeleine Place Paris, I began to realize more and more the love affair the french have with mustard. Unlike North America where mustard is used as a lowly condiment,  in France mustard is held with very high esteem and an essential ingredient in the kitchen of every french cook. 

If there is any one place to fall in love with the beloved ingredient of mustard it would be at their boutique at 6 Madeleine in Paris.  Never in my life have I see to the degree of variety and quantity or quality of mustard in any one place.  It became apparent that Mailles is so much more than about mustard, it is about making mustard your MISTRESS.

Seeing mustard on tap completely blew my imagination. For those who took their gastronomy seriously,  fresh mustard on tap was available that you could carry away in a ceramic holder.   On the day that I happened to go the gastronomic gods must have smiled on me because they told me they had rare limited edition Chablis and black truffle mustard on tap only available between Oct to March.  And in that moment i knew what my Parisien splurge was going to be......

Unlocking the Mystery Behind the Paris Love Locks

While in Paris I took a tour that went off the beaten path to explore the bohemian side of the city.  The tour was with Urban Adventures and I would do it again in a heart beat. At one point in the tour we came across a bridge full of locks and the tour guide explained that this is a bridge where lovers would place a lock written with their name and their soul mates name. Then they would throw the key into the river.  This symbolizes that their love can never be unbroken or unlocked.

Later as I was strolling on the sidewalk I saw vendors who had locks available to sell to whoever wanted to take part in this ritual.  I'm sure these people must get awfully rich around Valentines day :)

After I got home I did further research on this fascinating ritual and stumbled across this neat article on the Paris love locks entitled:  Paris Love Locks: A Love that Won't Die

Paris's Hidden Gem.....the "I Love You Wall"

In a city as overdone as Paris, I wondered while visiting there is I would be able to discover any hidden gems worth writing about. I got my answer when I stumbled upon the "I love you wall" while strolling through Montmartre.  It's location is at Abbesses garden at Place du Abbesses.

The "I love you" wall is not completely undiscovered yet not completely unknown so I still think it can fall under the category of "hidden gem".  To be frank, if there was anywhere in the world I would want a marriage proposal it would be here in front of this magnificent spot as opposed to the top of the eiffel tower having paid 14 euros to even be there while being jostled by tons of bodies including 10 other people who decided to get sucked into the cliched of proposing up there as well. The "I love you" wall in Paris is so romantic in its own natural way  that it almost makes you want to believe in love even if love and marriage isn't your cup of tea.....