Day 18 " Let them eat cake"

It is in an interesting question to consider what it costs to stay in Paris. Traditionally the view is that Paris is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in and therefore a very expensive city to visit as a tourist. In some sense this is true. Were you to stay in a hotel and eat your meals at restaurants and cafés then your expenses bill would climb very steeply. Surprisingly the way we are living is quite the opposite.

Renting an apartment in Paris is actually very easy to do and is much cheaper than a hotel. We are very fortunate to have this little place in the less fashionable, but we think thoroughly acceptable and interesting, 20^th Arrondissement for just 350 euro a week (a little over $500). Transport on the Metro is easy, convenient and cheap; it will cost us less than €20 a week each, for many, many return trips.(It is even cheaper for locals who use a Navigocard). Home cooked food is cheap. Milk is a little over €1 a litre and a packet of chocolate biscuits (Casino home brand) is €0.89. Today at the local markets we bought two large trays of cherry tomatoes for €1, a bag of six small potatoes for €0.60, 4 apricots for €0.28, a baguette for €0.90 and a really yummy French pastry was a big splurge at €3. Beef is expensive but the French seem to eat more fish, chicken, duck and rabbit, that are less expensive. The French are known for all sorts of exotic foods but in reality they eat a large variety of vegetables, which are plentiful, cheap and delicious. In fact we think we can live here as cheaply, if not more cheaply, than at home. Museums can put a dint in the budget but we have found a number of smaller ones that are very reasonably priced and some are actually free. Also it costs nothing to wander.

However, some items which we have noticed in the patisseries that appear to be very expensive are special cakes which are sometimes as much as €8, €15 or even €45! They look a bit like a family sized meat pie with very fluffy puff pastry. Inside they are filled with a sweet almond flavoured filling. We have learnt that they are called La Galette des Rois (Kings Cakes) and are only eaten in January. Traditionally they were eaten on the 6^th January (Epiphany or the 12^th day of Christmas) as this is the night that celebrates the visit of the Magi (traditionally known as the three wise men or three Kings) to Jesus. Last night we visited the owner of our apartment for a meal and she shared both the tradition and the experience of these cakes with us. Each cake has a small porcelain trinket inside and the person who happens to find the trinket in their slice of cake (in our case Wendy) becomes the king/queen, dons a paper crown (which you get when you purchase the galette) and then that person has the privilege of choosing a partner. These cakes are a special hit with children as they love to have numerous attempts, and thus numerous cakes, to find the treasure and wear the crown. Apparently the patisseries make a great deal of money from the sale of these cakes, which may explain why many of their other products are very reasonably priced.

We think anyone can live like a King in Paris without breaking the bank.