I love it when a plan come together, we slept in until 1030!

We made coffee, had cereal and fruit, mostly because were too lazy to walk the 100 feet to the bakery without a shower, it is Paris after all.

Just made reservations for Pat, Paula, Haley and Ginny for the Cartier Exposition; I guess Pat just can’t get enough of jewelry we can afford.

We left the apartment after 1330 and headed for the Latin Quarter, Bus #63, to place a

Jim and Tamara 2014pad lock on the Pont de l’Archevêché over the Seine.  It more

pad lock on the Pont de l’Archevêché over the Seine.  It more of a good luck

You’ll never find your lock!jester because we placed on lock on the bridge 2 years ago and know exactly which section and where on the section and now it is impossible to find.  But it’s the commitment that counts.

jester,  we placed our lock on the bridge 2 years ago and know exactly which section and where on the section we placed it and now it is impossible to find.  But it’s the commitment that counts.

After placing the lock and photographing the location (Section 6 from the left bank on a black cable lock), we walked around the Latin Quarter and then came across a restaurant by the same name as one of our previous favorites; that one year simply disappeared (Cafe Gourmet des Arts.)  So the place will get further investigation in the coming weeks.  We then crossed back over the river to the Right Bank in search of a Chinese restaurant that we once tried to get into but were told we need reservations and because it was our last night in Paris we never made it there.  However we did not remember the name just a vague idea if the location.  We were successful in finding it and noted the name, Chez Vong, and the  address.  While later having a glass of wine at Bar La Pointe Saint Eustache I did a bit of research and found the reviews on TripAdvisor, and Yelp claiming the restaurant has to terrible food and is over priced.  Probably will not be giving it a try this trip.  However, were not always impressed by Americans traveling in Paris or Europe in general when it comes to critical reviews, so for now it will remain a question mark, if it show up on our recommended list you will know that at least it is worth a try.

We continued to walk around to about 1810 and then headed to Cafe du Centre where we were meeting Martin and Paula for dinner, the plan was for burgers and we believe that this location has one of the best.  While we waited Pat had a Cosmopolitan and I a London Bramble. Cafe du Centre always have a special burger of the night and tonight it was Vitello (Veal) with Burrata cheese. (Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese, made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella while the inside contains both mozzarella and cream, giving it an unusual, soft texture).  The other dines has one of the Centre’s special burger  with a Fourme d’Ambert cheese and grilled onions.  (Fourme d’Ambert cheese Legend says that

Fourme d’Ambert is one of France’s oldest cheeses, and dates from as far back as Roman times. It is a pasteurized cow’s milk blue cheese from the Auvergne region of France, with a distinct, narrow cylindrical shape.

Fourme d’Ambert was already made at the time of the Druids and the Gauls. It is certainly one of the oldest cheeses in France along with Roquefort. Fourme d’Ambert is made in the Monts de Forez of Auvergne. Since 2002, Fourme d’Ambert and Fourme de Montbrison, although almost simlar, have a distinct AOC grade.).  A bottle of Rose wine and a carafe of water rounded out the meal.

After dinner we took a stroll for about a half-hour to work off a bit of dinner before jumping the metro and heading back to our apartment in the 16th.

Todays Cheese: Fourme d’Ambert

Today Fourme

Fourme is a product largely from the dairy industry.
A fourme is in the form of a cylinder 20 cm high and 13 cm in diameter, with a weight ranging from 1.5 kg to 2 kg, with a blue cheese and a dry rind with red and white mold.

Each form requires about 20 liters of milk. Traditionally fourme was produced with milk from cows Ferrandaise.Today we speak of Fourme d’Ambert or Montbrison. This distinction remains any sum fairly recent, while traditionally occurred Similar fourme on both sides. Milk production has changed the manufacturing Fourme to a quite different product in recipe. In 1972 AOC (AOC) is created that includes Fourme d’Ambert and Montbrison.Since 2001, the AOC are separated and Fourme d’Ambert has its own AOC label.

Traditional production: The milk of the evening milking is allowed to cool throughout the night in stoneware pots or today in a stainless steel tank, about 13 °. The next day the cooled milk from the morning milking milk mixed. This mixture is warmed slightly (approximately 30 °). To curdle the milk is introduced therein rennet (formerly obtained by maceration of the calf rennet in salt water). After one hour a solid paste is obtained: the curd, which floats on the whey (or serum). The curd is then broken into pieces, we withdrawn maximum whey, then it is poured on a slight incline to finish draining. Fourme is an unpressed cheese dough. The curd is then salted in the mass and placed in a mold (form), and stayed for two days, during which the cheese will continue to drain and begin to dry. After two days is unmolded Fourme. It is then allowed to dry for ten days then placed horizontally for refining cellar for at least three months. The “marbling” the fourme oxygenation is obtained by piercing the cheese with the aid of a needle, thereby allowing air to enter and Penicillium to grow. The Penicillium is a fungus that thrives in moist and fresh atmosphere, conditioned by the atmosphere of the cellar.