France: Day 9 - Paris in the Spring Time

Due to some unforeseen complications back in the states, I was forced to take a slight detour on my planned adventure. Rather than come home Friday the 24th, I needed to get back by Monday to take care of some important business (the perils of greater responsibility). That meant departing from my friend Charles on Saturday morning and catching a train from Bordeaux to Paris. I got in later that afternoon, booked a room at the Relais Bousquet (they even gave me the same room I had back in February), and tried to enjoy what little time I had in the city. The warm weather in Gascony had definitely carried over to the French capital and people were out and about, soaking up the sun, playing the flâneur in fine fashion. 

There was a 5K run for charity going on along the Seine. The weather was absolutely perfect. When it looks like this in Paris you almost don't know what to do; you just sit there, kind of stupified, wondering if you should get a beer, or go for a walk, or maybe just stand there and take it all in.  

But I'm not over here for my health or to fulfill my own metropolitan needs, so if I was going to spend a day wandering around Paris, I was going to need to do some market research or something. Apparently, when it's warm and sunny in Paris, you can get a deal on Ruinart. There, now that I've done my day's work I can get back to enjoying myself.

I'm all about the 7th arrondissement. It's just the perfect spot for me. Tons of bars, no one under the age of 21, none of that nouveau riche bullshit, but with some super hip cocktail action and a load of good pâtisseries, boulangeries, and cafés. Plus, there's a secret square near the hotel that packs in a fun crowd.

Back to work now. I happened to be near the Maison du Whisky on my big walk Saturday evening, so I had to go in and check it out. I hadn't been in since 2012 and I think I had just simply forgotten about the size and scope of what's going on along the Rue d'Anjou. You might think Scotland is the place to go in search of interesting and rare single malts, but the French drink far more Scotch whisky than the Scottish do. Therefore, it's only logical that they would have the best shops. La Maison du Whisky is, simply put, the best single malt whisky store I've ever been to. They have everything. Anything. All the things you could ever want, and a bunch of stuff you never even knew existed. Not only is the selection completely overwhelming, the store is beautifully curated and—in typical Parisian fashion—it's stylish, clean, and sleek. I tip my hat to retail greatness.

By the time most of you guys read this I'll be on a plane back to the U.S.; another great trip under my belt. Hopefully David OG can find some interesting things in Switzerland and Eastern France to add on to the already huge pile of booty. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going and really become the premier merchant (in the truest sense) of fine spirits in the U.S. Hopefully you had fun reading these posts over the last few weeks!

Hopefully I can make it back into the store next week in one piece. Signing off. Another year in the books.

-David Driscoll