Paris – Jeffrey Cagnes (again) and the Earful Tower Walking Tour of the Marais

**** Not much food in this one, just a morning croissant

Ah yes, so another day in Paris! Which of course we started with our morning Cafe Allonge from our favorite viewing spot on Rue Montorgueil.

Café du Centre
57 Rue Montorgueil
75002 Paris, France

We just love sitting here.

To people watch (“observer les passants”)…..

Or sometimes “puppy-watch”……

After a good hour, I decided I needed a croissant. Since the Missus had enjoyed the pistachio – orange tarte from Jeffrey Cagnes the previous day, we took the short stroll up the street to get me a croissant aux buerre.

This was an ok version.

  Decently “laminated” with the ridges not falling off; crisp and fairly flaky. The interior light and with a nice “moisture” balance, and decently honeycombed. Where this failed the test was in the flavor; not enough butter, thus throwing off the flavor.

Jeffrey Cagnes
73 Rue Montorgueil
75002 Paris, France

After which we headed off….you see we had scheduled a private tour to start at 10am. Strangely, it would be our first ever tour in Paris!

I’ve been an avid listener to the Earful Tower Podcast since I first heard about it in 2017. It’s a great mix of sights, personalities, history, activities, you name it hosted by Australian expat Oliver Gee, a former journalist stationed in Paris who decided that career wasn’t for him and started the podcast. It delves beyond the usual and obvious, which makes it quite entertaining for me. A few years back, the “Gee kingdom” started offering walking tours. And after all these years and 8 visits to Paris, I just thought it would be great to see a bit more. And so, I booked a private tour with “the man” himself, of our favorite neighborhood, the Marais. And we met Oliver at Peloton Cafe.

I don’t want to give away too much, and there was so much, that I’ll just scratch the surface. The tour is quite customizable and when Oliver had found that we’d already visited somewhere, we’d find another place! I’ve mentioned being called a “cesspool of useless information” several times in the past so I was in heaven. It’s definitely a tour more suited for folks who have been to Paris a couple of times and who enjoy exploring more than just the 7th Arrondissment.

That’s the one and only Maison Faust, which dates back to 15th Century.

It’s a half timbered structure that was restored in 1967.

For something a bit grander, how about Hôtel de Beauvais, which is now the court of appeals. We’d always passed the huge wooden doors; but Olive just walked over and opened them to reveal the courtyard.

We’d head on down a passage to a red door…..

And suddenly, we’d be in a church.

Walking out the main entrance we cracked up. This was the Église Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis, which we’ve walked past many times.

And that’s how it went……charming courtyards.

A stop at the Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris (Historical Library of the City of Paris).

Another place that we’ve walked past many times. This time we entered…..

And Oliver picked out a book….a really old book and showed us a map of Paris and went over places where remnants of those places could still be seen.

And speaking of remnants; having listened to the Earful Tower for so long, I knew that Oliver had an obsession with the the Philippe Auguste Wall, so of course that was a part of our tour as well.

Do you see the remnants of the wall in the photo below?

He’s even been able to get into the tower that we had passed the previous day.

Even those places we were familiar with, like Place Vosges were seen in a new light.

As we were taken into a “hidden” courtyard……it was a private residence, so I did not take photos.

And this is how things went; we walked into an auction, did several churches, talked about life in Paris. It was a great time!

We highly recommend this tour for folks who have been to Paris a couple of times or those really interested in the Marais. I’m thinking we’ll do Oliver’s Montmatre tour next time!