There's only one directly across the street from the market, Le Metro. Salads are good, but their cafe creme is awful.

Got it - thanks!

Ok. We leave tomorrow and I'm making my final lists for things to help us self-cater well in Paris.

For equipment, I'll be taking my chef's knife, a meat thermometer, and a small measuring cup since I'm no good with metric. I'm also planning on picking up some good olive oil in Tuscany, where we'll be for two weeks before heading to Paris.

For recipes, I'm taking Stu's duck, bread pudding/french toast for any leftover bread from our bread and cheese evenings, red wine syrup as I'm hoping to be able to get some berries by the end of May, and a cream sauce. I usually make cream sauce with a little flour, but should I find a flourless sauce so that I don't have to buy a huge quantity of which I only use a fraction?

Any other last minute advice?

--Mrs. Twofer

I find a good potato peeler very helpful. Also, flour is very inexpensive so leaving most of the bag is only about a euro or less. You might also consider bringing a small whisk to eliminate those lumps.

A few ziplock baggies for left overs until you can buy a box there. And while it might sound silly in the land of wine, a small (inexpensive) wine opener in case the "first night" place is lacking, you wouldn't want to have to bite the neck off the bottle!

My sister and I did baguettes and cheese a few nights, supplemented with some deli meats, fruits from the market, a bottle of wine, some prepared dishes from the deli shop, etc. I have to say, I thought it was pretty expensive when we added up the cost of all the items. If you're too tired to go out or just want to stay in one night, it's fine. But for saving money, I would have rather gone to an inexpensive restaurant. Which reminds me, I have to put my reviews in...