There are vanilla pods from Tahiti peppercorns from Sarawak lentils from Turkey dried peppers hanging

There are vanilla pods from Tahiti, peppercorns from Sarawak, lentils from Turkey, dried peppers hanging from the ceiling, sacks full of couscous and bulgur wheat, there is feta from Greece, rum from Guadeloupe, vodka from Russia, curry powder from Madras and mustard from Colman’s of Norwich.I feel the hunger pangs coming on again, so we break for a coffee before continuing our tour, and I ask Paule where she would recommend eating. Having quizzed me on what I like, she gives me half a dozen recommendations, and I waste no time in checking one out that evening.Au C’Amelot has a fixed menu of five courses for FFr160, with no decisions to make except for a choice of three puddings. I’m served a Jerusalem artichoke soup, followed by a confit of cod with haricot beans, in a sauce made from the fish, the beans and added bite from chorizo sausages. The main course is wild boar, in a plum and honey sauce, and I wonder if it’s the one that was hanging in the Aligre market that morning.

Paule told me that the chef here does his menu according to what he buys in the market each day.Stuffed to the gills, I pay the amazingly cheap bill and book a table again for the following night. I waddle off down the road, more of a Promenade Greedy Pig than just Gourmande, but still, when in Paris …. GETTING THERE

Promenades Gourmandes cost FFr1,200 (pounds 120) per person for one or two people for a four-hour walk, or FFr2,000 for a full-day’s walk Book at least a month ahead. Paule Caillat also organises fashion walks and antiques walks.

Her cookery classes cost FFr750 per person for four hours’ tuition plus lunch, or FFr1,300 for a full day of cooking, plus lunch and a food- related excursion in the afternoon. Contact Paule Caillat at 187 rue du Temple, 75003 Paris (tel: 00 33 1 48 04 56 84; fax: 00 33 1 42 78 59 77; e-mail: paule.caillat wanadoo.fr).
WHERE TO STAYMike Gerrard stayed first at the Hotel Plessis, close to the Marais. A single room costs from pounds 41 per room, doubles from pounds 48 per room, booked through Room Service, 42 Riding House Street, London W1P 7PL (tel: 0171- 636 6888; fax: 0171-636 6002). He also stayed at the Libertel Argentine, 1 rue d’Argentine, Paris 75116 (tel: 00 33 1 45 02 76 76; bookings: 0990 300 200), a few hundred metres from the best restaurant in the city – Guy Savoy. Rooms cost FFr1,370.95 for a double from April to December.WHERE TO EATPaule Caillat’s recommendations, all diligently verified by the author, include: Au C’Amelot, 30 rue Amelot, Paris 75011 (tel: 43 55 54 04); Le Villaret, 13 rue Ternaux, Paris 75011 (tel: 43 57 89 76); L’Epi Dupin, 11 rue Dupin, Paris 75006 (tel: 42 22 64 56); Guy Savoy, 18 Rue Troyon, Paris 75017 (tel: 43 80 40 61).FURTHER INFORMATIONMike Gerrard is the author of Discover Paris, due to be published in May by W H Smith, pounds 8.99. Also out in May is The Time Out Guide to Eating and Drinking in Paris, pounds 5.50.The French Tourist Office (tel: 0891 244 123, calls charged at premium rate)..

eading west from Calais to Normandy, you feel the closeness and the divide known as The Channel. The bridgeheads in both world wars were attempted along this coast; the guns of the Somme could be heard equally in Folkestone and in the gardens at Giverny where Monet continued to paint his waterlilies. Duke William embarked from Saint-Valery-sur-Somme to claim his rightful throne via Hastings. Today, the Pas de Calais and the whimsically dubbed “Cote d’Opale” and “Cote d’Albatre” suffer a different sort of invasion in return – from the British day-tripper flooding in via the tunnel in the east, and via the crossings to Boulogne, Dieppe and Le Havre to the west.