This post marks continued coverage of our whirlwind trip to Florida, London and Paris in 2012.

Paris is a city known for it’s culinary prowess, however, it is remarkably easy to have a terrible meal there. More and more restaurants in the “center” are starting to take short cuts previously reserved for Applebee’s and TGI Fridays. Now, those of you who know me might be rolling your eyes and calling me a food snob, to that I say, ha, oh and read this article, it proves my point. While they are trying to do something to alert consumers to restaurants that are using these shortcuts, until there is a way to know, the best option is to try and find a place which is well rated/reviewed or at the very least frequented by people who speak french and look like they might live there. Menus in English and cheerful waiters who speak flawless english are, we have found, warning signs that should not be ignored. On the bright side, even these “horrible” meals are fairly decent by our US standards, the vegetables taste amazing, the wine is always decent at worst, and the bread does not taste like cardboard. The posts in this series however, are about a few great places we went, so let us move on.

Part 1 of my three part Paris series highlights the wonders of the Marché Bio on Boulevard Raspail. This is the “fancy” market where the fashionable parisians and expats, including the Barefoot Contessa herself, Ina Garten, go to buy their expensive produce and food stuffs. We had  been to a couple of other markets the last time we were in Paris but had avoided this one due to it’s reputation of being quite expensive. This time around however, we were taking my husband’s parents on their first ever European vacation and we wanted to go somewhere nice to experience a quintessential, maybe even idealized, Parisian market. The idea was to go to the market on Sunday morning, since most of the city is closed this day anyway, grab some food and wine, and have a leisurely picnic in the Jardins du Luxembourg, enjoying the peaceful rhythm of Sundays in Paris. This market turned out to be the perfect choice! The experience was what you dream of when you are planning your Parisian market trip, the food was delicious, the wine superb, the gardens were lovely and the day was spent quite leisurely.