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 It’s not
a drag to be in Paris in August. In fact, those who stay in town always
say the same thing – “This is the best time of year to be in Paris.”
(Or, “Wouldn’t it be incroyable if
it was like this all year?”) Even though Paris is a lot smaller,
imagine if 85% of the people left New York City or San Francisco
in the summer, how different the cities would be.
My
friends who have kids have told me they wish they could go on vacation
during another month because it’s harder to travel in August; Airfares,
trains, and hotels are more expensive, and there are strikes to contend
with. But for those of us who remain in the city, we have almost the
whole city to ourselves.
One
paradoxical thing about August in France is that many of the vendors at
the markets also go away on vacation, which is exactly when all the
great summer fruits and vegetables are in season. But I guess since
there are fewer customers, they figure that they may as well close
up shop and hit the road, too.
Open all
year is La Ferme
de Viltain. Cows, goats, and sheep don’t stop producing milk
just because the humans want to go away, and some of the best ice cream
makers in Paris, including Martine
Lambert, Berthillion
(who close their shop in August), and Glazed,
get their milk from the Ferme de Viltain.
 La Ferme
de Viltain not only is a dairy and cheese producer, but is a farm. And
you can pick your own produce at la cueillette, as they’re called in
France, or the “you pick,” as we say in English.
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