€60.90

That's how much it costs to feel Parisian for a day. More precisely, that's how much it cost me to 'do French things' on my first day trip to Paris as a semi-resident of France. For that princely sum, I got myself by train from Fontainebleau to Paris and back (50% off since we jumped the return train without punching our tickets); had a wonderfully thin and crisp Breton crepe at Creperie Josselin in the Montparnasse area; procured my first beauty product (if facial moisturiser counts as one) from French brand Avene; gaped at the variety of deli products and foodstuff in La Grande Epicerie of Bon Marche for the cost of a box of Lindt Pyreneens; stood in line for five precious macarons and a jar of Christine Ferber confiture from the much dreamed-about Pierre Herme; took away a tarte au citron from Legay Choc (all puns intended); and drank my first cafe creme standing at the bar counter of a French bookstore. The afternoon amusements of watching my housemate get picked up by a French policeman, and taking in the beat of the city along the Left Bank and across the Pont Neuf on foot, came free.

All things considered, €60.90 was a small price to pay for an adventure that finally helped me settle a question that has plagued me for some months now - Pierre Herme macarons aren't better or worse than those from Laduree, simply different.