It’s a twinkling little ping just left of center in your heart. Your brain quickly catches on to the ping and before you know it you are torturing yourself by fruitlessly gazing at plane fares to France. You imagine fields of lavender, crusty baguettes, cappuccino sipped from a sturdy little cup at an outdoor cafe, a flaky croissant making a mess of the tablecloth.

You all know what I’m talking about, don’t be shy in admitting it. I would happily go to France always. Let’s move there now, what do you say? Sadly, this is almost never a reasonable plan, to simply drop everything and move to a foreign country. But a girl can dream, can’t she?

Luckily, when this feeling gets too unbearable, there is a charming cheese shop in northern Colorado, the city of Longmont to be precise, to which a girl can retreat. I know this sounds a little odd, but it’s true. It’s called, simply, Cheese Importers. And while I would never turn my nose down at a vast selection of cheese, the store also boasts a rich offering of boutique items, ranging from other food stuffs (breads, desserts, olive oils), to trinkets (perfumes, books, jewelry). There is also perfect little bistro with a bar area that I daresay would enliven the very likes of Hemingway himself. (Yes, there is absinthe on the menu; no, I haven’t tried it yet.)

Take a tour with me.

I swear the ghost of Hemingway sits at this very bar and threatens fisticuffs to any spiteful patron who doesn’t tip his/her server well.

Let’s book our next soiree here. Any soiree will do.

Is it normal to swoon over glassware? No? OK, move along then…

The cheese! 

So there you are. I know it’s nowhere near the same thing as being in the clutches of France itself, but sometimes you just have to make do with a healthy dose of imagination and whatever you have in front of you. If you ever need a travel companion to real or fake France, give me a shout.

Love and cheese to you,

-a.e.