After settling into our Hotel in Riga, we were famished from our overnight journey across the Baltic. One of the reasons we visited Latvia was for dining on wild game, readily available from the primeval forests of the lightly populated Baltic Republics. A quick perusal on the web led us to Meža Garša  – ” Taste Of The Forest “.

The first course was a wild soup – with venison ,rabbit and local forest mushrooms and totally organic vegetables.

Next was an assortment of moose, bear and deer.

An excellent dark, cold ale to accompany.

Venison Tartare.

And Finally The Main Course – Roast Bear. According to the owner – Ivo , the best bear comes from Estonia because they live on a diet of berries – creating a sweet flavor. In many areas bears live near rivers and eat a lot of fish – creating a fishy flavor. All of Meža Garša ‘s game is fresh hunted or farmed and locally sourced in the Baltic Republics.

A lunch at Taste of The Forest Was Truly One of The Meals of a Lifetime For TotalAdventure – And We Beat Anthony Bourdain To It. !

On the morning of July 3rd TotalAdventure arrived in Paris. While Paris does not conjure adventures other than those of gastronomy ,art and retail , it is home to adventure companies that lead trips into former French West African colonies – the safer ones being Cameroon,Gabon,Mauritania  and Burkina Faso. Niger,Chad and parts od Algeria are inadvisable at this time due to murderous incursions by Boko Harem.

It’s about 10 hours from Miami to Paris. It would be great if Air France would have WiFi on their flight. They don’t.

The Tour de Eiffel on a Glorious Summer Evening. In Early July It Stays Light Past Ten.

The Tower From Underneath.

The Louvre.

In 4 Hours It Is Possible To See About Ten Percent Of The Louvre.

Always Real Escargot, Not Canned Like In The States.