OK, for sure, what I craved most in Asia were two of my three staples: bread and cheese. (We had the third in abundance, wine.) So this morning, after my visit to the Boulevard Raspail outdoor market for asparagus from Provence and langoustines from Brittany (tonight's dinner), I headed to my very favorite cheese shop, Quatrehomme, just a few blocks away. As you enter the fromagerie, there is a little table, like an island, in the center of the shop, where they display all the Greatest Hits of the week. Marie Quatrehomme explained to me years ago that they always tried to display a new cheese, a classic cheese, and cheese that was not French. I always tell people that if they knew nothing about cheese and went to Quatrehomme once a week and only selected cheeses from the table, they would be world cheese experts in no time. And happily fed! On the table this morning was the most delicious crater of fresh sheep's milk cheese -- pur brebis -- wrapped in glistening white paper and nestled in a thin wooden bracelet. Their "new" cheese of the week.  I paired the smooth brebis with a perfectly golden and crunchy baguette from Boulangerie Malo nearby (my friend Susan Loomis raved about their baguettes the other day and I realized that lately I had been ignoring their treasures as I continued to obsess over Poilane's perfect sourdough.) After lunch, Walter thanked me for the baguette, for the cheese, and for returning to my French "roots." And maybe my senses.

Marche Boulevard Raspail, 75006 Paris France., Between Rue du Cherche-Midi and Rue de Rennes. Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday, when it is organic. 9 am to 1 pm. Metro: Sevres-Bablyone and Rennes.

Quatrehomme, La Maison du Fromage, 62, rue de Sevres, 75007 Paris, France. Telephone: 01 47 34 33 45. Metro: Vaneau.

Boulangerie Malo, 54, rue de Sevres, 75007 Paris, France. Telephone: 01 47 83 30 40. Metro: Vaneau.