There is such a thing as the perfect job. I don't have it, but I know who does. I identified it two summers ago when I was preparing to embark on a four-month study program in Paris and a friend presented me with the book The Food Lover's Guide to Paris. She knew that my absolute adoration of all things French--especially food--would make this my bible while in Paris. Upon a casual perusal of the book's contents, it became clear that its author, Patricia Wells, has the perfect job: living in Paris and writing about its cuisine. In addition to the hundreds of restaurants, cafes, markets, patisseries and boulangeries she had to visit to research and write this opus (not to mention all the research that's gone into her next book, on the entirety of France), she writes cookbooks on bistro fare, French breads and regional cuisine. She's just now finishing up a new work, The Provence Cookbook. According to Wells, the ability "to eat in all sorts of restaurants, spend time in kitchens learning secrets, get to market and cook and test and write" explains why what was intended as a two-year stint in Paris has yet to conclude after 23 years. Wells left her post as a food writer at the New York Times when her husband was offered a position at the International Herald Tribune near Paris, and though she admits to sporadically craving American foods like cottage cheese and soft-shelled crabs, she's not looking back. But Wells isn't the only one with a perfect job.

Since David Applefield arrived in Paris in 1978, this former Bostonian has also practiced the enviable art of writing about Paris. He since gained recognition as the expert on Paris life for foreigners. In addition to authoring several editions of Paris Inside Out: The Insider's Handbook to Life in Paris and The Unofficial Guide to Paris, he maintains a website (http://www.paris-anglo.com/) and publishes My Mercredi, a free biweekly newsletter on life as an American in Paris. Applefield was recently hired to coach MTV's Real World Paris participants, guiding them through life in their new city. (Sarah Thompson)