As for me, I just love Paris. I swear, there is no city on earth where I can get so lost, feel so comfortable and be so completely engrossed as I am here. I started out walking from my hotel, through the Marais, over the river and onto a walk on the Left Bank that was in my guidebook - I'd read a few stops worth, walk so I could look and take it in - and then stop and read a little more, etc. Saw loads of art galleries, food stuffs and a couple interesting churches. It ended at the Luxumbourg Garden which was very entertaining to stroll through and see all of the Parisians recreating (it was around 7 p.m.). Keep in mind I started out around 12 p.m.....see how lost you can get here? The day just flies!
A definite highlight was dinner (on my own) at L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon as recommended by my good friend Christian. I was proud of myself for going on my own (the u-shaped bar made it a perfect spot for 1,really, it was easy to blend in) - however, I'll admit to being a little disappointed that I didn't end up by anyone who spoke English (so as to be able to gush about the food with them, you know?). Imagine my fun practicing being silent! ;) Anyhow, I could write a paragraph on each dish - but I'll give a brief summary:
- ham, freshly sliced off the pig's leg on a spit, to start, with a small piece of bruschetta
- asparagus soup, totally creamy and flavorful - they obvoiously frothed the cream before adding it, and spared no expense on the butter
- mackeral tart, a thin, crisp corn wafer (ok, a tortilla chip) about 3" across, with an olive/tomato spread, topped with thinly sliced perfectly cooked mackeral, topped with shaved parmesan
Then, I was going to move on to a cheese course when the guy next to me got this amazing looking dish: sweetbreads with morels. Anyone who knows me knows I love morels over any mushroom on the planet, and this was a generous portion! And though I wouldn't eat sweetbreads every day, when they're prepared well, I do like them. So, I basically said, "I'll have what he's having" and along it came.
I finished off with a cheese course, which I could really just sample, but that was ok. I was happy to - oh, and despite not speaking any French, I managed to charm the guy next to me to the point that he shared his dessert with me. Insisted, really, so I had to have a couple bites (which was a perfect finish - I would've never wanted to order dessert at that point!). I had two glasses of wine too - one that I chose - a Pinot Gris from Alsace; and a red one my server chose from the Saint Loup area of France. Both were perfect with the food!
How, you ask, did lap-band girl manage? Well, I worked up a good appetite walking around for about 8 hours without really pausing...and, well, the French serve pretty small bits of food, and slowly too...so there is plenty of time between courses to settle. Needless to say, this meal was a highlight of Paris thus far!
Anyhow, I did lots so here are some touristy shots for the day. Favorite photos are in a separate post below this one, and, I'm amassing a ton of Metro sign photos - I'm going to wait until we're leaving Paris and do a separate Metro Sign post so as to really give you just the cream of the crop :) Au revoir!
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