mmm-yoso!!!

Reims - Reims Cathedral and Dinner at Restaurant L’Alambic

The Missus and I mulled through several travel options during our last trip to France. As you might gather from our posts; I enjoy train travel in Europe and especially Japan. I find it low stress, minimal hassle (though trains in Europe aren't nearly as prompt as Japan), and basically a rather relaxing way to travel. The Missus shares the same thoughts....except....She gets really bored and really does not want to do more than 3 - 3 1/2 hours on a train. So, while doing some research for this trip; we had decided to just do France, I was rather surprised to find out that Reims, the Capital of Champagne was basically a 45 minute train ride from Paris! And so our plans started coming together.....

We arrived promptly at Gare de Reims and walked....it was a lot shorter than it looked on my map to our hotel; the Ibis Styles.

Our room was ready when we arrived; so we dropped our bags off and decided to explore a bit. Reims was very laid back in comparison to Paris. And the walk to the rather grand Reims Cathedral is a straight shot down Rue Libergier.

It was mid-November and we could see all the booths being set-up for the upcoming Christmas Market as we approached the Cathedral.

The Cathedral itself is very impressive; built in the Gothic style.

And from the time the first stone was laid in 1211; it has had quite a history; Clovis I, who united the Franks, was baptized at Reims Cathedral in 496. From 1027 to 1825, a total of 30 Kings of France were coronated at Reims Cathedral!

Being such an important symbol made the cathedral a major target during World War I where it sustained major damage. Several of the 13th century stained glass windows were saved however, as glass makers removed the stained glass piece by piece and stored them. And many of those destroyed were replaced by works of Marc Chagall.

There's a lot to see here; in fact we'd return one more time before leaving Reims.

That's the Chapelle du Rosaire (Chapel of the Rosary) above.

On this visit; I was fascinated by first this statue.....

And then this one outside the Cathedral.

Yes, it's Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc). So what's the story of Joan of Arc and Reims Cathedral? Well, in 1415 Henry V and his English Army defeated the French at the Battle of Agincourt and Northern France fell into the hands of the English. In January of 1429, a 17 year old girl from Domrémy who saw visions and received divine orders to liberate the French. Joan of Arc. She managed to convince Charles VII of her divine mission and over the course of 5 months the French fought it's way to Reims. After Reims decided to ally itself with Charles VII and Charles was crowned in the Cathedral where 16 kings were coronated before him; sealing his claim as the rightful King.

And the rest, like they say....is history.

We walked out of the Cathedral and down Cours Jean-Baptiste Langlet. We needed to buy some gift for folks and I knew just the thing. Biscuit Roses de Reims is the classic snack of Reims, in fact it is said that the origin of the word "biscuit" ("bis-cuit" - "twice cooked") originated here. And the classic place to get these are at Fossier.

Which is what we did.

Maison Fossier
25 Cours Jean-Baptiste Langlet
51100 Reims, France

From here we explored a bit more.

And then headed back to the hotel to relax a bit before dinner.

I had made dinner reservations at a place a few blocks away named L'Alambic, a place that serves regional cuisine and booked a table in the "caveau" (the cellar)downstairs.

The customers were a combination of locals and visitors. A group of Spanish ladies in a nearby table were having a great time. The atmosphere seemed celebratory and festive....and this was Champagne, so of course we had our Server recommend and get us a bottle of bubbly.

We started with two appetizers; the escargot....in trendy "foam" was fine.

Decent richness and pungency, with a touch of decent acidity. The snails were a bit tough though and nothing like our favorites in Burgundy. This was not bad though.

The Portefeuille de Magret de Canard au Foie Gras, in spite of the temperature being a bit too cold for our tastes was quite good.

The rich, smooth foie gras, folded into a duck breast. I could have used a tad more sweetness to balance out the richness, but the duck, in spite of looks was pleasantly toothsome, and the dressing had the requisite acidity.

The Missus ordered the Filet d'Agneau, a filet of lamb.

Man, that lamb was wonderfully gamey and it went so well with the romarin gastrique; rosemary sauce, not too much rosemary, just enough red wine in the sauce. The herb topping had just enough pungency and chlorophyllic flavors to balance things out. The potatoes were wonderfully flavored, but the tops were a bit too hard for us. The vegetables were so delicious.

And, for some reason, it's the wonderful veggies I remember the most about my Pave de Cerf, basically venison. I believe a cut from the rear thigh.

Very tender, pleasantly gamey; the sweetness balanced things out nicely. But those seasonal vegetables....man, it was good!

Overall a nice meal. The service was warm and friendly.

L'Alambic
63 B rue de Chativesle
51100, Reims, France

After dinner we took a nice walk around the quiet streets of Reims. It drizzled a bit; which just added to the atmosphere.

It was a nice change of pace from Paris.

Thanks for stopping by!

Paris - Cafe Constant, Bar du Central, and Le Moulin de la Vierge

On our last evening before heading to Champagne, we decided to take it easy. We'd had a fun and busy trip so far and thought just heading down Rue Saint-Dominique to revisit Cafe Constant would just be low stress and relaxing - remember when they created a sitting space for the Missus under the stairway? Anyway, we hadn't made any reservations for dinner and thought revisiting this casual, affordable, low-stress might be just the thing. We had a plan B, but they had a table open.

Instead of the typical three course meal, we wanted to try some of the other items on the menu. Plus, we knew that 2 apps and one main course would be more than enough for us.

We each started with some wine and then the Terrine of "Kakos", foie gras, pork shin, and lentil salad.

This was delicious; it was also quite a large portion. Definitely rich, porky, with the lentils adding a nice nutty-acidity. This was really good.

The Salmon Marinated like Herrings and boiled potatoes was not.

The salmon was a bit too fishy for us and it didn't have enough of the wonderful savory-acidity and clean finish of the stuff we really like.

The main we shared was more than enough for the both of us; Tete de Veau (Veal head), Langue et Cervelle (Tongue and Brain) Snackees, Pommes Vapeur, et Sauce Gribiche.

The veal head had been rolled and roasted perfectly. The out layer of fat was rich and crisp, the flavor deep and yet without offal tones. It was nicely seasoned as well. Same for the tongue, which seemed to have such a deep beefy flavor and was much more tender than it looked. The brain was a hard sell for the Missus; I think the iodine-metallic tones and almost fishy flavor freaked Her out a bit. And of course, the Missus had discovered how much She loved Sauce Gribiche the night before at Arnaud Nicolas. The potatoes were fine; firm, but cooked through....and that sauce really helped to cut any overly rich and oily tones the dish might have had. Perhaps we'll have the pigeon or the Oursins (uni) with Eggs next time.

Café Constant
139 rue Saint-Dominique
75007 Paris, France

On the way back to the apartment we stopped for a drink to end the evening at one of the many bars that line the street.

The Missus had a nice glass of  Red and I had the "El Burro".

It looked like there were quite a few ex-pats here. The staff was super friendly.

Bar du Central
99 rue Saint-Dominique
75007 Paris, France

While the Missus was getting ready and packing the next morning, I headed on up the street to the other bakery on the block.

And I got a croissant and two expressos to go.

The verdict; well this croissant was crisp, but not flakey, and could have used more butter and salt flavor as it was rather bland overall. We're still looking for that "perfect croissant" for us.

Le Moulin de la Vierge
64 rue Saint-Dominique
75007 Paris, France

A few minutes later, we were ready to go. The La Tour-Maubourg metro station was basically a half block away. From there it was off to Gare L'est, which we had been to before. So we were familiar with the lay-out. Having a bit of time before our train, we walked to the café across the street and did the "Parisian thing".

Next stop - Reims!

Paris - A Revisit to the Louvre and Ramen at Hakata Choten (Opera Location)

On our first visit to Paris, the Missus overwhelmed by the Louvre. You could spend years there and still not see it all. So, much like revisiting Pere Lachaise, we decided we needed to return to the Louvre. This time, we'd have a bit more focus. There was no need to see the Mona Lisa again. I got advanced times tickets for 9am and this time we needed to use the pyramid entrance.

Right in the pyramid, before the stairs was a work called "The Throne" by Kyoto based artist Kohei Nawa. It was on display from July 2018 thru February 2019 to mark the 160th anniversary of French - Japanese relations.

This time we spent most of our time checking out the Department of Egyptian Antiquities. Here are some of what we saw.

The golden funerary mask of Khaemwaset, son of Ramesses II.

This impressive statue of the god Amun protecting Tutankhamun.

Amenophis IV - the shadows made it look kinda spooky.

Time just flew by.....by the time I saw Luini's "Salome with the Head of St John the Baptist", I was getting kinda hungry......

It was just past noon....it was chilly and drizzling. We were a few blocks away from the area of Paris dubbed "Little Tokyo" for all the Japanese restaurants and shops. Ramen seemed like the perfect thing on a day like this one.

I had a listing of three places; the first being Kotteri Ramen Naritake, but when we passed there were two pans in the window with all the skimmed soup scum, which kinda turned the Missus off. So we walked a bit further up rue des Petit Champs to one of the locations of Hakata Choten (the other shop is near Les Halles). The Missus really wanted some tonkotsu style ramen that we even braved the 25 minute wait outside for a seat.

We were seated at the small counter....so, the first thing was the staff were all Japanese. Secondly, man....ramen here is not cheap. I went with the Ajitama Tonkotsu which was 13 Euros ($14.50/US). The Missus got the Tonkotsu Ramen Noir avec Ajitama - this one had black garlic oil and was 14 Euros ($15.75/US).

She loved Her ramen; with the nice rather sweet and pungent black garlic oil.

I was more than happy with my straight up tonkotsu ramen. The broth had a good amount of rich and creamy "collagenic" goodness, though a bit light in porkiness.

The egg was decently cooked and nicely served....that would be the yolk while a tad past perfect, was warm. I didn't expect much in terms of flavor, but it had been marinated nicely.

The noodles were cooked nicely, good pull and chewiness.

The Missus thought the ramen here is better than anything in San Diego. I thought that Menya was better. But even after spending thirty bucks for two bowls of basic tonkotsu, we were satisfied. Decent ramen in Paris....who knew. Though I'm thinking we need to hit up Ippudo next time.

Hakata Choten
53 rue des Petits Champs
75001 Paris, France
Open Daily 12pm - 3pm
           6pm - 10pm

We took our time on the 2 mile walk back to the apartment. It was definitely time for a nap!

Thanks for stopping by!

Paris - Arnaud Nicolas Revisited

This was our fourth visit to Paris. By this point in time we had developed a couple of rituals; places that we really enjoyed and Arnaud Nicolas was one of them.

We just love the charcuterie here. As I mentioned in my first post on the place. Arnaud Nicolas achieved the title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) at the age of 24!

The place just feels comfortable and relaxed to us.

We had early reservations and there was just one other table occupied. As is the tradition here; we were given a small aperitif as we were seated. This time around; it was a nice clean and crisp Sauvignon from Thauvenay in the Loire Valley. The Missus enjoyed it, so we bought a bottle.

We placed our orders; sadly, the wonderful boudin blanc with truffle is a seasonal item and wasn't available so we ordered a risotto to go with our charcuterie.

As always the "Volailles et Foie gras de Canard", foie gras, duck, chicken and the "Caille, Poire et Pistache", quail and foie gras with pear and pistachio were excellent.

And of course our favorite is the Foie Gras mi-cuit. Wonderful balanced flavors, slightly livery balanced with a mild sweetness. The smooth creaminess makes you really feel you're having something oh-so decadent.

On this visit, I noticed that there was a traditional Fromage de Tete on the menu; head cheese. It was served with the traditional accompaniment of Sauce Gribiche, a wonderfully pungent and refreshingly sour sauce made of egg, cornichons, capers, tarragon, and the like. The Missus just loved the stuff! The texture of the head cheese was perfect, a bit of jellied toothsomeness, wonderful deep and complex beefy flavors, with a hint of tangy-sourness. This wasn't too salty and was just delici-yoso!

What wasn't delici-yoso was the risotto. I've often mentioned the "issues" I have with par cooked risotto and this one was another "strike".

Hard centers of the rice and a lack of enough "earthy" mushroom flavors made this somewhat disappointing.

Of course, the Missus had Her Rum Baba.

But I got the real award winner. I'd noticed a Whiskey on the digestif list. It was from Taiwan, from a label named Kavalan. It was also 24 Euros a pour....which, I've come to find is really not expensive.....I've seen it here for over $45 a pour!

This was wonderful; the flavors so complex, the nose full of vanilla tones.

I came to find out that this was the Gold Medal winning Kavalan Sherry Cask "Solist"!

Man was it good. It was this drink that got us started on Kavalan.

Even though we'd been to Arnaud Nicolas three times.....there always seems to be some new wrinkle, a new taste that we experience.

I guess that's why we keep coming back.

Arnaud Nicolas
46 Avenue de la Bourdonnais
75007 Paris, France

We headed back to our apartment and had a wonderful night's sleep and headed out the next morning well rested.

And while the skies were overcast, with intermittent drizzles....it was still Paris!

And a revisit to the Louvre was on the docket for the morning.

Thanks for stopping by!

Paris - Revisiting Pere Lachaise Cemetery and Lunch at Dong Phat

There were a couple of places the Missus wanted to revisit during this trip to Paris. One of those was Pere Lachaise Cemetery. We were a bit overwhelmed during our previous visit and couldn't find a lot graves and sites we wanted to see. This time we were a lot more organized as we got to the Porte Gambetta entry to the cemetery.

The first thing you past as you make your way up L'avenue des Combattants are the various war memorials.

And you soon come to the Crematorium. The building is surrounded by tons of small niches; cubicles for the cremated. We spent some time wondering the courtyard and came across some really fascinating niches.

I found the following really touching.

"Toi et Moi" it simply says....."Me and You".

There are some interesting niches in the structure.

Must've been a Rolling Stones fan?

Painter and Poet.

And of course; the famous soprano Maria Callas.

One could spend a good amount of time here.

Many families have crypts for entire families.

There are graves that look ancient ruins......

To the sweet and touching.

Close by is this tomb.

This is where Oscar Wilde is buried. It is one of the most visited tombs in Pere Lachaise; there's quite a story behind the build. It had become a tradition for women to put on lipstick and leave an imprint of a "kiss" on the tomb. It would be covered with thousands of kisses; the cleaning effort was causing damage to the stone; so they put up a plastic barrier around the tomb.

Monument to national airline disasters.

Gertrude Stein's grave.

There's an entire area which memorializes the victims of Concentration Camps and the Nazi Resistance.

Gaunt, haunting statues top the memorials with names like Dachau, Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Oranienburg and Sachsenhausen.

The concentration camp at Ravensbrück was created specifically for women prisoners and was used from 1939 - 1945. I had never heard of this concentration camp until I saw the memorial. After which, I came home and looked it up. Of the over 130,000 women imprisoned during the period of 1939 - 1945; only 15,000 survived.

My good friend Ale is a big fan of Edith Piaf; so I promised that I'd find her final resting place for her.

Her daughter who died at the age of two is buried beside her.

Bernard Verlhac might not be a name you recognize.

He was one of the twelve people assassinated in the Charlie Hebdo shooting.

Other famous gravesites.

Molière

Chopin

Colette

I guess you're really famous when everyone knows you by just one name. I already took a photo of Jim Morrison's grave on my previous post; so while we walked by, I refrained.

Though I couldn't help but take another photo of this one.

We got back to the apartment in the 7th a bit pooped. It was a pretty damp and cold day. So, we decided to head up two blocks to Restaurant Dong Phat. Some pho sounded like just the thing. The menu is rather small; the seating tight, the two young ladies working fairly nice.

The place was quite busy and it seemed like most of the folks really liked the shrimp chips?????

The Missus went with the Pho Tai and I went with the Pho Sate.

Man, these folks love their sauces....from the cup of Hoisin to the jar of chili sauce; folks on other tables were just dumping it into their soup. Also, notice that mint seems to be a standard herb for pho 'round these parts.

This was a pretty small portion for over ten Euros. It was pretty weak and bland....no wonder folks were dumping all of that stuff into their pho. Just a few slices of rare beef; decent fat, but on the tough side and very squeaky beef balls. The Banh Pho used were really wide and undercooked.

The Missus fared no better with her cloudy, bland, beef ball filled bowl.

I'd read good things about this place and with the history of the French in Vietnam, I thought that would be one cuisine that would be excellent in Paris. Well, this made it "oh-for-one".

Dong Phat
10 rue Malar
75007 Paris, France

Well, at least I was fairly certain dinner was going to be good.....

Thanks for stopping by!

Paris - Tomy & Co

We had done a good bit of walking during our first day back in Paris and I was ready for a nice meal. Luckily, I had made reservations for dinner for this evening and it was less than two blocks away from the apartment where we were staying.

But first, the Missus wanted to take a walk! Yikes.....so we headed across the Seine for a pre-dinner stroll. It was a lovely evening and the "City of Lights" was indeed that.

By the time we got to Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois, I knew it was time to scurry on over to the restaurant.

After all, the place I'd made reservations at emailed me two confirmations and two reminders about dinner. They really wanted to make sure we'd keep are reservations. And with good reason; since Tomy & Co opened in the fall of 2016, it's been receiving lots of great reviews, some from food blogs I link to. Paris by Mouth ranks Tomy & Co as #1 on their list of list of favorite Modern & Creative Restaurants in Paris. The namesake of the restaurant, French-Cambodian Tomy Gousset has made quite a name for himself in Paris and now has two very popular restaurants in Paris.

I had put in the mileage on this day...…..

And was ready to eat. We arrived on time at this little eatery on Rue Surcouf, which incidentally was right up the street from a place we ate at back in the fall of 2016; Restaurant David Toutain. The place was relaxed, but very professional, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We started with a white from Monthélie in Burgundy which the Missus enjoyed.

We decided to forgo the tasting menu and ordering dessert and instead went with 3 starters and 2 mains; which worked out perfectly.

We loved the amuse bouche; a chickpea concoction that was like the best falafel you ever had in terms of flavor, crisp, yet moist, with just enough salt.

Things started off with the Beef Tongue Tartelette with fresh Burgundy Truffle.

To be perfectly honest; the wonderfully refreshing sauce gribiche and the thin slices of turnips that made this dish for us. It was beefy so the pungent and pleasantly sour-acidic tones really balanced things out. The truffle was a bit disappointing as it wasn't very fragrant, nor did it have that wonderful earthy-savory tones we love in truffle.

The Gnocchi, Guanciale, Truffle, and Parmesan Cheese was a nice balanced dish.

The gnocchi was solidly prepared, fairly light, and not overly chewy. The truffle was again very mild, living in the shadows of the Parmesan and guanciale. The zucchini really impressed us as we could still make out the flavor with all the salty-rich flavors. Great acidity and textures.

Of course we had to have the Egg, Chestnut, Bresaola, Cauliflower Puree, and Fried Onions.

The wonderfully rich egg yolk was the prize in the center of this dish. The fried onions added sweetness as did the cauliflower puree, in a mild way. Loved the greens and the salty and almost cheesy bresaola. This was a lovely dish.

The first main was the Wild Duck "Apicius", Confit Beet Root, with Honey and Date Chutney.

Since Apicius sauce/glaze was going to be used, I expected this to be on the sweet side. But the duck had been studded with fragrant, anise like coriander seed, it was crunchy and added quite a bit of oomph to the dish, giving it almost a Middle Eastern flavor. It also really toned down the gaminess of the wild duck. I'm not sure that was a good thing as I enjoy that flavor. The duck was toothsome as expected. What was not expected was how wonderful the confit beets were....they still held a light crunch; but were wonderfully sweet.

The Stuffed Hare Confit and Foie Gras in Brioche with Fresh Burgundy Truffle was a bit too much.

First off, that sauce was too thick for my liking, as before the truffle just wasn't fragrant enough. The brioche hadn't held up well and had a cardboard like texture. We really couldn't make out foie gras other than it being a bit oily. Oh well, can't win 'em all.

As I mentioned earlier; service was very professional and yet still relaxed. The folks here smiled often and made us feel very comfortable. I can understand the allure of this place; the ingredients and flavors run the gamut, it's modern, yet uses an array of techniques with products that are interesting. The dishes are well presented. We'd gladly eat here again.

Tomy & Co
22 rue Surcouf
75007 Paris, France

We headed back to the apartment, bellies full, and quite happy......

In the "City of Lights"...…..

Paris - Boulangerie Nelly Julien, Musée de l'Orangerie, and Canard Street

We slept a bit later than usual on our first morning in Paris. This was good since we'd be doing a bit of walking on this day. We quickly got ready and before heading off to our first stop grabbed some croissants at Boulangerie Nelly Julian which was right around the corner from our apartment.

We were kind of excited about this since Douceurs et Traditions de Nelly Julien had place in the top in the Concours du Meilleur Croissant au Beurre AOC Charentes-Poitou; basically the best butter-croissant competition in Paris over the years.

So of course it was the Croissant au Buerre we had. It was nice and buttery, great balance with salt, but we didn't enjoy the hard and not flakey exterior and the interior was on the slightly greasy and doughy side. It might have been the wrong day.

The place is indeed popular; there's always line as we noticed when passing during our stay.

Nelly Julien Douceurs et Traditions
85 rue Saint-Dominique
75007 Paris, France

It was a quite a nice and clear day as we crossed Pont Alexandre III and walked along the Seine.

We walked past Place de la Concorde and over to Musée de l'Orangerie. I had been wanting to visit this museum for a while. A whole lifetime ago; I had to take an art appreciation class. There's not much I recall about that class; well, at my age, there's not much I recall about any class…..however, I remember our instructor loved Monet's series of painting named the Water Lilies. He liken Claude Monet's situation at the time of creating this work to Beethoven writing his 9th Symphony while completely deaf. You see; by the time work was being started on this work; Monet was suffering from cataracts and going blind.

The Museum itself is small, it was created to shelter the Orange Trees of Jardin de Tuileries.

Monet's Water Lilies are displayed in two rooms on the first floor, the rooms have renovated to display this work to the specifications designed by Monet himself.

Monet takes us to his garden in Giverny during different times of the day; the light and reflections play off the natural light in the room. From the peaceful morning to the splashes of bright yellow at Sunset.

The second room features the other foliage around his pond.

You really get the amazing play of natural light when you view the works from different angles; which I found, especially with "Sunset" when returning to the first room from the second.

There's also the Walter-Guillaume Collection wich features works by Cezanne, Renior, and Picasso.

And some other quite interesting work as well; from classic, to very Modern.

We also saw school tours being done almost everywhere we went; some with children quite young in age. It was fun to watch and listen.....

From the museum; we headed across the Jardin de Tuileries over to Rue de Rivoli.

So, here's a hint about personal property security when in France. We've been here several times and have seen these folks in action. A group of girls; clipboard in hand will approach you to sign some sort of petition. You'll quickly notice that they will surround you and while you're distracted, pick your pockets, or the like. So, whenever these groups approach, I simply say, "no...thank you...." and scurry away. Our next stop was in the 3rd Arrondissement, so we walked on over to Rue Étienne Marcel, then to where it became Rue aux Ours to pick up our pocket wifi (or as the French say "weefee") device. It works real well when you have more than 3 wifi devices.

After this...well....we needed a break. We were fairly close to Rue Montorgueil, so we decided to walk over and grab some espresso....and people watch. We saw a "good dog" doing a wonderful job walking without a leash; until it came across what must be the little fellows favorite market, it was time for a sudden detour as he ran inside.

We also saw these fellows.....

A few years back after having coffee at Les Deux Magots we came across Firefighters selling "hunky" calendars for charity and bought one for a friend of the Missus. So, here we were back in Paris; it was that time of the year I guess. It was a hoot watching the firefighters flirt with all the girls and especially the older women.....most of whom ended up buying a signed calendar!

While having our caffeine fix; the Missus and I discussed lunch. I mentioned a bunch of places in the area and others a mile and change away. I had a nice list from that area since we'd be staying in the 2nd on our return trip to Paris.

I mentioned this new "chain" from Lille had just opened a shop in Paris; right on Rue des Petit Champs, named Canard Street. This is basically what they call a "Street Food" concept...think fast casual; but it ain't your typical "fast casual". The Missus sounded quite excited; even though I told Her we'd be basically staying right around the corner from the place....She just wanted it "now".

I know; it looks like any other fast casual restaurant on the street.....

But, think about the name....Canard Street....then think about the items on the menu; Foie Gras Sandwiches, Duck Confit "Burgers", Magret Tartare......

And what we got; for the nice price of 18 Euros; the simply named "Planche Canard Street".....basically a charcuterie board.

Yikes.....man, this was like I died and went to duck heaven. Actually, the items were all decent; and the foie gras terrine and the saucisson de magret were excellent. The duck rillete and Saint-Nectaire (cheese) were really good. The baguette was passable and this was a load of food.

The Missus even had a glass of wine....I got a Coke Zero.

Man, this was quite a lunch...….and you definitely got your money's worth.

Canard Street Paris
16 rue des Petits Champs
75002 Paris, France

It was time to head back to the apartment and sleep off all that duck......

Thanks for stopping by!

Paris - A Revisit to Les Cocottes

We usually have our trips planned in advance; by the time we return from one, we know where we're going two trips ahead. Thus, by the time we returned from Emilia-Romagna, we had our flights to Paris booked. From there it was just putting all the pieces together. In the end; we decided to enjoy France a bit more this time around....nothing overly fancy, just enjoy the vibe. And of course; it doesn't hurt that Paris is the Missus's favorite city by far.

The Missus still loves the 7th Arrondissement, so we decided to stay there when we arrived. We knew the area fairly well making things quite easy. Our flight didn't get in until nearly 8pm and by the time we arrived at the apartment it was almost 9. The place I picked out this time was much more spacious than on our last visit. It was farther from Avenue Bosquet and Avenue de la Bourdannaise, but we enjoy the location, it was quieter, closer to the metro, yet the Missus's favorite sight was just down the street.

Even though we had arrived late; the Missus just had to get out and take walk to across Pont Alexandre III and of course down Rue Saint-Dominique, then across the Seine for Her favorite view of the Eiffel Tower.

We hadn't expected to be hungry; we'd eaten on our flight and had a snack at the Galleries Lounge at Heathrow. But this walking had made us hungry. We did not want; however to have a huge meal. I mentioned Les Cocottes to the Missus. We'd enjoyed the nice, simple fair there before......it was, in fact, the first meal we ever had in Paris, for the same reasons.

Even though it was nearly 1030 pm, we were greeted with smiles and grabbed seats at the bar. We'd have to get our orders in quick before the kitchen closed. This was no problem as we already knew what we wanted.

I started with a Leffe and the Missus a nice glass of red.

We started with the simple country style pate. It was satisfying; not overly rich, but still substantial. A mild, pleasant liveriness, rustic in nature, just enough filler. A humble, but very pleasing dish; just what we needed.

The other dish we got was the Poached Egg with Bacon and Rocket Salad. This was even better than what we had here several years back.

The lardons had a perfect balsamic vinegar glaze; it was crunchy, yet toothsome at the same time. The egg was poached nicely, adding a rich, creaminess to the dish, and we do prefer simply dressed arugula as was the case here.

This was just what we needed; nothing too fussy or filling. The staff here was so friendly, smiling and asking us questions, and making sure we enjoyed our meal.

There was one more interesting difference from our meal here several years back; the place was filled with a mix of locals and regular tourists. The loads of Korean tourists weren't in sight. Perhaps they've moved on to their latest spot....which I think we might have run into later on.

Anyway, this was a nice; satisfying, low-keyed start to our time in France.

Les Cocottes de Christian Constant
135 rue Saint-Dominique
Paris, 75007

Thanks for reading!

We're Back!

Well, as you can see by the photo above; it's kind of easy to tell where we've been....back to the Missus's favorite city.

And we revisited a couple of Her favorite sites as well.

And even ate at a few favorite places as well.

Though it wasn't all revisits as we had meals that went from the traditional....

To modern.....

To getting to know the city a bit better and trying out other places around the city.....some of which were excellent.

Our next stop was a region known.....well for this.....

And while we did sample our share of the "bubbly".....

We didn't realize the amount of history that took place in the city we stayed in.....

A cathedral where 29 kings of France were crowned.....

Where a young girl who received "angelic orders" rallied the French and "Le Dauphin" was crowned Charles VII.....

The land is beautiful; the bounty of the chalky soil is known around the world.....

Our meals here also went from traditional to modern.....

Our next stop was a city in a region we'd been to before. Yet, we probably enjoyed this city much more....it had charm in spades.

We had a charming apartment right in the middle of the picturesque old town. The food; like on our previous visit to the region was quite hearty; though we enjoyed it here much more.

The highlight of our stay; other than our apartment was a small group tour that turned into a private tour when we were the only two attendees for that day. We visited four amazing villages.

From one of the villages that inspired Beauty and the Beast.

To another that is the birthplace of a famous humanitarian; but is sadly now known for a tragic and sad event a few months ago. It has now made this beautiful little village a rather strange, somewhat macabre pilgrimage site for Americans. I'd totally forgotten about what happened here and chose to partake in the beauty and history instead.

Though we did find out from our guide about an odd coincidence we had the previous evening...…

The next stop was the third most populous city in the country; the entire city center is a UNESCO site.

But who were we kidding? We were there to eat!

From the traditional.....

To the Michelin starred.....

Now we know why they call this city the "Capital of Gastronomy".

And so, we ended up where we started; except for a short side trip....

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving meal.....

And as soon as things started....well, they ended.

Because of a couple of travel hiccups; it basically took us twenty-four hours from the time we left our hotel, to when we walked into our house.....

So this little piggy needs a bit of rest.

Thanks for stopping by!

Paris - Délices de Shandong and Yet More Croissants

You could tell the Missus needed a break from hotel breakfasts. Instead of partaking with the usual fairly good breakfast at the Hotel Monge, She just went with some coffee while I arranged our transfer to the airport. Our flight to Copenhagen wasn't leaving CDG until 730 pm, so we had some time to kill. So, we arranged our transfer, checked out, stowed our bags, and headed out. The Missus had decided that we should try a few more croissants, since She had not found one that truly appealed to Her yet.

So, we headed back to Rue Mouffetard.

And the very popular Le Fournil de Mouffetard.

A got a croissant au buerre.

Which we took to the side street and consumed. This was nice and flakey, but too dry and without enough butter. Pass.....

Le Fournil de Mouffetard
123 Rue Mouffetard, 75005 Paris, France

The Missus was a bit bummed; but I told Her I'd seen one other (last) place to try; right down the street. I knew it was a chain; so this was no Artisan Boulangerie, but I thought why not give it a try.

This places was also quite busy; though the folks here, and even the customers, a few of whom wanted to make sure we'd get our order right, were really nice, decent folks.

So, we got our croissant and walked on over to Square Saint-Medard where we took a seat on one of the benches.

And wouldn't you know; this was a pretty good croissant; flakey and light, just enough butter and salt....from a chain!

Oh well; I'm not to complain about the Missus finally finding a satisfying croissant.

Saines Saveurs Paris 5ème
2 Rue de Bazeilles, 75005 Paris, France

We then went about killing time around Saint Germain before heading back to the Hotel.

As we reached the hotel, the Missus told me She was getting hungry, but really didn't want French food. I told Her I had an idea and after a quick explanation She was all for it. Using Google Maps; we wove our way thru side streets and slowly up the hill, until we came to this restaurant.

A tiny shop; I told the Missus that it's now under different ownership and doesn't have much Shandong style dishes; but it had two items that She might enjoy.

And so it came to pass; for our last meal in Paris; we had jiazi and suan cai.

They were out of the pork and suan cai dumplings; so we just went with the standard pork and cabbage. You knew right away this wasn't a Qingdao style establishment since it was just black vinegar and chili oil; no pounded garlic. But these weren't bad at all; like decent home made jiaozi; the wrappers tender and pillowy, the filling a bit on the saltier side. These were still better than anything comparable in San Diego.

The Missus really enjoyed Her Suan Cai, ahem, "charcroute".....

Man, that fermented cabbage did smell like...well, "Sammy's Feet", it really wasn't salty, with just a cheesy-fermented flavor, just like we make at home. The Missus asked the owner where she was from.....Shenyang....well that makes sense. The Missus enjoyed most of this; except for the pork which was dry and had a funky flavor. It was just simple comfort food. Just what we needed on a cold, damp day.

Délices de Shandong
88 Boulevard de l'Hôpital
75013 Paris, France

From here we took a leisurely stroll back to the hotel.

That's the Arts et Métiers ParisTech above.

And the Manufacture des Gobelins, the tapestry factory that has supplied the French Monarchy since the 18th century.

We got back to the Hotel Monge and waited for our shuttle in the reception area; the Missus watched Netflix, I did some reading. Soon enough we were at the airport, reading for the final leg of this three week trip. It was back to Copenhagen!