Well, we've reached the last day in Paris. boo hoo hoo... We've been living it up so hard that we've not had time to keep you all in the loop! So, we're gonna try to do a whirlwind post covering the last few days! Ready? and GO!
Feb 21
This day was supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable. It was not relaxing, but it was enjoyable...and annoying at the same time! We had planned to go to one of our new favorite restaurants for a quick lunch, then hit the Chocolate Museum to be followed by an evening movie at the big multiplex just outside of Paris.
Problem #1
We arrived too early for lunch. Lunchtime in Paris is a very precarious thing. You have to time it juuust right or else...
Lunchtime is between 12 and 2. But, if you get there before the crowd, you could get forgotten, we learned about this the hard way.
We returned to Bistrot Paul Bert for another delicious meal. We looked at the menu and decided that since our first visit had been so successful, that we would try the more expensive menu. Long story short, we had a forced 3 HOUR LUNCH! AH! First of all, we arrived too early and were kind of forgotten about since we weren't with the big push of lunch goers. Secondly, we received a meal that just wasn't as good as the first. Still tasty, but not the same caliber. I did get a photo of the beet salad this time! Yeah! It was delicious the second time too, but not quite as good as the first!
Dessert though, was out of this world! Colin ordered the chocolate souffle.
I got the Baba Rhum. Wow! If you've never had a Baba Rhum, let me tell you about this delicious offering. It is a GIANT rum soaked donut floating in the middle of a rum soup with tiny candied fruits a float as well. The middle is filled with creamy chantilly (whipped cream). But, they weren't sure that they had put enough rum in the dessert, soooo they brought me out the bottle as well and left it there for me to dispense as I saw fit! and I did.
Problem #2
After our long and delicious lunch, we no longer had time to go to the chocolate museum before our movie was to start, so we caught a (slow) train straight to L'Arche de la Defense, the location of the movieplex.
Problem #3
I forgot that it costs more to arrive at this station because it's outside of Paris...oops. We got off the train and got stuck at the exit gate, which took FOREVER. There were two young kids offering their tickets over and over again to helpless tourists like Colin and myself. We were ever so grateful and gave them a bunch of change. Next we headed up the escalator only to find another set of gates! AH! This time there wasn't anyone around to help us, so we did what any Parisian would do in this situation, we hopped the gate! Luckily, la police didn't come and hunt us down!
We went straight over to the cinema only to find out that we were ten minutes late and the movie had already started. Dammit! How annoying!
So, went to Toys R Us and bought Colin a toy.
Then, we walked around the Arche a bit and took a few photos.
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| Someone's super secret drinky spot |
Afterward, we went home and ate a bunch of cheese, bread and wine for dinner. Perfect!
Feb 22
We did a lot of walking this day. We started out by going to Le Parc de Belleville. It was a nice walk in the morning, but there wasn't a whole lot of action, just a lot of sleepy businesses and an invader!
The park itself was full of loud talkers...not so peaceful. So, we decided to go the other way and made the trek to Le Quartier Latin where we visited the Pantheon and Le jardin de Luxembourg. Historical and BEAUTIFUL!
Now onto the garden:
I did a little research as to what we should do for lunch and we ended up at a fantastic restaurant called Le Polidor. It was delicious, unpretentious and offered amazing food at GREAT prices! Also, the proprietor owns the wine shop next door, so the wine was even cheaper than usual! Oh yeah!
I had pumpkin soup and a special beef stew made with pickled vegetables followed by a piece of lemon tart.
Colin ordered the Caprese salad and Beouf Bourguignon followed by a Bavaroise floating in a Cassis Sauce. These dishes were both amazing! Unfortunately, you'll just have to take my word for it!
While we were there, we found out that Woody Allen LOVES the restaurant and shot a scene inside for his latest film Midnight In Paris, which is up for an Oscar this evening! It was the scene where Ernest Hemingway was sitting at a table drinking a glass of wine. They have easily distinguishable tablecloths, in that they are the typical picnic cloths of the US. We highly recommend this spot! Plus, check out the bathroom...I've only seen one other like this, it was in the tiny town of Cassis on the Mediterranean Coast.
This is both the men's and women's stall.
The rest of the day was spent strolling around the arrondissement.
In the evening, we discovered a new bar, new to us anyway, called Les Furieux. It's a punk/metal/goth bar only a few blocks from our apartment. What a fun crowd! It was nice going somewhere that felt like home! Colin gave them some Ladies Choice CDs, so you may hear some of the label's bands if you stop in here for a beer! We recommend the beer Affligem, it's delicious!
Look how happy Colin is!
Feb 23
We didn't really take a lot of pictures this day. We really just enjoyed the city and what it had to offer. We walked all over the place! We also went on a quick visit to Les jardins botaniques. Everyone always recommends this place to me, but they fail to mention that EVERYTHING is dead in the winter! Not so exciting. But, here's a few standout pictures from our visit.
This guy invented the idea of Evolution. I forgot his name...you'll have to look that one up! (no it's not Darwin, he invented Natural Selection or something...according to the statue)
This is called L'Hotel a Abeilles or Bee Hotel. Adorable! Yes, it is a place for bees to gather and encourage pollination of the gardens.
Feb 24
Back to the Louvre! We went back first thing in the morning and spent the majority of our time with the Flemish artists, which I particularly enjoy. We also saw some very famous Greek statues. See if you recognize any of them!
In the afternoon, we went back to the Quartier Latin because we were feeling the need for some more Beouf Borguignon and because I wanted to visit the Roman Arena called Lutrece, which was built in the 2nd Century. It is said to be the first monument in Paris.
While there we saw a couple of groups of old men playing Petanque. Fantastic!
What a fun filled day!
Feb 25
Since we don't have a lot of pictures to share with you from this day, I thought I would add a not yet seen video for you to watch. It's our staircase. So far today we've gone up and down 3 times and are planning on at least one, if not two more trips. My legs are getting SUPER strong!
Yesterday, we went to another flea market called Les Puces des Vanves. It took a really long to get there, since it was on the opposite side of the city from where we live, but it was totally worth it once we got there! It was like a giant yardsale held by people who had hoarded toys and collectibles for decades and were now looking to sell at great prices! Colin had WAY too much fun there! He bought lots and lots of metal cars made in the 50s and 60s.
We were having so much fun that we didn't leave in time to catch that specific lunch time rush. We got to the restaurant at 1:50pm...just about 12 minutes too late! Argh! So, we made our way back home and had every intention of just buying a sandwich at one of the local Boulangeries on our street. As we approached La place Voltaire, we glanced at the carte out front of the little Brasserie, which had a service non-stop sign in the window. The special was a lamb chop with roasted vegetables...we gave it a chance...and...WOW! It was so good!
The amazing thing is that the potatoes were the same color as the carrots and gave us quite a surprise when we cut into them!
This meal was soo good that we returned and Colin even ordered the exact same meal with the addition of French Onion Soup and then he ordered this breathtaking delectable.
Wow! He said that his banana split contained the BEST strawberry ice cream he had EVER had!
I also ordered the Onion Soup, which was amazing and followed it up with a beautiful rumpsteak ending the night with a wonderful Bourbon French Vanilla Creme Brulee.
This was the best steak that I've had here in Paris during this trip and I've had a few...We are actually planning on returning to Le Cadran Voltaire in about an hour for another round of dinner and fancy dessert! This restaurant has earned the honor of being the last meal we eat out before we leave Paris.
Bon Appetit!
Feb 22
We did a lot of walking this day. We started out by going to Le Parc de Belleville. It was a nice walk in the morning, but there wasn't a whole lot of action, just a lot of sleepy businesses and an invader!
The park itself was full of loud talkers...not so peaceful. So, we decided to go the other way and made the trek to Le Quartier Latin where we visited the Pantheon and Le jardin de Luxembourg. Historical and BEAUTIFUL!
Now onto the garden:
I did a little research as to what we should do for lunch and we ended up at a fantastic restaurant called Le Polidor. It was delicious, unpretentious and offered amazing food at GREAT prices! Also, the proprietor owns the wine shop next door, so the wine was even cheaper than usual! Oh yeah!
I had pumpkin soup and a special beef stew made with pickled vegetables followed by a piece of lemon tart.
Colin ordered the Caprese salad and Beouf Bourguignon followed by a Bavaroise floating in a Cassis Sauce. These dishes were both amazing! Unfortunately, you'll just have to take my word for it!
While we were there, we found out that Woody Allen LOVES the restaurant and shot a scene inside for his latest film Midnight In Paris, which is up for an Oscar this evening! It was the scene where Ernest Hemingway was sitting at a table drinking a glass of wine. They have easily distinguishable tablecloths, in that they are the typical picnic cloths of the US. We highly recommend this spot! Plus, check out the bathroom...I've only seen one other like this, it was in the tiny town of Cassis on the Mediterranean Coast.
This is both the men's and women's stall.
The rest of the day was spent strolling around the arrondissement.
In the evening, we discovered a new bar, new to us anyway, called Les Furieux. It's a punk/metal/goth bar only a few blocks from our apartment. What a fun crowd! It was nice going somewhere that felt like home! Colin gave them some Ladies Choice CDs, so you may hear some of the label's bands if you stop in here for a beer! We recommend the beer Affligem, it's delicious!
Look how happy Colin is!
Feb 23
We didn't really take a lot of pictures this day. We really just enjoyed the city and what it had to offer. We walked all over the place! We also went on a quick visit to Les jardins botaniques. Everyone always recommends this place to me, but they fail to mention that EVERYTHING is dead in the winter! Not so exciting. But, here's a few standout pictures from our visit.
Feb 24
Back to the Louvre! We went back first thing in the morning and spent the majority of our time with the Flemish artists, which I particularly enjoy. We also saw some very famous Greek statues. See if you recognize any of them!
In the afternoon, we went back to the Quartier Latin because we were feeling the need for some more Beouf Borguignon and because I wanted to visit the Roman Arena called Lutrece, which was built in the 2nd Century. It is said to be the first monument in Paris.
While there we saw a couple of groups of old men playing Petanque. Fantastic!
What a fun filled day!
Feb 25
Since we don't have a lot of pictures to share with you from this day, I thought I would add a not yet seen video for you to watch. It's our staircase. So far today we've gone up and down 3 times and are planning on at least one, if not two more trips. My legs are getting SUPER strong!
Yesterday, we went to another flea market called Les Puces des Vanves. It took a really long to get there, since it was on the opposite side of the city from where we live, but it was totally worth it once we got there! It was like a giant yardsale held by people who had hoarded toys and collectibles for decades and were now looking to sell at great prices! Colin had WAY too much fun there! He bought lots and lots of metal cars made in the 50s and 60s.
We were having so much fun that we didn't leave in time to catch that specific lunch time rush. We got to the restaurant at 1:50pm...just about 12 minutes too late! Argh! So, we made our way back home and had every intention of just buying a sandwich at one of the local Boulangeries on our street. As we approached La place Voltaire, we glanced at the carte out front of the little Brasserie, which had a service non-stop sign in the window. The special was a lamb chop with roasted vegetables...we gave it a chance...and...WOW! It was so good!
This meal was soo good that we returned and Colin even ordered the exact same meal with the addition of French Onion Soup and then he ordered this breathtaking delectable.
I also ordered the Onion Soup, which was amazing and followed it up with a beautiful rumpsteak ending the night with a wonderful Bourbon French Vanilla Creme Brulee.
Bon Appetit!
