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Published: March 10th 2011
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Ah, Paris in the (almost) springtime.
It’s only my second time in the city of lights, but I’d forgotten how much I love it.
This morning was a bit brutal – we didn’t sleep much on the plane because of the strange seats we were in, and when we arrived at the hotel, they announced they didn’t have any rooms ready.
They said they only had one woman to clean the whole hotel (it’s 29 rooms), and that nothing would be ready until 3pm – not great when you have an 8:15 dinner arrangement!
But then, suddenly, she managed to find not one, but two empty, clean rooms. Odd.
She took us as far as the door – and we had to walk through the very narrow dining room to get there – and said she couldn’t leave the front desk for long. We were on our own.
The rooms were one floor up – up one long, narrow, winding staircase that we had to get ten days worth of stuff past. Fabulous. We each took one bag up, and then came back for another.
The rooms are small, as I expected. I can’t
manage to get internet – while I’ve been dreaming lately of going away to a place where I can’t be reached by phone or email, I meant more of a beach vacation, and less of a weekend in Paris when I still need to be reached for conference arrangements.
At any rate, I was prepared to say earlier that the most comfortable bed you’ll ever sleep in is the one after a long, sleepless flight. But that turned out not to be true – the beds here are so firm that it’s like sleeping on a board. Not so fabulous.
But I did sleep on and off for a few hours, and then got ready for dinner. The bathroom is the one saving grace for the hotel, although there is no shower – just a tub with a handheld spray. There is something to be said for being forced to take a lovely bath instead of a shower, although I’m sure it won’t be too convenient tomorrow when I have less time to dally.
At 8:15, we were downstairs and ready to meet our dinner companions – our local French lawyer, who brought his girlfriend, a lovely
director of buying for a number of French stores.
And that’s when I remembered why I love Paris – at night, it is so beautiful. We could see la Tour Eiffel in the distance (briefly this morning too), all lit up and sporting a big spotlight. Soon, we were driving along the Champs Elysees – there is something incredibly surreal about driving along and suddenly coming upon the Arc de Triomphe, lit up at night. We headed towards the Place de la Concorde and its obelisk, past the Grand Palais and the Louvre, to the 5th arrondisement and a French restaurant called Atelier Maitre Albert (avec Guy Savoy).
It was on a tiny little side street, and our host wasn’t sure for a moment exactly where it was. But soon, we were inside the dark and cozy restaurant, with a huge fireplace along one wall, crackling away, and another wall where the chefs were manning the rotisserie.
The décor was a bit eclectic, with a huge strange painting on the wall across from me (I think it was of a clown, scary even on a good day), and bright orange placemats with three different sized chickens on
them. The menus sported chickens too, but the tables were a dark marble, and the walls were dark as well – so it was as if combining a very chic, lovely restaurant with a diner.
For dinner, I ordered a pumpkin soup, with carrots, a tache de bouef, and the profiteroles. I was looking forward to a fabulous meal, and I wasn’t disappointed!
The pumpkin soup was simply divine. The waiter brought over a bowl with chunks of carrot in it, and a separate tureen of the soup. He poured three spoonfuls of the hot soup over the carrots – there didn’t seem to be any cream in the soup, but it was warm and hearty.
The beef was similarly excellent, with a delicious béarnaise sauce, and accompanied by the best potatoes au gratin I’ve ever had – they were crispy and very salty, but melt in your mouth fabulous.
And dessert – who could go wrong with profiteroles? They were made with a pear sorbet in the middle instead of cream, and a dark chocolate ganache was poured over the top of each of the four on the plate. I’m getting hungry again just thinking
about them!
The thing I found so interesting about the meal was that the main course was something I can, and have, made at home – but this was SO much more delicious! I think it’s easy to impress the palate with the best ingredients and fancy dishes, but it’s much more difficult to do a dish that you could replicate at home, but do it so well it doesn’t compare. I’ve got to work on my gratin potatoes!
The meal was excellent, but so was the company – we had a wonderful time discussing a variety of subjects and laughing and generally enjoying each other’s company. It was a delightful way to spend the evening!
I look forward to tomorrow when we get to explore Paris a bit again, I get to take my first outdoor run in a foreign country, and we enjoy the wedding of two of our lawyers!
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