SO IT BEGINS

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Day 1

After spending a few hours unpacking and getting settled into our apartment “French Kiss”, I didn’t’ name it that is just what it is called, I showered and changed and we set out to do a bit of shopping for our stay.

First I should describe the apartment and area. We found the apartment through the cooking school I took classes from last year. The wife of the cooking school owner runs a vacation rental business here in Paris. The apartment we are staying is one of several that she has available. They are typically much less expensive than a hotel, however, you do not have all the perks of a hotel, it is more like you are actually living in Paris. The name of the company is Feels Like Home in Paris (www.feelslikehomeinparis.com). I highly recommend it. Included in the price use of a fully loaded I phone, wifi and a laptop for your use during your stay. Phone calls home are even free.

Our apartment is located at the base of the Montmartre Butte. In fact there is a long stair case that leads up to the Sacre Coeur right outside of our door. The apartment itself is on a quiet street about 6 blocks from a metro station. Best of all, for me, is that it is a 3 minute walk to the cooking school and about 9 blocks from great market street. It is a small one bedroom, and cooking dinner Saturday night will be a challenge as it only has a very hi-tech microwave and a 2 burner, what can only be called hot plate. It does come with a washer/dryer combo which will save money on outside laundry costs.

Shopping did not go well as all markets were closed for lunch; we did manage to pick up a couple of adapters so we could recharge the phone and camera at night. Instead we bought two jamon and fromage sandwiches, baguette and croissants and went back to the apartment. Next, something we have never done, we took a 2 hour nap, the travel exhaustion was just too much or we are not as young as we use to be.

After our nap we got ready for dinner. Tonight would be a return trip to one of our favorite restaurants it is on the ile de Saint-Louis, opposite the Island Notre Dame is on. For those of you that have read previous blogs, you will recall our last repeat trip to a restaurant we very much enjoyed in Paris was a complete disappointment. This was not. It was as good as the first time and the staff even more helpful and friendly. The name of the restaurant is L’ilot Vache (Island of Cows). The menu is extensive and we as usual had the pre fixe 4 course for 36 Euros a piece. (The complete dinner can be found in the daily food recap as the end of this blog entry.) We had made reservations before we left Portland and it turned out to be a wise decision, it started out slow but by the time we left they were packed.

The metro trip to the restaurant was very crowded; we had to wait for two trains in order to find space. I have never seen it quite this busy and it wasn’t even rush hour. The stop left us at the foot of Notre Dame; it turns 850 years old this year. It was also the very first time I have ever seen it without any construction going on. The restaurant was a short walk from the metro stop. The wind had begun to pick up and it appeared as the rain would be coming soon.

Getting around Paris has become second nature to us, we don’t have to rely on maps very much and pretty much know which metro will get us where we want to go. We had a very enjoyable meal and got our first dose of linguistic overload. One table speaking French, the next Italian and yet another Spanish. It is hard enough to stay focused on French, just imagine the difficulty when there are 3 other language being spoken at the same time.

By the time dinner was over it had begun to sprinkle. The metro was a short walk and it had stopped by the time we got to the station. The ride home was again very crowded.

Food Recap

Travel – not worth mention as airplane food does not count as real food.

Breakfast – Café Ole and croissants

Lunch – Jamon and Fromage sandwiches and a glass of red wine.

Dinner at L'Ilot Vache

Glass of Champagne

Jerry:

· Salad Cesar (not our ceaser but a Mesculan salad with tomatoes and a large wedge of Roquefort.· Beef Brochettes with Béarnaise Sauce· Cheese plate (Camembert, Monk, and St. Nectaire)· Chocolate Mouse

Chris:

· Escargot· Lamb Chops· Cheese plate· Pain Perdue (Brioche bread pudding with caramel sauce)

Tonight’s whine was a 2009 Tournelle du Pin Fingeac from St. Emilion (Grand Cru)

Both of our entrees were accompanied by Potatoes Dauphine (cheese butter and cream, it is France) and a pureed carrot.

Thus ends day one and we are both exhausted. Tomorrow begins the cooking classes.

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Photos

French Kiss
Living Room

French Kiss
Kitchen

French Kiss
Dinning Room

Stairs to ?
You have to walk up to find out

French Kiss
Entrance