PARIS EXTREMES

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We originally had a very busy day planed, but again a little rest was in order so we skipped the Orangery (famous for Monet’s Waterlilies) and went to the day’s highlight. We started with breakfast in the room so we could relax and take time getting ready before we headed out. Breakfast is a traditional French breakfast, croissant, half a baguette, some cheese, yogurt fruit cup and coffee, the best part is they heat your milk so your coffee stays nice and hot. We had a fairly leisurely breakfast then got ready to meet the girls downstairs.

Catacombs

The highlight of the day’s itinerary was a trip to the Catacombs. We had booked a guided tour in advance so we not only avoided the lines, we did get to see some things that the regular tour did not. Not to mention they waited in line for at least 90 minutes to get in. The tour was a good 2 hours and very interesting. There was just two much information to even begin to put down here. The cliff note version is that the catacombs were originally lime stone minds of which there are miles of under Paris. At one point the cemetery of the innocent was next to Les Halles, the largest market in Paris, and the food was rotting because of all the bodies, that were not decomposing correctly in the cemetery next door. After many years the bodies of several cemeteries were moved to what is now the catacombs. There were several engineers and an interior designer of sort that improved the old limestone tunnels and arranged the bones. It is a very interesting tour and well worth taking. It has taken us six trips to Paris to finally get it in.

It is pretty macabre when you walk into the bone rooms, but they are dead, and I didn’t get any since of evil down there, but there must have been some, I mean 6,000,000 dead people, someone had to be bad. This is not on the Museum Pass, although many people did try to use it. It is well worth the money and definitely book ahead, there is more to do in Paris than stand in line.

Lunch at Fauchon

After the catacombs we head to what else, lunch. Jerry planned this part of the day, because he was very impressed with Fauchon and Hediards on the last trip to Paris. They are both very high-end food stores. The bad news was that both stores were under renovation. The good news was that the café at Fauchon was open. So we basically had the most expensive grab and go lunch in the world. I had a ham and cheese baguette and a scallops and potatoes salad, Jerry had a tuna salad sandwich and some pasta salad we shared a half bottle of wine and each had water. I am not going to tell you the cost, as you will think we were crazy. But the food is really good for a grab and go counter and what other grab and go is actually going to give you a real wine glass and bring it to you.

Arc de Trimophe

After lunch it was time to work it off. Jourdan headed back to the hotel to rest, while the rest of us took the metro up the Champs Elysees to Charles De Gaulle Etoile, the worst round about in Europe with the Arc Trimophe in the middle. Now, when we were on our way, and based on the last visit, I swore there was as elevator and assured Christina that the climb wasn’t that bad, boy was my memory wrong. First, we got confused as to where the entrance was at and walked half way around the roundabout before we found the second entrance. Then we went through security, and immediately to the dreaded spiral stair case of doom. I kept looking for the elevator, but that must have just been my minds way of tricking me in to making the climb yet again (and this is the last time). We trudged onward and upward, making several stops along the way, a pair of British women ahead of us stopped and proclaimed, the burn just won’t stop, and know Mr. Sanders it wasn’t your burn. Any way we did finally make it to the top, but it wasn’t the top, it was just the history level, after a bit of a rest we made the finally assent.

As with all difficult climbs, it was well worth it. We had a beautiful day, with only high clouds, so we were rewarded with a spectacular view of Paris in all directions. We took pictures and then began out descent. As we were climbing down, I told Christina that we earned our dinner that night without guilt.

Dinner at L’ilot Vache

Dinner was at one of our favorite restaurant’s in Paris. The name stands for Island of the Cows, as Ille St. Louis was originally where the Gaulle’s kept their cows. I am always concerned when I take people to a restaurant that we really like, hoping that it is as good as we remember and that they will enjoy it. It was mostly a success. We think that new owners have taken over, as it has been significantly updated and made less romantic and intimate and more modern and bistro like. The menu has not changed with the exception of their chocolate mousse, the totally changed the style and the amount, it was good but not the same.

I actually don’t remember what everyone had, since this is being written a full 24 hours after we were there. I do know we started with Escargot, which unfortunately I ate most of, Jerry doesn’t like them and Christina and Jourdan don’t like them as much as I do. Jerry had an avocado terrine with a tomato coulee, he was not overly impressed with the coulee, but the avocado was pretty good. I had a mesclun salad and of course the Escargot. Christina did have a very nice fish soup, very deep broth, I didn’t have a taste as we are sure there were clams in it. Entrees, Jerry had beef skewers with béarnaise and roasted potatoes I had a steak with three sauces, green pepper, Roquefort, and béarnaise, the béarnaise was the best of the three, the Roquefort just needed a stronger Roquefort in it. I had this dish, because every other time we have been there someone orders it and it always looked so good, so I had to have it this time. The steak was cooked nicely but the potatoes dauphinoise were slightly off as they found it necessary to add cardamom (we believe that was the spice) it just through the dish off.

Everyone but me had the chocolate mousse. I had the Pain par due with caramel sauce, and yes it is the highlight dish of the night. It was very well made the Pain Perdue was crispy and the sauce was perfect.

After Dinner Walk

After dinner strolled along the streets of the old city and across the seine, they were filming a movie or video or something on the bridge we walked a crossed and were very particular about pictures being taken, like we would even know who or what was going on. It was a nice night, now rain, moon was out. We got on the metro and headed home, the end of just another day I Paris.

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