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Jeni, this one's for you!
Decadent dessert at Brasserie de L'Hotel de Ville, Place du 11 Novembre, Malakoff
This morning we embarked on a kind of reconnaissance mission to locate the nearest bus stop from our cottage. Unlike previous visits, when we rented apartments close to the center of the city, this time we are staying in the southwestern outskirts of Paris (in the suburb of Malakoff). Some research revealed that there are two bus lines that would be helpful for us, both of which use the same stop, so we wanted to verify where that bus stop is located.
We also needed to purchase some tickets, available from automated dispensing machines inside metro stations, which are valid for both buses and the metro (subway) lines throughout the city. In the past, buses have always been our preferred means of transportation in Paris, and even more so this year because of Dee's reduced mobility; metro stations typically have too many stairs to climb and descend.
The weather here since our arrival has been nothing short of glorious, with very cool temperatures in the mornings (upper 50s) that climb into the mid-70s by the afternoons, with cloudless blue skies overhead. So our walk to reach the metro station at Porte de Vanves was a pleasant one. We easily
62, rue Vincent Moris, Malakoff
The door to the right of the flower box is the street entrance to the property where we are staying. The rental cottage itself is in the garden in the back of the property. found the bus stop, on the Pont de La Vallée, after a 15-minute-walk from our apartment. Once we had reached the metro station, we were technically within the city limits of Paris proper.
The underground station itself is located a few blocks away from the bus stop, on a small public square in which there was a flea market in full-swing on this Saturday morning. All manner of bric-à-brac and antique items were on offer by a dozen or more vendors. Dee waited above ground while I descended several sets of stairs into the bowels of the station, where I quickly found the ticket machines and purchased 9 tickets (with a credit card) for the equivalent of about $20.
After rejoining Dee above ground, we retraced our steps back across the Pont de La Vallée, but then set course for the Place du 11 Novembre, where we had visited the covered market yesterday. We were hoping for an encore performance at the brasserie where we had enjoyed lunch yesterday; however, it was closed today, so we sat down at a table on the terrace of the nearby Brasserie de L'Hotel de Ville.
Poor Dee suffered yet another
Wall mural
On rue Gambetta, Malakoff; not far from our apartment disappointment in the "steak" department, one of several during our trip this year. The steak she ordered looked delicious when it was brought to the table, but she found it too rare for her taste, even though she had asked for it to be prepared "medium-well". Perhaps the safer approach would have been to order it "well-done", because people over here seem to prefer their beef to be on the rare side, at least by our standards.
I had much better luck with the poulet rôti (roasted chicken) I ordered. Although the serving size was huge (appeared to be 1/2-a-chicken), it turned out to be one tender and tasty bird. But the
pièce de résistance of my meal had to be the dessert!
On most restaurant menus in Paris, and throughout France, there is usually an item called
"Café gourmand". It consists of a cup of espresso served with an assortment of sweets, often small slices of pie, cake, or other tasty tidbit. As you can see from the attached photo, the dessert I was served today looked like something in the display window of a gourmet pastry shop.
Dee could not believe that I ate the
whole plate, because I was already complaining about being stuffed from the roasted chicken. After polishing-off this plate of treats, I felt as if I were about to explode!
After we had finished, and had paid the bill, we stopped at a nearby grocery store on the way back home. I felt so bloated that I could barely stagger back to the apartment. Meanwhile, as we walked along at our usual snail's pace, both of us were complaining about leg cramps, sore back muscles and other sundry aches and pains; it was pretty pathetic!
Later, with the help of Google maps, I determined that we had walked a total distance of 1.8 miles today. This may not be a long way to walk for people that are young, fit and trim; but for us, it seemed like a marathon! After returning to our little cottage late in the afternoon, the first thing we did was to stretch out on the bed for awhile, trying to rest our aging and aching bodies.
Dee's Comments: It started out being a beautiful day, 58 degrees in the morning, 78 degrees by afternoon. We walked to find a bus and
Dee's steak
Brasserie de L'Hotel de Ville train station, and stumbled upon a flea and antique market near the metro station; very interesting. Then we walked back to the town square we visited yesterday, ate lunch at a different brasserie, made a grocery stop on the way back home, and then tried to take catnaps to rest our sore legs.
No dinner after Happy Hour today; just a couple slices of baguette with butter for Mitchell, seeing as how he had eaten such a huge lunch, plus gorged on 3 large desserts with 2 piles of whipped cream! LOL. He kept saying "I'm stuffed", and I responded with "I wonder why?"
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Jeni
non-member comment
Oh yes it is! ❤️
Mitch, I would have done exactly what you did, eat every last bit then moan about how stuffed I am! Looked so worth the discomfort! The roasted chicken looked great. Dee, so sorry you keep striking out with the steaks. Happy the bus stop isn’t too far away so you can continue your adventures. Hope you both rested and recharged! 😘 Bonne Journee