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Published: March 25th 2013
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Today was a day to sleep in a bit, which was nice. We got up and headed to the far south stretches of Paris to visit Marche aux Puces de Vanves which is a flea market that runs on the weekends. There is the HUGE St. Ouen market that we have been to before, but it literally swallows you up and is pretty expensive as well, so we decided this would be better. It was about a 40 min. metro ride and the market was bigger than we thought. A lot of treasures, but mostly things we cannot bring home with us.
I realized that we were about a mile away from Le Cordon Bleu, so Matt indulged me by walking there so that I could just pop inside for a sec and see it. It was very busy with students coming in and out. They have a tiny gift shop area inside I was able to look at. Again, just a feeling of exhilaration being in it's presence.
We took the metro to the Champs Elysees area to have lunch at Le Relais de l'Entrecote. This place only serves one thing....Steak & Frites. You sit down and they
ask you how you want your meat cooked. Then they bring out a salad and bread (awesome salad BTW, very mustardy). Next comes the steak and frites which is just divine. They have this sauce on it that has a green tinge (can't place the herb) but is very acidic and peppery at the same time. SO GOOD!!!!! Before you know it, they are coming around with round two and giving you another serving of your perfectly cooked meat. This place is a must in my book for any Paris visit....very classic restaurant in the inside as well.
After lunch we walked up to the Arc de Triomphe and took a couple of pictures. This is the time to say that I really don't like Champs Elysees and try to avoid it at all costs....yuck! We were both feeling tired with sore feet (our stamina is not what it used to be, LOL) so decided to head back to the apartment for a fabulous nap. After feeling much more rested, we went out again for a nighttime walk of the city. I will go on record again and say that Paris is the best city at night, no one
lights it up like they do. It is beautiful and magical. It started to rain a bit, but that was ok...I just got to walk arm & arm with my wonderful husband and stroll along the streets. We sat for awhile outside of the Louvre, which is my favorite at night and there was even a musician playing nearby to add to the blissfullness.
It was about 10pm and we hadn't secured a spot for dinner and were feeling hungry (surprising I know, LOL). The Europeans eat dinner much later than we do, and most restaurants are not even open until 7:30p for dinner. Since we were close we decided to try Au Pied de Cochon (The Foot of the Pig) despite it's mixed reviews on Yelp & Trip Advisor. I knew of this restaurant from Julia Child. She quite often had her onion soup here after shopping at the market and the cookware store we visited yesterday. We found out on our food tour that it is one of the first, and still very rare 24/7 anything in Paris. They opened in 1946 and have not shut off their ovens since. They are quite famous for their oysters
(which I just can't do sadly) and Pig's Foot which is deep fried and served with frites. I saw a few while we were waiting to get in (we didn't have reservations) and it was literally the leg, not the foot, of the pig. WOW! We were seated on the 4th floor (I think there's 5 total) and Matt had Bone Marrow for a starter, I had a Haricot Vert salad. For entrees, Matt had Mussels and I had a magret duck breast with honey/beer sauce. Very good although it was served with plain buttered pasta that seemed weird to me but I didn't need to eat it anyway. All in all, it was a surprisingly nice meal and good experience! Sure there is better food in Paris but this still was very good.
By the time we got back it was time for bed :-)
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Tom Lyle
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Food, food, and more food......
Was Le Cordon Bleu your favorite today. The duck and mussels looks pretty good to me. Are you having wine at each of these establishments....I always thought that all the whites tasted the same, but the reds were more destintive. Better save some more exploing for the next time you come. Are you keeping a diary of all your favorites, so when you write your book on Paris, all your memories will be shared.....mom & dad * leg of pig, I don't know....where, knee to ankle....and I like pork.....sounds like when Matt used to get rooster feet and eat between the toes