Saturday Lunch

Out for a walk and on a mission to find the items my mother has requested from Paris, I stopped for lunch at a lovely place in the 15th. A sunny day in Paris, I once again sat outside. The restaurant was buzzing with patrons. Everything seems faster paced today, with the exception of me. I have slowed incredibly. I probably should have started with coffee today.

The view from my table is a gorgeous church and blue sky's, with a few scattered clouds. Perfection!

I ordered a glass of rosé. It was delightful, though again I say I should have started with something caffeinated.

In the distance I discovered a place of familiarity. Charlie Birdy is a restaurant that I dined at with my father. Sometime between Christmas and New Years a few years back we enjoyed a lovely meal there. All the memories came flooding back.

I ordered a light lunch of Serrano ham and melon that is served with a salad. As the sun pours on my face I see many people pass by with their groceries and ever present baguette. I enjoy the sun and my lunch at a relaxed pace.

As I walk around the shops after lunch, I'm am drawn to all of the fresh produce and a beautiful cheese shop. The colors and the smells are incredible. The displays in all the shop windows are enticing. I want everything.

I managed to find one of the items on my Mother's list of Parisian requests. Now if only I can find a Monster Truck for Myles. I told him, "I'm working on it", and everyday during our video chats he wants to talk to me and see Paris and asks if I'm still working on finding him a Monster Truck. Adorable! I suggested the Ducati that I found outside my hotel, and he would like that as well. He's not even four yet and his list is bigger than mine! I'm enjoying teaching him about Paris via chats from my iPad. I can't even imagine life without having that kind of contact.

I am enjoying my trip so much. Stephane and I were chatting this morning as he sent me photos from Normandy of his family and the beaches. I told him we should stay in France. I'm so tempted, but I know I will be back soon. I'm not looking forward to Monday as it draws closer and closer.

Polo de Paris

The Captain suggested I see a Polo match while I'm in Paris. He has become an avid player. I'm a fan of the sport. Had I ended up in Hawaii instead of Paris, I would have been eating pineapple all week and spending the weekends watching Polo. Anything related to horses is exciting.

I googled Polo in Paris and after navigating the website, appropriately titled Polo de Paris, I realized that the Polo season is short here. It starts in March, and ends July 1st. Bummer. The boys at the hotel are going to see if there is a practice I can attend at the club this weekend. I was disappointed to find out the closest match this weekend is in Normandy, where Stephane is now. He's returning to Paris tomorrow so even a day trip is probably out of the question.

I'd like to see the club here, but I'm afraid my French is not good enough to talk my way in without an escort. If it doesn't work out this visit then I will have to return in the Spring. I will use any excuse to come back to Paris!

My bucket list is growing rapidly as I also continue to check things off of it.
New this week: learn to play the accordion, see a polo match in Paris!

Creature of Habit

Dinner again tonight is at Bistrot Linois. After a busy day of walking the city I decided to stay in the neighborhood for dinner. I know I should try many places but when the food is consistently good and the service is pleasant, and the view is lovely, why not just try everything on the menu?

Tonight's delight will be French Onion Soup, and Sole Meunière. I'm curious about the fish because the waiter asked me if I wanted to prepare it. I should have said yes but I didn't and I'm hoping he will at least do it in front of me.

The soup is delightful. Piping hot, I almost burned my mouth. I allow it to cool a bit as I stare at it in wonder. Why is it that French Onion Soup always tastes better in France? I savor every spoonful as I watch the parade of people pass by.

The Sole comes already prepared. I now really regret the decision to not prepare it myself. While it is still lovely, I might have liked to see it staring at me before I consumed it. It's cooked to perfection. The side dish of potatoes is a nice accompaniment. I'm happy to have order a fish dish and something that is not raw. It is the most expensive item on the menu at 29€, but well worth it.

I decide to complete my meal with a sweet aperitif. I have no idea what it is but it's making my tongue dance.

Cheers from Paris with love!

On a side note, I'm truly fascinated by the amount of people who walk their dogs in this city without a leash. They are so well trained and in tune with their owners. It's so cool to watch. Dogs are allowed in restaurants here also.

Pizza Di Napoli

I'm in Paris, but I find it more important that I'm in Europe. This city is wonderful. The French food is incredible but you can go around the world here. So for lunch today I'm going to Italy. I don't usually crave things but I keep seeing pasta and it's been on my mind for a while.

Pizza is always good. Pizza in Paris? I don't know. I wasn't willing to try it. I honestly stopped at this restaurant because I was done walking for the moment...and it had cute tables outside.

I ordered San Pelligrino and Tagliatelle Carbonara. It was lovely fresh pasta. I was a bit surprised by the yolk just sitting on top of the pasta. I immediately mixed it in. I know many people who would have been unhappy if that showed up in front of them. Every meal has had a raw element. I enjoy it. I also enjoy the people watching at all of the restaurants. It's fun to sit outside for hours and just watch the show.

This little dog was hilarious. I had to snap a candid photo as his owner kept turning around and smiling at me after the dog barked. My French is not good enough to have asked for a picture.

After lunch, I walked a bit more. I then ran into my new friend so we walked and shopped for a while. It's amazing how quickly this city has become so small. I see the same people every day. It's nice.

I'm Not Even Kidding

My trip has turned into something else. I'm still not sure what that is. Between the hilarity at the hotel and last night after dinner at Bistrot Linois, I can't even tell you how unexpected and fun my evening was.

Meet David Mackenzie. Retired Commander of the British Royal Navy after thirty eight years of service. I sat down at a table next to him at Bistrot Linois.

He moved his coat to allow for my purse to have a place to sit. Then someone sat down next to him on his other side so he had to move it back. My purse and his jacket shared the chair between us. He began a conversation with me. I think I sat down around 8:30pm. We ended up chatting for hours and hours. We shared a cheese plate and he told me stories of his time in the Navy. Though he retired last year, he is now working for the French Government as part of an international team on projects related to Anti-Piracy. I, being a fan of everything Pirate related, found him to be very interesting.

David mentioned An American In Paris right from the start of our conversation. I explained that I feel like I'm in a Woody Allen film. This became evident to him as the hours went by. Strange things began to happen.

This man appeared out of nowhere, dressed as a train operator. He was pulling a string and then he stopped. The train of vehicles was lead by a GI Joe driving a tank. As he was turning the corner, one of them got stuck behind a light pole. Everyone near him attempted to help get him on track. It was amazing to watch. He makes everyone smile. David and I were both laughing at the incident as we were not aware of this man. He is well known here and is very friendly.

I didn't even realize how long we had been sitting there until my buddy from the hotel appeared. He joined us for a drink around 10:30pm.

While the three of us were enjoying our drinks and conversation, another man stopped and pointed at David. He was blasted and all he managed to mutter was, "IRISH!". David responded with close, but British. The two attempted to speak to each other. As it turned out, the man was Jewish-Irish, born in DC and had been living in Israel for the past several years. He was quite the character. I asked if I could take his photo and he was happy to pose for me. He put his bag down for the photo. I didn't get his name.

As the evening progressed, David and I continued drinking and talking. He asked me to not smile for five minutes...he said that every time I smiled some strange man would stop and talk to us. I was laughing but it was kind of true. It did serve to prove that the Woody Allen movie reference was not a joke.

We ended up shutting the place down. David walked me back to my hotel because he thought I was kidding about the Marilyn Monroe theme of my hotel. He was so much fun to spend time with. His stories were incredible. He went back to London today as he had a Summer Ball to attend. He met my other friend, also named David, at the hotel. He departed right after that.

The guys at my hotel are lovely. I had mentioned over our bottle of champagne that I wanted Pain au Chocolate from a good bakery. The next day, I was given two along with a pair of Strawberry Tarts.

I'm getting used to this Parisian holiday lifestyle. Everything about this trip has me laughing and smiling. The people here are wonderful.

The Exotica is Not So Exotica

My big plan for dinner was thwarted by disappointment that the Exotica Libonaise restaurant was more like a quick service deli. Maybe tomorrow's lunch will be quick and exotic. Tonight is Sushi Tokyo!

Located in the 15th, the moderately priced restaurant is quite lovely once you go inside. The street view doesn't show it's charm. I only went in when I realized there were Asians eating and working there.

Strangely the menu does not have sake but they do offer Japonais beer. I opted for Sancerre. Shocking, I know. They were out of the half bottle of blanc so I was offered the rosé. A little pinkness never hurt me.

My meal started with the Japonais version of baguette on the table, puffy rice crackers. They are like pork rinds but have nothing to do with animal skin. Crunchy white moon shaped deep fried discs! Win!

From there we move on to soup and salad. The soup is a light miso broth with a brown seaweed, and a couple of sliced mushrooms. Unlike American miso, the seaweed is not green and familiar. It had a wonderful texture and it pleases me. Seaweed is full of protein. The salad is a delightful version of cole slaw. In fact, I'd prefer it to any cole slaw I have had in recent years. Put this Japonais version on a steamed pork bun and you're going to make a fortune!

My ever present edamame comes next. It was unsalted. Not my favorite, but as it cools it tastes better sans sel.

I ordered the M3. I kind of just pointed and was curious how it would come out. A roll of tuna and avocado wrapped in nori is surrounded by rice and wasabi tamago. The salmon is prepared the same way but with orange tamago. Simple. Good rice. Pretty plate.

It was too much food for me. Tasty? Yes! Not bad for a Parisian Sushi experience. Still the best I've had is in LA and NYC, but again, everything in Paris is good.

Oh My Head...

Well last night was interesting!

I was able to see more of the hotel. The rooms are full of surprises. I made friends with the guys at the front desk and they gave me keys to see Room 103. The room has a round bed. Need I say more? Decorated in tones of red, black, and white, it is unique and adorable! The bathroom is also pretty great, though I prefer having an enclosed showed. I understand the point of it, but it would just be a hazard for me.

My after dinner conversation started with me asking for a wine opener. It turned into a bottle of Sancerre, a bottle of Champagne, two new Facebook friends, some cantelope, and all kinds of other nonsense. Monique and Myles were lucky enough to witness me and my new friends hanging out via FaceTime. It was epic! It almost feels like she's in Paris with me.

Today I had lunch once again at Le Relais Charbon. The über adorable waiter came up and greeted me like we were long time friends. I don't know his name but I'm really hoping to take him and his motorcycle home with me. I saw him several hours later away from the restaurant on his pretty black cycle. Random run in, I must say!

So I enjoyed a Mille-Feuille of Chèvre with cucumbers and Jamón Serrano. Served with a salad, it was a perfect lunch once again! I had Perrier instead of wine due to last nights festivities.

I then took the metro up to St. Michel to pick up a coat for Monique. She was able to shop via our FaceTime chat after she saw my incredible purchases. On the subway, I found my new favorite character in Paris, whom I also want to take home with me. Everything about this man is interesting to me. From his lavender linen sport coat, and his red velvet shoes, to the placement of his glasses as he reads and writes in this little journal. He is so fantastic to watch.

I enjoyed another shopping adventure and picked up several more dresses and a pair of pants. Hopefully that completes my shopping adventures for now.

Off to dinner! Thinking I will try something exotic!