liamsaunt

Today we visited the Musee Marmottan Monet, which was an easy walk from our apartment. It was charming and not overly crowded like so many other museums. No pictures. We needed to go grocery shopping, but before doing that, we stopped for some coffee and pastry at a bakery we walked by called Yamazaki. It was French-Japanese. I took a picture of the pastry case We got some coffee choux and coffee cakes, and lattes Niece and nephew also picked out a couple of pastries that they ate back at the apartment later. A chocolate coated cream puff and a strawberry coated cream cake Duly fortified, we stopped into La Grand Epicerie. So many butters to choose from! Fruits Condiments and oils Wine section We were able to stock up on everything we need for the next few days. Mostly yogurt, fruit, cheese, etc. Dinner was at Chez Monsieur Menu A cocktail of some kind. Amuse bouche of fish rillettes Sister and I had a starter special of white asparagus husband had foie gras nephew had onion soup and niece had a giant plate of ham Husband and I had the sole meunière niece and nephew got the filet of beef and sister had the catch of the day, which was turbot dessert options niece had the chocolate mousse Everyone else had the coffee gourmand. Husband and I split one, but sister and nephew got their own. It had a crème brûlée, chocolate dusted vanilla pot du crème, chocolate mousse, profiterole, and a mini Madeline, plus an espresso So much food, but they still brought out a plate of full sized madelines! Only two got eaten. I think we are going to the Orsay museum tomorrow, but we will see…

I do not, sorry. They told him when they delivered it, but he does not remember ( I just asked him). He said they were all very good, and the only thing he did not really care for on the plate was the pate. Not very helpful, I know. We are restocking the house cheeses after the museum this afternoon, so I will post some pictures of our finds later. Last night I went into the apartment’s little library to look at the books and found yet more taxidermied birds! The plaque says Belle Assise, which is a winery, so maybe they were caught there. Not the type of decor I have in my library, that is for sure! Google image tells me they are ducks.

Yes, we are 1/2 mile from it, and are going tomorrow I think. We were able to get into the Cathedral. The line was long, but it moved quickly, and once you are in, it was not crowded. It’s just stunning. Here are some photos. The crown of thorns is on display behind this gold screen for Holy Week. Then we stopped by Shakespeare and Company for my niece. She looked at a bunch of stuff but did not end up buying anything. And walked around for a bit before stopping in for a late lunch at Cafe de Flore because my niece wanted to see it. Most of us had omelets except my sister, who just got a salad and nephew, who had a charcuterie board We did some more walking around to enjoy the beautiful blooms in the gardens Niece and nephew got crepes from a little stand Unfortunately my nephew then tweaked his knee, so we had to cut our evening short and head back to the apartment. Hopefully he will be better by tomorrow so we can resume our adventures.

Here is a picture of the kitchen in our apartment. If you look closely, you can see a taxidermied bird on the upper shelf next to the tennis racket. The freezer with his companion is the one on the far left. Thankfully there is another bird-free freezer through the pantry you can see next to the stove 😂 Before we went to dinner, we stopped by the local supermarket to pick up some yogurt and cheese for breakfasts. My nephew found the “USA foods” section and made me take a picture for this report. It seems to be mixed in with stuff from the UK, but we are represented by Marshmallow Fluff, peanut butter, spicy pretzels, ramen and Doritos. Sigh. For dinner, we went to a bistro near the apartment called Brasserie Victor Hugo, because it’s located on Avenue Victor Hugo Some drinks There were no fried crustaceans on the menu, so nephew ordered the fried calamari Husband and I shared ouefs mayonnaise And niece and sister shared smoked salmon Husband and I ordered sole mernieure sister had sea bass nephew had veal schnitzel and niece had pasta with Comte cheese, ham, and truffles Everyone ordered dessert. Niece had a profiterole Nephew had coffee grande Husband and I split a liege coffee and sister had molten chocolate cake with caramel ice cream Today we are heading to the Cathedral of Notre Dame at my nephew’s request. I have warned him that odds of getting anywhere near it are slim to none since it’s Holy Week, but he wants to try. We will see!

We arrived in Paris yesterday. This time we are staying in an apartment in the 16th because we needed a larger space. It’s a bit further out but still walkable to a lot of stuff— for us anyway. I will try and take some pictures of the apartment cooking areas, though I don’t plan on preparing much. A little investigation showed me that the apartment owner is into taxidermy, and there is a dead bird in one of the freezers. Not an eating bird, a bird for stuffing and displaying. You just never know what quirky stuff you are going to find in a rental house! Last night, we were all tired and not in the mood for fancy, so we took one of the recommendations from the guest book and went to Andia, which was a short walk from the apartment. It had a kind of strange fusion menu of Mexican, Japanese, and Peruvian. Very atmospheric inside Smoked salmon flatbread that someone at the table ordered. I did not try it, and it did not get rave reviews from anyone. Cheese filled pastry with guacamole Nephew wanted mini beef tacos Niece had a poke bowl I had fish skewers with potatoes. Sister had chicken skewers with potatoes. We both agreed vegetables would have been preferable to potatoes, but that was not an option. Nephew and husband had tuna steak with mole sauce Niece and nephew had flan And we also ordered a coconut ice cream to share. I would not really recommend this particular restaurant, but it was fine. We were tired and hungry, and it was writhing easy walking distance. Today we started out with a walk to the Eiffel Tower We walked through the nearby spring food fair, which was much less crowded than the Christmas festival. It seems to be a lot of the same food. I took a few pictures anyway. crazy donuts Smashed and stuffed croissants. Poor croissants! Niece was hungry but overwhelmed by all of the choices, so we moved on. We stopped for some coffee And a cappuccino. Then we went to a pistachio place next door that seemed to be very popular. The line was out the door but my nephew really wanted to stop in so… Pistachio cream fountain Our tasty choices. Ice creams with chopped pistachios, ice cream with pistachio cream, and a pistachio croissant After fortifying ourselves with sugar, we embarked on a boat tour on the Siene. Here are some scenic views

There was no dinner Friday night as we were too full from the tea. We attended a magic show since my nephew is into performing card tricks. Here are some pre-show mocktails and a cocktail And more cocktails that my husband and nephew ordered at the interval. Martini and Manhattan, I believe. After the show, we went around the corner to a pub so interested parties could obtain a beer Saturday we went to a breakfast spot around the corner from our hotel on our way to touristy stuff. Goat cheese croissant and iced latte Avocado toast We did the guided Globe theater tour for my niece. She loved it I took a picture of this band we heard playing on our walk along the river, because their name amused me. The Chalamets. I guess they do have his floppy hair 😂 A truly terrible iced latte before braving the British Museum Then my sister and niece split off to go get fish and chips and attend a musical (shiver). My niece sent a picture of her fish and chips for this report My husband, nephew and I went to a nearby Indian restaurant at my nephew’s request, Tamarind Two cocktails and a mocktail Chaat Paneer cooked in the tandoor A spicy green Goan chicken curry, methi paneer, and a lamb curry, with naan and rice Nephew ordered a coffee jelly for dessert. Husband and I were too full Post dinner coffee (me) and espresso martini (nephew) Then back to the hotel to wait for my niece and sister in the lovely lobby Crazy drink my nephew ordered that came in a smoke filled dome and a ginger mocktail for me Niece and nephew loved their quick visit to London and have asked to return already. We are off to the airport to fly to Paris. Will continue this report over on that board.

Yes, we made a reservation, because we are a larger party, but I imagine they take walk ins as well.

I am back in London for the weekend before heading to Paris for a week. My sister, niece and nephew are with us also this time. This is a combination Christmas gift for the three of them, as my niece and nephew have not been to either location before. The pub around the corner from our hotel seemed rather busy when we arrived. After doing touristy stuff like Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, park walks, etc. in the afternoon, we had dinner at the Savoy Grill. It was very dark so no menu pictures. My niece and I don’t drink, so we ordered a raspberry sour mocktail. It was very tasty Everyone else had cocktails and wine. I could not get pictures of everything because it was too dark. This was my smoked haddock soufflé appetizer. Very rich, but delicious A couple of people had steak tartare. Nephew and husband both ordered the beef wellington sister had sea bass Niece had a ribeye And I had the Dover sole, which was outstanding Niece ordered the crepes Suzette for dessert after she smelled them being cooked for the table behind us We also ordered a chocolate soufflé and a sticky toffee pudding for the table to share Today we did more touristy stuff like Tower of London, boat tour etc. Then we headed to Fortnum and Mason for tea. We ordered the afternoon tea, which was this tower of food. Per person! Smoked trout, cucumber, egg, and coronation chicken sandwiches plain and currant scones with clotted cream and jam And desserts. They were a lemon tart, a blueberry loaf, a rose eclair, a rhubarb mousse, and the egg in the middle tasted like lemon curd. Each person got unlimited sandwiches, two scones, and an entire plate of desserts served at the outset. You could have extras of anything you wanted as well. We could not come close to finishing the original portions. So of course, they brought us out a whole plate of macarons and gave us a box of extra macarons to take home as well. I will not be eating again any time soon 😂

Thanks! Will check it out. We are only here through Sunday afternoon, but don’t have anything else booked for dinners yet

Sounds delicious! We are in the lounge waiting to board now. We are going to London for a few days first. Our London schedule is pretty packed with tourist stuff, and our Paris plans are, shall we say, more fluid. I will report on where we end up eating in both cities.

Some weekend dinners. Fluffy egg and cheddar sandwich with arugula and bacon Fish tacos. I dredged the fish pieces in spices and wondra flour and pan seared them rather than deep frying it. Linguini with clams

Chicken katzu with cucumber salad, rice, and some orange wedges just because there is so much citrus in the house right now!

Pureed winter squash and potato soup with some crispy roasted mushrooms added at the end for texture.

Thank you very much! I will look into all of these today. I really appreciate your help.

So, rememberer how I said early in my last report that I was going to plan the dining for our April visit much more tightly? Well, that did not happen. We are leaving next week and I have exactly one dinner booked. I'm traveling with my nephew, who has an anaphylactic allergy to crustaceans, which makes things little more complicated. We have an apartment in the 16th this visit, and will probably be eating at home at least some of the time. We are going to London for a few days before going to Paris, but the London part is all settled. If anyone has any last minute suggestions for Paris restaurants, preferably on the more casual/bistro end of things, I am all ears! We are definitely not looking for multi Michelin starred experiences this time. The only thing everyone has told me that they want to eat is "lots of bread, really good cheese, and tasty food". So helpful... 🙂 Thanks!