liamsaunt

Yesterday we did a lot of the trails. We drove to Chatham to hike in the Monomoy Wildlife Refuge. About two years ago a large portion of the preserve near the visitor center got washed out during a storm, and there’s only parking for about a dozen cars now. Because of the erosion, you have to park in one of the few spots and then walk into a private neighborhood, past many “private” signs, for about 1/2 mile, to reach the trailhead. We knew there was no chance we would be able to get anywhere near it once the summer crowds arrive. A quick stop at Lighthouse beach before Monomoy Monomoy is really stunning. It’s mostly a soft sand trek, which I find tiresome, but I am glad we did it. We went back to Eastham to do the Salt Pond trail And Nauset Light beach. This is the lighthouse pictured on the bags of Cape Cod potato chips, if you have eaten those. A very large driftwood sculpture on the beach. We saw lots of seals, but no sharks or whales. For dinner, we went to the Pearl in Wellfleet. Cranberry margarita, and cranberry juice with mint and seltzer water Steamed littlenecks (not what we ordered, but oh well) Shrimp tacos Sunset over Wellfleet harbor

Monday I went for a walk down to the beach near the house. It was quite cold and windy. I had the beach to myself. Stopped back into PB Boulangerie to buy some bread. I saw these cute chocolate sardines. If they came in dark chocolate I would have bought some After husband finished working, we went back to the beach to watch the very end of the sunset and then go to dinner. We quickly realized after driving around that almost everything was closed for dinner on Mondays. It was also too late to go to the fish market, as they were closed too. Luckily, Van Rensselaer’s was open, so we stopped in there, more from default than desire. Oysters A special of curried mussels Husband got a seafood pasta with clams, shrimp, swordfish and lobster I had pasta with shrimp We were too full for dessert. Yesterday, after husband finished working, we drove to Provincetown to walk on the beach at low tide and have dinner. The right whales have been spotted from the beach here recently, and I was hoping to catch a glimpse, but no luck. Provincetown was empty. That should last for about two more weeks, and then the summer crowds will arrive. I noticed a few new shops and what looks like a few new restaurants, but everything was closed, and signage was not up yet on the restaurant spaces. We went to Ciro and Sals since they are open year round Negroni for husband, berry mocktail for me We kept up our mussels theme and shared some mussels marinara I had seafood fra diavolo with more mussels, shrimp, and scallops And husband had spicy calamari puttanesca We shared a dessert of bread pudding with salted caramel sauce. It would have been better if it was warmer. The rest of the dinner was delicious though. We swung back to the beach after dinner just in time to catch the very tail end of the sunset. Odd things happen at the beach sometimes. There was a man at the beach who looked just like my Dad, who passed away six months ago. He was even wearing his clothes, down to his favorite pair of shoes. He was all alone just watching the sun set. I took his picture and sent it to my siblings, who were equally stunned by the uncanny resemblance. I hope the man enjoyed the sunset as much as my dad would have.

I am going to try and replicate it at home. I really liked the butter beans in it. Yesterday was more walking, this time at the Audubon Nature Sanctuary in Wellfleet. We hit all the trails Painted turtles Scenic views Then back to the house for a slice of vegetable quiche from PB Boulangerie…kind of bland and a shared raspberry tart. We went to a beach near the house at low tide to walk on the tidal flats it was cold and there were lots of laughing gulls Dinner was at Mac’s shack. A mocktail of muddled jalepenos, lime, cucumber and mint, and a spicy margarita for husband oysters clam fritters with garlic-parsley sauce. The flavors were good but the fritter interior was a tad gummy Husband tried a special of stuffed squid with a lobster mousse and crisped potato wedges. I thought it looked dry, but he said it was decent. The seafood portion was more like an appetizer than an entree though. There was only one piece of squid. I had this year’s scallop dish, which came with a curried corn bisque, toasted pine nuts, raisins, and capers. Full moon with osprey nest

We arrived back to the Cape last evening. It was raining and cold, so comfort food was in order. We headed to the Wicked Oyster. Menu Cocktails. I had a non-alcoholic aperol spritz and husband had a Gibson Had to get oysters of course And then we each got a bowl of clam stew. This was so fantastic. It had butter beans instead of potatoes, big pieces of bacon, and perfectly cooked clams over a piece of sourdough toast. No dessert. Today we tried to go for a beach walk. Ha! Ha! It was freezing, and really windy. Here are some intrepid windsurfers doing their thing We were determined to get some walking in, but veered away from the beach in favor of some woodsy trails to try and escape the wind. First, we did the Fort Hill hike, which takes you up high enough that you can view the ocean without being wind blasted, and then goes down to connect with a trail through a red maple swamp. It’s a very easy hike, about 2 miles or so. After our walk, we went to PB Boulangerie to pick up some bread for the house. We also got this dessert, new for this year. It’s a pistachio panna cotta with raspberry jam and whipped cream Unfortunately it was a “one-biter.” The panna cotta didn’t have much flavor. The jam, which you cannot see in the picture I took, was nice though. After our snack we headed back out to hike another easy trail, the Atlantic white cedar swamp trail. There are some very cool scenes on this hike. It’s about 1.5 miles, and easy except for the end, which is through soft sand and so a little more strenuous. This squirrel enjoying a pine cone reminded us that it was time for dinner We drove into town to go to Mac’s Shack, but there were a bunch of fire trucks at the restaurant, so we diverted to Winslow’s Tavern. Menu We normally eat out on the patio, but it was freezing, so inside it was Drinks-Negroni for husband, club soda for me We shared an order of the curry Riesling mussels. They were very plump and tender I got the cod with braised lettuce, peas, and onions And husband got the strozzapreti pasta with mushrooms and ricotta salata We decided to split a salt caramel tart to make up for the disappointing dessert earlier in the day. There will have to be more walking tomorrow! Luckily the weather looks like it’s going to be nicer than today was

A couple of quick clear out the fridge meals. Chicken milanese on salad Chicken shawarma

Stir fried noodles with bok choy, oyster mushrooms, scallions, and peppers, topped with a runny egg

Saturday tomato hating niece ws out with friends so we had extra spicy pasta with olives and tomatoes Sunday everyone but me wanted tacos, so I declared myself outvoted and made tacos. You cannot win every time 🙂

A couple from this week: Tacos bowls with black beans, corn, peppers and onions, cilantro lime rice, and guacamole Vegetable korma with cauliflower, carrots, and spinach. Served with garlic-cilantro naan and maharajah rice

We are heading out there for our first visit of 2025 starting next Friday and I will of course report on any new dining developments we encounter. On a dining-adjacent note, the local papers have been advertising the A24 open casting call for the movie adaptation of Kitchen Confidential, which is going to star Dominic Sessa as Anthony Bourdain. The casting call is for men of all ages with kitchen experience, no acting experience required, and filming starts in Provincetown next month.

A couple of quick dinners from this week. Roasted gnocchi with cherry tomatoes, broccoli and chicken sausage Sir fried noodles with bok choy, roasted oyster mushrooms, and my nephew grilled some pork tenderloin to add for those who wanted meat in it

One last installment from the Prime Class Lounge at CDG. We had to be out of the apartment by 10, but were able to leave our luggage with the housekeeper, so we went to another neighborhood boulangerie Some of the cases We ordered croissants and lattes And then we went to the park near the apartment to knock off our daily minimum 10k steps. It’s so pretty in there. The Bois de Boulogne. I could have spent days exploring it. This is a restaurant in the park. You have to take a boat to it (all we could think of was the movie The Menu). There was a line of people in their Easter outfits waiting to be taken over for a meal And that is really it for this visit, unless you want to see airplane food, but I guess we already have a thread for that 😀

Yesterday was our last full day in Paris. Niece and nephew wanted to go shopping on the Champs d’Elysses. After about 15 minutes of fighting the crowds, they turned to us and said “we hate shopping!” 😂. We did have the unfortunate experience of ending up in a cafe on the street because nephew was starving. We just ordered some lattes and dessert. It was pretty terrible but we were expecting it to be. Interesting ceiling decor Crepes Banana Nutella crepes Chcoclate ice cream We retreated and went to a less crowded area for the rest of the day, but then regrouped and decided to do the most touristy thing of all: have dinner with a view of the Eiffel Tower! We were seated at a window table with a pretty good view of the tower. Drinks. asparagus with bearnaise pizzetta salmon tartare Husband, niece and I played it safe with omelettes nephew had pasta with ham and Comte sister had coconut cod curry dessert was a millefeuille a liege cafe pain perdu and strawberry sorbet with a sparkling reward Overall, it was a pretty successful trip considering the size of our group and differing interests. We have some time before our flight, but I am not sure if eating will be involved. If it is, I will update this thread. If not, see you soon on the dinner thread!

Yesterday we walked from our apartment to the Louvre. On the way, we went by this Jeff Koons sculpture called “Bouquet of Tulips.” We stopped for some ice cream in the Tuileries Gardens before tackling the museum. It was pretty terrible. The Louvre was so, so crowded. The lines were just insane. We had timed tickets, but the line for our slot was still hundreds of people long when we arrived. Luckily for us, a guard came over, checked our tickets, and then told the people at the back of the line (aka us, plus a few other people) that we could go in through side entrance rather than through the pyramid. So we walked over there and went right in, probably cutting about 45 minutes of waiting from our day. My sister, niece and nephew really wanted to go see the Mona Lisa, since they have never been to Paris before. They could not get close of course. But, my nephew is tall, so he just stuck his phone up and took a snap! He laughed and said he did it just to annoy me, then showed me the photo he took yesterday at the Orsay of the Van Gogh self portrait, which he deliberately took at an off kilter angle to make it doubly annoying 😂. He said he considered resting his phone on my head while he took it but thought violence would ensue. So behold my nephew’s painting snaps as his contribution to this report 😂😂😂 We spent the rest of our time in less crowded areas of the museum. The detailing is just amazing You could have a very large dinner party at the table in the Napoleon Apartments Speaking of dinner, last night we had dinner at the Brasserie du Louvre. Lighting was a bit challenging, so no menu photos. Cocktails Gougeres stuffed with truffle cheese Asparagus with egg mousse and hazelnuts Burrata with green gazpacho Sea bream crudo Sister and husband had the sole meurniere. This came with a salad Nephew and niece both got the tuna with zucchini And I had a spring vegetable risotto. Complimentary pre dessert of walnut and currant cookies Husband had the Saint Honore with raspberries. And a few got the caffe gourmand. Niece swapped out a latte for the espresso. Dinner was very good, but it was definitely a…leisurely experience. Over three hours! Luckily we had nothing else planned for the evening!

Today we headed out in search of second breakfast on our way to the Orsay museum. We stopped in at this Boulangerie i got a few pictures of the cases Some of our choices Some scenes from our walk to the museum It was very crowded at the Orsay. Obligatory clock picture and main gallery photo We only visited two of the five floors because of the crowds and then headed out. We walked over to the Louvre area to get more coffee and a box of macarons. It was very, very crowded Everyone was tired, so we headed back to the apartment and put out a bunch of cheese, bread and apples, and called it dinner And for dessert…

I have a personal pet peeve against taking pictures in museums. I find too many people just walk around the galleries, pushing in front of others to snap photos of each and every painting without taking the time to look at them. I don’t understand the point. I think I have told this story here before, but the first time I visited Paris, someone actually rested their cell phone (mounted on a selfie stick) on my head at the Orsay so they could take a picture of Vincent Van Gogh’s self portrait. Argh! It’s funny you posted a photo of this particular building. I wanted to go to that cafe on the ground floor yesterday but got outvoted in favor of the Japanese bakery, which was two or three doors down to the right.