liamsaunt goes to Paris

[Kerala]

Thank you so much for this. I had a truly magical three days in Paris with my wife a few years ago, and this brings it all back. The food really is amazing, and everyone was so friendly! Who knew? I'll try and sort another visit in 2025, I think.

[rotuts]

@liamsaunt

 

thank you for taking the time to share a wonderful trip.

[TdeV]

@liamsaunt, thank you.

 

Truly, the world is lovely through your eyes –– (your camera's eyes)

[liamsaunt]

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!

[weinoo]

We were in Paris a month ago.  Favorite meals include Soces (our 3rd visit) and we always have a grand time at Le Grand Bain. Plus, they're open on Sundays.

 

If you can get to lunch at Mokonuts, by all means, do so.

 

Lower-end bistro we've found quite satisfying - Aux Bon Crus, Brasserie Belanger both fit the bill.

Any crepe lovers - you'll want to get to Breizh.  Should be one near where you're staying.

 

 

 

[liamsaunt]

17 hours ago, weinoo said:

We were in Paris a month ago.  Favorite meals include Soces (our 3rd visit) and we always have a grand time at Le Grand Bain. Plus, they're open on Sundays.

 

If you can get to lunch at Mokonuts, by all means, do so.

 

Lower-end bistro we've found quite satisfying - Aux Bon Crus, Brasserie Belanger both fit the bill.

Any crepe lovers - you'll want to get to Breizh.  Should be one near where you're staying.

 

 

 

 

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

[weinoo]

I found the menu for our visit to Soces on February 8th this year...

 

[liamsaunt]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

I found the menu for our visit to Soces on February 8th this year...

 

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. 

[weinoo]

42 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

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. 

 

In London, you might like BRAT.

[liamsaunt]

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

[liamsaunt]

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

 

 

 

 

[liamsaunt]

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! 

 

[weinoo]

14 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

we are staying in an apartment in the 16th

 

Right near one of my favorite museums in all of Paris, the Musée Marmottan.

 

And not too far from a second favorite, The Rodin Museum.

[rotuts]

@liamsaunt

 

looks like you did much better this time .

 

and more sole !

 

congratulations.

[weinoo]

Oh, I did want to throw this out there. If you, or anyone in your circle really loves jams, jellies, savory confitures, etc., my favorite place anywhere for that is in Paris.

 

There are a number of locations; I don't know if any are near where your rental is, but maybe one will be close to some of the sightseeing you're doing...

 

La Chambre...https://la-chambre.com/en/

 

[Shelby]

4 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

we are represented by Marshmallow Fluff, peanut butter, spicy pretzels, ramen and Doritos. Sigh.  
 

🤣

 

 

 

[rotuts]

Im not worried , other some concern for FR. tastes.

[liamsaunt]

6 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

Right near one of my favorite museums in all of Paris, the Musée Marmottan.

 

And not too far from a second favorite, The Rodin Museum.

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. 

[KennethT]

Do you know what the cheeses were?  The one on the left looks like a roquefort and the round one with the ash rind looks like a Selles-sur-Cher and the sticks could be a Compte?  But I'm curious about what they were for real, rather than my guess!

[liuzhou]

I'll take the Échiré butter, butter, please.   

 

I can buy it here but the minimum order is 2kg.   

 

 

 

Edited April 16 by liuzhou (log)

[liamsaunt]

9 hours ago, KennethT said:

Do you know what the cheeses were?  The one on the left looks like a roquefort and the round one with the ash rind looks like a Selles-sur-Cher and the sticks could be a Compte?  But I'm curious about what they were for real, rather than my guess!

 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.

[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…

[weinoo]

3 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

niece and nephew got the filet of beef

 

I totally understand ordering familiar stuff, but the beef we get here in America is just so much better than France's.  Other things, not so much!

 

3 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

It was charming and not overly crowded like so many other museums. No pictures.

 

Charming, indeed!  Sorry you didn't take any snaps.

 

 

Who knew old Claud did windmills?

 

 

Railroad stations, yes.

 

I just love that neighborhood:

 

 

And its awesome architecture:

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

On 4/15/2025 at 4:22 PM, KennethT said:

Do you know what the cheeses were?  The one on the left looks like a roquefort and the round one with the ash rind looks like a Selles-sur-Cher and the sticks could be a Compte?  But I'm curious about what they were for real, rather than my guess!

The cheese with an ash rind is a (sliced) Sainte-Maure, recognizable by its cylindrical shape and hole in the middle where a piece of straw was. It's a great goat cheese. (Selles-sur-Cher is disc-shaped with a larger diameter than Saint-Maure. It's another great goat cheese.) 

[liamsaunt]

6 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

I totally understand ordering familiar stuff, but the beef we get here in America is just so much better than France's.  Other things, not so much!

 

 

Charming, indeed!  Sorry you didn't take any snaps.

 

 

Who knew old Claud did windmills?

 

 

Railroad stations, yes.

 

I just love that neighborhood:

 

 

And its awesome architecture:

 

 

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.