Day 6: Dining in the City of Light

Almost everyone I know has enjoyed a French meal at least once in their life. Some may not have known it was even French! Others may find that this is their favorite type of cuisine. Chefs all around the world try to recreate delicious dishes from this land.

As it was our second visit to Paris, we already knew things we like (and don’t like) about the local French cuisine. After two weeks of Italian food, we were craving things that we enjoyed and loved on our last trip to Paris. In this post I'll discuss restaurants and food we enjoyed. 

Café Constant

Café Constant – An authentic and traditional restaurant, worthy of a repeat. When we visited Paris last time, we visited this genuine restaurant with the Smiths. At that time there were only two people who spoke broken English, none of which were our waiter. We pointed and prayed our meal would be satisfactory and edible… and it was! On this visit, we arrived to the Café, only to notice a line of locals and tourists around the block awaiting the opening of the restaurant. I have never seen a line to get in to a restaurant before it even opens! We were seated in one of the best seats (of course!), overlooking the Eiffel Tower. As it was last time, the place was packed with customers, elbow to elbow in two small and cozy rooms. Café Constant has received a lot of recognition and recommendation in the food and travel world and has thus produced a menu in English. Although it was easier to make an informed decision, I do feel it did take away some of the authenticity of the restaurant. Once we took our first bite of our appetizer – Fried Frog Legs with a saffron risotto – we were happy that the quality of the food didn’t change. So much that next time we are in Paris, we plan to visit Café Constant yet again. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend visiting this establishment.

Fried Frog Legs with Saffron Risotto (before)

Fried Frog Legs with Saffron Risotto (after)

Vanilla Rice Pudding - delicious!!

Chocolate, Parisian style – No visit to Paris is complete without indulging in the fine chocolates it has to offer. We visited two famous and high class chocolatiers: Jean-Paul Kevin and Patrick Rodger. There is a beauty in the smell of a true chocolate store. I feel I was breathing in the sweetness and richness of the dessert. The shops had cases of delectable bite-size chocolates, some created with unique twists (basil, kiwi, fig to name just a few). It was an experience trying things that were unfamiliar and unknown to us (once again the language barrier created some interesting moments). What was even more astonishing was the price ($$$) of such chocolates! It was a great learning experience, even if I more enjoy the traditional commercialized chocolates we have here at home.

Café George – A casual café on the Champ-Elysees. We stumbled upon this place on our last visit while looking for a crepe and espresso and were not disappointed. While walking this famous avenue of shops, we were happy to see something familiar, yet again. This time we enjoyed a delicious carrot-ginger soup and sugar crepes. Sometimes familiar is exactly what you are looking for, especially after weeks of the unknown.

Wine tasting in France – something that will remain on my bucket list. While you are on vacation, you are eating, walking and touring non-stop. Eventually it all catches up with you. And on our second day in Paris, it definitely caught up with us. We were sick and tired and dire in need of a day of rest. Although taking a train to the famous Champagne country and drinking the afternoon away was the plan, once we woke up we realized that a day of limited movement and no alcohol was need more. We enjoyed the day in bed, eating my favorite ham and cheese sandwiches, reading and watching TV. Andrew actually didn’t even leave the floor of our hotel suite! We were lucky to be in one of the nicest hotels of the trip (Park Hyatt Paris Vendome) and partake in all the wonderful amenities it had to offer.

Champagne tasting will have to wait till next trip to France...

The "help" outside our hotel

A nice place to relax and reload

Big comfy bed

A huge tube, my favorite!

Harry’s New York Bar – a legendary Parisian landmark, claiming to have created the Bloody Mary. We had to try one and see for ourselves. It was nice to find an American style bar, with authenticity and history, to enjoy a cocktail. Having previously visited the other bar that claims to have created this famous cocktail (King Cole Bar in NYC), we can say that the Blood Mary at Harry’s was simpler and thus probably the first. We got a few delicious cocktails, a nice matchbook for our collection, and an hour of English conversation – thus very worth the stop!

Bistro Volnay – a great find, right behind our hotel. Traditional French food, with richness and complexity. Again, a traditional small dinning room - I felt like we were on a speed date with the couples next to us! The service was bare, but the food was fine and delectable. We even enjoyed the classic souffle: Grand Marnier souffle. It was pretty good! Something I couldn’t enjoy every day, yet worth the visit. Must book reservations in advance!

Grand Marnier Souffle 

I couldn’t describe every dining experience and have no intention of trying to do so. However, other noteworthy meals included:

Ham and cheese sandwiches – By far my favorite French food! My husband would laugh at me, when I would say “I want another ham and cheese!” Of all the delicious and rich food Paris has to offer, and I choose a simple sandwich! Let me explain. As someone with a sensitive stomach, especially to rich restaurant fare, this traditional sandwich offers a slice of heaven. The bread is fresh and warm, soft on the inside and crisp, yet not too hard, on the outside. I usually don't even like ham sandwiches, but something about the French take on this simple dish makes me go crazy. I ate at least three ham & cheese in just 4 days. My favorite one was from Eric Kayser, a famous baker.

Surprise! I love the sandwich SO much I ate it too quickly I wasn't able to take a single photo. lol. That shows how good it was! (Photos curtisy of a quick google search, to at least give you an idea).

A photo of the bakery I frequently visited, only a block from our hotel

Romaine lettuce with lemon juice and pepper – yes this was honestly one of my lunches of the trip. I don’t recall the bistro we ate at; however, I do remember it was near the Trocadéro. We asked our concierge to recommend a lunch stop, and this place did not disappoint. Classy, yet not too expensive for lunch. Andrew enjoyed a duck breast with whipped potatoes and vegetables. My salad was beautifully dressed with lemon juice, topped with crushed black pepper. It was exactly what I wanted and needed. Overall a great time – it goes to show you that when you don’t know where to go – ask your concierge. Not all places are equal, and it may be difficult to tell without an insider’s tip.

Espresso – I can’t conclude the Paris Dining experience without mentioning one of our favorite drinks: the espresso. Although you can find espresso just about anywhere in Europe and the United States, not all espressos are the same. Every sip of the coffee fills your mouth with the intense, essential flavor of the brew. If you ask for a cup of coffee in Paris, you'll receive an espresso. Although many say the drink isn't as good in France, I rather enjoy it!

Enjoy an afternoon pick me up in front of Notre- Dame

Another espresso on the go in front of the Eiffel Tower

Paris is enjoyable and Andrew's favorite European city. The food is delicious and suprasses your amazing expectations. Dining in the City of Light is an experience I can't wait to repeat, again. I know we will be visiting Paris again sometime, and that makes my taste buds very happy.

Sidebar: I know it has been (cough, cough) a few weeks since my last post... as expected, life gets in the way. I do plan to still write about this amazing adventure that we took in April. Hopefully that happens before next year... haha. Thanks for reading! Au revoir!!

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Day 5: Life Happens

Hello, again. I’m sure we all knew (at least I did) that a daily post was more of a dream, rather than an accomplishable goal. As much as I want to spend every day writing and reflecting on our vacation, life has a way of catching up with you. Even when you are on vacation, life has a way of catching up with you too (more on laundry and bills in a later post). With that said, I am still going to write 28 posts, however, it make take longer than 28 days. I hope you still look forward to looking back on the once in a lifetime vacation with me – I know I do.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the cities we visited:

Naples

 Capri

Rome

Florence

Milan

Venice

Paris

Berlin

New York

Day 4: Sight-Seeing in the City of Light

As you can imagine in over a month, we saw many iconic and historic sites. Some we enjoyed more than others. Being surrounded by thousands of years of history can be intimating at times. To paint a clearer picture, I am going to break down my favorite (and least favorite) sites we saw in the four countries we visited. As expected when you spend two weeks in one country, a lot of my posts will probably be about Italy (I apologize ahead of time). So for some variety, I am going to skip over those first two weeks and talk about one of the other countries we visited: France.

As this was Andrew’s birthday and his favorite European city is Paris, we had to make sure we visited Paris, again. By the time we arrived in the City of Light, we were more than two weeks into our trip. We had already visited over 5 cities and more than twice that many sites/museums. The length of the trip was starting to wear us down. But we were excited to be arriving at some place familiar. (On our first trip to Europe one year and a half ago we had the opportunity to spend a four days in Paris with the Smiths, our best friends.) When you are visiting a city for the second time, you get to see and experience something different. You don’t feel the pressure or need to see/do everything on your to-do list. You get to see things you missed last time. You get to enjoy more of the ‘local’ city. This was a nice break for us. After two weeks of Italian food and sites, we were looking forward to hearing French and eating their food.

The Eiffel Tower: probably the biggest and most iconic site throughout the world. We of course had already seen and gone to the top of this monument the first time. However, its lure and beauty will always attract me back to view and admire it. We enjoyed the view from the Trocadero, the plaza that stands across the Seine River, known as the best place to view the Eiffel Tower. I made Andrew take over 100 photos (most rather reluctantly), with and of me – hoping I would get that great shot I missed last time due to winter weather. I ended up with a few that I adore. See below! We then took the walk to the base of the Eiffel Tower to admire it up close, again. As the Tower gets larger and larger in front of you, the miraculousiness of the Tower gets bigger too.  It’s really fantastic – I wonder how it was put together by human beings in the 19th century. Photos of the Eiffel Tower often define a visit to Paris, and ours are no exception. ;-)

The view from our hotel room

 I'm holding the tower!

Up close and personal 

The Eiffel Tower glittering at night

The Jardin des Tuileries: one of Paris’s most visited gardens and a tourist attraction we missed on our last trip to Paris. It’s like the Central Park of Paris. Ironically this garden was created in the early 16th century in Italian style to remind the queen of France of her native Tuscany. We still enjoyed the park, grabbing a chair and sitting to admire the beautiful view.

Pont des Arts: another site we missed and one I really enjoyed. The Pont des Art is a bridge full of padlocks and lots of love. It is said by some to be the most romantic place in Paris. It is a destination for couples, near and far, to memorialize their love by attaching personalized padlocks to the bridge and then throw the locks’ keys into the Seine below – and we were no different. It was fun to pick our spot of the bridge, attach our lock and throw the keys into the Seine. It’s inspiring to see how many locks are on the bridge, how many people are and have been in love. I hope to one day return to Paris and see our lock still on the bridge. Something new to add to my bucket list!

 Our lock: "all my love"

Shakespeare and Company Bookstore: a cute boutique with music and wide selection of books. This bookstore is also a reading library and has been featured in various films, such as Midnight in Paris. It has also been frequented by many writers and famous customers -- after all, we went there! I love cozy bookstores, where you find yourself in a small room, surrounded by works of art. Nothing makes me feel good inside like the smell of a good bookstore. After picking out our book and getting it stamped with the store’s signature, we found ourselves a nice alcove with a garden and read out loud to each other on a bench while overlooking the Seine River and Notre Dame Cathedral. Ah, the restful moments that capture the city in all its beauty.

Tomorrow, I will discuss dining in Paris and what we loved about French food. Till then, au revoir!