paris!

adam and i decided to take a weekend holiday in paris! thanks to expedia, we landed ourselves two eurostar tickets and a three-star hotel in the latin quarter for a reasonable price...


i was surprised to find that the eurostar had carpeted floors. i was also surprised to find that you have to check in and go through customs BEFORE you can get on the train...close call on timing! we spent half of the journey listening to French lessons on my iPod, and the other half of the journey eating lunch. by the time we purchased lunch, all that was left in the snack car was:

two bags of crisps
coffee
brownies
bickies aka biscuits aka cookies

a nice, balanced start to a weekend of healthy eating


hangin' out in the sun on the seine. we spent most of the weekend contently wandering up and down the river, occasionally stopping to look at stuff or sit on a wall.


adam hoping for a glimpse of quasimodo


i heart parisian cafes. this one was called la palette and was in the heart of saint germain in the middle of dozens of art galleries. good reco from lonely planet! i carried my lonely planet guide around faithfully, despite my co-workers teasing me that this is a guide book for students looking for a cheap holiday. just because i am 31 doesn't mean i can't be thrifty.


another lonely planet reco, we tried to go to this wine bar for lunch but the grumpy owner wasn't in the mood to serve food at such an odd hour (3 pm). so we came back for dinner. :-)


despite grumpy man's warning of rain, we sat at a table outside (we didn't get THAT wet and anyway, every other table was booked) and enjoyed a rather expensive bottle of wine.


we also enjoyed a cheese plate and a STUPID AMOUNT OF MEAT. we ordered l'entrecote for two people, which was enough delicious steak (and frites) to easily feed a family of four. none of it went to waste.


saturday we found ourselves walking along the seine again, this time on a mission to see a few sights. on the bridge to the louvre, we noticed that there were loads of padlocks stuck to the fence. perhaps they were part of an art exhibit? or a political statement? you can't chain that many bikes to the same part of the fence.


i bought a sweater (yes, Dad and Pam it is a grey sweater!!!!) because it was a bit chilly. shopping in paris was more fun than shopping in london. (i actually find shopping in london traumatic, between the size differences and the fact that most clothes are made for 13 year old girls)


the louvre looked kind of like a greenhouse.





the big triangle had baby triangles.


since dinner in paris isn't exactly cheap, we decided to buy groceries at carrefour and have ourselves a picnic. some baguettes, salami, gouda, fruit, and plastic knives are all you need for a good lunch! the free map from the hotel made a nice placemat. however, by the time we ate the whole block of cheese, i didn't desire dairy for the rest of the weekend.


walking to the eiffel tower from the louvre is a bit misleading. you think "oh, look it's over there, pretty close by", then you think "hmm, not much farther", then "right, just a few more blocks probably", and finally "f'ing hell, where is this bloody thing?".


after a bit of debate, i finally decided this one is definitely bigger than the one at Kings Island.




tour de france rolled into town while we were there...


trying a new beer at a new cafe :-)


another lonely planet dinner reco that became our favorite spot in paris




adam really wanted to try snails and other delicacies, which is one of reasons we chose Moissonier for dinner. it was a little gem with about 15 tables and a husband/wife team running everything. about a minute after we ordered our escargots, you could hear the butter start to sizzle in the kitchen. after we finished the entree, we soaked up the leftover sauce with free, fresh-baked bread...


in the true spirit of adventure, i ordered quenelle, which is some sort of pike (fish) based souffle. i really didn't know what to expect, but this was light, fluffy, perfectly seasoned, and just plain decadent. :-)


adam was even braver than me and ordered calf kidneys. so good! they tasted like blood sausage and came with potatoes au gratin, mmmmm.


i have no idea what i ordered for dessert, but it was marshmellowy with caramel drizzled over top and a lovely vanilla sauce. heaven.

after two days of such culinary treats, we spent sunday recovering over croque madames and crepes before taking one last walk along the river and then a nice jog through the train station. must learn to leave earlier when traveling internationally...