Unfortunately, two hours later she was rested and ready to go. On a positive note, the sun had come out and the temps had risen to +9.
And a few minutes later, it was on. LOL, nice try dear but not today. :eek:
After a brief stop of 31 rue Cambon where I escaped with only buying perfume, we grabbed a taxi and headed up the Champs Elysees for some serious hand bag shopping.
To the world's largest LV store.
After a successful and cheaper than expected visit, we strolled back down the Champs Elysees for a while and then took a taxi back to the hotel.
Pretty pricey retail space for any airline, let alone one with a limited route map. Maybe someday. :D
A little after 7PM, we headed out to the 6th and Ze Kitchen Gallerie, a wonderful Michelin one star French/Thai fusion restaurant we'd visited 5 years ago during our month in St-Germain.
As we were seated, we noticed a TV crew from M6 in the kitchen doing a story. Since we were one of the first couples seated, the reporter came over and asked if we would mind them taping our various courses and asking our opinion. When one of the nearby waitstaff interrupted him and told him "Ils sont anglais", I boldly replied "oui, mais je parle francais". And so we became French TV stars tonight, at least on tape and until we were apparently fired after the first course... guess they wanted some French customers instead of an English-only American and a faux French Quebecois-American. :D
We both opted for the 6 course degustation menu, with selections at the whim of the chef. Four of the 6 courses were out of this world amazing. But first, the most important part of any meal. ;)
Wonderful amuse bouche.
And the most amazing marinated trout.
And incredible seafood broth.
And pasta with truffles that was divine.
The sea bream good but probably a little underdone for some including Mrs. SFO.
And the final main... pigeon. Ugh. I guess some like it. The foie gras was excellent.
The double dessert finale was amazing.
After I dropped Mrs. SFO back at the hotel, I walked up to Place de la Concorde for some night pics, just in time for the top of the hour light show.
Too noisy for the neighbors? OK, we'll just move along. Great idea.
Valentine's Day in Paris
After a lazy first morning in Paris, we headed out just after noon to an overcast, off and on rainy +8. Meanwhile in the lobby, ah yes it must be Paris.
Today, we are heading over to the 16th and the chic shop of artisan butcher Hugo Desnoyer. Oui, un boucherie. But unlike any butcher shop that you are likely to see visit. Hugo is Paris' best butcher, supplying the city's rich and famous and many of the city's best restaurants. What is so unique is that Hugo also has an 8 person table d’hôte right in the shop, serving food and wine and offering a unique culinary experience in a relaxed communal atmosphere. This is absolute must stop for any foodie. Fortunately it is not yet well known as a "restaurant" ... ranked only #2,513 on tripadvisor. Even our concierge questioned my request for a reservation replying "it isn’t a restaurant but a butchery". As we arrived a little early for our 1PM rez, we strolled the neighborhood stopped for un café across the street.
And finally to Hugo's at 1PM where we were warmly welcomed by his staff.
Hugo brought us a glass of wine and charcuterie while we waited for our place at the table.
And then delicious truffle butter bread. Hey, we have nothing else planned this afternoon. :)
At around 1:15P our seats were ready and we joined two other couples who had already started their meal. A third couple joined us 10 minutes later. All the other couples today were from Paris (four native Parisians and two expat Americans) but everyone spoke English or some and we had a wonderful afternoon of eating, drinking and conversation in English, French and Franglais. All wondered how we tourists even knew about this place?
Another starter not on the menu. OMG, the foie gras was to die for. Sorry, I was so excited that I forgot to take a pic before I had devoured most of it.
Since the shop was closing tomorrow for the two week winter school holiday (seriously??) the usual prix fixe tasting menu was not offered, with everything a la carte. Mrs. SFO and I split the côte de boeuf pour 2 with frites, salad and veggies. And a lovely bottle of Burgundy.
Perfectly prepared veggies.
Wonderful dessert.
At sometime mid-meal, the original two couples left and their seats were taken by another two, including Hugo's wife and a family friend who had us in stitches with his story-telling. What a great afternoon!
If you are into foodie experiences, this is a must. And do it soon because once the word gets out and Hugo opens his planned Tokyo shop, it will be tougher than ever to experience the real deal with Hugo. We lucked into it by stumbling on John Talbott's Paris food blog (http://johntalbottsparis.com/), a frank review (pics and no hold commentary in FT trip report fashion) of one expat Parisian eating and drinking his way around Paris.
We exchanged contact info and walked part of the 16th with one of our newfound couple friends before heading back to our hotel, but not before stopping at The Trocadero on the way for more touristy pics.
And to the hotel back to relax before... another meal. :)
With no confirmed Valentine's Day dinner reservation, we decided to return to L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon St-Germain. After confirming with both the restaurant and concierge that the evening was no different from other nights... namely walk-ins only and no reservations except for 6:30P, we headed to the pleasant Westin Bar just after 8PM for a drink before heading over to L'Atelier. We commandeered two seats at the bar next to another couple, proceeded to strike up a conversation, made more friends and stayed for two hours. Turns out she was a former Bond girl who is now mostly retired from acting, her SO a genial businessman. We exchanged contact info and agreed to keep in touch.
With a short taxi ride, we arrived at Joel Robuchon around 10:15P only to met with a maitre d' who had clearly mastered the art of French snootery. Mais non monsieur, we are fully booked for the evening. No walk-ins tonight, only reservations booked two months in advance. "Eet eez a spayshall niyat. Eet eez St-Valentin." Vraiment?? I didn't know that you idiot. That's why I called and had the the concierge call and was told "dat eet eez no deefayran dan udder niyats." I must be mistaken my arse.
Sufficiently chastened for daring to show up without a rez, we headed up to Boulevard St-Germain to check out our other options. Fortunately, it was a gorgeous +13 evening so the walk was pleasant. We wound up at venerable and crowded Brasserie Lipp, which Mrs. SFO had always wanted to go to but we never did during our month in the area. Atmosphere? Oui. Classic waiters? Oui. Great people watching? Oui. Good wine? Oui. Good food? Meh, no so much. Mrs. SFO's curiosity has now been satisfied. And I saved 200 euros tonight. :)
Other than the wine, the best part of the meal.
We got back to the hotel around 1AM. Time to rest up before another day of touring, eating and drinking.
Paris Day 3
A late night meant another late noon time start to the day. On our short list of touristy things to see this trip are the Catacombs (never been there) the Notre-Dame, which we have visited but Mrs. SFO insisted we hadn't. Who I am to argue, but I do love hearing the "you were right" afterwards. :) And every trip to Paris, we keep trying to visit the new Picasso Museum... but going on four years and now more than the double the original budget, this sucker is still not open. Now supposedly set for June. We'll see.
We headed across the street to the Jardin des Tuileries for a walk up to the Louvre. Lots of couple and families enjoying a beautiful February day.
Towards the Louvre.
We took a taxi for the short drive to Notre-Dame
Outside again, the Seine...
And lots of photo taking....
The plan was to head to the Catacombs but Mrs. SFO says lets take the "hop-on, hop-off" Big Bus. A great way to revisit the highlights of Paris. And from the open upper deck, great vantage point for pics.
Pont des Arts and all the locks...
La Musée d'Orsay...
Ah, l'amour...
Unfortunately, one of the stops is Galleries Lafayette. Of course, we had to "hop off" and take a look.
Opera Garnier.
Ah, so that's what our bus looks like. :cool:
And the Grand Palais on our way up the Champs-Elysees...
And finally for lunch at venerable Fouquet's (one of Sarkosy's haunts) at the corner of avenue Georges V, across from Louis Vuitton.
Part of Fouquet's closed as it is being prepped for the upcoming French Oscars so there is only limited lunch seating, but we were able to get a table as we arrived towards the end of lunch service. Classic Parisian atmosphere. Great service. Great wines. Excellent food.
Madame relaxing as we pretty much closed the place down, it now being 4:30P.
All wine coolers should be this nicely stocked... downstairs on the way to les toilettes.
On the taxi ride back the Westin, sweet car rentals at the Roue de Paris.
OMG, only four hours until dinner.
And four hours later, we headed over to Le Bristol (8th) at around 7PM for drink with FlyerTalker JohnRain who divides his time between Geneva and Paris.
Rough life. :cool: Very enjoyable finally meeting him, even better when his gorgeous fiancée arrived. ^
They walked us across the lobby to Michelin star Le 114 Faubourg where they introduced us to Chef Eric Desbordes (http://www.lebristolparis.com/eng/restaurants-and-bars/114-faubourg/). Beautiful restaurant and one of the best meals we have enjoyed in a long time.
Delicious amuse bouche.
An amazing "Duck Pâté in a crust" that was to die for. OMG. No wonder it earned Chef Eric 2011 World Pâté Champion status.
While Madame went opted for a beautiful salad... mesculin and crisp lettuce hearts, aged parmesan shavings with black truffle vinaigrette.
Next was the Roasted scallops, Le Puy green lentils with black truffle. It was delicious.
But not as good as my sole prepared meunière style. One of the most amazingly delicious I have ever tasted.
And plenty of incredible sweets...
As we were preparing to leave, Chef Eric stopped by to bid adieu. This was one incredible meal, probably the best anywhere in the past year, and another definite must for any foodie.
