Day 12 Paris

Got an early start this morning so we could get in line for the Louvre. We got there a little before 9 and were about 751st in line. It was the first free Sunday this year, which is first Sunday of the month from October to March. Thankfully, it didn't take long for the line to shrink. Once inside, the Louvre is so large that it just seems to swallow people up - except for the Mona Lisa room. Everybody's got to see that, and we did. After spending two hours wandering about and seeing lots of incredible art, we had enough and left through the underground mall where there was a line waiting to get in that stretched for at least a quarter mile. I'm sure there were people in line that had no idea how long the line was. The Louvre is at least twenty times the size of the National Art Gallery in DC. What a place.

It wasn't even noon, so we walked down to the Marais area and stopped at a cafe called Open for a snack and a beverage. After that we walked over by Notre Dame and checked out the Bird Market where there are hundreds of beautiful birds for sale, all different kinds and colors, lots of cages and bird paraphernalia. Very interesting, but kind of sad too. We parted ways and agreed to meet for dinner somewhere in the St. Germain neighborhood.

Around six o'clock J & D came over to our place and we went downstairs and across the street to Vin et Terroirs. It's a small 120 year old traditional French restaurant. We had a really fun waiter and we ordered standard French fare. For a first course, Darcy had escargot which she loved, Sylvia had ravioli with a chive cream sauce (loved), I had a goose pate (loved), Jim carpaccio of beef and foie gras.  Our main courses consisted of three duck confit with roasted potatoes, Sylvia had roasted lamb and mashed potatoes. Everything was great, and it's unbelievable they can serve an appetizer and main course for less than $20. Back home this would cost at least $35, if you could find it, which I doubt. We also split a couple of desserts and the waiter gave each of us a brandy with our espresso.

Just in case you didn't know, the reason I'm always posting about the food and where we ate it's because it does resolve some lively discussions that occur in later years. Pictures are only needed to confirm the narrative.

Darcy's Escargot

Sylvia's Lamb

Duck Confit and Roasted Potatoes