Day 10 Paris

Jim and his Bud

Began the day with coffee and a baguette then met Jim and Darcy at the St. Michel bridge. We stared off walking to the Flower Market near Notre Dame and were disappointed to learn the adjacent Bird Market only opens on Sunday. The weather seemed pretty good so we decided on walking the two and a half miles up to Rue Cler. On the way we detoured over to the Rodin museum and walked the gardens. Only part of the gardens were available because they were setting up for some event. We thought it might be something to do with next week's fashion week. It didn't take long to walk the gardens before heading over to the Eiffel Tower. We stopped for a drink and a sandwich at a braisserie. Jim got a Budweiser...a nine dollar Budweiser at that. No one felt like going up the Eiffel Tower so we just walked under it and continued back down along the Seine to the Musee d' Orsay. We spent over an hour wandering around the museum - it wasn't very crowded. I think we missed some stuff, but I'm not sure what. We were getting tired and we all walked back to our apartment where we rested for awhile. It was another 10+ miles day. After a few refreshments, Jim and Darcy went back to their hotel by way of the Luxembourg Gardens.

In the evening it started to drizzle, so Sylvia and I went to dinner across the street to an Italian joint called Margherita. We didn't expect much but as usual we underestimated another Parisian restaurant. I had their Tartuffo, a large penne pasta with a cream and black truffle sauce, and Sylvia had the special of the day a braised pork over mixed vegetables - both better than good. We had a good chat with the couple seated next to us. They were from Miami, he was Puerto Rican and she was Mexican. It was a good conversation about so many topics. The night ended not as early as I would have liked.

Can you tell what's the difference between these two pictures?

Day 9 Paris and Versailles

Woke up to another beautiful day in Paris. I didn't have time to get my baguette this morning as we were to meet Jim and Darcy at the St. Michel metro station at 9 o'clock and take the train to the Chateau du Versailles. Everything went as planned and we got to Versailles by ten. We bought tickets at the town information center where the clerk told me it would take 4 to 5 hours to tour the estate and I thought to myself, "Yeah, right, like I'm going to do a 5 hour tour". Well, as it turned out we didn't poke around and it took us four and a half hours. Just the walk through the gardens to the Grand Trianon Palace took 30 minutes. The gardens go on for literally miles. It was very impressive, and to think it started as a hunting lodge for King Louis XIII.  I can't begin to describe the charm and elegance of Versailles, but it's a must see for anyone going to Paris for the first time.

Versailles Palace Gardens

Chateau de Versailles

We got back to Paris around 4 and had a few drinks at The Mazet, an Irish pub at the end of our street, before they headed back to their hotel. We agreed to meet at 7:30 for dinner at Pizza Chic, a little bistro that supposedly has some of the better pizza in Paris. It was halfway between their place and ours.

Jim and Darcy got there a few minutes before we did and scored a terrific table by the window. It was a small place with maybe 15 tables inside and a few more outside. We ordered a bottle of wine as recommended by a very pleasant waitress and checked out the food menu. The prices seemed a little high, but the menu looked great. We started with  carpaccio of beef with artichokes and Parmigiano Reggiano, and a tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad, all to share. Great picks, they could not have been any better, everything was fresh except the 24 month old Parmigiano.

Appetizers

We also ordered two pizzas, one with just tomato and buffalo mozzarella, and the other with tomato, prosciutto, mushrooms, olives, and buffalo mozzarella. We came to find out that the pizza dough was made 5 days ahead of time and was as good if not better than any pizza I ever had. It was so good I forgot to take a picture. After devouring that, we just had to order a dolci and decided on their house made Tiramisu and some kind of ice and cream stirred with limoncello and prosecco. They went perfect together and completed a very pleasant meal. I could not have been more pleased. No Budweiser though. Sigh!

Day 8 Paris

My sister Darcy and her husband Jim arrived from Reading, PA today. We met them near their hotel in the Montparnasse area at the Restaurant La Rotonde. We had a few beers and some wine before walking through the Luxembourg Gardens back to our apartment. After hanging around there until 2:30 or so walked by the Louvre, through the Tuileries, and up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. On the way back we stopped at Restaurant Le Fouquet's on the Champs Elysees and had a bottle of wine: even Jim drank some. We walked back almost to their hotel when we decided we were getting a little tired and hungry so we ate at Le Bistrot du Sud-Quest. It was only six, but they served food all day. Jim and Darcy had chicken (stepped way out there), and Sylvia and I had salads (nothing very adventuresome there either). Nothing very special except the company. It was the end of a nine mile walk and Jim and Darcy hadn't had time to get much sleep, plus we were all pretty tired. So they went back to their hotel while Sylvia and I walked back to the apartment but stopped on the way for dessert and a double espresso, No trouble falling asleep.

Champs Elysees

Day 7 Paris

First time I've slept late, I didn't get up until 8:30. It feels as though I wasted most of the day. First thing I did was to walk up the block to one of the 4 or 5 boulangeries in the neighborhood and get a baguette and a croissant for breakfast. I had them with eggs and coffee that I made back at the apartment. We didn't go anywhere until eleven when we just walked around the area, and crossed the river past the Louvre, and spent some time in the 2nd Arr. The flowers in the gardens at Le Palais Royal were pretty for this time of year, and the shops were as unusual as they were fascinating. We didn't do much lunch wise, we just had a sandwich with our wine. Since there was laundry to do, we went back to the apartment and Sylvia fought with the washer/dryer. It was one unit and didn't do anything very well, it certainly didn't dry anything. It wasn't a very productive afternoon - at least for me.

Le Palais Royal

Around 7 o'clock we went out to find a nice restaurant for a bit more elaborate French inspired dinner. It took an hour but we (Sylvia) settled on a non touristy looking place called Restaurant AG. I think the AG stands for Alan Geaam, a fairly well known chef who owns two other restaurants. We got there at eight and the place was empty except for one table of two. Asked if we had reservations, we said no and they said only the outside tables were available. Strange, because it didn't look like they were booked, but we took one anyhow. However, by nine thirty the place was packed. I guess even dining at eight thirty is too early.

The dinner was exactly what we had hoped for, three courses and an Amuse-bouche. The pictures didn't turn out so well since we were outside at night, and my descriptions don't do the dishes justice because they are very complex and I can't remember shit. I have no idea what the Amuse-bouche was, because it wasn't on the menu. It was very good though. Stupid me almost broke a tooth trying to eat the dried lentils at the bottom of the dish...idiot. I hope nobody saw me.

Amuse-bouche

The first course (Entree) for Sylvia was a tartar of sea bream with ginger, carrots, grapefruit, etc., and mine was a torte stuffed with duck foie gras, beets, radish, etc.

Entree

For the Second Course (Plat) Sylvia had chicken with cheese, sweet potato, and mushrooms. I had veal cheeks and sweetbreads. Both dishes were excellent and very complex and ornate. The pictures just didn't do them justice so I didn't include them. We were happy with the desserts too, whatever they were.

Dessert

All done for the day.

Day 6 Nice to Paris

Checked out of the Hotel Massena at 8am and did the 20 minute walk up to the train station. We got there in plenty of time to have a baguette and espresso before boarding. The high speed train ride to Paris took an uneventful 6 hours. I enjoyed the fascinating scenery and the changing landscape from the Mediterranean coastline up through the rolling hills and beautiful farms of southern France. We arrived at the downtown Paris train station, Gare de Lyon, by 4 o'clock. The taxi line looked long and confused so we just walked the 40 minutes to the apartment we had rented for the week. We knew it was located in the 6th Arr., but hadn't realized it was within a few blocks of where Sylvia and Frony had stayed 10 years ago on their way back from Egypt. It was kinda hard to find since it was on a remote pedestrian street, Cour du Commerce St. Andre. It's a busy little street with several good looking cafes and shops. Our apartment is on the second floor of a building that has to be several hundred years old. In the picture below it is located on the right side of the street, just past the cafe with the green awnings. We were greeted there by David, the Apartment Manager, who was extremely pleasant and provided us with more useful information than we could possibly comprehend.

Cour du Commerce Street

It was almost 7 and we hadn't eaten since this morning's baguette, so we unpacked and walked the neighborhood looking for a place to eat - we only had about 200 to choose from. Confused, we stopped for a drink at a sidewalk cafe - there's about 200 of them too. Eventually refreshed, we quit looking and picked Le Bistrot Mazarin in the Arts District. A pretty good pick too, but I don't think it's possible to pick poorly. I had fish and Sylvia had veal, both outstanding. We spent most of the meal chatting with the interesting gentleman seated next to us from Sacramento. On the way back to the apartment we stopped at a grocery store and picked up some staples: wine, vodka, scotch, and even some water, cheesee and butter (for baguettes). We got back to the apartment after 10 and I fell asleep soon thereafter. I was contemplating getting up at 3 to watch the debate, and I have no friggin' idea why I would want to do that.

Looking left out the apartment window

Looking right out the apartment window

Day 5 Nice

Woke up to another beautiful day. The weather has been just great, a little warmer than normal, but 76 isn't too bad. I went for my normal constitutional one hour walk on the Promenade and people watched. I alsobrowsed around the Flower Market. When I got back to the room Sylvia was at the computer looking not very happy. I asked "What's wrong" and she said "You bought train tickets to the town of Lyon, not the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris". I said "Okay, so I made a mistake, it's only a couple of hundred miles difference." She didn't crack a smile, instead a lively discussion began, mostly one sided. It turned out not to be such a big problem. We walked up to the Nice train station and exchanged them for Paris. It cost a bit more, but hey. stupid is expensive.

Cours-Saleya (Flower Market)

Our Hotel

We didn't do much more than walk around until we got hungry, which didn't take long. "We" decided on pizza and found at a little Italian cafe in an alley. The pizza and a carafe of rose made for a pleasant lunch. We chatted a long time with the Bulgarian waiter, who spoke five languages, but felt he needed to learn more, maybe Spanish - an interesting fella'. Afterwards, Sylvia went one way to shop, and I went the other just because. I wandered into some neighborhoods I hadn't been before and managed to come across a beer. I sat at an outside table and chatted with the waiter there too. It was nice to relax with my beer after screwing up those train tickets. I got back to the Hotel and Sylvia was asleep, so I played around on the computer until it was almost dinner time.

The other day we stopped for a Guiness at Ma Noland's Irish pub over by the Port, and they advertised that the Redskin's game would be on TV at 7pm. It sounded like something different to do since I didn't think the French were interested in American football. and came to find out they weren't. There was one guy watching the ESPN Red Channel, 20 watching soccer and 20 more watching nothing. It was a good Irish joint and we ordered Fish and Chips with mushy peas, and Chicken Goujons. The fish was crispy, huge and perfectly done. The Guinness was pretty good too. We didn't stay long and did a 45 minute walk back to the hotel by way of the Promenade. It's pretty at night. Tomorrow we take the train to Paris.

Day 4 Nice and Villefranche-sur-Mer

I got up early to write today's blog, or yesterday's blog today, or maybe the day before's blog yesterday? Obviously I don't know when I did what. Anyhow, after that I went for my daily morning stroll around town and ended up on the Promenade again. It was Saturday and all the healthy people were out and about getting their morning run or bicycling. I guess I just enjoyed watching everyone sweat. After an hour or so of walking I stopped at a patisserie and had an espresso and picked up a quiche and a torte for the room. They made for a great breakfast. In fact, unless you go to touristy hotel it's the only breakfast available. No scrambled eggs and fried potatoes here.

We had nothing pre-planned for the day so we thought it would be nice to go to one of those little seaside towns we saw on yesterday's bus ride over to Monaco. We (Sylvia) decided on what looked like the prettiest one called Villefranche-sur-Mer. We took the same bus as yesterday and got off at what we thought was the best stop, it wasn't, but it was okay and as a bonus we got to see the local Saturday morning market. The walk to the harbor was way down a hill and was pleasant enough. The walk along the harbor was all cafes that were obviously there for tourists. Even though we didn't see many people, this cute little town was for sure a tourist destination. It was pretty though, and was an enjoyable walk until we had to go back up the hill to catch the bus back to town. The hike up was a killer, and stupid, because once we got there we thought it would be better to take the train back to Nice. It seems as though the bus back from Monaco gets too full and skips stops. so we walked back down the hill to the train depot. Halfway down we stopped at a little sandwich shop and Sylvia wanted a beer (Sylvia never drinks beer?). I thought this was great because I'd get to drink mine and hers. Damn if she didn't drink it! She even ordered another...I got most of that one though. We each had half a panini which was better than most any panini we get at home.

Villefranche-sur-Mer

The train ride back was short and the walk back from the station to the hotel was along a major shopping area. It was nice not to see the same old stores as we see at home. Later, on the way to dinner we went for another long walk. We ended up at the Marche au Fleurs (Flower market) which in the evening is converted to outdoor dining for 15 or 20 restaurants. It was decided (Sylvia again) that we should have dinner at La Cambuse, the same restaurant we ate at 7 years ago. Sylvia had the Moules et Frites (mussels and fries) and I had the Poulpe Nicoise (octopus with potatoes, onions, olives). Both were good and mine was exceptional. Octopus is actually one of my favorite seafoods. The walk back to the hotel was busy with people really enjoying a Saturday night out. I didn't enjoy it long, I went to bed early, again.

Moules et Frites and Poulpe Nicoise

Day 3 Nice and Monaco

Monaco Harbor

We came to Nice to hang out and just enjoy the area with the only objective being to take a side trip to Monaco. It's only about 10 miles from Nice as the crow flies, but not by any other means. We opted for the bus because it's  a little more scenic than the train.  We were told to get a seat on the right side of the bus, which we did, and was very good advice. It cost a $1.50 for a 45 minute ride along an amazing coastline through half a dozen little villages all perched on a cliffs along side the Mediterranean . Once in Monaco we walked through the market and on up to the old town and palace. We must have walked up and down several hundred stairs getting to where we wanted to go. Sylvia was not very pleased with my choice of routes. There's a very nice aquarium by the palace that we went through and it probably had more varieties of fish than I had ever seen in any other aquarium. The trip up there is worth it, even if just for the views.

After the aquarium it was getting time for lunch so we walked down the hill to the harbor and found an outdoor cafe on Princess Caroline street which wasn't hard to do because the street is lined with outdoor cafes. We just recovered there and had a salad and a bottle of rose. We were in no rush because the next stop was Monte Carlo and it was all uphill again. To get there you walk around the harbor, where they were getting ready for next week's yacht show; and by-the-way the entrance fee will be $165, I'm sure it'd be worth it because these were BIG boats. The climb up the hill was not easy but it's so beautiful that you hardly notice it. Once there, I was totally impressed with the automobiles parked in front of the casino, money, money, money. In order to get in the casino we had to show passports and pay ten euros each. The casino is stunning, just like in the James Bond movies. I'd love to own the nearby tuxedo shop. We didn't spend too much time there, just looked around, had a coupe de champagne and left...in awe. A walk through the gardens took to us to a bus stop for the ride back to Nice.

BIG boats

Back in Nice and tired of walking/climbing and too tired for a lively discussion, we decided to have an early dinner close by the hotel. We saw a nearby brasserie call L'Ovale and boy did we get lucky. It had a typical southwestern French country menu and it was open for dinner at 7. Sylvia ordered a Country Pate salad, Veal with Chanterelle mushrooms, and a Tiramisu. I had Foie Gras, Cassoulet de Canard (sausage, duck confit, and white beans), and Creme Brulee . Absolutely brilliant! A terrific bottle of wine was obviously necessary. It's hard to believe, but all this for less than $70. Stuffed we went back to the hotel and I was asleep in no time. No plans for tomorrow, but I'm sure something will come up.

Appetizer

Entre

Desert

Day 2 Nice

Woke up this morning to a beautiful day, Sylvia slept in while I went for a walk around town. I resisted stopping at one of the excessive number of Patisseries for a sweet something or other, but I was finally overwhelmed. I had an espresso with a terrific croissant and sat at an outside table and watched people going to work. I was surprised to see so many people with small dogs. It's amazing how many dogs are walked unleashed. It's wild because the traffic is so nutty; cars, bikes, scooters all going like crazy every which way. The dogs just seem to know not to wander into the street until there's no traffic, they look both ways. Anyhow, I finished my croissant and continued my walk over to the Promenade des Anglais. The Promenade's a beautiful 50 foot wide paved sidewalk that goes along the Mediterranean for about five scenic miles. I really enjoyed the casual slow walk down alongside the beach on a sunny 70 degree morning. There were people getting an early morning swims, fishermen pulling their seine nets, and joggers and bicycles everywhere, everybody just doing their thing.

Later in the morning Sylvia and I walked over to the Port area of Nice and checked out the Jillion dollar boats tied up next to the pretty little fishing dorys. There's a lot of little Bistros and Cafes in the area, but it was still a little early, even for me. We stopped in a cute little bicycle-coffee shop, but Sylvia wouldn't let me get anything except coffee. It was still too early for lunch so we walked back to the old part of town debating (sort of) about what kind of lunch we wanted. Unable to decide (or agree), we ended up getting pizza and a salad. We weren't happy with the place we picked. The pizza and salad were pretty okay, the waiter was a shit.

The rest of the day was uneventful. We spent more time trying to figure out what to do for dinner. Surprisingly we eventually agreed on La P'tite Cocotte. It took a significant amount of time just to find the place only to discover it was out of business. Somewhat irritated we just walked down the alleyway and stopped in a cutesy Portuguese place called Le Barbecue. Just the name alone should have eliminated it from consideration. However, it was 8:30 so we went in anyhow. Sylvia ordered steak and I went for the Portuguese Bouillabaisse??? Sylvia's steak was okay for a French steak, and my bouillabaisse was unlike any I ever had. I should have done the "barbecue" I guess. It was not a good eating day. We'll try again tomorrow when we head over to Monaco and Monte Carlo. In order to get in the casino you have to wear a jacket and tie. I'm not looking forward to taking a 45 minute bus ride on a hot day wearing a coat and tie.

Promenade des Anglais Memorial

Fishing Dorys at the Nice Port

Day 1 Nice

We decided to take another trip to France. Instead of going to someplace new and different, we thought it was time to revisit places that we've enjoyed in the past. We choose Nice and Paris because they're beautiful, exciting and great walking cities, plus the food is so good..

We left yesterday from Solomons and drove up to Newark, NJ for a flight to Nice via Montreal. It was pretty uneventful except for the usual lively discussions about my driving and her navigating. Newark's a great place to fly out of, it's easy to get to, not very crowded, has good connections, and less expensive flights than most other airports . We got through TSA precheck in 2 minutes, had an awful lunch before catching the flight to Montreal, which by-the-way is a beautiful airport. I wish we could have spent more time there, although we did manage to squeeze in enough time for a quick glass of wine. The flight from Montreal to Nice was half full, or half empty depending which one of us you are talking to. Sylvia managed to find three center aisle seats that were perfect for sleeping. I spent the 7 hour overnight flight sitting up watching the first half of 4 or 5 terrible movies, and playing games. I should know better. We landed at 8 in the morning and I was whipped. We took the bus to the Hotel Massena, which of course didn't have our room ready. So we left our bags there and walked around town for the next four hours and got re-acquainted with Nice. What a great place Nice is, fantastic markets, foods, and sights. There's so much activity that it's hard not to be excited.

We finally checked in around 2 o'clock, unpacked and went right out again. By this time I was exhausted and I knew if I stayed in the room I would fall asleep and be out of sync for the rest of the trip. We had just started to walk the Promenade des Anglais (where the guy ran over and killed 86 people in August) when it began to drizzle. Surprise, we magically found a bistro just as it began to pour. We suffered through two hours waiting there for the rain to stop. It wasn't so bad though, the wine was both good and inexpensive. By now I was getting real tired and all I wanted to do was get something to eat then go back to the hotel and sleep. However, it was only 6 o'clock and to early for most restaurants to start serving dinner. After some lively discussions, we stumbled across a restaurant that I saw written up called Peixes. It's a smallish bistro that specializes in raw fish. Luckily they were willing to serve us an early dinner. What a find! We ordered two appetizers: a ceviche of fish, squid, prawns, mussels, etc. with a white bean puree, and a salmon tartare with fennel cream and a granny smith apple. Of course a bottle of wine too. The ceviche was by far the best ceviche I ever had, absolutely fantastic: spicy, lemony, super fresh, terrific . These alone would have been enough, but they were so good that I had to try more. So we ordered grilled smoked sea bass and an order of fried anchovies. Both were unbelievable. I would be willing to eat there twice a day for the rest of our stay in Nice, but there's so many other great restaurants. But I've got to get back to Peixes at least one more time. I crashed at the hotel by 8...finally. What a wimp.

Porchetta - Roasted pig stuffed with meat, herbs, garlic

Ceviche and Salmon Tartare