Friday, May 9, 2014

Elle and Kate in Paris (part 2)

Les dîners

I have eaten some wonderful meals in Paris: fun, student-y (mostly home-made) meals with Rachel when I was backpacking, and then in 2005, Andrew and I had some lovely nights out while Mum forewent the nightlife and kindly babysat 18 month-old Grace.
And on this trip, I was lucky enough to have two more delicious dinners. Kate had spent lots of time and energy researching two perfect venues. One was where lots of the hip young things were hanging out, where we had a cocktail and shared some delicious plats, the highlight for me being a terrine de noix et quinoa that I really want to try to recreate.

The other was Verjus, which was sophisticated but comfortable and charming. We indulged in a perfect degustation menu (although, not wanting to overdo it, we declined the cheese)!




I couldn't describe it better than these critics:

Tout est délicieux et très joliment présenté.” – LE FOODING 2013
"Such serendipity is the reason a meal at Verjus should be on the to-do list of anyone who’s Paris-bound anytime soon.” - SAVEUR
“…every dish was of top quality, inventive and perfectly balanced.” – PARIS UPDATE
 

On our way home, we wandered through the Passage Richelieu, where I was entranced by a cellist (playing, I think, Bach's suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major), for a night-view of the pyramids at the entrance to the Louvre, and of the Eiffel Tower.



Making the most of our time
Fittingly I think, for our third and last morning in Paris, we carefully scheduled our departure to allow:
  • a final delicious coffee at Terres de cafe, around the corner from our apartment, before...
  • walking along a few shopfronts to arrive at Pain de Sucre - a perfect patisserie that had been closed on the preceding three days - just as the blinds and doors opened at 10am, to make a lightning-quick purchase of two perfect lemon tarts,


    before...
  • taking the metro from Hotel de Ville, three stops to Gare de Lyon in time to buy breakfast and lunch at Paul, before...
  • boarding our 11.07am TGV to take us to Avignon, in the quiet comfort of the “idZen” zone (no children, no mobile phones).
These few days were a perfect intermission for me, and it was lovely to return to the Fabulous Five to continue our French Adventure, with Kate as an honorary member for a week or so.
*Acknowledgements: Warmest thanks to Jen and Andrew for facilitating, and to Katie for ...
all of it!

3 comments:

  1. Back in steamy Phnom Penh, our brief rendezvous seems like a distant memory so it's lovely to read your blog and remember our happy time in Paris. Next stop, Tokyo? I know some good coffee shops there , too.

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  2. The Famous Five go to Tokyo Katie, or just you and me???

    Yes, very lucky Gervy!

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