Saturday 30 July 2011

Paris - Part four

Yesterday was a day of sight-seeing (with a lot of walking obviously) and food thrown in along the way. Please find pictorial history below!!

Breakfast:


Frenchie Dog Eyes assured us this tasted much better than it looked
Whistle-stop tour of Paris:
Pont-Neuf with love padlocks
The Louve
Notre Dame Cathedral
And the view from it
Chess in Jardin De Luxembourg

The Pantheon
 Late Lunch in St Germain De Pres:
A well deserved beer
Hot Dog
Steak Hache
Caesar Salad
Ice cream pudding
BBQ for dinner back with our hosts:

The Hosts - Pierre et Joanna

Friday 29 July 2011

Paris Part 3

Last night, after a few drinks in the gorgeous evening sunshine, we headed into Paris.  Sam and I made the most of holiday weather to get dressed up (a move we later regretted given how much walking we did...I will not mention that Joe got us lost on the way to the wrong metro station, making us walk an extra 30 minutes!)   
The girls
The boys


We made the most of some happy hour cocktails near Chatelet des Halles and then sauntered to our first major destination - the super fancy Cafe de la Paix in Opera (for more info, see here).  It is a 150 year old institution, and pure indulgence.  The decor is opulent - gold leaf, chandeliers, plush sofas.  Cocktails set you back circa 20 euros each, but you are paying for the surrounding.  It's a brilliant place for a drink, but don't expect your barman to understand "mojito" or "pina colada" (nice manly choices there, boys).  Special mention to Sam who ordered a frozen strawberry daquiri, and then wasn't impressed when it was too cold.....

Happy hour - beer & cocktails 5 euros!



Fancy cafe de la paix
a cold frozen daquiri - who knew!
Nice, simple champagne pour moi!
butch choices for the boys - french mojito and a pina colada
Joe and I finishing Sam's frozen drink
We were meant to be going for dinner to a restaurant called La Ferrandaise in St Germain de Pres, but after all the cocktails we were running a little late!  Not far from the Cafe de la Paix there is a restaurant called Bistrot Victoires.  In this part of Paris, where you are heading towards the designer shops and designer price tags, its great to find an authentic Parisienne bistro serving really good food.  Down a little back street, Bistrot Victoires is rustic, hearty food, with mains all around 10.5 euros and desserts at 5.5euros. 
The wine is a little dodgy - but I can grow to love a chilled red which has given me a banging headache this morning (nothing to do with the cocktails or the pre-sortir drinks!).

But dinners of entrecote frites, poulet roti and confit du canard were all brilliant.
entrecote frites
confit du canard
Poulet roti

Desserts were even better, although most of us were too full to finish them (not Joe - who ate his own profiteroles, and then half of mine - good job he went for a run this morning!)
Gateaux du chocolat
profiteroles
Creme Brulee
This is Pied de Cochon where Joe and his friends went on a stag do a few years ago - speciality bits of pig - special mention to Shereef!

Off to Paris again today for some sight seeing... a bientot!xx 

Thursday 28 July 2011

Paris Part 2

I was hoping to get up for a quick run around the park, but that didn't happen! We rolled out of bed at 9ish with a plan of a few hours in Paris, then back to Bourg la Reine to meet Frenchie Dog Eyes and Sam... We made our way to the massive market in Bastille which was full of fruit and veg, fish, meats and cheese sellers, and bought some tasty lamb koftas from a friendly stall holder.  Then we had a stroll back along the Seine - the sun came out on the way which Jo was very pleased about - she has been checking the Paris weather forecast everyday for the past month!! We made a small detour via the Paris plage - a man-made beach that pops up every summer on the bank of the Seine.  It's a free for all to use the sun loungers and had a brilliant ice cream seller (3 euros for more icecream than you can shake a stick at!) This evening we are heading out for dinner and drinks around Saint-Germain-des-PrĂ©s and the Latin Quarter- good times. 

Mmm...fois gras...this man sold the most amazing gascogne treats

The Bastille
Canard avec tete





 The pictures below are our on-the-go lunch - freshly made lamb koftas, salad in a flat bread




James Hunter
The Paris plage, avec une grande glace



Frenchie Dog Eyes
Sam