From the Eiffel Tower to French Cuisine…

Our day started out at 8:00 with breakfast in our hotel. Breakfast consisted of fresh croissants, fruit, cheese, and coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. After breakfast, we walked to the Eiffel Tower to get in line. We arrived early and rode to the top soon after it opened. The view from the top was amazing, and we were glad we did not have to wait in a long line to get there. We decided to take the stairs down from the second observation deck—although not sure at the time if that was the wisest choice.

After experiencing the Eiffel Tower, we headed to the Arc de Triomphe. We went to the top, which involved more stairs, but the view from the top was rewarding. We had lunch at a café near down the street from the Arc de Triomphe, and then took the Metro to our hotel for a break before embarking on our next adventure, which was a night time Fat Bicycle tour and cruise of the Seine.

The bike tour was a lot of fun. It departed from a location near the Eiffel Tower and we rode all around Paris, stopping along the way to take in historic sites and to eat Berthillon ice cream (some call it the best in the world). The most spectacular part of the ride was going through the courtyard of the Louvre, which was peaceful and almost magical as you could hear the sound of a solo clarinet playing nearby. We will have to go back another night to capture the experience on camera. The tour concluded with a one hour cruise of the Seine river, and of course, free wine! By the way, it is true that wine is cheaper than water in France.

After our full day of activities (the bike tour concluded around 11:45pm), we decided to find somewhere near our hotel to get a late meal. We happened upon an authentic French restaurant less than a block away from our hotel that appeared to be quite popular with the locals. We decided to have a seat and were under the impression that the kitchen was closed with the exception of some appetizer-type foods. We ordered a bottle of wine to share and enjoyed some wonderful bread, homemade sausages, pickles, and some type of meat loaf (although I’m not sure I want to know what was really in it). We found ourselves quite satisfied and very surprised when the next course was brought out—generous portions of beef and mushrooms. In France, you can expect all of the food to be very fresh and prepared to bring out the most flavor. The beef served was practically raw by our standards, but we had already eaten things we normally wouldn’t have, so decided to try it, and it was fantastic. The mushrooms were also wonderful and paired very well with the beef and wine. Just when we thought we couldn’t possibly eat anymore, the waiter brought out dessert—crème brulee and another cream dish served with figs and cranberries. Both were fabulous, and we were pleasantly surprised when the check totaled less than 35 Euro per person for all the food! This meal would have easily been worth $75 per person in the U.S.

I could easily write much more about our experiences today, but alas, I must get some sleep so we can get to the musuems tomorrow!

:-) Stacy