First Day in Paris
Tuesday morning we awoke, checked out and took the tube over to the Eurostar station. Last time we were at this station, I had ridiculously heavy croissant that started out a really rough food day. So rough I ended up on the bathroom floor sick for about 8 hours in Brussels. That being said we went past the croissant place and instead stopped at the Betjeman Arms where I decided to order a proper English breakfast.
I had been wary of stomach woes all week and now I had a dish of runny green eggs, strange grotesque slab bacon, a fat sausage, stewed tomatoes and beans. WTF! This station had it out for me! I don’t know what I was thinking with my order but I’ll tell you I enjoyed the toast that’s about it.
Mr T loved his Bacon sandwich but I honestly think he was still a little drunk from the night before so you can’t believe him.
After our meal we leisurely strolled about, a little to leisurely since all of a sudden they called final boarding for our train and we had to make a run for it. Luckily we got on in the nik of time and 3 hours later we were pulling into Paris and maneuvering our way through their subway stations until we landed at our hotel. We unpacked and went out for a stroll of the neighborhood where the first stop was Pierre Herme for some macarons. They were absolutely perfect. The cookie was almost cloud like with an airy crisp shell and ultra smooth creamy inside. These could quite possibly be the best macarons I’ve ever had.
Unfortunately my French hadn’t been as refined as I wanted it to be (meaning I freaked out when I saw all the wonderful sweets I could buy and stammered a slew of words that couldn’t be deciphered as French OR English) and I decided maybe it was time to stop for a drink.
Luckily one the most famous cafes in Paris, Café Deux Magots, was only two blocks away. After a lovely bottle of Sancerre and some tasty little bar snacks I felt much better and we were only steps away from our planned dinner place Le Relais de l’Entrecote. I’ll be completely honest- when Mr. T said this was the one place he wanted to eat at in Paris I wasn’t exactly happy. They opened one of these in NYC last year for goodness sake! Luckily I reminded myself I had planned just about every other meal so I let him have this one…and once again he’s proven to pick a winner.
There is no menu here. You start with a salad and a basket of bread and then everyone gets Steak Frites. Everyone. Just state your preferred temperature and order some wine and boom that’s it. When the dishes started to come out the aroma was absolutely intoxicating.
This picture didn’t come out the best but I have to say this was an amazing Steak Frites. Amazing! They pour some sort of pesto sauce over everything and it has this garlicky, creamy flavor that’s tasty at first, but then down right additive towards the end.
The meat was so tender and well cooked, while the fries were skinny, salty and just like McDonalds- delicious! They give you one portion and then come around again to give you some more. It was such a delectable way to begin our Paris trip. I couldn’t have been happier. I will admit when I’m wrong and I was wrong to believe we shouldn’t go here…so wrong I’m actually going to the NYC this weekend (that sauce is addictive I tell you!)
After drinking some more wine with dinner my French language skills were finally beginning to shine! So we walked over to the Rue de l’Acienne Comedie where it was bustling with people and bars and had some more wine. It was wonderful to sit outside and relax…at least until the crowds started to thin out. Then came the rats. I’m serious- once it hit midnight like clockwork enormous rats came popping out of everywhere! I’m not scared by these guys but I was a little creeped out by how many there were and how big. So we decided it was time to go. We finished our wine and retired to bed. What a lovely first day in Paris.
I had been wary of stomach woes all week and now I had a dish of runny green eggs, strange grotesque slab bacon, a fat sausage, stewed tomatoes and beans. WTF! This station had it out for me! I don’t know what I was thinking with my order but I’ll tell you I enjoyed the toast that’s about it.
Mr T loved his Bacon sandwich but I honestly think he was still a little drunk from the night before so you can’t believe him.
After our meal we leisurely strolled about, a little to leisurely since all of a sudden they called final boarding for our train and we had to make a run for it. Luckily we got on in the nik of time and 3 hours later we were pulling into Paris and maneuvering our way through their subway stations until we landed at our hotel. We unpacked and went out for a stroll of the neighborhood where the first stop was Pierre Herme for some macarons. They were absolutely perfect. The cookie was almost cloud like with an airy crisp shell and ultra smooth creamy inside. These could quite possibly be the best macarons I’ve ever had.
Unfortunately my French hadn’t been as refined as I wanted it to be (meaning I freaked out when I saw all the wonderful sweets I could buy and stammered a slew of words that couldn’t be deciphered as French OR English) and I decided maybe it was time to stop for a drink.
Luckily one the most famous cafes in Paris, Café Deux Magots, was only two blocks away. After a lovely bottle of Sancerre and some tasty little bar snacks I felt much better and we were only steps away from our planned dinner place Le Relais de l’Entrecote. I’ll be completely honest- when Mr. T said this was the one place he wanted to eat at in Paris I wasn’t exactly happy. They opened one of these in NYC last year for goodness sake! Luckily I reminded myself I had planned just about every other meal so I let him have this one…and once again he’s proven to pick a winner.
There is no menu here. You start with a salad and a basket of bread and then everyone gets Steak Frites. Everyone. Just state your preferred temperature and order some wine and boom that’s it. When the dishes started to come out the aroma was absolutely intoxicating.
This picture didn’t come out the best but I have to say this was an amazing Steak Frites. Amazing! They pour some sort of pesto sauce over everything and it has this garlicky, creamy flavor that’s tasty at first, but then down right additive towards the end.
The meat was so tender and well cooked, while the fries were skinny, salty and just like McDonalds- delicious! They give you one portion and then come around again to give you some more. It was such a delectable way to begin our Paris trip. I couldn’t have been happier. I will admit when I’m wrong and I was wrong to believe we shouldn’t go here…so wrong I’m actually going to the NYC this weekend (that sauce is addictive I tell you!)
After drinking some more wine with dinner my French language skills were finally beginning to shine! So we walked over to the Rue de l’Acienne Comedie where it was bustling with people and bars and had some more wine. It was wonderful to sit outside and relax…at least until the crowds started to thin out. Then came the rats. I’m serious- once it hit midnight like clockwork enormous rats came popping out of everywhere! I’m not scared by these guys but I was a little creeped out by how many there were and how big. So we decided it was time to go. We finished our wine and retired to bed. What a lovely first day in Paris.
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