Notes and images from the last day

We finally saw the sun on our last day, and it was quite mild, too. Other than organizing our stuff and packing up, we had two fun events planned for the day. The first was lunch with new friends, JoAnn & Llyod, whom I know through an email group. In the olden days, I guess one would say pen pals! Anyway, we had a lovely lunch with lively conversation at the Bistrot La Bruyère in our 'hood (thanks M and Mme Laidback, if you're reading this.) We started with duck carpaccio and smoked salmon, and moved on to beef confit and daurade, the latter two pictured below. While the beef was supposed to be cooked through (confit) it was a little dried out. Other than that, everything else was very good. And at 2 courses for 19 Euros, it was a good deal. We would absolutely return.

Here's the somewhat blurry selfie we took in front of the restaurant before we went our separate ways.

After lunch, we had no plans until 5:30, so we wandered around our old stomping grounds on Rue Lepic, stopping into Chez Julien for a glass of wine. Eventually, we found ourselves at the "I love you wall" again. This selfie came out better.

We booked the Grands Crus wine tasting at O Chateau at 5:30, where we met up with Tim and Teresa. This was a lot of fun! It's not cheap, but we tasted some wonderful, higher-end wines, had some tasty nibbles including foie gras, and had the pleasure of a knowledgeable AND entertaining sommelier. There were only 11 of us, so plenty of "hands on" including Q&A throughout. A very enjoyable evening. Here's me with Teresa and Tim, clearly captivated by our sommelier.

It was still early so we went over to the Experimental Cocktail Club, which was on all of our lists (or at least it was at the top of Teresa's and mine!). Neat place. It was pretty crowded, considering it was early, so we made it a pretty quick stop. Delicious cocktails. We'd go back on a week night, or earlier, for sure. Next we wandered over to Rue Montorgeuil, which was also decorated for the holidays. We ended the night at a place we chose only for its terrasse called Cafe du Centre. The food was fine, but nothing you'd run back for - and it was all about being outside on a nice evening with wonderful company. Actually, it was so hot on the terrace, we had to ask the waiter to turn off one of the heaters! It was a great way to end our stay in Paris.

 

Always a lot of laughs when we go out with Teresa and Tim.

 

 

It was really an amazing trip - hope you enjoyed coming along! A la prochaine ('til next time.).

 

Awesome trip

We're at the airport, half asleep. I know I've said this before, but I promise I'll do it this time: I'll post a few final pics when I get home since I have a day to relax before heading back to work. Plus it'll be much easier on the PC.

So our last day was another perfect one. More on that after we get back, but here's an iconic Paris shot to hold you over.



Place de la Bastille

Thanksgiving - the aftermath

Happy (and satisfied) Thanksgiving diners:

Tom and I took a walk on the Champs-Élysées after dinner. It's not our favorite place in Paris, but we had to see the Christmas lights.

There's a market, which mostly sells junk made in China, although I'm sure there are some lovely things in some of those stalls. We just weren't in the mood to shop. But strolling along with some vin chaud on a mild night in Paris with people from all over the world (and not too crowded) was a wonderful thing. The American Christmas music made me sad (and not in a good way!) but once you glimpse the Arch de Triomphe or the Place de la Concorde in the distance, you are immediately brought back to Paris.

Thanksgiving - the feast

All ingredients from the market. The sides: roasted purple & fingerling potatoes with shallots, garlic & thyme, roasted mélange of mushrooms, and sautéed spinach with garlic, shallots & lemon zest.

Tim carving the beast:

And the presentation of the main course: pork stuffed with prunes with apricots, carrots, preserved lemon and herbs in a white wine sauce. Everything was delicious!

Thanksgiving - the prep

But we need a Kir Royale break after all that shopping:

"Aerial" view of Teresa and me in the kitchen:

Aren't these the prettiest, funkiest mushrooms you've ever seen?

Thanksgiving - hunting & gathering

The next few posts are all about our day yesterday, broken down since that seems to work best for the temperamental blogger.

So first, we shopped for ingredients at the Bastille market:

Tim and I taking a break to smile for the camera:

And some fish we didn't buy - maybe another day....

Café culture

Sitting at Le Progrès in Le Marais looking through my notes:

And the view from that perch: